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shoulder to find his mates were right behind him. Sebastian also looked worried, but Kent was just
smiling. Liam opened the back door and stepped onto the back deck before stopping abruptly.
 Surprise! a myriad of voices yelled. He heard a gasp and saw Sebastian s eyes widen as he
stepped forward to stand beside him. Kent stood somewhat apart, grinning at them. That sly& he had
planned all this! He looked around to see Rian and Damian giving each other high fives from across
the pool.
 Yay! Surprise! A bright but breathless voice chirped above the crowd. He looked to his left,
and standing near the backyard gate were Rebecca and Aleks. Aleks was chuckling, and Rebecca was
jumping up and down trying to see them.
 You! he exclaimed, pointing to Kent, who shrugged and spread his hands. He whipped around
back to Rebecca, who was now standing in front of the crowd beaming at him.
 You! He pointed to the tiny female, recalling her dramatic scene at her house not thirty minutes
ago. She was laughing so hard she was wiping tears off her cheeks. Everyone was laughing and
clapping. Rian walked up and kissed her on the top of her head.
 Okay, everyone settle down. Rian said holding up his hands for quiet. The large backyard
barely contained the entire pride, Bran s entire pack, the townspeople, and a couple vampires.
Everyone had turned out for this party.
 Liam, we can tell from your expression that our efforts to have a surprise party worked
beautifully. But you re probably wondering why. Rian looked at Liam, who simply nodded.
 Your wonderful mate confided that you and Sebastian needed a little boost. Everyone has
things from their past that haunt them. He wanted to celebrate the strength of his mates, who have
overcome so much to make your mating work, Rian said, pointing to Kent, who was turning molten
shades of red. Liam and Sebastian went to their mate and wrapped themselves around him.
Never in his life had anyone ever done something so wonderful for him, not even his parents.
 Before you molest him, we have a toast planned. Rian grinned as people chuckled. Then his
smiling face became somber. Damian joined Rian and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
 Fifteen years ago Damian and I had a long conversation in our dorm room about what we
would do after graduation. Both of us agreed that we didn t want to hide who we were anymore.
When we came out of the closet to our families and your father started a motion to ban us, I had never
been more scared in my life. Arkadia was the only home we had ever known. Rian looked up, tears
in his eyes.
 And out of nowhere, you jumped in front of us and stood up to your own father. Rian s voice
shook, he tried to keep talking but couldn t. Damian grabbed his hand and took over.
 You shouted him down and said that being gay was not a good enough reason to be kicked out
of a pride. That this was our home too. You challenged him, your own father. Watching that fight was
the hardest thing we have ever had to do. We felt every gouge, every bite as if it were happening on
our own bodies. In the end you won, but it cost you your family. The next day everyone we had ever
known and loved left the pride to avoid living with gay lions. Liam felt the knot in his throat threaten
to cut off his air, all he could do was keep swallowing hard in an effort to keep his tears from falling.
 Rian and I made a solemn vow that night that we would defend and take care of you, our Alpha,
for the rest of our lives, even if it was just the three of us. Damian s grin was shaky.
 But it wasn t the three of us for long, Rian said, taking over the story.
 You started looking at a picture bigger than Arkadia. You began to think of every other
displaced lion living alone because they were strong enough to embrace who they were, and you
opened up the pride to them, Rian said, gesturing to a young man who stepped forward.
 I was only in seventh grade when my dad caught me kissing the Alpha s son. He said I was evil
and I was trying to spread my wickedness. He turned me over to the Alpha personally. That night
every male in the pride took turns beating me and humiliating me. The youth drew a ragged breath.
Ma stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up over his shoulder and flashed
her a sad smile before continuing.
 The next morning, I was barely breathing when my older sister snuck outside to tend my
wounds. She helped me get dressed and gave me all the money she had, two hundred dollars, which
for a sixteen-year-old was a lot. She told me to run. That she had overheard our father yelling on the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]