Chapter One
Finlay Stewart stared at the folders in his email account and tried to ignore the number of messages in the "Family-related Complaints" folder.
Fifty-one.
Fifty-one messages in the last week from clan members voicing a concern or complaint related to his three cousins: Faye, Fraser, and Fergus MacKenzie. Their recent behavior only highlighted how much of a taming influence their mother—his Aunt Lorna—had over her brood.
Aunt Lorna had been gone just over a week, taking a much-delayed honeymoon with her human mate, Ross. Chaos had erupted shortly thereafter.
His dragon grunted. It's not chaos. Just a few incidents, which you should expect from our cousins. If we weren't clan leader, you would probably be up to a few things, too.
But I am clan leader. That means I need to sort things out.
A quick call from Aunt Lorna would put everything back to rights.
Since he wasn't about to call his aunt and ask her to cut her holiday short, he ignored his beast and focused back on the emails. Clicking the latest one related to Faye, from Sylvia MacAllister, he read:
Faye's most recent argument in my restaurant went beyond social acceptance. She yelled, tossed a plate at her mate, and eventually stormed out. I understand she's pregnant, and she's also my daughter's friend, but if she keeps this up, I won't have any customers at all.
Faye was his youngest cousin and had always been the most temperamental of his kin. However, in recent weeks, her pregnancy had turned her explosive whenever she was around her mate, Grant.
And considering Sylvia was the mother to the five MacAllister siblings and daughter of the notorious troublemaker Archie, Faye's display in the restaurant must've been something indeed to merit a complaint.
His dragon spoke up. Talk to Faye's mate. He's the only one who can keep her in line.
He's been busy. Besides, she should listen to me. I'm family and clan leader.
Right, because Faye has always listened to us in the past just because we said she had to.
Not dignifying his dragon with a response, Finn moved on to an email with the subject line: Fergus MacKenzie lost another contact. He read it:
Fergus didn't show up for work today and missed an important call with one of our clan's contacts. A Protector mentioned seeing him fly off into the sunrise this morning. I don't know what's going on, but this is the third time this week he's flown off without a word. If he keeps it up, I will have to replace him.
Fergus worked as an intelligence analyst for Clan Lochguard. Usually, he was a model employee, always the first to arrive, and completed the work of two males in the same amount of time it took one average employee to do the same.
However, Fergus had been fighting off a mate-claim frenzy for months, allowing his human mate, Gina, to rest after the birth of her son.
His dragon huffed. Why doesn't he listen to Gina? She says she's ready as soon as someone is able to watch wee Jamie for the duration of the frenzy. Aunt Lorna has offered several times.
Fergus has always believed he knows better, especially when it comes to protecting those he loves. His mating is still new, and with a baby since the beginning, they probably haven't had as much time to get to know each other as we and Ara did.
Arabella MacLeod was Finn's mate, and mother to their young triplets.
His beast grunted. Then talk with him. You're the only one Fergus listens to about such matters, apart from Aunt Lorna.
I've tried, as has Fraser. I think I need to discuss this situation with Ara. She always has new suggestions on how to handle my cousins.
At the mention of Arabella, Finn paused and listened for the smallest sound of an infant fussing. However, the silence meant that the triplets and his mate were still asleep, so he needed to do as much work as he could while he had the chance.
If there was one thing being a new father had taught him, it was that he'd wasted a lot of time in the past. But no longer. The more he wasted, the less time he would spend with his mate and children.
Since his current task was to find a way to rein in his cousins, he clicked one more email related to his last cousin Fraser. It was from the clan's head doctor, Dr. Layla MacFie:
Fraser spends every moment he can shadowing Holly. Holly was Fraser's human mate. I understand that she's eight months pregnant with twins, but I check her health daily and continue to monitor all three of them. Holly is healthy and merely waiting for their bairns to be born. And as we're still trying to find more staff for the surgery, I need Holly's help more than ever. Is there nothing else that Fraser should be doing? I need him out of my surgery.
With a sigh, Finn leaned back in his chair. Fraser's recent big project, to design and oversee the construction of a large clan warehouse, had been completed in recent weeks. Finn assumed that there were other people waiting in line for one of Fraser's designs since he had a unique and in-demand approach. So why the bloody hell was he wasting what time he had before the birth of his children following Holly around?
His dragon said in an almost bored tone, You know about Holly's miscarriage with their first child. He's nervous.
But the bairns are nearly to term. Bloody hell, Holly's had more monitoring and health checks than Arabella ever did, and she carried three children.
Still, the loss stays with them both. Maybe inviting everyone to dinner would be best, after talking with Ara about what to do. That way, we can address this all at once. And if we lock the doors, it'll make it difficult for them to leave.
Aye, and that also makes it hard for us to escape.
He heard the first stirrings of one of his children via the baby monitor. Standing, Finn spoke to his dragon again as he walked, Arabella does function better on little sleep and will probably have an idea other than smacking each one on the back of the head. Although, Ara would do that in a heartbeat if it came to it.
His beast snorted. So instead of Aunt Lorna, you're going to allow your mate to sort out your family?
