Chapter Twenty-Nine
Eric’s fixation with learning about my dragon’s withdrawal was amusing at first, but as the months continued to pass, it got a little old.
He’d conferred with Brandt, of course, and had buried himself in books when Brandt had reminded him that Rex’s puma had needed a traumatic event to coax him out from wherever he’d been stuck.
“There is no way to test any of your theories, little brother,” Brandt told him one afternoon, when we were all gathering before one of the monthly pack runs.
“And, truly, it seems to me that these situations are caused by a deep disconnect between our secondary designation and our human forms. There is no way to replicate that, nor should we want to.”
The clinic was closed for the afternoon, the weather too nice for even Eric to stay stuffed inside, though he had already volunteered to stay behind during the pack run in case anyone needed medical assistance over the course of the evening.
We were sprawled out on the grass in the field behind the little cottage, watching Brandt and Micah’s daughters toddling around while their boys experimented with attempts to crawl.
Not far from where we sat, Beckett and Ollie were keeping sharp eyes on their twins, who were at an age where their first spontaneous shifts might happen at any time.
The little hellraisers had calmed some over the course of the past year, but were still quite precocious, and we all assumed that they’d only be harder to manage once they took to their fur for the first time.
“I don’t want to replicate it,” Eric huffed with noticeable agitation, scowling at his brother, “but if it does happen to someone else, I want to know how to help them recover from it.” He rolled his shoulders. “Just the idea of not being able to shift…blergh. It’s unnatural.”
Sage shuddered as well, sprawled as he was with his head in my lap, his long legs stretched out over the grass to my side.
I reached down to rub his belly, idly smiling at the insistent tapping coming from within.
Actually, it was less tapping and more a bid for freedom, at that point, with the little limbs pushing against the confines of Sage’s abdomen, stretching and contorting the flesh into funny shapes.
“It wasn’t fun,” I acknowledged lightly, having come to terms with my ordeal over the months spent discussing it at length. “But once I gave in and admitted my omega was right —once I truly accepted that I wanted Sage and resolved to mend our relationship— he came back to me.”
Eric didn’t seem at all appeased. Screwing up his nose, he said, “But that means we’re at the whims of our inner designations,” he muttered. “Shouldn’t we be allowed to have free will?”
“You think I didn’t want Sage as badly as my omega did?” Stroking at my mate’s belly and our son kicking within him, I chuckled bitterly. “I did. Our inner beasts only ever want what is best for us, even when our human brains are being stubborn, Eric. But I was an ass, and I paid the price for it.”
“With how much you sound like him, I think you’ve been spending way too much time with that alpha of yours,” he complained, then cocked his head. “When does he get back again?”
“Tomorrow,” Sage answered before I could. He was still a bit pouty that Serge and I had outvoted him on his demand to travel while heavily pregnant. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he glared up at me. “Still think you should have let me eat that evil little furball.”
A few feet away, separated from us by a dark-haired infant currently rocking back and forth on hands and knees, Brandt snorted. “Careful, Sage. You are beginning to sound like me.”
“Gods forbid,” Sage snarked back at him.
“Besides,” I coaxed, “you like Jamie.”
“I liked him before he stole our alpha away.”
Ah, a mood swing. How delightful.
Knowing better than to call him out on it —because I preferred not being singed to a crisp— I opted for a gentler approach. “Serge is upholding the promise to help bring back alphas in Europe, darling, which is why he agreed to travel back with him temporarily.”
Jamie had stayed in Shifters Sanctuary for a few months, volunteering to help Eric, Brandt and Serge collating their research before taking it home to his contacts in Europe.
Serge had gone with him to instruct their mages on the spell-wielding portion of the process.
Sage had not been impressed, and he was content to project his discontent on Jamie.
Selfish as it was, I preferred that over bearing the brunt of his frustration myself.
Besides, I didn’t particularly love the idea of another omega spending time with our alpha, no matter how much I trusted Sergio or our bond. But I wasn’t telling Sage that.
Instead, I squeezed my mate's thigh. “You know that's why he left. Think of all the omegas over there who only want to experience the same kind of joy as us.” I rubbed over the gravid bulge containing our son again for emphasis, earning myself a flurry of kicks in reward.
