Chapter Fifteen
Logan
Logan reached down, rethinking the motion halfway through, groaning with the effort it took for him to stand back up straight.
He scowled down at the napkin on the ground. Hugh and Julian would be back in a few hours and could grab it then.
The rain hadn't let up after that first really bad day. For a while, everyone was stuck on the ranch. Logan hadn't been worried during that time, he'd had Hugh and Julian with him, and there was enough food and water for everyone to eat all they wanted for months.
When it finally stopped long enough that the roads became drivable again, Rico was beside himself with worry. Lupe had told him about what had happened on their way back, and he saw the events a little differently. He was convinced that the panther had been trying to hurt them and that it was only Hugh's presence that had scared him away. After the rain stopped, Rico had come to the guest house, machete free, and had asked the guys to stay and help him hunt the Chupacabra.
Logan's chest tightened thinking about that conversation. Hugh and Julian had agreed, too quickly for his taste, and had spent every day since then leaving in the morning, hunting for the beast and then returning, dirty and tired.
Each day it got harder for Logan to hide his pregnant belly. They didn't need to bother hiding from Rico since he was there to share the special occasion, but Logan didn't like the idea of being the talk of the town. Which he would be, if anyone saw the way his stomach protruded out, making everything more difficult. Hugh had not been lying when he said shifter pregnancies were shorter. It had been barely three months, and Logan already looked like he was in his third trimester.
He wouldn't say it out loud, but he hadn't thought it would be this difficult to be pregnant. Even tying his shoes felt like a major event. But, for a man whose life had been completely turned upside down, Logan thought he was handling the fact that he was pregnant very well.
He had seen the human body do some pretty amazing things while in the ER, come back from injuries that should have been fatal. What was one more weird, miraculous thing? Besides, trans men got pregnant often enough that he could recall several articles detailing such a thing. Logan had followed along with that one couple in Portland as they had documented their pregnancy online. At first, he'd been oddly fascinated but by the end. He had been rooting them on just like everyone else.
Every once in a while, the fear that this was all temporary, that he would wake up and it would be all just a dream, reared its ugly head. When that happened Julian or Hugh was normally around to comfort him. They were both gone now, off hunting in the southeast quadrant of Rico's map, waiting in the bushes with guns and ropes.
Logan's stomach gurgled. He knew the panther was safe, because he had made sure of it, but he still didn't like the idea of the two men he loved, actively trying to kill the mysterious beast who had saved his life.
Logan slipped on his shoes. He'd left the laces loose for this very reason and made his way to the shed where the Santiagos kept their excess food. The shelves were lined with canned foods, and one wall of the shed contained nothing but freezers full of chicken, beef and other meat that they had harvested or hunted. He reached for a frozen chicken, balancing the chunk of meat on his hip as he shut and locked the door. He slipped the chicken under his arm and looked both ways before leaving the shed and walking to the corner of the property. He checked once more if the coast was clear before stepping through the small gate and into the rocky terrain. If his calculations were correct, he had two hours to get to where he was going, leave the chicken and get back.
Enticing the panther away from the hunting hotspots had been hard at first. Now, every night, Logan casually asked his mates where they were going to hunt the next day and then baited the land farthest away. He hated lying to his mates, even through omission. But, it would stop today.
He made it to the spot he'd marked out on the map and dropped the chicken in the dirt, shoving a handful of tranquilizers in the carcass before he did.
He turned back to the ranch, slipping once in his rush to return before his mates got back from their hunt in the opposite direction.
He shut the door of the guest house and took off his shoes jumping at the unexpected movement in the living room.
"Sorry I scared you," Hugh said from the couch.
Julian walked out of the kitchen, a water bottle in his hand.
"How was the hunt?" Logan asked innocently.
Julian took a drink, his strong muscles contracting as he swallowed. "We came up empty handed, again. I swear it is almost like someone is learning where we are going to hunt the day before and then luring the panther away from that space with frozen chicken."
Logan froze. "I can explain."
He became acutely aware of how close his mates were. With one on each side, they towered over him, radiating heat.
"Why do you have something to explain?" Hugh whispered.
"I don't want you to hurt the panther."
