6. Luken
One year later
E verything about Iri just glows.
His smile never fades.
He’s simply stunning.
Beautiful.
He takes my breath away.
He’s sitting on the couch with a tablet in his hands, most likely grading schoolwork.
His bump is still small, but it’s obvious now.
He’s just under halfway through gestation, and I can’t keep my hands off him.
Part of that is simply biology.
Male breedables might as well be an entirely different species.
Everything about their pregnancies is different, complex, and sometimes simply strange.
Beginning with the fact that they last almost two years.
Twenty-one months is the average, but they can go anywhere from twenty to twenty-three months.
Their babies grow slowly, but unlike female breedable pregnancies, there’s almost no chance of miscarriage.
It takes a special set of circumstances to conceive.
It’s fucking rough and trying, not at all like the female breedables.
Females in nearly every species are designed by nature to carry young.
Male breedables are an accidental mutation in evolution.
By all accounts, it makes zero sense.
Their anatomy is fucking wild, too.
Not to mention, the only way to birth a child is by cesarean.
But they have an advantage, too.
They almost never miscarry.
It’s like the universe said ‘ I’m going to put every fucking hurdle in your way, but if you manage to conceive, it’s yours.
You worked hard for this moment, and I’m not going to take it away.
’ Miscarriages only happen when the growing baby isn’t nourished properly.
And by properly, we’re talking endless incoming breeder seed.
Yep, I need to fuck my man tirelessly and feed him my seed.
It’s not just the breedables’ biology that shifts when they conceive, but their partners do as well.
The fetus needs an excess amount of nutrition—that the breedables’ body can’t deliver on its own—to grow in an environment that isn’t truly designed to carry.
Thus, the breeders’ ‘ seed ’ adjusts to deliver more as well.
No more sperm, but now, ridiculously high levels of everything a fetus needs to grow healthy and strong.
That’s a lot of fucking and while it’s not a hardship on either of our parts, just to make sure I’m always in the mood, since evolution assured that my mate’s scent changes to something I can’t resist.
That’s why there’s a strong honey note to his sweet caramel now.
It’s his…
well, his perfume.
The thing that extinct omegas used to give off.
His specific perfume is what my body has determined is the ingredient for instant hard-ons.
There are days when I remain at a distance and simply admire him.
I made him mine.
Somehow, between the nectar I fed him and the pills he took from the apothecary, we managed the impossible.
If we never manage another one again, this one miracle baby means we can stay together for the rest of our lives.
It also means that we didn’t need to leave Alyra.
I’m happy.
Of course, I am.
Our families and our friends, our entire lives, are right here.
It means that we didn’t need to leave for our new pack.
So we didn’t.
It made the most sense for us to stay.
We know that we’re almost guaranteed to bring a male breedable into the world.
Alyra is the safest place to raise him.
There’s no chance that he’ll be stolen and sold on the dark market.
The conversation with our almost-pack in Imari was probably one of the most difficult I’ve ever had to have.
A piece of my heart broke when I told them we needed to stay.
Even though they fully agreed, it was hard.
Every time I think about it, and I do daily, I have a difficult time swallowing around the lump in my throat.
Every day, I’m a little more convinced that they’re our pack.
But this is the best place for Iri and the baby we’re bringing into the world.
Their safety needs to be our first, top, and most important priority.
The guys understood that.
They agreed.
They support us entirely.
They hurt as much as I do.
Iri looks up and meets my eyes.
His hand is resting on his stomach.
It makes my heart swell whenever I see his hand there.
“Come here, Daddy,” Iri says.
“Come feel our baby move around.”
I join him on the couch and place my hand where his had been.
He’s moving.
Not a lot, though.
Maybe shifting a little.
Stretching.
I rest my head against his and close my eyes.
“Want to breed me?” Iri asks, dropping a hand to my constantly hard dick.
Honestly, it’s a miracle that my knot ever deflates to let him up at this point.
I always ache.
“What kind of question is that?” I tease as I take his laptop and set it on the coffee table.
Grabbing his leg, I pull it out from under him, sending him sideways.
He laughs, arms flying out to catch himself.
I’d never let him get hurt.
We’re surrounded by a fluffy couch, so I know he’s safe.
Protected.
As all precious things should be.
Iri is only wearing a shirt.
That’s it.
I love how he doesn’t bother dressing when we’re home.
This man is always wet and ready for me, too.
Partly because I’m barely ever outside his body.
And second, because his body adjusts its chemistry to ensure that breeding is easy now.
I shove my sweats down to my knees and bring one of his legs up over my shoulder.
With cock in hand, I rub the head over his needy hole before gently pushing inside him.
His back arches.
A quiet, sexy whimper fills my ears, making me growl as I push in deeper.
My hand lands on his cock, hard, and pressed to his stomach.
I use the friction caused by my thrusts into him to rub his dick right there, while keeping my hand over his stomach.
Time to eat , I inwardly tell our baby.
Ew.
Okay, that’s not what happens.
Because it’s sexy time right now, I’m not even going to correct my mind with the biology that actually takes place.
It’s just not that.
Gross.
Right now, it’s all about pleasing my mate and filling him with my release.
Nothing else.
I kiss over the scar of my bite on his neck as I do nearly every single time I’m close enough to do so.
It’s difficult to say which day is the best of my entire life.
Sometimes, I say it’s the day we met.
It definitely stands out as a top contender.
