He had been born into Osamu’s clan and lived there his entire life until he ran away with his cubs. He had never felt a connection to Osamu or his birth clan like he felt with Zhuang and Tao since the bonding ceremony, and he didn’t understand that either.
Hell, he didn’t understand any of this. His life felt as if he were lost in crashing waves during a tsunami. Just when he thought he was going up, he went down. Once he got a handle on going down, he was flipped around and shot back up again.
Xias readjusted the baby sling Zhuang had insisted they stop and get for the cubs. He carried Bai in his sling, and Zhuang carried the girls in another sling strapped to his own chest. It was actually a great idea and made carrying the cubs much easier.
“They can’t take the cubs from us, can they?” That was Xias’s biggest fear—that they would take his cubs and give them to Osamu or some stranger. He would prefer a stranger over Osamu. At least then, the cubs might have half a chance.
“No, Xias. The cubs belong to you.” Zhuang spoke with such conviction. Xias just wished he could believe him.
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when they reached the guards at the door and the two men merely reached over and pulled the double doors open. He really hadn’t thought he would be let inside the massive mansion.
And the inside was just as foreboding as the outside. Dark paneled walls lined the entrance. Gray marble flooring stretched from the entrance down the entire length of the large room. Xias didn’t know who had painted the paintings hanging on the wall, but he was pretty sure they were older than he was.
He blinked when a man in a dark suit appeared in front of them as if he had walked right out of nothing. He was very…stiff.
“How may I be of service?” the man asked.
“Please tell Elder Shen that his son is here to see him.”
The man gave an empirical nod before walking away.
“Who was that?” Xias asked.
“The butler.”
“Your father has a butler?”
Zhuang chuckled. “He’s assigned to the council estate. He doesn’t belong to my father.”
Xias felt his cheeks heat. How was he supposed to know something like that? He’d never even seen a butler before. He was actually a little surprised Osamu didn’t have one. The man liked the finer things in life.
“Please come this way.”
Xias jerked when the butler reappeared as if walking out of nothing. How did he do that? Was it something all butlers did or just shifter butlers? It was creepy as hell and made Xias’s skin crawl, which was probably why the guy did it.
Zhuang’s arm wrapped around him. “It’s okay, Xias.”
Xias wasn’t so sure about that. The knot in his stomach was tightening. Even sandwiched between Zhuang and Tao, he didn’t feel safe. He just knew any minute now someone was going to tell him he didn’t belong here. They were going to take his cubs away and banish him.
Xias blinked up at Zhuang when the man pulled him to a stop. Zhuang grabbed his face and leaned in close. “Breathe, baby.”
Xias drew in a deep breath.
“And now another one.”
Xias did it again and then again. Some of the tension faded from his shoulders on the third deep breath.
“Do you want to leave?” Zhuang asked.
Xias sucked in his bottom lip, the anxiety welling up inside of him almost more than he could handle. “What if they take the cubs away?”
“You’re an omega, which means your cubs belong to you. They won’t take them from you. I promise.”
Xias clutched at Zhuang’s thick arms. “How can you promise that? You said these people are the ones who make the rules all shifters have to live by. What if they decide to make a rule saying I can’t have them?”
Zhuang’s lips thinned for a moment before he spoke again. “If they make a rule that says you can’t have your cubs, or they try and take them from us, we’ll simply leave.”
Xias reared back. “You’d do that?”
