Sunny kicked his chubby legs and babbled while I smiled gently back at Ollie. "And you thought he was only suggesting it because he knew it would make you happy?"
"At first, yeah. But Beck's always been honest with me —even when he's been freaking out or known that I might disagree with him— so I believe him when he says he's ready. That he wants this. It's just..." Letting out a breath, Ollie shook his head ruefully. "I don't know. The twins are probably going to start shifting soon, and the anti-shifter sentiment is picking up in the cities,plusall the European packs keep reaching out for advice now that they've started to tap into The Magic overseas, not to mention the mess happening in all the packs here. What if" —helicked his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing roughly— "What if this was the wrong time?"
I thought about Brandt and Micah and thefivetoddlers they were happily wrangling, and about Brandt's unapologetic admission that he wanted to try again while he was still in his prime, even though dragons usually spaced their kids out by centuries. Then I thought about Damon, who knew without a doubt he didn't want to have more kids, and about the various couples in town who visited Sergio because they were struggling to conceive at all. (And Micah’s dawning horror when he’d considered how Sergio had ‘helped’ his parents conceive, though Sergio assured us all that he would only be offering tonics and rituals going forward.)
"You can't let whatever is happening out there" —I waved towards the window vaguely— "prevent you from living your life. From being happy."
"But—"
"Would you question anyone else in the pack for wanting more kids right now? Or for not wanting them at all, even?"
He frowned. "What? No. Of course not. But their mates aren't the Alpha. They don't have the same responsibilities."
"If I've learned anything over the past years since my brother dragged you and Beck out here, I'd say it's that we all share those responsibilities as a whole. As a pack." Saying the words out loud settled something inside me every single time. I'd realized that it was a similar sensation to when Serge spoke about The Magic guiding him. It only enforced my conviction that we were on the right path. "Yes, Beck is our Alpha, but he set up the council to share the weight of that role. And, in turn, the pack works to keep the council supported, too. This is how The Magic wants it tobe. This is why Morstein's hold on shifterkind here in America is slipping; because other packs are starting to see it, too."
In fact, over the course of the past six months or so, there had been a noticeable change in the shifter political atmosphere in general. Packs which had been notoriously devout Moonmusic supporters were reaching out via phone, email, and even social media, genuinely wanting to know how Shifters Sanctuary was making things work.
Our pack was also living up to its name, with a handful of omegas and betas seeking sanctuary from their Moonmusic-based packs, the most recent of whom was a weasel shifter who had arrived only a week earlier. He was a beta named Weston, and his arrival had caused a stir, mostly because he had come directly from Moonmusic’s home pack, and neither Beckett or Rex (or even Dexter) wanted to trust the weasel shifter for that reason. Still, his pleas had seemed genuine enough, so the pack had taken him in with the rest of the asylum-seeking shifters searching for a better life.
Anyway, all of this seemed to be a direct reaction of word spreading that alphas were returning to Europe, and even spontaneously in other places around the world. Not in droves, at least not yet, but enough that people had noticed.
This was part of ‘the mess’ Ollie had just referenced, I guessed.
Ollie’s attention shifted back to Sunny and when his lips curled upwards, the expression was less strained. “You’re right,” he said, toying with my baby’s socked foot, “we can’t just stall while we wait for things to get better or worse. I’m just…anxious, I guess. More than I was when I got pregnant with the twins which, y’know, seems weird considering howeverythingwas up in the air back then, but I can’t help it.”
Shrugging, I drew on the confidence I felt anytime I thought about my mates, and about the life we had settled into as a family. “Honestly, the world is starting to change at a faster pace,” I said, repeating parts of a conversation I’d had with Sergio only recently. “What that means for us in Shifters Sanctuary is anyone’s guess, but whatever happens, I know one thing.” I met his gaze solemnly. “We will face the changes together. As pack. As family. Because that’s what we do here. And you and Beckett have set the tone for that. You know that, right?”
“And if it weren’t for you and your brothers, we wouldn’t have any of this. Beck would have been taken and…” Ollie’s voice turned thick and choked, and he blinked back tears. “Stupid hormones,” he complained with a watery laugh, before clearing his throat and giving his head a shake. “You’re right. We’re a pack. Family through magic and experience. You’ve built this place as much as we have. I mean, hell,youralpha brought us the magic to really expand and rebuild shifterkind. That’s huge, Sage.”
Honestly, we could have gone around in circles on the topic, but it sounded like we had made it to the same page, so I nodded. “It is. A lot of change in such a small amount of time, really. But it just proves we’ve got each other’s backs. All of us here. So don’t feel guilty that you and Beckett are taking some personal time away from pack business. Revel in your pregnancy. Celebrate it. Be happy. We’re all going to be happy for you, too.”
He swallowed again, eyes still moist. “Thanks, Sage.”
“Damn it, that means I lost the bet,” Dexter huffed later that night, after we had all returned home following the pack run. He had been flying with Eric, while Sergio had stayed back to help Brandt monitor the clinic. It wasn’t often that emergencies popped up during the monthly runs, but they did sometimes happen: like the time a young omega had given birth in the middle of the run, completely unaware that he’d been pregnant at all.
That had been the talk of the pack for some time, but we had all banded together to help Tim and Conrad with their new addition, who was only a few weeks older than Sunny. (Apparently, the Frat House party we’d attended had been quite the event!)
“I warned you not to bet on it,” Sergio chuckled, nuzzling Dexter’s neck and nipping at his bond mark with blunt teeth. I felt the shudder of arousal trickling through our bond and squirmed in my seat.
“You might have shared your magical shaman insight with me,” Dex pouted.
“That would have been cheating, dear-heart.”
“And?”
I snorted at Dex’s question. “Honestly, I didn’t bet because Eric was keeping tight-lipped, which meant he knew something.”
“Soyouwere holding out on me, too,” my omega mate complained,tsking and shaking his head. “I see how it is. You both only want me for my body.”
“Itisan awesome body,” I agreed, raking my gaze upwards from his feet. Warmth pooled low in my belly. When was the lasttime we had really, properly expressed our physical appreciation for each other?
Between Serge setting up his shaman clinic, Dexter begrudgingly assisting the European packs with their research, and raising Sunny, our sex life had been fun but rushed. Even Dex’s last heat had felt a bit unfair on him, with Serge and I having to alternate parenting duties, leaving us unable to really indulge as a throuple.
Because they knew me well by this point and could obviously feel my building desire in our bond, my mates settled in on either side of me on the couch, their hands stroking my back and my thighs while they both nuzzled at my neck, much like Sergio had been teasing Dexter only moments before.
“What about your body, beautiful?” Sergio crooned before he sucked my earlobe between his lips. He hummed. “Just as wonderful as Dex’s.”
“Fuck,” I panted, closing my eyes and drinking in their attention. “I’ve missed this.”