We'll do it together. The MacKenzie siblings are like my brothers and sister, and the oldest telling the others what to do usually doesn't work.
Finn entered one of two nurseries they used for the children. To help Arabella and still do his clan leader duties, they often put the lads in one room and Freya in another during the day. That way, his mate wasn't stuck with all three children.
He and Arabella also switched duties with the best-behaved baby—their daughter—and the identical twin boys. Today was Finn's turn with Freya.
His only daughter lay in her crib, making little noises and waving her arms. Finn swooped her up and cuddled her against his chest. After kissing her blonde head, he murmured, "Just like Mummy, aren't you? Wide-eyed and awake with the least amount of sleep."
Freya merely slapped her hand against his chest.
With a chuckle, he moved Freya to the changing table. Despite the squirming and her attempts to jump off the table, Finn managed to change her nappy. When he finished, he raised her top and blew against her stomach. Freya squealed, and so he did it again.
Arabella's voice came from behind him. "No wonder it takes you so long to get her up."
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Arabella smiling, one son in each arm. "Aye, well, I don't have to rush and worry about one of the wee lads pissing on me during the nappy changing."
"If I remember correctly, you laughed the first time it happened to me."
Picking up Freya, he moved to his mate's side and wrapped his free arm around her and his sons. "It was funny then. Now, however, I swear the lads use me as target practice more often than not."
Arabella snorted. "They take after their father, from what I hear."
Leaning down, he kissed his mate gently. "And you wouldn't have it any other way."
As he stared into his mate's brown eyes and held his family close, a part of Finn wished he could whisk them away for a holiday on the Isle of Skye, where Lochguard had some protected training grounds that occasionally doubled as holiday cottages. He'd love nothing more than a week with his family, absolved of any responsibility.
However, until the threat of dragon hunters and Dragon Knights were banished, he couldn't risk leaving Lochguard unprotected.
The son whom they thought took the most after him personality-wise, Declan, squealed right into Finn's ear. He moved his gaze to the lad with dark hair and eyes like Arabella's and winked. "I know everyone wants my full attention, but let's try to avoid making me deaf this early, aye?"
Arabella shook her head. "He's only a few months old. I'm sure he doesn't understand the concept of deafness."
"Ah, but all my children will be clever and braw, so I see no need to treat them any less."
She raised an eyebrow. "Should we put that to the test? I can easily go out for the day and allow you to take care of all three of them. With your supposed baby-whispering skills, it should be a walk in the park."
"I could manage."
Arabella snorted. "Bloody stubborn dragonman." She readjusted her hold on their other son, Grayson. "But enough of that. I can tell something's on your mind, Finn. What is it?"
Freya put her fist into her mouth and chewed on her knuckles with her toothless gums. "As you feed the children, I'll explain it to you."
He motioned toward the living area and they made their way. Arabella placed one son and then the other in their bouncy baby seats, fastening the belts of each in turn.
Grayson immediately frowned. She bopped each nose in turn. "Now, now, I know you love Mummy best, but give Daddy a chance."
Finn handed off Freya to her mother. "They only like you best because you're the food source."
Arabella settled on the couch, raised up her top and undid her nursing bra. As soon as Freya latched on, she raised her brows at Finn. "My breasts are never going to be the same again. I sure hope they like me best."
He moved to trace Arabella's cheek, but Grayson chose that moment to start crying.
Undoing the belt and scooping up his son, he gently rocked him and murmured, "Now, now, Gray. I know you're hungry, but I need to tell Mummy she's beautiful." Glancing up at Arabella, he took in the sight of his daughter and mate. "Both of my lasses are beautiful."
A blush crept up Arabella's neck. "Finn."
"It's true." Gray's cries died down and he kissed his son's forehead. "And one day you'll help me protect them, Gray."
His son reached for Finn's face and dug his sharp, little bairn nails into his skin. Finn leaned back a fraction. "I know you're just showing me you're ready to protect the family, but try not to hurt your dad, aye?"
He heard Arabella whisper, "You'll help protect the family as well, Freya. As much as dragon males like to think they should be the only ones ensuring our safety, we protect those we love, too. Your Auntie Faye will give you lessons from an early age, I'm sure."
Holding Gray close, Finn bounced in place and met Arabella's gaze again. "Speaking of Faye, Aunt Lorna leaving has caused more of a problem than I'd anticipated." He explained the situations around each of his cousins before continuing, "Do you have any ideas beyond scolding them?"
"You deal with these types of things every day. Why is it so hard with your family? If Tristan were acting like an arsehole, I'd tell him."
Tristan was Arabella's older brother, who lived on Clan Stonefire in Northern England. While not the friendliest of brothers-in-law, there was much Finn admired about the dragonman. "Aye, well, your brother is a special type of male. I think anyone would tell him that."
She raised an eyebrow. "Let's add that to the list of things I need to tell him the next time I speak to him."
He sighed. "Ara…"
"Okay, okay. If it weren't Faye, Fraser, and Fergus, what would you do?"
He didn't hesitate. "Invite each to my office and discuss their problems."
She nodded. "Exactly. So, why not do that?"
