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Logan gave a chuckle. "Not on your life. No matter what, I don't regret anything. It may be stressful at times, but I can only hope all the bad moments will be out weighed by the good ones." Logan said as Alex came back with the water. Logan smiled. His mouth really was dry. "He may be different and scandalous at times, but he's mine and you're mine. Both of you belong to this tribe and I won't let either of you go without a fight."

Logan took a long slug of his water and gave a happy sigh as he downed the entire glass. He let one of the ice cubes slid in his mouth so he could crunch on it to calm himself some more. "Well, I know you're tired too and would like to get back to my sister. But do one thing for me before you go to bed. Let the other brother out. Xaviar will never see the light of day again, but his brother has been punished enough for Xaviar's misdeeds. I'm pretty sure the kids have overrun the one guest house. He can stay in the other until he's fit to go back home." Logan instructed standing.

"One more glass, love." Logan said handing the glass back to Alex. Logan gave Alex a little smack on the butt and chuckled. Once Alex was gone he looked at Kaeden. "I'll have to keep him busy until I can figure out what to do. Some light chores and things. I might put him in the kitchen with mother. I'll tell him he's doing his tribe and me a service. I don't want to work him or use him, but he's intent on pleasing me to the point it's almost annoying." Logan said with a crooked smile. He needed sleep.

He put a hand on Kaeden's shoulder. "Thanks." He said.

Mrs. Church was happy when Theo went back to sleep. She didn't want the rest of them up crying as well. She figured Alex would get upset with her. She sighed, remembering earlier when she couldn't find the lynx. She pushed it out of her mind and went back to sleep next to them.

"He needs to work out his anger. He will come back when he is ready. If he's not back by breakfast, I'll go out and find him myself. He reminds me of one of my brothers when he found out he wasn't going to be Semal. We'd all been trained for it, but only one of us 'had the right stuff' as my father put it." Logan said as Alex came back.

Logan drank half the glass, not realizing how thirsty he'd been. He put his arm around Alex's shoulders and kissed him. "Thanks love. Now let's go to bed." Logan said praising Alex. He was glad to see his mate smiling, but knew in the back of his mind it was only because he'd accomplished when he'd been asked to do.

Logan headed up with Alex as Kaeden headed out to the pit.

Meanwhile, Lily and Alice had gotten the last of the kids in bed with Andrew's help. Andrew came up behind Alice and put his arms around her. "I'd like to steal her away now." He said. Lily chuckled. "Please do. She's done most of the work. She totally deserves it." Lily said as she looked at Alice and smiled as she watched her and Andrew.

"And you don't even have to walk there." Andrew said picking Alice up. Lily laughed as she got out of their way. She waved to Alice as her very tired girls. Afacan was being carried by Yen, but Lily put him on her hip, Yanny on the other and Yen on her back. "Let's head to bed girls." Lily said as she left the house. She walked as quickly as she could across the lawn and to the main house past the stables. There were guards by the stables and around the house. They nodded to her as she passed and she nodded back.

Once inside she halfway expected Kaeden to be there, but Kayla was at their door. Lily stopped at the third to last step as she took a deep breath. Her girls were getting heavy. And she had an added bundle as well...her son. Kayla held out her arms to Lily and Lily gave a sigh of relief and a wary laugh as she nodded.

Kayla got Yen and Yanny and followed Lily into the room. Lily and Kayla quietly got the girls ready for bed before they got their showers. Lily wasn't sure where Kayla was going to sleep; but since she was a Flower Cat, that her husband had unknowingly chosen, she just shrugged and pulled Kayla to the bed. Lily laid in the middle and pulled Kayla to her side.

Lily laid awake for a while, but wasn't sure where her mate was. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they quickly closed before he got there. She had a warm body next to her, but her other hand occasionally searched for her mate.

Logan stopped at Alex's words. His heart seemed to stop for a moment as he tried to keep his voice calm. Logan turned and looked at Alex. "They are our children, Alex. Don't ever say your children to me again." Logan corrected him as gently as he knew how.

