Page 98 of Taken By The Wolves

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When Goldie brings her older boys around, Ahya will shift into a bear to play with them. Last week, however, she transformed into a wolf partway through the afternoon, and they played like that, wolf and bear together. We found them curled in a tired heap in our yard, surrounded by leaves. Goldie’s expression was wistful, and I suspect her dreams have shown her a future for our children that she hasn’t yet felt ready to share.

Already, I have a picture in my mind of Ahya as a woman, running barefoot through Blackwood Forest to meet her mate, or mates. She’ll be carefree and connected to the forest in a way that no other shifter has ever been, understanding the strengths and limitations of two animal forms. In my mind, she has mates of both species, living in a blended harem that will challenge the fixed beliefs from both sides. They’ll cement the fragile peace that the war with Gregory’s wild pack forged.

“Are you ready?” Goldie asks.

She’s been careful not to talk too much about her ownbirth experiences, but I know her first labor was hard because, by the time she was eight months pregnant with her second brood, she had a full-blown panic attack about going through labor again. Hunter, who’s usually gruff and aloof, scooped her into his arms, and reminded her that they would all be there with her, that they are all connected, and that she doesn’t have to fear anything. He pressed his forehead to hers and continued to talk to her silently through their minds as Robert and Evan drew close. They didn’t seem to care that I was watching it all.

I know their connection is what got Goldie through it, as I trust my connection with Nixon, Reed, and Finn.

“I’m ready to be less swollen,” I say. “But I’m still enjoying their little bodies moving and safe inside me. Who knows if I’ll get to go through this again.”

Nixon fixes me with his ‘don’t get comfortable because I’m going to breed you again look’ that makes me flush. If he had his way, we’d have to extend the cabin to accommodate twenty little wolf cubs, and he’d be stuffing me full of his seed and his knot whenever my womb was vacant.

Being a momma is everything I ever wanted, but I’m not sure my body could cope with going through many more nine months like this. Growing the next generation of wolves is seriously hard work.

I gorge on the pineapple cake, washing it down with my caffeine-free hot beverage, as Goldie talks about how grateful she is to have three men to help her with all her bear cubs. Her business is going from strength to strength, although I’m yet to put in an order. Thankfully, my wolves keep me more than satisfied, so I’ve no need for any battery-powered assistance. She showed me around her stockroom,and I was fascinated to find vibrators shaped like fruits and vegetables. Things have changed a lot since I was last forced to shop for one.

“So, how are the babies sleeping?” I ask her.

“They’re not. I’m dealing with constant hunger and constant wakefulness, and that’s just Hunter!”

We both laugh and she continues. “The only way we get through is that two of us take an early shift and the other two handle a late shift, and that way, we all get at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep. Add in a nap at lunchtime and we’re just about functioning.”

“Has it put them off having any more?”

“Are you crazy?” Goldie says. “These shifter men want to make babies night and day. If I didn’t have to incubate them for nine months and I was popping them out every seventy-five days like a bear, we’d have a houseful!”

Nixon laughs, surprising Ahya, who giggles along with him. “Seems like we have even more in common with our bear friends than I previously thought.”

“I’m not a baby-making machine,” I tell him in a low warning tone. “Don’t even think about coming near me until I’ve recovered from this batch!”

He holds his hands up and looks to his brothers for support. “We want to build a big family. And we’re here to support you all the way.”

“Great. Maybe you should handle the next pregnancy, then. See how much you enjoy the swollen ankles and inability to tie your shoelaces.”

“But you look so beautiful all rounded with our pups,” Reed says, staring at me with a hungry, feral look in his eyes. “If you weren’t already pregnant…” He shakes his head.

“Down, boy.” Goldie puts her hands up defensively. “Iknow how to handle three bears. Don’t think I won’t take down three wolves.”

The laughter is still hanging in the air when it happens.

A sudden warmth spreads between my thighs. It’s not a trickle, but a full release, like my body has decided it’stime. I freeze, blinking fast at the dark patch growing beneath me, and then lift my eyes to Goldie, wide with realization.

“I think it’s starting,” I say, calm only on the outside.

“It worked!” she gasps, clapping her hands. “I told Hunter it would, but he was all, ‘it’s a stupid myth’. He was less smug when I reminded him that most people think he’s a stupid myth.”

I laugh reluctantly, clinging onto my belly, as though the babies could follow with the speed of the amniotic fluid. Goldie’s expression shifts in an instant. The lightness is gone, replaced by practiced urgency. She sets her cup onto the coffee table, already moving. “Okay. Let’s get you settled. Reed, towels. Finn, clear the floor. Nixon, call for your midwife, but don’t expect she’ll make it in time. We may be doing this ourselves. “

The first contraction hits hard, and it’s like the air is knocked from my lungs. I curl forward instinctively, pressing my hands to the top of my thighs, breathing through the deep, low pressure.

“She’s early,” Nixon says, voice too tight and too loud. “Is that normal? What does it mean? Is it safe?”

“Nixon,” Goldie says, sharply but kindly, placing a hand on his arm. “This is happening. Focus.”

He swallows hard and then paces back and forth in front of the hearth like a caged wolf who doesn’t know whether to fight or flee. Ahya stares at him with wide eyes from her spot on the rug, sensing the shifting energy in the room.He’s poking his finger at his phone like he wants to smash the screen, then he’s growling orders at the poor midwife.

I lose concentration, funneling all my attention to my body.