"Because they're Faye, Fraser, and Fergus. I'm merely their cousin. Aye, they'll listen when it's an emergency situation, but I'm not sure this classifies."
"If the clan starts to doubt your leadership abilities, it does."
Leave it to Arabella to lay out the truth without any sugarcoating.
It was one of the many reasons he loved her.
Declan wiggled in his bouncy seat on the floor, and despite the belt around his middle, he came close to rolling off the side. Finn quickly placed Grayson into the playpen and scooped up his other son. "Learn to walk, Dec, and you won't have to lay down in those blasted things."
Declan merely blew a giant spit bubble.
As he scrunched his eyes and made a funny face, Finn said, "See? Family doesn't find me intimidating." Arabella merely tilted her head and he added, "I can be intimidating. Scary, even."
Arabella burst out laughing and continued to do it for a full minute. Freya even stopped eating in the process and started wailing.
Getting a hold of herself, Arabella murmured apologies to Freya. As soon as their daughter was eating again, Arabella said, "Being scary isn't your way, Finn, and you know it. You're good at roping in others to help you, but not through intimidation."
"Maybe," he grumbled.
She glanced down at Freya, who had finished eating. As she propped their daughter into a sitting position on her leg and gently patted her back, she said, "Daddy doesn't understand how charming he is. I may not admit it often, but it's one of the reasons I allowed him to kiss me at all." She glanced at Finn. "Although if you let that compliment go to your head, so help me, you'll have twin duty for a month, and I'll encourage them to use you as target practice."
"Well, seeing as I'm so charming, I may be able to sweet talk you out of it…" Arabella narrowed her eyes and he chuckled. "I may wait to test out that theory for a later time, though. The doctor should clear you in the next few weeks, and I fully plan to foist off our offspring on my aunt and have you for an entire night to myself."
Freya burped, and Arabella held her out to Finn to exchange babies. As soon as she had Declan nursing, she met his gaze again. "You want sex, you know what you need to do. I'm not having any more children."
His dragon huffed. Why do we have to be snipped? That's what birth control is for.
Aye, but it's not a guarantee.
Finn replied, "Let me work on handling my family first."
"You do know it takes three months for it to be fully effective?"
"Aye, but I've been a bit busy."
Her face softened. "I know. If you have it done, I'll give you some leeway provided we do everything possible to prevent another pregnancy. I appreciate all the help, but three is a handful. I can only imagine what they'll be like when they're older."
"Especially if they take after your brother."
"It's more taking after you and your cousins that I'm worried about. The Stewart siblings will cause havoc unlike anything the world has ever seen."
He smiled. "I thought you didn't like hyperboles?"
"Usually. But in this case, it may not be."
As Freya drifted off, Finn gently laid her down in the bouncy seat and fastened the strap around her. "I'll schedule an appointment with Layla as soon as possible." He stood and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, what to do about my family."
"Talk with them, Finn. Honesty can go a long way. And if that doesn't work, give them orders. That's what clan leaders do."
He tapped his hand against his thigh. "It might help if we invite them here and you back me up. Hearing it from two people may be more convincing."
"Provided you convince Meg Boyd to babysit, then I'll help."
Meg Boyd was Aunt Lorna's frenemy and arguably the biggest gossip on Lochguard. "If she can ever tear herself away from her two beaus…"
Arabella grinned. "Oh, you know the entire clan is enjoying that one. If anyone was to lead along two males and put off a long-term relationship, it would be Meg."
"The only good thing from it all is that Archie and Cal have formed a temporary truce."
Archie and Cal were neighbors who usually tried to sabotage one another through stealing sheep or dropping boulders on one another's barns. They took up enormous amounts of Finn's time since he had to listen to both sides and make decisions once or twice a week.
Or, had done. He secretly hoped Meg Boyd would keep them occupied for the foreseeable future and save Finn many a headache.
Arabella snorted. "Well, seeing as they're sleeping with the same female, they have to have a truce or risk hurting Meg. The bigger question is whether they're all sleeping together or if Meg is enjoying one and then the other."
"That, my dear Ara, is something I'd rather not know."
"I didn't pin you for a prude."
"When it comes to Meg Boyd, I like to think she's an asexual being who lives only to hand out unwarranted advice. Now let's get the last lad fed and start arranging the family dinner."
As they finished taking care of their children, Finn began to plan the next evening with his cousins and their mates. Arabella was right, as she usually was. He needed to be honest and lay out the facts.
His dragon spoke up. Good luck with that. Make sure to hide all the valuables.
I'm sure they're not going to start throwing breakables.
Do you know them at all?
With Holly and Faye both being pregnant, everyone will be a bit more careful.
If they don't shout and startle Holly into labor first.
Not wanting to think of all the ways the dinner could go wrong, as soon as the bairns were down again, Finn pulled Arabella up against his side and cupped her cheek. "I love you, Ara."
She searched his eyes. "What do you want?"
"Nothing." He nuzzled her cheek with his. "I just don't say it enough."
Before she could question him further, he kissed her. As he tasted and stroked the inside of his mate's mouth, Finn temporarily forgot about the rest of his problems. No matter what happened, he would always have Arabella and his children. And at the end of the day, that was the greatest prize of all.