Interlude

Chapter 7

Lila

Ifinish up my dinner and get a big piece of pecan pie with whipped cream to round it off, as well as coffee after I finish my Relaxious. I haven’t been missing coffee, but I had a sudden craving for it. I think it’s probably a comfort thing. I would go to a late night diner not far from my bar job and have this exact thing quite often after work. Maybe I’m just craving a reminder of when life was a lot simpler—boring but simpler.

Once I’m done, I slide all the dishes into the dishwasher and turn it on. We’re practically using it daily, sometimes twice a day, with how many people are in our family. Maybe I should have had them put in two. Turning off the overhead light, I retreat to the bedroom area. I’m still only wrapped in my robe, and my feet are bare, but I’m going into the cats’ domain. They still have a den-like bedroom, and although this one doesn’t have snow-covered tundra to cross, it will be considerably colder, and I’m not exactly dressed for it.

I could shift, but I’m reluctant to because I want to save all the power I just absorbed until I need it. I don’t know how long I’m going to have to hold my earth elemental form for, and there won’t be time or an opportunity for a quickie. I consider returning to my room to grab some shoes, but I’m exhausted, so I decide that I’m just going to be quick. Once I get to the nest, Echo’s and Maxsim’s body heat will be enough for me. I get to their door and press my hand against the sensor. It slides open, and a rush of cold air hits me, causing goosebumps to erupt all over my skin.

“Shit, it’s cold,” I mutter, regretting my laziness. The lights are dimmed, but I know their nest is on the far side of the room, with a small living area in front of it so they can hang out in the subarctic temperatures when they need to. I step in, and the door closes behind me, my teeth start chattering as I navigate the room. I bash my hip against something and grumble, rubbing the spot.

“Lila.” Maxsim suddenly appears in front of me, and I squeal in fright.

“Fuck, you move so stealthily,” I tell him to make up for my moment of shock. He smiles, but I can see concern in his eyes when he looks down at where I’m rubbing my hip.

“Did you get hurt? Why didn’t you turn the light on?” he asks as he leads me through the rest of the furniture to the sunken nest bed. The light is even dimmer back here, but my eyes suddenly adjust, and I can see Echo curled up amongst all the soft furnishings.

“I’m okay, but I think my eyes just shifted,” I say and glance around. Sure enough, I can see everything clearly now, but as my body shakes with a shiver, I realize that it was just my eyes.

Maxsim swoops me into his arms and jumps down into the nest. His fur already chases away some of the chill, but once he lowers me down and Echo snuggles in, being cold is a thing of the past.

Echo nuzzles my cheek as Maxsim snuggles into my back. “Hello, pretty mate. You smell like you’ve been well taken care of.” Echo’s eyes sparkle with interest as he takes a deep breath in through his nose. “Very well taken care of.” His tongue flicks out and swipes up my neck, and I wrinkle my nose.

Maxsim reaches for the belt of my robe and strips it off, leaving me completely naked. The two of them crowd closer until I’m completely surrounded by their bodies, and then Echo reaches for the blankets and pulls them up. Before long, I’m toasty warm, and I jolt in surprise when I realize I’m purring with pleasure despite not having shifted.

“Why aren’t you changing?” Maxsim grumbles in my ear.

“I need to conserve my power for our trip tomorrow. I will only have Xavier if I need to refuel,” I remind him.

His arm tightens around my waist. “I don’t like it,” he murmurs, and I smile at his concern.

“I know. It isn’t ideal, but I’m hoping it won’t take too long.”

“Make sure you use the dragon if you need him. It’s about time he pulled his head out of his ass and properly joined this family,” Maxsim replies, and Echo’s eyebrows jump in surprise.

“Really?” I can hear the disbelief in his voice, and I share it. Maxsim is usually pretty damn possessive, so I would have thought the alpha in him would have balked at the alpha vibes Tirrian puts out.

He sighs heavily. “I am aware that this family is going to continue to grow due to Lila’s mimic nature. How can I be angry at something she can’t control? That would be supremely unfair. Does this mean I will sometimes need you all to ourselves? Yes, but I can see the benefit in having all these powerful men to protect my omegas and our young.”

