Xias giggled. He slapped a hand over his mouth. He had so not meant to make that sound. In fact, he’d be thrilled if he never made it again.
Who giggled?
“I’m going to go check the storm,” Zhuang said as he stood. “I want to get going as soon as possible. The faster we get you to council headquarters, the safer you and the cubs will be.”
Xias nodded, even though he was loath to give up having the man’s arms wrapped around him. It was the first time in a long time, maybe forever, that he had felt safe. But he also knew he had a duty to his cubs to keep them safe.
“I want you to remember something,” Zhuang said. He tapped the side of his head. “I can hear you up here. All true mates have the ability to speak to each other through their bond. If you have any problems, even if you get scared and just need someone to talk to, I can hear you. Okay?”
Too stunned to say anything, Xias just nodded.
“Can you hear me?”
Xias’s eyes rounded as he nodded again. He had heard Zhuang loud as day, but the man’s lips hadn’t moved once. “I can talk to my cubs like this.”
Zhuang smiled. “You’re their parent. All parents can talk to their cubs in this manner. They stay in cub form until they’re around two years old. It’s the only way you can really communicate with them.”
Xias had a sudden horrible thought. “Can my alpha talk to them like this?”
Zhuang shook his head. “Only the birth parent can. You gave birth to them. You have a special bond with them that no one else does. Their sire can’t communicate with them until they shift for the first time.”
Xias grew woozy when the blood drained from his face.
“No, no.” Zhuang was right there to grab him. “That didn’t come out right. Their alpha, whoever that might be at the time, can communicate with them once they shift for the first time and become full shifters. There’s no reason to think it will be your former alpha.”
“But if he’s not their alpha, they’ll be deemed rogue and they’ll be hunted down and killed.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure they have an alpha by then.”
“Who, though?” Xias could feel his panic taking hold as fear for his cubs swamped him. “I don’t know of any other alphas.”
“But you do, mate.” Zhuang had a small smile on his face as he caressed Xias’s cheek. “Me.”
“You have your own clan?”
Zhuang sighed. “I guess I do now.”
“I’m sorry.”
Zhuang’s smile wasn’t forced, but it didn’t seem happy either. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, mate. I always knew this could happen. Hell, my father has been trying for years to get me to step up to the plate and form my own clan. He’ll be thrilled.”
Xias frowned. “Can you do that? Just decide to form a clan and have it be so?”
“There’s a little more to it, and a whole hell of a lot of paperwork, but yeah. I’m an alpha. I have the right to lead my own clan. All alphas do. We just need clan members to lead.”
“I’ll be your clan. I mean, me and the cubs. We can be a clan for you.”
“That’s the plan, mate.” Zhuang nodded behind Xias. “Go make sure they’re ready to go. If the weather’s cleared, I want to head out. We really need to get to council headquarters. I don’t like the idea of anyone having a prior claim over you.”
Xias was all for that. He’d like to leave his alpha in the past like a bad memory. The man was a monster and Xias wanted nothing to do with him.
Xias swallowed tightly when Zhuang shifted and padded out of the cave. He hadn’t realized until the man was gone just how cold he was, and scared. He hated feeling scared, but he was so used to it, he often wondered if there was any other way to feel.
He walked over to the corner where he’d hidden his cubs and gently stroked his hand over each of them. Even in furry form, they were the most precious things he’d ever seen. He’d loved them from the moment he knew he carried them. That would never change, and he didn’t care if they were boys or girls or whatever. They were his.
He gave each of them a gentle shake. “Time to wake up, babies.”
The yawning and stretching was adorable. Xias wished he had more time to let them rest. The last twenty-four hours had been exhausting for all of them, and it wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Xias prayed for the day when his babies could just play and sleep and be cubs.
