Chapter 152 152.Our pups

Chapter 152 152.Our pups
Aria

“Care to explain yourself?” I say, tapping my foot when Ronan and Kade walk into our house.

He better if he knows what's good for him, my wolf warns.

Liam gives a little salute from the driveway as he jogs to his own den, probably anxious to check on Hazel and the pups.

“I would help you out,” Barric says from behind me, “but I'm with Aria on this one.”

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Kade cajoles, placing a kiss on my lips before bending to put on my recently protruding belly.

As if we’d be swayed by sweet words. My wolf takes a swipe at him.

“Don't sweetheart me,” I call after him as he slips past me and Kade takes his place.

Barric follows him into the kitchen.

Kade pulls me into a slow, firm kiss that sends my already overactive hormones into a frenzy. Cupping my nape, he pulls me closer, licking into my mouth and filling my nose with his raw masculine scent.

Even my wolf’s ire starts to wane.

My thoughts begin to slip away just when a small voice says, “Papa, your back!”

I step back just in time for Lowden to launch himself into Ronan’s arms.

Ronan catches his small body with ease and shoots me a smile over Low’s shoulder.

I give him a look that tells him just how displeased with that attempt to distract me I am.

“Did you have fun going out with Pabbi?” Low asks, his wide Hazel eyes intense on Ronan.

Calling all of his dads ‘dad’ got a bit confusing at times so Lowden eventually gave them all nicknames.

Ronan is Papa.

Kade is Pabbi.

Barric is Paì.

And Theo is Poppy.

“Of course I did, pup,” he nuzzles him affectionately.

“Saved by the pup,” Theo exclaims, walking into the living room from the kitchen with a cup of tea in his hands.

I scrunch my face because I know what's next.

“Don't give me that face. Kiara’s orders.” Theo tips his chin towards the seat, and I go to take it to avoid being ganged up on by mates.

I know people always say every pregnancy is different, but I never expected to be so nauseous I'd spend the first trimester grateful I can hold down oxygen.

Once I'm comfortable, Theo hands me the cup of tea, taking a seat across from me to make sure I drink it.

Drill Sargent.

Kade comes out of the kitchen with Barric on his heels, and I can tell they’ve been discussing something.

Before I can speak, Barric says, “Later tonight. I promise.”

Irritated, I look at all my mates, then at Low.

Some of my bluster deflates at the sight of my son.

“Fine. But don't think anyone is getting off easy, I warn.

“We wouldn't dare,” Ronan smiles.

Low bounces around between his father's legs, climbing on them and using small bursts of wind to make his paper birds fly around the living room.

“So anything interesting happened while we were gone?” Ronan asks.

The question is casual, but the tension in the bond lets me know it is anything but.

“No. Me and the girls went to visit Hazel earlier. The quints are so cute.”

“How is she doing?” Kade asks.

“Tired, but good. The pack has all been taking turns bringing dinner and asking to hold them. Everyone is really excited about the multiple births.”

Theo nods. “It's rare for shifters to have more than one pup at a time. The fact that Liam managed to double his first sired litter is impressive.”

“Or if you ask the elders, a sign from the Goddess,” Barric says with only a hint of disbelief.

“The babies cry a lot. Rayne and River say so,” Low says, swinging his feet from his current position on Theo's lap. He looks at me with those watchful eyes. “Will my little sister cry a lot?”

“Who said you're having a sister?” I tease, liking the way the bond registered the pure male panic from my mates that can only come from a male about to have a daughter.

Payback is…well, a bitch.

“No one. But grandpa says we can't choose,” he says as if that explains everything.

“Right,” Theo says, a hint of a smile on his face. “And since you don't get to choose, you think you'll get the sibling you want least.”

Low nods in a way that makes him seem older than five.

“Ready to go with the guardians and play with your friends?” Theo says.

I give him a grateful look, knowing he's giving us the privacy we need so we can talk freely.

Low’s whole face lights up. “Yeah! I hope River and Rayne are there already.”

“I'm sure they will be,” Barric says reassuringly.

Low jumps up, getting more height than a typical child thanks to his budding ability.

Theo catches him before he plummets, tucking him into his side like a football.

“Say see you later to Mama,” Theo tells him.

“See you later, Mama. Miss me too much.” He blows kisses at me before turning to his fathers. “Bye, Daddies, I'll be back soon.”
Theo takes him to the pack guardians— the shifters whose primary job is to watch and care for the pups of the pack.

Fifteen minutes later, Theo is walking back through the door, and my tea is only halfway consumed.

“Okay, spill. Why the hell did you block us?” I say.

“This,” Kade makes a motion that encompasses my whole body, “right here is why we had to. You get too worked up, and it's not good for the baby.”

My wolf rolls her eyes, offended at the assumption that we can't handle ourselves.

I would snap at him if it weren't for the fact that he believes whatever was happening was enough to cause a reaction.

“How bad was it?”

Barric shifts closer beside me, linking his fingers through mine. I'm not sure if the action is supposed to soothe me or restrain me if I lose my shit.

Knowing Berric, he is prepared for both.

“When we got to the hotel, the first thing that hit us was the smell. It was clear the body's been there for a few days. Once we got inside and investigated, it didn't look good.” Ronan recounts. “He was an unknown male shifter. The theory Kade, Liam, and I are working on right now is that maybe he was passing through, heading somewhere, and stopped to take a respite. However, he never got where he was going. Someone broke in and ravaged his body. This wasn't just a killing. It was a massacre. Whoever it was didn't want to just end his life. They wanted it to hurt.”

I suck in a deep breath, holding tightly to my composure.

“Have you ever heard of something like this happening?”

“Not since before the council had been established,” Theo says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “Back then there were a lot of feuds between warring shifter packs for territory and mates, so it wasn't uncommon to have dead bodies found.”

I look between my mates, praying to the goddess that the answer will be simple.

To have something try to derail the bridges that we've just erected has the potential to overturn our fragile way of life.

“Do you think that's what this could be?”

The look on Kade's face speaks before he does. “I wish I could say I believed that that is what's happening.”

“And what does Rick think?”

“Rick is still gathering information, but he did make it clear that pretty soon he will call a meeting of all Alphas to the Capitol,” Ronan says.

Barric’s thumb idly strokes the back of my hand.

Which means that this is serious enough for us to all be on our guard.

Instinctively, I feel for our bond, seeking comfort and reassurance and knowing that my mates are with me.

That we have each other.

Then I feel it, the underlined hesitation and disquiet from Ronan’s thread.

I look into his eyes, and he doesn't shy away from me.

“What else?”

He sets his jaw, and I know there is a part of him that wishes he didn't have to say whatever is going to come out of his mouth.

“Rick found a common link in the victims. The wither have human DNA or sypher ancestry.”

The well inside of me sparks, fire flooding my veins along with my fear and anger.

Sensing my heightened emotion, Kade moves to my free side and rubs my back while Barric runs his palms down my arm.

Our pups could be a target for this sick freak.

I'll rip him apart if he tries, my wolf snaps.

Ronan crouches in front of me. “Listen to me, Aria. No one is getting onto our territory. We are going to tighten security. And Liam has already warned Elliot, so Nightbane will be just as safe.”

I swallow, nodding at his reassurance.

The maternal side of me is at war with my rational mind.

But panicking never did anyone any good.

I need action.

I need to plan.

I need to keep my pack safe.