“That’s very mature of you.” Echo leans over me and gives his alpha a quick kiss. “I’m proud of you,” he says, and I watch as they nuzzle each other’s noses, and I smile. Echo nuzzles mine next before he pulls back, and I give him a kiss. Now that I’m warm and surrounded by them, I feel my eyes grow heavy. “Sleep, our pretty mate. You need your rest so you can rescue the Adams brothers’ wife tomorrow. Don’t worry about anything here on the ship. We will take care of the babies.”

I reach out and press a hand against his stomach. There is a tiny pooch developing there. “How are you feeling?” I ask him, and he smiles.

“Really good.”

“I went and saw Nikos earlier,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Yes, I can smell him on you.”

“Can you maybe get together with him and ask him what kind of things we are going to need for his babies? I know he births them in the water, but I’m not sure how long they stay there, or when they are going to shift, and how old they are when they are born. All of the really important stuff. Also, order it all so that when it’s time for them to leave the water, they’ll have a place here in our home.”

“Of course I can. I’m glad the two of you sorted everything out and that he is starting to feel better. I will be happy to help welcome him and our new babies to our family. The room next to the pool is still available. We left it because we thought he would end up as your mate. There is a door between the two rooms. I’ll make sure we order two more children’s beds and have them delivered to Fluxx. That’s where we are going next, right? To rescue Silac’s family?”

“Just have the warlock conjure them,” Maxsim rumbles, adding his two cents.

Echo rolls his eyes and sighs. “Expecting parents like to have input. Nikos may like to decide what he wants for his babies.”

I feel a pang of guilt, and I can’t hide my wince from Echo. “I’m failing at parenting 101.”

He shakes his head. “No, Lila, you aren’t. We know you have a lot of responsibilities. Maybe on the trip back to Fluxx, we can all sit down together and browse some catalogs. Despite Xavier’s spell, our kids will grow quickly, so we need to order more clothes for the kraken babies. You can help with that.”

“Okay, yeah, that sounds good.”

“You know what we do need?” Maxsim says. “A large play area for them. They need to be able to run off their energy.”

“Will our kittens have trouble with warmer temperatures?” I ask, thinking we could create a big ball pit with a playground for them on one of the levels. I’m sure there is space somewhere to accommodate it.

“I don’t know. Having some of your genes may make them more tolerant. Our bodies do adjust to normal temps, it’s just any excessive heat or humidity where we feel drained and sluggish.” Echo shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out once they are here.”

“Enough talk. Sleep now, and all of this can be dealt with later.” I hear the finality in his tone. Our alpha has spoken, and we must obey. I’m incredibly tempted to be a brat and disobey, but I am exhausted, and when they both start purring, I drift off.

The next morning, I’m up bright and early, even before both of my lazy kitty cats. Echo groans as I move and rolls over. I giggle and give him a kiss. I remember how exhausting it was growing new life-forms. Maxsim scoops me into his arms and leaps out of the nest with me, so I don’t have to shift to do it. Now that I am no longer pregnant and have my vampire genetics, I can make the leap on my own, but I think he likes to feel needed, so I don’t complain. I love any excuse to be in his arms.

“Be safe,” he tells me, giving me a kiss as he wraps my robe around my body and ties the belt. He’s not unaffected by my naked body, but he also knows I don’t have time to play knot the omega. I’m sure Echo will benefit from it though.

“I will. Go make Echo’s morning a very good one.” I nod down at his erect cock, and he smirks.

“Oh, I plan on it.” He kisses me before turning me around and slapping my ass. I squeak and glare at him, but I don’t hang around because it’s freezing, and I’m still not wearing a lot.

I leave them with a pang of longing, but I need blood, and I know my vampire will take care of all my needs. I just have to find him. I head out into the living area and find Cas, Link, Xavier, and all three of our babies.