But then again, it might be the day that all eight of those tests told us we’re pregnant, which led to my bite and finally claiming my mate after years of waiting.
Both days are the best.
There aren’t any others that matter.
Iri is dozing in my arms.
My cock fell out of him an hour ago, though not because it’s soft.
Because that tight little hole always closes up and pushes me out.
I swear, there’s a reset button I hit every time.
I softly brush his hair from his face and kiss his head.
He’s so fucking perfect.
The doorbell rings, interrupting our moment.
I huff.
I’m surprised when Iri jumps up, eyes wide.
“What’s—” I don’t get a chance to ask what’s wrong before he’s climbing over me and scrambling for the bedroom.
“Pull your pants up, Luken.”
Okay, weird.
I sit up and untangle my pants.
I’ve barely got them around my hips when Iri returns with pants on now.
He grabs my hand and yanks me toward the entryway.
“Iri—”
“I have something for you,” he says and shoves me to the door.
“Open the door.”
“Iri—”
“Just open the door, Luken!” he demands.
His cheeks are flushed, but he’s grinning.
“Hurry up. Don’t make them wait.”
I’m expecting our parents.
Did we make plans I forgot about?
Sighing, I turn to the door and pull it open.
My breath leaves my body in a whoosh .
Chills cover my skin, making every hair stand on end as I face Hakan, Rhydian, and Daunt.
In person.
Right in front of me.
Are they real?
Their faces are so familiar that I’m pretty sure I could conjure them up from my dreams if I tried.
I’ve memorized every line, every feature.
Iri gently shoves me, and while the push is little more than a suggestion, I stumble forward.
I’m enveloped in their arms, breathing them in for the very first time.
I can’t catch my breath.
What is happening right now?
How are they here?
Words refuse to form, though fuck knows I have only a million questions.
But the sentences break apart as I get lost in their embrace, their purrs, their scents.
I swear to fuck, I can feel them wrapping around my soul.
“I think he’s surprised,” Daunt says.
“I’m impressed you were able to keep this a secret so well,” Rhydian says.
“It was so hard,” Iri complains behind me.
I can hear his pout.
My skin prickles to pull him to my chest.
“Come here, Iri,” Rhydian says.
I feel Iri’s presence behind me and shift to look at him.
He’s got a huge, smug grin on his face as he watches me.
All proud and excited, though still flushed.
I reach for him, pulling him into the middle of our hug, and we form a little nest around him.
Iri sighs.
“Wow. You all smell so good. I was expecting to only tolerate you. Hey!” he laughs and squirms and…
I’m speechless.
It’s like Iri is familiar with them.
Comfortable with them.
How did this even happen?
“I’m going to need an explanation,” I say.
“On the porch, or can we go inside?” Iri asks.
Waiting another second for an explanation feels like a bit too much, but I concede that we can go in.
Into the living room, where we all pile on the couch together.
I want to look at their faces.
Feel them to make sure they’re real.
But I’m also so fucking happy to be in their arms with my sweet Iri tucked into my lap as they surround us.
“How are you here?” I ask.
“You were kind of a jerk to keep your plan a secret from me,” Iri accuses.
I know he’s teasing, but I feel the stab in my chest.
I was a jerk.
“I thought maybe I could do the same thing, but don’t ever expect something this epic again. I’ve been dying to tell you or tease you. I’ve been so good!”
“You have been,” Daunt croons, and I watch, mesmerized, as he gently strokes Iri’s hair and kisses the top of his head.
My Iri looks mighty fucking pleased, too.
The way he’s looking at me, all proud and satisfied, has me wanting to bite him all over again.
His haughty smile fades into something softer.
He reaches up, places his hand on my cheek.
“I could see how sad you were when you realized we didn’t need to leave.” I shake my head to correct him, but he doesn’t let me talk as he brings his fingers over my lips.
“I said that wrong. You were happy we didn’t need to leave, but you were kinda devastated that we were no longer going to be with the pack you found for us.”
“You could see that, huh?” I ask.
So much for keeping it to myself.
Iri leans forward to kiss me.
“I could feel it, Luken. That ache never left. It never lessened. It never healed. That absence grew every day. You found our pack, and just as much as you and I belong together, we also belong with them. So I stole your phone and hijacked their phone numbers and told them I’m shit at anything technical, but that they needed to get their asses in gear to come home to us.”
“Practically in those words, too,” Hakan says.
Iri nods.
“It took longer than we thought it would,” he admits.
“Apparently, it’s not easy to be allowed into Alyra.”
“I’d like to say that the hoops you jump through are fucking insane and out of control, but the truth is, it was very clear that every outrageous step they took to ensure we were who we said we were and that we had no tie to anyone intending the breedables harm is quite comforting,” Rhydian says.
“The wait gave us a lot of time to get to know Iri, though,” Hakan says.
“Something that we’ve struggled not to make obvious.”
“Does this mean… you’re staying?” I ask.
Iri grins again.
“Yes,” Daunt says.
“Forever.”
“We weren’t just missing our pack,” Iri says.
“Their pack was incomplete, too.”
I close my eyes, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me.
“You did a good job finding our pack, my breeder,” Iri murmurs against my lips.
“I can’t wait to make it all real and official and whatever. Forever is looking really good, don’t you think?”
My hand drops to his stomach, over where our growing little one is.
More hands follow mine, and soon, we’re all touching Iri.
Feeling the new life we created grow.
There aren’t enough words to express what I’m feeling, so I don’t answer.