Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(90)

When he went to move his hand away she of course pouted adorably so with a resigned sigh he leaned back and continued to rub her stomach, careful of the cake plate, so that his grandson would stay calm and allow his mother to eat. The poor thing seemed to be hungry all the time now, which wasn't exactly shocking since she was a Sentinel and their pregnancies only lasted for four and half months. It didn't matter if they were carrying a human child or a Sentinel child. The mother's chemistry sped up the process, which was probably meant to get the mothers back in fighting form sooner. The pregnancies put a lot of demands on Sentinel females, but this one seemed to be putting his mother through hell more than the last one had.

He didn't need an ultrasound to know that this baby was going to be big. He could tell by the changes in sound and scent that the baby was going to be a big boy. Izzy was going to have a hell of a time bringing this child into the world and unfortunately for her, the Sentinels had yet to find an effective pain killer for childbirth. They could give her morphine, but they'd have to triple the dose in order to slightly numb the pain and her baby, a human, wouldn't survive it.

"Why are we stopping on the first sublevel?" Marc asked, shooting a nervous look towards the elevator doors as he moved in front of Izzy, putting himself between the woman he considered his big sister and whatever person was able to override the security elevator. Considering what happened a few months ago he couldn't blame the boy. Pride filled Ephraim, his boy was already turning into a good man, one of the very few good things to come out of this situation. He moved in front of his children as he allowed his teeth to shift down and prepared himself for the worst.

"It's probably just Kale," Izzy said around what sounded like a huge bite of cake. He caught the shifter's scent and a split second later he caught the scent of his son's fear. Ephraim considered ripping the bastard apart for the hell he put his son through, but he owed the man so until he f**ked up and made a move against his family the shifter could live.

"How do you know it's him?" Marc asked, trying to sound brave, but Ephraim caught the slight tremor in his voice and considered beating the shit out of the shifter anyway.

"Because she stole my damn cake!" the shifter snapped as the door opened and he walked into the elevator, meeting Ephraim's eyes and holding his glare.

"I don't see your name on it," Izzy pointed out as she continued to eat the cake, seemingly oblivious to the tension that now filled the small space as the elevator doors slid closed.

Ephraim considered asking the shifter how he got the code to stop the secure elevator, but that would have been a pretty stupid question since he had a pretty good idea who hooked him up with that knowledge. He threw a glare over his shoulder at his daughter-in law-only to find her shooting a glare that promised all sorts of pain his way, or rather to the shifter in warning. She'd probably tear the bastard apart if he tried to take the cake, he thought as he shrugged and moved aside, but not before he grabbed his son by the arm and yanked him back, leaving the pregnant Sentinel and deadly Alpha assassin to battle it out.

As much as he wanted to hate the Alpha, and he did, he couldn't overlook the fact that the shifter would never harm so much as a hair on Izzy's head and that he genuinely loved her children. The man would do anything for her and for that he respected the bastard, but that didn't mean that he was going to protect the dumb bastard if he was stupid enough to come between Izzy and something sweet.

"You know it's mine, woman. You were there when I ordered it," he bit out as he took a threatening step towards Izzy and the cake.

"Dad, do something," Marc whispered, shifting nervously by his side.

"You obviously didn't want it if you were willing to turn your back on it," Izzy pointed out as she took another big bite of the cake and made a show of savoring it.

"You play with fire, woman!" the shifter snapped as he reached over and swiped the fork out of Marc's hand. He stole a huge forkful of cake and shoved it in his mouth, all while glaring at Izzy.

Ephraim barely paid attention to the little showdown, one of hundreds when the shifter was in residence, as he focused on something else that demanded his attention.

"Son of a bitch!" he snapped, barely aware that the shifter cursed right along with him as he shoved another bite of cake into his mouth and moved to stand by his side as they waited impatiently for the elevator doors to open.

"Dad?"

"Stay in the elevator, boy," the shifter said, his voice laced with a growl.

"Go back up to your mother and make sure she's okay," Ephraim said softly to his son as he inwardly cursed the elevator to move its ass.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked, moving closer to the doors and giving them no choice but to make room for the woman.

"Nothing that's going to keep you from marching your ass back upstairs and getting me another cake," the shifter said, further confirming his suspicions that the Alpha cared about her.

Izzy let out a long drawn out sigh as she shoved the cake in the shifter's hands. "Order your own cake and while you're at it, order me a strawberry shortcake with extra strawberries," she said as she waddled out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened and the sounds of fighting became crystal clear.

"Someone needs to spank her ass," Kale said as he turned and placed the cake in Marc's hands. "Order a cake for me, boy, and make sure to order your sister two large strawberry shortcakes," he said as they both rushed out of the elevator.