“Mama!” Cally catches sight of me and holds her hands up. She is strapped into her high chair and is having what looks like purple pancakes for breakfast. I go over and pick her up, smothering kisses all over her little body. She grabs my cheeks and returns my kisses. Yup, whatever she’s eating is very sticky, and I am now wearing some of it.

“My turn,” Jack demands as I place her back in her seat.

“No, my turn!” Cordy shouts, picking up her sippy cup and lobbing it at her brother. I gape in shock, too surprised to do anything, but thankfully Xavier’s reactions are on point, and it freezes midair.

He drifts it back to her tray. “Cordelia, that was not very nice,” he scolds her, and she pouts, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

I pick Jack up and give him his cuddles while watching what’s happening out of the corner of my eye.

“We don’t throw things at people. Use your words.”

“Jack, you are a bum head,” Cordy says and sticks her tongue out at her brother. He just laughs and claps his hands as I set him back down.

“Wow, what’s happening here?” I ask, looking at my three mates for some answers.

“I think Cordy climbed out of the wrong side of the bed today,” Link says, sighing. “I think maybe she should go back to bed.”

I go over to my third child and look down at her. She’s still glaring at both Jack and Xavier. I see dark circles under her eyes. “Are you sure that’s all?” I ask, picking her up, and she snuggles into my side, wrapping her little arms around my neck.

She starts to cry, and I’m shocked. I don’t think I’ve really seen any of them cry, except for a few tantrums. They are the most even-natured cheerful children.

“Can we do a scan of her and check? I’m worried that with all my changes while I was pregnant I may have damaged them. What if this is a result of that?” I ask, and I can see Link purses his lips in thought, but it’s Caspian who answers. He comes over and wraps his arms around me so he’s snuggling both of us.

“I’m sure they are fine, baby. Stop worrying about them.”

“She might be onto something,” Link says, and I think my heart skips a beat.

“Fuck.” I can’t stop the swear word from leaving my mouth, and I wince when I hear Jack shout, “Fuck, fuckity fuck.”

“Good job, Lila,” Xavier rolls his eyes, but I can see him trying to smother a grin.

“Are they getting blood?” Before they shifted, they were getting it in the form of the fish they would catch to eat, but they aren’t eating like that anymore.

“Yes, they do when we swim,” Cas replies.

“But not as much as they were. A Vilaxian baby gets its blood from its mothers milk when they are breast fed, and then they get it in their drinks until their fangs grow in at the age of five,” Link explains.

“They don’t get fangs until they are five?” I ask.

“No, because could you imagine a bunch of fangy, grumpy toddlers running around?” It’s Saxon who answers, and when I look up, he’s standing in the doorway of the suite. He looks tired. He must have spent all night on the flight deck, relieving Bubby.

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun,” Xavier agrees as the door closes behind Saxon, and he joins us in the kitchen.

“Put a little bit of Lila’s blood in their bottles today. It won’t hurt them,” he suggests, taking Cordelia out of my arms. “Is daddy’s little girl grumpy?” he asks, rubbing his cheek against hers, and she and I both melt.

She mutters something incoherently as she snuggles into his arms. I pull out of Cas’s embrace, go over to the fridge, and pull out three already prepared bottles. I also grab a bag of my blood and proceed to divide it between the three bottles. “Is that enough?” I ask Saxon, and he nods.

Cas nods in agreement. “Yeah, that’s good. It shouldn’t hurt them. They are shifters, and shifters don’t mind a bit of blood.”

I put the bottles in the microwave to warm them slightly. It has a bottle setting, so it never gets too hot. Once done, I hand them out to my three toddlers, each of them reaching for one.

“They might be having a growth spurt. Don’t be surprised if they are sleepy after their bottles,” Saxon warns. “Or at least that’s what happens with our children.”

Link nods, and I can see him making notes on his arm screen. “This is all very helpful. Thank you, Saxon.”

“As long as they are not suddenly teenagers when I return. Then I’m going to cry,” I warn them, and Saxon chuckles.