Logan took a deep breath and quickly pulled Alex into his arms before Alex could drop to the floor to grovel. "They will just have to get used to you again. But first, let's shower." Logan said leading Alex to the bathroom.

Andrew chuckled as he held her and headed for her room. "Shhh or you'll wake the little ones." He said laughing softly. When he got her up to her room he set her down on her feet and turned the light on in her room. "Tah dah." He said and waited for her reaction.

Andrew had been very pressed for time, but he thought it looked good. While she'd been busy, he'd come to her room and sprinkled daisy tops and daffodils from her room door to her bed and to her bathroom. "I thought I'd save the roses for when we were mated." He said in case she was wondering about his flower choice.

Also on the bed was a little tray with chocolates on it and a card. The card read:
To my lovely Alice,
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Chocolate is sweet,
But not as sweet as you.

With a smiley face at the bottom and Andrew's signature. It was cheesy, but he thought it was a good first try.

**goodnight**

Logan sighed as he closed the bathroom door. He turned and removed his shirt before hugging Alex. "Hush my little one. Stop crying. I'm not upset any more. Just say ours when you refer to the kittens while you are in this household." Logan whispered.

He rubbed Alex's back for a little and then started pulling off his shirt. "You know what would please me right now?" Logan said trying to get his mate happy again. Logan gave a smirk when he mate looked at him with hope in his eyes as if to redeem himself....when actually he didn't need to. Logan still loved him, but someone that bracelet was blocking all that. "What would please me right now would be for you to take all your clothes off and let me wash you in the shower."

Logan figured Alex was going to say something along the lines of 'the submissive is suppose to wash the dominate' so he quickly stopped his mates' words before they could come out. Logan held up his hand. "And no more talking until our shower is over. This is what I want." Logan said with a smirk. He was tired, but he needed his mate more. To be beside him, having him in his arms. To feel and touch him. Logan started to shower water.

Andrew rubbed the back of his head nervously as he wondered if she really liked what he'd done. "I thought it was a little cheesy, but I was hoping you would like it." He said before she got on her tip toes to kiss him. But it was just a peck and he wasn't going to let her get away with just that! He slid his arms around her and drew her in for a long, slow kiss that left them both breathless. He broke the kiss and just watched her. She was so beautiful. "I should let you get to bed now.....before I try climbing in there with you." He said rubbing their noses together. "Good night beautiful." He said and slipped out the door.

Lily had saved room for Kaeden, but in their sleep they had moved all over the bed. Usually Lily just snuggled up with her mate, but since Kayla wasn't her mate, she tossed a little. But in her sleep she felt her mate's warm body and was able to relax.

Lily woke early and looked at her mate. She felt bad he was partially off the bed. She still had her training and strength, so she wrapped and arm her and a leg there and flipped him over on top of her so he wouldn't be hanging off. He was a little heavy, but she adjusted to his weight and smiled as she looked at his face on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes again.

It seemed like Alex was waiting for instructions, but Logan just took his hand and pulled him in the shower. "Now, this makes me happy." Logan said getting them under the water and then grabbed the soap. He lathered up his hands and spread the soap all over Alex with a huge smile on his face.

Andrew went to his room with a huge smile on his face. He was sure he was the happiest man in the world.

Lily felt Kaeden moving,but she still hand her leg wrapped around him and she didn't want to let him go even in her sleep. She groaned slightly not let him go. Kayla ended up snuggling against Kaeden as well as she slept. Both females were content.

Logan was happy to hear the purr coming from his mate. It sounded just like his Alex and he loved that. And he couldn't help the purr and smiles that came upon his lips as his mate washed him in return. It was wonderful....so much so Logan couldn't help taking his mate in the shower. "Mine." Logan growled as he claimed his mate.

~Time Skip~

Logan took the time to dry his mate off after their fun time in the shower. "That was blissful. I hope I wasn't too rough with you." Logan said looking Alex over. The only marks he could see were the ones Alex had made on his own wrist trying to get the bracelet off.

