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 hadnotbeen 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. “Youknowthat'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 notnottrying…”
“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’resucha 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 issucha 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.”