“They won’t be teenagers, I promise,” he says as we watch the three of them guzzle their bottles. It’s like an instant fix. The dark circles under Cordy’s eyes disappear, and her skin starts to shine ever so slightly like Saxon’s does.

“Well, I guess these three did end up with some of your DNA in the change.” Cas slaps Saxon on the shoulder, no jealousy in his tone.

“Oh my god, it’s just one more thing we have to worry about—blood sources for them. What do children do for blood?” I ask him, not sure if it had been discussed or not.

“Exactly what you just did, and when their fangs come in, we teach them to bite. They don’t get venom until they are older though,” he explains.

“But who do they bite?”

“People in their clan. That’s why we have them. Everyone supports one another. They only need to feed once or twice a week until they hit maturity. That’s when it kicks into overdrive, the venom starts to work, and they feed daily. By then, they have usually started to establish their own clans. It’s part of their schooling. With the kids being predominantly shifters, though, they probably won’t need to feed every day, and clans really won’t be possible here in the circus.”

“Ah, let’s not count our chickens before they are hatched,” Link warns. “I’m certain these three are going to have unexpected traits. The other babies will probably have them too, since Lila’s eggs were fertilized.”

“Our kids aren’t going to have any friends except for each other, but they are all blood relatives, so when they get to the age to start looking for mates, clans, streaks, and possible family groups, they are going to leave us,” I wail, knowing this isn’t going to be the usual eighteen or so years like it is on Earth.

“Well, maybe we need to start employing acts that are made up of families. We could add a school as well as a playground. Let’s face it, there’s still a lot of space on this ship that isn’t needed,” Cas points out, going over to Cally and taking her bottle out of her hand before she drops it. Her eyes drifted closed three quarters of the way through it, and she’s out like a light. Jack is fighting it, but both he and Cordy look sleepy too.

“Don’t forget there’s also the academy,” Xavier says, taking a sip of his mug. He’s taken to drinking coffee just like I do.

“The academy?” I seem to be the only one in the room who doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.

“There is an elite school located on the planet Vizzar that fosters intergalactic and interspecies relationships. I attended,” Xavier explains. “A lot of royal families and upper echelon send their children there to learn to be diplomats.”

“As did I, but obviously a lot earlier than Xavier,” Saxon says, reminding me of the fact he’s a lot older than I am

“What about you two?” I ask Link and Cas.

Cas shakes his head. “No, I did my schooling on Fluxx with the rest of my family.”

“I attended the academy for a year, before my mother decided to drag me home saying that the education wasn’t up to her standards,” Link says with a frown.

“Tirrian and Nikos both did too. Tirrian was in my year, that’s how I know him, and Nikos and Nixie were a year or two behind us, but they didn’t attend for long either.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Their father was an asshole. So at least there are options, but I hate the idea of them going away to school. I guess they will all be close in age, though, and have each other to lean on.” I feel a pang of sadness at the thought that they will grow up too soon for my liking.

“How about we take these ones and put them to bed and then go have a discussion with your grandpas about it? I’m sure they could use the distraction while they wait for you to return,” Link suggests. “You three go top off your power levels, and then Brannock will be waiting at the teleporter at eight. The harvester call-up is at nine. It will give you a chance to get a lay of the land.”

“And take out any of the competition,” Xavier says gleefully, rubbing his hands together. Trust him to be happy with the idea of maiming and killing.

I look at the clock on the wall, and it’s only seven. I have time to drink from Saxon and take a shower before we need to leave.

“Okay.” I give my babies kisses on their soft little heads before Link and Cas take them to bed. Their care quite often falls to both of them, but neither seem to mind. I’m sure Maxsim and Echo will be here soon enough to relieve them, and they’ll probably take them to see my grandpas when they wake up. The three of them will keep them suitably distracted while they wait.

“Love you all.” I wave as they disappear, and I’m just left with Saxon and Xavier.

“Hungry?” Saxon asks, scooping me up in a flash.

“Very,” I tell him, my core starting to throb as my fangs drop down.

“Let’s go fix that then,” he says before raising an eyebrow at Xavier. “You coming?”

“Not yet,” is his reply.