Chapter 26 #2
I leave my tablet in the bathroom so that any messages don’t wake the children and sneak out of the room in search of the rest of Lila’s mates. I have the baby monitor and will know if the children start to wake.
I head to Echo’s nest first. If he and Maxsim aren’t with us and the children, then that’s usually where we will find them.
Sure enough, the two of them are snuggled up together in cat form, but Maxsim raises a lazy head and blinks at me when I approach.
He is no longer the snappy, snarly predator he used to be.
Bonding with Lila, and Echo having been bred, seems to have mellowed him completely.
He’s just a huge pussy cat at heart, and he adores our children.
He suffers the hair pulling and cat rides with grace and dignity.
“I just spoke to Lila, she wants us to bring the ship and meet them at Celestia. She is really distraught about being apart from all of us, and things on Rilu might not have gone as well as she hoped.” I’m guessing they got the flower because why else would we be meeting them at Celestia, but it’s everything else I want to know about.
This gets his attention, and his ears prick up and his tail starts to twitch with agitation. Echo opens his eyes and stretches, yawning widely as he does. He shifts, turning from cat to man cat, and then he jumps to his feet and puts his hands on his hips.
“Well, what are we waiting for? We can’t let our Lila be upset. Max and I will get all of the children’s stuff ready to transport to the ship while you wake the others.”
“Thank you, that would be great. Most of our stuff remained on the ship so it won’t take us long to pack our own gear. Once I’m done, I will come and swap so you and Maxsim can retrieve anything you want to bring with you.”
Max shifts into man cat form and stretches his arms high above him. I can’t help but look at the length of his muscular body, admiring it for its strength.
“Are the babies still sleeping?” Max asks, reaching for his loincloth and pulling it on before tossing Echo’s at him. Neither of them has concern for nudity, and I’m not complaining.
“Yes, on my bed. Here’s the monitor. Can you keep an ear out and grab them if they wake?
I will wake Cas and Link, and then place a call to Celestia to let them know we are on our way.
” I toss him the piece of equipment, which he easily snatches out of the air.
He then kisses Echo on the cheek and leaps up out of the nest to land next to me. Echo quickly follows.
“Find out why Lila is upset and get a name if we need to kill anyone,” Max instructs me casually before grabbing his omega by the hand and leading him off to complete their tasks.
I follow them out, chuckling. How is it that we both had the same kind of idea?
I won’t tell them that it’s Silac and Tirrian yet.
I don’t want to cause conflict in case things change on their way to Celestia.
It’s two days for us, which makes it about seven for Lila’s group. Lots can change in seven days.
I turn in the opposite direction of the cats and knock on Link’s door.
When he calls, “Come in,” I’m surprised to find him sitting up in bed with a book in hand and Caspian lying next to him, fast asleep, with his tentacles wrapped around Link’s legs.
Link motions for me to be quiet then gestures for me to come over to his side of the bed.
“Cas is missing Lila fiercely and didn’t want to be alone,” he explains as I sit down on the edge of the bed. “He gradually wrapped his tentacles around me in his sleep.” Link doesn’t seem concerned, he just smiles affectionately down at the sleeping shifter.
“You don’t need much sleep either, do you?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.
“No, I don’t. I can keep going for days without sleep, and I thought it was more important that he get some.”
“Okay, but Lila called, and she wants us to pack everything up and meet them at Celestia. She misses us all dreadfully, and it seemed to me like her emotions are all over the place again.”
Link frowns and puts his book down. “Yes, Oshan said they would be until she had a full harem, but when she left, she seemed a lot better.”
“It might not hurt for you to do regular checkups with her just to stay on top of it all, and I think maybe the trip didn’t go to plan. She mentioned something about Silac and Tirrian.”
“I bet that dragon has done something to upset her. He’s like the proverbial bully, pulling her hair to get the pretty girl’s attention. Does the dragon king have other sons in case his oldest suddenly went missing?”
I snort a chuckle of amusement. Looks like the cyborg is as bloodthirsty as the rest of Lila’s mates.
“Let’s leave that as a last resort. I’m going to call Celestia and let them know we are coming. Can you get Cas and yourselves organized? The cats have the kids for now.”
Caspian groans and rolls over. Instead of unwrapping his tentacles, he just wraps his arms around Link’s waist and buries his face into his stomach.
“I need to call my brother and let him know what is happening. He can redirect his transport to Celestia and meet us there too, and someone needs to let Broderick and Magenta know we are leaving.”
“Magenta can join us once the circus resumes. There are things we need to do before that happens. Lila mentioned her grandmother.” That finally has Caspian turning his head from Link’s stomach and opening his eyes.
“Her grandmother? Whoa, okay, but tell Magenta anyway. We do not want to be on her bad side if she feels left out. We can recall the rest of the performers once the Adams are ready to continue the show, but if their wife is alive, that may be a little longer.”
Link runs his hand through Caspian’s hair, and the shifter closes his eyes again, enjoying the feeling. I don’t even think the two of them realize that they are being so affectionate with one another.
“Fine, I’ll call the captain and Magenta as soon as I’m done with the call to Celestia. Let’s aim to leave as soon as we can, okay?”
I’m impatient to see my wife, and with the way the two others scramble into action, untangling themselves, I would say they are too. I leave them to finish their own organization. Whistling under my breath, I move to the office to make the necessary calls. Today is going to be great.
Yesterday, I received a call from my aunt, telling me that my old clan had returned to Vilax and requested mediation.
She said I had to present myself in person so the council could make their rulings.
I assured her I would get there as soon as I could.
Of course, with so many other things that need to happen right now, that could be a little longer than they think.
I’m ecstatic about it really. Let those bitches wait.