"We gathered. Why did you decide to hide that from us?"
"Ummm…"
Because I thought you would tell me not to.
"Because you thought we would tell you not to?" Julian guessed.
Logan exploded forward. "Great! Now you're reading my mind too!"
"That's right mate, you have no secrets from us. We'll always know. I'll admit, it took us a few days to catch up with you. You may have forgotten. We are part animal. Hunting anything shouldn't have taken us more than a day. But you let us go out there for weeks, knowing we would come up empty-handed."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you doubt yourselves, but I didn't know how to talk to you about it. Not without a plan. But I have one now. A bad one. You see, it took a while for me to find out the right kind of tranquilizer. He just left or spit out the Xanax and the Valium I had."
"Why are you trying to tranquilize the panther?"
Logan put his hands on his hips, preparing for a fight. "So we can take him with us."
Surprisingly, Hugh just sighed while Julian shrugged. "It was coming to that anyway. I can't believe you thought us capable of killing another of our kind so easily. Baby, Julian and I were never going to hurt the panther. We were out there trying to make contact. Rico is a good man, but he has a mob mentality."
Relief rushed through him along with guilt. He should have trusted his mates. He knew every day that he snuck out with drugged chicken that he was doing the right thing but in the wrong way. "We've been in that area for a while. The panther should find the chicken soon. Tomorrow, we'll know if he took the pills along with the bait."
Julian reached out, laying his hand flat on Logan's rounded tummy. "I hope for everyone's sake, that he is. You can't stay here much longer. At this rate, we'll return back to camp with a whole family, not a pregnant mate."
Logan smiled. "I'm excited to meet them."
Hugh, who had been a little quiet during their exchange, rolled his sleeves up. "I'm excited for you to meet them too. But first, we need to deal with your punishment for lying and putting yourself in danger. Julian wanted to spank you—"
"You will not spank me!" Logan said, backing away from the two men.
Hugh raised his eyebrows. "I was going to say that Julian wanted to spank you, but I convinced him otherwise. Except, now I think that was a pretty good idea."
Logan willed his dick to not listen to the conversation at hand. The idea of Julian spanking his bare ass turned him on like no other, but he couldn't tell them that.
"He wants to get spanked," Julian said, stepping forward. "Read it on his face."
Logan covered his face with his hands. "Get out of my head!" His heart beat wildly. He wasn't afraid of these two men, he knew they wouldn't ever actually harm him, but watching them approach like predators stalking their prey, he responded as prey normally would. He turned and ran.
Julian leaped over the couch, cutting him off before he could get down the hallway as Hugh came up behind him grabbing him at the elbows and pulling them behind his back. He stood there, defeated and captured as the two larger men decided what they were going to do with him.
"Did you pack your paddle?" Julian asked Hugh over Logan's head.
"Paddle?!"
"No, I left it behind. I could get a stick from outside?"
"A stick?"
"Shush, mate, we are deciding what to spank you with," Hugh said as if just noticing Logan's presence.
"Why not spank me with a feather?" Logan suggested.
Hugh snorted as Julian took control of Logan's elbows. "Hand it is, bend over." Julian pushed Logan down between the shoulder blades. He bent over, supporting himself against the cushions of the sofa as he held his breath, waiting for the first smack. He winced in anticipation.
But instead of a sharp slap, he felt warmth against his ass as Julian bent down to kiss him between his cheeks. He probed Logan with his tongue and then brought his hand down in a light imitation of a spank. "We spank for pleasure, mate," Julian mumbled against his cheeks.
Logan moaned and then sucked in a deep breath. "What about the chickens? Should we replace them?"
Hugh sat on the couch in front of Logan's face, staring at the other two like they were his favorite television program. He had his cock out and stroked it lightly. "Rico can afford a handful of chickens."
"One more thing happened today," Julian said, lifting his face from between Logan's cheeks to tell him the thing he had just remembered. "We got word from Bryce, he's received the adoption papers and will begin shipments."
"So, the kids are safe, and you secured the gas. We're really leaving—once we catch the panther." Logan hissed Julian slid a single finger into his ass.
