Page 35 of These Little Heirs
“Maybe not but the way I look at it is that if they’re willing to threaten one person over money, they’ll threaten more in time and that person may be important to him,” Ciro shrugged.
“He’d probably say the same. I think I need a shower and maybe to hunt before we have any serious conversations. I’m bloody ravenous. My dragon is considering flying to London just to eat one of the jackasses who made threats.”
“Let’s stick to deer and boar, huh?” Ciro laughed. “Or maybe some of those pastas and casseroles they keep bringing over? You clean up. I’ll pop some in the oven. You can still hunt if you need to, but I feel like I should feed you up before sending you out into the wilds.”
“These ‘wilds’ are my home,” I chuckled and stole a quick kiss before heading off to shower.
Chapter Eighteen
Ciro
While I uncovered casseroles and put them into the toasty oven, I wondered just how pregnant I was. There was no such thing as being a little bit pregnant but there was such a thing as being very pregnant. AKA carrying multiples. I glanced down at my naked stomach. It didn’t look any different. My abs were still intact. Where did they go when people got pregnant? I mean, they came back. I’d seen enough people have babies and then look just as fit a few months later. I always figured it was magic, exercise, or the fact most of us are stuffed full of inner beasts with succinct metabolisms.
I took a moment to ground and center while Teal cleaned up. Since meeting him, I’d felt as if my center of gravity had shifted and the world spun around me like a record upon which I was meant to balance. My life had never been smooth sailing, and I prided myself on riding the waves but if kittens were inbound, we had to become water witches quickly and calm it all the hell down. I wouldn’t be another dead big cat leaving his kids orphaned.
Grabbing Teal’s phone, I sent a quick text to his brothers about where we were in the process of being ‘normal.’ I could’ve poked them over the link, but I didn’t know them well and it felt like an intrusion to pop into their heads without warning. It was bad enough that I felt their emotions nearly as much as Teal’s. Ambry and Odie seemed to accept affection from the brothers interchangeably, but I wasn’t sure I could be that guy. Cuddling was one thing. Big cats slept together a lot. Beyond that I wasn’t sure.
“You don’t have to be like Odie or Ambry. You don’t have to be like anyone. They’re not going anywhere but no one expects you to act like they’re your mates too. I’m rather fond of the lot of them but that doesn’t mean---”
“I know that,”I cut off his rambling.“I’m just sorting out my thoughts. Now that we’re about to go around people again, I have to figure out where I fit in.”
“By my side. Don’t worry about fitting in. You’re family. They’ll make room for you,”Teal reassured me.“As much or as little room as you want. I’m so not worried about you fitting in. I’m more worried about Torvan or someone trying to blow someone up because a dragon on another planet made me wonder why anyone goes hungry when we have so much food.”
“Because they’re greedy,”I shrugged.
Evil wasn’t a complicated question for me. Some people were just assholes. Not everyone who did a shitty thing had a tragic backstory. They looked at the world like it was a cake and they wanted to gobble up every crumb they could reach before anyone else even had their first slice and they would if no one kept them in check.
The group I wasn’t sure I’d fit in with showed up at the back door before Teal was out of the shower. Cobalt said his hellos and headed into the house to find Teal before I even had a chance to tell him that his brother was in the shower.
“Nothing he’s not seen before,” Indigo shrugged.
“Is it okay?” Odie asked me, Guardie standing at attention next to him.
“To bring him in? Yeah. He’ll be okay,” I said, waving the rest of them in.
“I meant, is it okay that we’re here? That Cobalt stormed in like he owned the place?” Odie asked as the others made their way into the kitchen.
“You’re his family,” I shrugged. “Look, if I had living parents or siblings or whatever and they came over and he left them to wait outside I’d be pissed. So, come inside and sit down before you tip over.”
We both glanced at his big beachball of a pregnant belly and laughed. I took his hand and helped him inside to sit down at the kitchen table. The timers chimed for the casseroles, and I served him first. Sure, Teal was ravenous, but he wasn’t eating for two. Odie and Steel ate first and everyone could kiss my fluffy, fat ass if they didn’t like it.
“Are you alright?” Ambry asked.
“Am I missing something? You keep asking questions like there is something I don’t know about,” I paused, holding a handful of forks, ready to set the rest of the table.
“You smell nervous,” Indigo said. “So they’re trying to make sure that we’re not interrupting.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Teal’s just cleaning up. He might go hunting. He’s excited about Moonscale Meals and ---”
“What about you?” Odie asked.
“I think it’s a good idea. Look, I wasn’t a poor orphan but I knew plenty of kids that were going to grow up and have nothing if they didn’t work a million times harder than everyone else. So, feed them. Hell, feed the aliens. I don’t care for a second about some rich guy worrying about his third yacht. I’m not even worried about Torvan coming back. Pregnant cats fight in the wild every day,” I said, setting the table and bringing the casseroles and baked pasta dishes to the table.
“Then what is worrying you?” Ambry asked.
Part of me wished they’d give up and leave me alone. I was trying to be a good host and get them fed. The other part of me knew this came along with being part of a family.
“Shit! You’re probably tired,” Indigo said, scooting his chair away from the table. “Do you want some help?”