"I love you Alex Church. With all my heart." Logan said looking at Alex. "And no matter what, we are going to stick together." Logan kissed Alex's nose before leading him to their bed. Logan on the side closest to the kitten who were in Dray's bed with their grandmother. He didn't want to upset them in their sleep. But he did it nonchallently so Alex wouldn't notice as much. He pulled Alex into his arms and rubbed his mate's back as he prayed there would be an email in the morning with the answer on how to get his mate back.

Morning broke in the sky and it seemed all the younglings were up. Logan and Alex's kittens were up along with the adopted ones. The mean panther was still in the box unable to get out. She cried/growled to be let loose.

Over at the other house the silent kids were up. Two of the smaller girls knocked on Alice's door and went in. She was still in bed and they crawled in with her before they started bouncing to get her up.

Yen was up and so was Afacan. They were playing as they ran around the room in their cat form. Lily's eye popped open when she heard them running around. They didn't have anything breakable and the weapons were tucked out of their reach. But she could hear their footsteps and she knew she wouldn't get more sleep. She looked at Kaeden snuggled between here and Kayla and she giggled. Kayla started to wake and she looked at Lily and her mate. She found she liked being snuggled in with them.

Logan stretched and yawned as he woke. He'd heard the little ones but didn't want to get up yet....but knew he had to address the issues of the day. He was hoping it all was a horrid nightmare..........but when he looked down at his mate's wrist he groaned and slapped his hands over his face.

So he wouldn't upset Alex, he quickly took a few breaths and put his mind in its usual logical state. He was letting circumstances get the better of him and it was worse since it was his mate. He had to think through this.

Logan opened his eyes and ran his fingers through Alex's hair. "Morning beautiful." He said to him.

At the sound of their father, the kittens perked up and headed for the main bed. The older ones could use Dray's bed as a launching pad as they ran and jumped up on the large bed. The three kittens could only look up from Dray's bed; but their grandmother helped them out. The lynx and the other panther girls remained with Mrs. Church.

Logan laughed and scooped the kittens up and kissed them all. "Our little ones. I know you may not understand at this moment, but this is really your mother. The bracelet is making things a little weird for you to pick up his normal self, but you'll get used to him again." Logan said to their children before he started piling all of them into Alex's arms and lap.

Rose, Koko and Alex Jr looked up at their mother not sure what to do. Rose started sniffing him. It was their mother.....that is until her nose came to the bracelet and she whimpered as she backed up from it. She shifted to her human form and started talking in her baby talk with an occasional finger point to the bracelet. But of course no one knew what she was saying.

The little girls, satisfied that Alice was up, giggled and ran from her bed and out of the room. They shyly peeked, waved and ran off without a word. Another little girl, the smallest of the entire group, came in with her thumb in her mouth and a card in her hand. It had Alice's name on it. It was a card from Andrew asking her to get dressed and come down with the kids.

Downstairs Andrew and two other guards were trying their hands at making breakfast. They were all used to fire pits and grills.....but a kitchen stove was like a foreign object. It had taken great effort to make breakfast for all the kids, themselves and Alice with three muscular men in a small kitchen. But they managed....and even had aprons on. Andrew's apron said 'kiss the cook' and it had some frilly lace on the edges.....it was obviously Mrs. Church's apron.

The three men had food on the table as they heard the pitter patter of feet. Andrew hoped to impress Alice and show her that he may not be rich or the smartest cat, but he would try no matter what.

Kayla and Lily smiled when Kaeden looked at them. One said good morning in English and the other in Russian. But what happened next was the shocker, they both leaned forward and kissed either side of Kaeden's cheek. "You didn't miss anything." Lily said. "I'm going to text Alice and see if she needs any help getting the kids up. But I'm sure they are up....maybe help with breakfast. We can all eat over there....unless you have to go on duty?" She asked as she reached for her cell on the bedside table.