"We're leaving," Julian confirmed. Moving his hands, he settled them over Logan's pregnant stomach. "Earmuffs," he explained. "Now be a good slut and suck that leaking dick in front of you before you do get a spanking."
Despite knowing that the threat of violence was a fake one, Logan still shot forward, slipping the swollen rod into his waiting mouth. He sucked enthusiastically, up and down the thick length, pausing only to give it a kiss or a lick. He kneaded Hugh's balls as Julian made out with his ass. His orgasm came on him in a flash, his balls tightening a second before his dick erupted. He felt the first shot of Hugh's essence and swallowed it greedily, not wanting to waste a single drop.
Logan and Hugh both panted, riding out the end of their shared orgasms as Julian got to his feet. He stood over both like a conquering warrior, stroking his cock until his seed spilled out, splashing against the two of them.
"You made a mess," Hugh chastised Julian as he wiped a dollop of come off Logan's forehead.
"I was marking my territory," Julian replied with zero remorse. "You should feel lucky I didn't pee on you."
"You pee on me, and it is the last thing you ever do with your dick," Hugh said as Logan nodded his agreement.
***
The next day, Logan got up early, excited to check the site. Hugh and Julian grumbled, but they weren't about to let him go out alone.
Together, they hiked to the spot. The moment they topped the last hill, Logan saw him. The panther lay on its side, seemingly asleep with bits of chicken around his body.
"Jesus, what did you give it?"
"I had to get creative with the stuff Rico had around. A mixture of Ketamine and Rompun, horse and cow tranquilizer. This isn't the first time he has taken the bait, but I had to go slow to get the right amounts. It didn't make sense killing him while trying to save him."
Julian and Hugh stared at him with matching wary expressions. "I think it is a good thing we didn't spank you," Julian said. "I would not want you mad at me."
Logan smirked and grabbed the rope. "Just help me secure him."
They tied the animal up and carried him to the side of the road. The plan was to pack up, say their goodbyes and then begin the long ride home. Hugh seemed confident they could smuggle the panther through customs, and if they had problems, between Bryce's money and Logan's savings, they would probably be able to bribe their way over.
"He is small for a shifter," Julian said as they left the panther behind. "I think he is even small for a normal panther."
"Maybe that's why he's on his own," Hugh suggested.
After they cleaned up themselves, the house and packed, Hugh, Logan and Julian went to the main house to let Rico, Regina, and the kids know of their plan. The rain had slowed down enough for them to get out safely and the car had been fixed for weeks.
"I'm going to miss you," Lupe said with tears in her eyes. "I've only known you for a few months, but you changed my life. Both of our lives. Thank you."
"If you ever want to visit, any of you, you are welcome anytime. The last time I saw our home, it was an uncleared patch of forest, but I bet Angus and Roscoe have made a lot of progress."
Lupe smiled sadly. "I'll keep that in mind."
Regina hugged each of them, making them promise to come back one day before rushing away, only to return with a care package full of food. "Tamales, for the road. And some spices that I ground myself. Food from the states, it has no spice."
When they finally walked out of the main house and loaded up into the car, Logan thought it was safe to call the moment bittersweet. The three of them had come to care for Fern and Lupe and even for their grandparents to an extent. But his mates hadn't been exaggerating when they said they needed to get back before he went into labor. The baby moved pretty constantly, and Logan had long since given up on being able to button his pants closed.
Logan slipped into the back seat, depressed at the empty space beside him. "They'll be happy here, right?"
"Of course." Julian started the car and drove it to the gate.
"I'll be glad to see my old van again. And Vlad, he probably misses me."
Julian growled, peeking back at Logan through the rear view window. "We'll send someone from the pack to get your van, but Vlad is going in the trash."
The car shook, rocking back and forth.
"How long before we dose him again?"
Logan thought about it. They road a fine line. In the best scenarios, they would only have to keep the panther asleep until they crossed the border. But, he was going to be confused and scared. Logan just hoped he realized they were saving him before he tried clawing out their throats. "Let's get back to the coast. He's tied down. It's okay if he isn't completely under."
Logan looked at the road ahead. It had been washed clean by all the rain, and the ground looked smooth and shiny. With as much that could go wrong in their lives, he could only hope that this went right.