Sage grimaced, obviously not enjoying the sensation as much as I did. “You’re carrying the next bundle of joy,” he complained, and I kept my expression as blank as I possibly could.
There was still no way in hell I would volunteer to go through any of what I had witnessed Sage experiencing over the past months.
“Let’s see if you’re still saying that the next time you’re riding Serge’s knot.”
“Dex,” Micah groaned, leaning forward to cover Belle’s ears and abandoning the pretty braid he’d been weaving in her thick, brown hair, “there are children present.”
“They’re not paying any attention,” I waved him off with a smirk. “Besides, they might as well learn about the birds and the bees early on, considering how determined the pair of you are to repopulate the unicorns and dragons single handedly.”
Eric’s eyes widened and he looked to Brandt in horror. “You’re not—”
“No,” Brandt rolled his eyes. “Not yet, anyhow. But,” he shared a soft smile with his mate, “we are not not trying…”
“Where do you even find the time?” Eric sassed back, then shook his head, holding a palm out to prevent hearing the answer. “Rhetorical question,” he insisted.
“Anyway,” Micah cut back in, shooting me an exasperated look, “ix-nay on the ot-nays around the little ears, please.”
“You’re such a helicopter parent,” I teased him.
“Like we’re not all placing bets on you being worse,” Damon’s voice trilled from behind me, and I bit back a retort which I knew would raise his hackles. We were still working on being amicable.
Turning slightly, I offered him a small smile. “I never said I wouldn’t be.”
Damon released his son’s hand and watched as the kid raced across the field to where Ollie and Beck were still wrangling their twins before he turned his attention back to me, then down at Sage. “Well,” he spoke carefully, “it won’t be long now, will it?”
“Any time now,” Sage agreed, then scowled. “Which is why we should have eaten Jamie while we had the chance.”
Damon hesitated mid-way through sitting down, surprise and confusion splashed across his pretty face.
I mouthed the words ‘mood swings’ at him.
Understanding dawning, he allowed himself to sit down by Sage’s feet and patted one of Sage’s shins. “Yeah, never trust a squirrel, huh?”
“That is such a cat thing to say,” I spoke without thinking, then cringed and offered him a sheepish smile at his incredulous look.
Sage giggled at our exchange, making my heart squeeze the way it always did when he sounded truly happy. “I mean,” he mused, “it kind of is.”
“Et tu, Sage?” Damon clutched at his chest, feigning pain. It only made Sage laugh more.
I supposed the kitty wasn’t quite so bad if he made my mate so happy.
“So, are you shifting tonight?” Damon asked, “Or are you staying at Beck and Ollie’s place during the run?”
It had become the done thing for the most vulnerable members of the pack —those too frail, or young, or pregnant to shift— to congregate at the Alpha’s house with a couple of the other alphas and betas keeping an eye on them while the rest of the pack shifted and ran through the forestry bordering the town.
There was a neighborhood watch which patrolled the town on a rotating roster as well, just for added measure.
There hadn’t been any attacks on the pack in years, but these traditions continued anyway, more for morale’s sake than for safety.
“I’m going to hang out with Ollie and the kids,” Sage answered, “but Dex is going to join the pack.”
I frowned. “Since when?”
“Since this will be your last chance to do it for a few months,” he said glibly, patting his belly. “Junior’s gonna be here by the next one, and you and Serge can watch him while I enjoy a proper run.”
The thought of our son being a real, living being outside of my mate’s body filled me with excitement and nerves.
Still, I smiled my easy acceptance and nodded.
“That seems more than fair, darling, but I still don’t like the idea of leaving you alone when you could go into labor at any given moment. ”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll be with Ollie and some of the new alphas. Besides,” he sniffed dismissively, “he’s not going to make his appearance tonight. Serge said The Magic was happy for him to travel, and it wouldn’t keep us separated like that if I was going to go into labor while he was gone.”
Some part of me thought that my mates were putting far too much stock in what sounded like a hunch, but I kept those thoughts to myself.
I did trust my alpha’s instincts, usually, and if he was comfortable not being here until tomorrow, I would be comfortable going on a pack run for the night.
After all, I rarely ever turned down an opportunity to shift and to fly.
After a century without the abilities, I still relished every chance I got.
“All right,” I agreed, “but I will remain close, and you must promise to reach out through the bond if you feel even slightly unwell.”