"Victory!" he cried. I supposed he was the tactical leader, while Lupa led the physical attack.
Overwhelmed by the adorable mob, Nishiki fell to the grass. He instinctively lifted his arms to cover his face but it was no use. He laughed as the small animals attacked him with licks and bites, a swarm of teething babies gently using his arms as chew toys.
"We got you, Uncle Nishiki!" Lupa said, sitting down on his chest and wagging her tail.
"Okay, why does it seem like there are more of you when you're attacking?" Nishiki asked as he lifted Lupa underneath the armpits and gently removed her.
"I think it was supposed to be a six on two attack," Len said, putting a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Yeah, but birds like us aren't easy to sneak up on," Orpheus said proudly, shooting me a grin.
"Wait, was that why you disappeared just before we got here?" Nishiki asked.
I smiled at my mate. "Imayhave been part of orchestrating your demise."
Nishiki was slowly picking up each baby animal and removing them before their sharp needle teeth actually punctured his skin. Right now he took Starry and handed her to Xander, who looked proud of his daughter.
"My very own fated mate conspiring against me," Nishiki said with mock disappointment. "And the bearer of my children, no less."
Silence fell as Nishiki’s comment sent shockwaves throughout the camp. It was the kids who reacted first. All of them, even the ones who had been handed back to their parents, broke free and leapt on Nishiki excitement.
"No way!" Ash said, shifting to human form so he didn't clobber Nishiki with his hooves. "We’re going to have another cousin?"
“Well, technically they're only going to be Zak's cousins," Nero said. "But that's only if you count blood relations."
Remington let out a sly laugh. "I don't think they care that much. A cousin is a cousin to them, regardless of blood."
Sage gasped. "Wait a second. Did you saythey're? Like plural?"
"He could've meant that Nishiki and Weston are raising the child without gender markers," Red pointed out.
"You're right," Nero said. "But in this case, I did actually mean it in the plural way." He shot his brother an apologetic glance. "Sorry for ruining the surprise."
Nishiki gingerly removed the last of the children standing on him like a paperweight and got to his feet. "I'll live."
He came to put his arm around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt my face warming up. It was such an intimate gesture in front of all these people, but I supposed that there was no judgement, considering they were all pairs of fated mates themselves.
"Weston, does that mean you're pregnant?" Len asked, coming towards me with a bright smile.
"Yes." I returned his smile. "Although since Nishiki and I both shift into egg-laying animals, I'm sure that I'll be laying eggs instead of giving live birth like the rest of you."
"How exciting," Morgan remarked. Despite his enthusiasm, he had a calm, collected presence about him that I appreciated. I wish I had known somebody like him in the past. Maybe then I wouldn't have thought it was so strange for an omega like myself to act the way I did.
"If any of the omegas have any advice for me, I'll be glad to hear it," I said.
Sage ran over immediately. "Ooh, I do! We should do a group talk, just the omegas, no alphas allowed!" He hesitated, then quickly amended his comment. "Wait, except Red. He's special."
Red smirked. His fox-like eyes glittered. "Thank you."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Remington said, walking over with a now sleepy Zak in his arms. "We're wasting daylight here."
"I guess we are about to get schooled again," Nishiki said to me. He gave me a final kiss on the cheek before we parted to our separate groups, each of us about to learn the ups and downs of parenthood.
* * *
After a whole afternoonof learning what the other omegas had gone through, both during their pregnancies and their deliveries, I realized that my situation would probably end up being different than theirs. Unlike them, I wouldn't carry my twins to full term and then deliver them when they were ready to come out; I would lay my eggs with the still undeveloped babies inside and have to brood them.
But that didn't mean I appreciated all of their input any less. It was so kind of them to tell me their stories, the good and the bad. It made the whole thing feel a little less lonely. It was nice knowing that in addition to my fated mate, I had real friends to rely on now.
