“Congratulations, Your sons are quite beautiful,” Remy said.
Logan wrapped his arms around Kieran and whispered to him, “Good job, babe!”
“I should examine them,” Dr. Luna announced, “since Ian is going to expect a full report, especially when he finds out they’re a new species of shifters, but that can wait until after their naps.”
“What do you mean, ‘new species’?” asked Remy.
“The boys have the body of a sea serpent but the wings and feet of a sea dragon.”
“A hybrid!” exclaimed Remy.
“Yes…I suppose that’s correct,” Dr. Luna said. “But it remains to be seen how much of each father is in them. For instance, we have already seen they can fly but what else will they be able to do…I don’t know that yet.”
“When will we find out?” asked Reif.
“I can’t answer that…only time can,” the doctor replied.
Looking at Brian, Reif found the same fear he was feeling reflected in his mate’s eyes. After what happened to him and his people, Reif was only too aware of what could happen to his sons if the word got out about them and their abilities. Now, he finally understood why the Shaman had begged them to move to the Blackwood Pack. It was a topic he and Brian would have to discuss again in the near future, but for now…
“We should put them down in their bed,” Reif murmured, moving slowly to the round stuffed cushion under the heat lamp. “Shaman, would you take Tobias?”
“Right!” exclaimed Kieran, hurrying over to Reif and scooping Tobias into his arms. “Come to Uncle Ki…you pretty little baby.”
After settling Julius in the center of a heated, padded cushion, Reif walked back to Brian and took Lukas, putting him next to his brother before turning to get Tobias.
Walking over slowly to his mate, Brian carefully held Georgios and Christos against his chest, softly crooning an old Scottish lullaby to them. After they were placed with his other sons, Brian stared down at the sleeping babies, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Less than a year ago, he had finally become reconciled to spending the rest of his life alone, but now he had a mate and five sons…“Nessies,” he uttered. “They are Nessies…nae anything else.”
Pulling his mate close to him, Reif murmured, “I agree, my mate…our sons are Nessies.” Then, shifting his gaze to the doctor, he added, “I don’t want you writing any of this down…not for the record, or for Ian. Nor do I want you reporting it to the High Council…no one but the ones we trust must ever know.”
Nodding, Dr. Luna replied, “As to the High Council, that’s your choice to make, but on the other matters I agree with you…the less the world knows about your sons, the safer they will be.”
After getting the confirmation he sought, Reif turned back to his mate and murmured, “Let them sleep while we tend to our guests.”
Brushing a stray tear away, Brian nodded before turning on the nursery camera so they could keep an eye on their sons. Then glancing at Kieran, he asked, “How long are ye stayin’?”
“For a couple of weeks…macushlaand I have to meet the head of the English and Welsh wolves and he also has to show Angus the plans for the new pack houses,” Kieran replied.
“Guid,” Brian said. “That will make the Nessies very happy. Come.”
Following Reif and Brian out of the nursery, Remy glanced back at the Nessies, thinking about what he could do to protect them.
~/~/~/~/~
At first, taken aback by the huge size of the kitchen, Remy then realized it was perfect for a family of seven. Shaking his head, he said to Dr. Luna, “I can’t imagine having five babies to take care of. When my parents died suddenly and I became the guardian of my three brothers…suffice to say, it’s a miracle they survived while I learned how to take care of them.”
“That’s what usually happens when parenthood is forced on you by unforeseen circumstances,” said the doctor, accepting a cup of coffee from Reif. “However, in this case, Brian and Reif will learn as their sons grow, so it’ll be easier.”
“Or, in my case,” Logan remarked, before sipping his coffee, “I grew up taking care of all my younger siblings, so I’m an old hand at changing diapers and giving bottles.”
“It’s different with our Nessies,” Reif explained. “They’ll stay in their serpent form for a couple of months so no diapers or bottles…just lots of small fish for their meals.”
“That certainly will make it easier,” Remy replied.
“Yeah, we found that out when my fathers came to visit us,” Reif said. “They were kind enough to build us a fish hatchery down by the loch, so we’ll have plenty of fingerlings to feed our sons.”
“Is that all they eat?” asked Logan.
“Until they shift…then they’ll eat the same food we do,” Brian said.
