by Teagan Amici
When Maria was no longer unhappy in her sleep, but smiling, I shifted back into my panther form and sat beside her, guarding her while she slept. When she awoke, she looked around at first, then wiped away her tears as she told me of her dream, and that she was disappointed to wake up to discover the handsome young man she dreamed of was not real. I shifted then, and showed her that I was him. She was very scared of me at first, but after a while, she relaxed, and agreed to leave with me. She left her past life behind then, and never looked back. So, Diane, while I did not steal Maria away from her old life and her family, I did seduce her away, but neither of us has ever regretted it. Maria would not have been happy with the husband that had been chosen for her, and I would never have been happy with any other woman, for I knew that Maria was my mate.
So although I do not approve of what Blair did, perhaps he is more like his father than he cares to admit, acting from his heart, not his head. While he did not want you for himself, but thought he was acting as part of the ongoing feud with the wolves, it’s just possible that the Fates had other ideas, and led him to you for a reason. Because before you came along, the two packs were fighting too much, and were risking drawing attention on themselves from the outside, which is something we shifters like to avoid.
I also have to say, while I have never heard of a panther and a wolf sharing a mate, in your case it seems to work, so who are we to argue with what Fate has planned for us? The whole time we have been talking, I have been watching the way the members of the two packs have been working together, and I have to admit, it’s not something I would have expected to see, but it seems to be working. Now, I would like to see this wonderful house you are building here, and I suspect that the master craftsman here is you, Bram, so can you show me around, while we let Diane and Maria become better acquainted?”
Both Bram and Cole looked at me for silent agreement, and I nodded. Blair left as well, going back to work, leaving me alone with Maria. I drew a deep breath and looked at her as she smiled at me.
“Diane, there’s no reason to be afraid of me. If I didn’t think you were right for my son, I could be a problem for you, but it’s clear that he loves you, and you him. He also seems far more comfortable with Bram than I would have thought possible. Even though I am human, like you, I have been around panthers for so long that I have learned to share their distrust of wolves, yet around here, that does not seem to be the case. What I can see, is both packs sharing their knowledge with each other, that can only be a good thing. I am here to answer any questions you might have, about what it means to be a human mated to a shifter, and what to expect when your children are born”.
“Well, firstly please forgive my ignorance, and if I say anything offensive, it’s only because I don’t know any better. When do the babies shift for the first time? Are they born human, or something else? Is the pregnancy the same length as a regular pregnancy? Do I need to do anything special? I wouldn’t have all these questions for you, but neither Cole nor Bram seems to know anything about shifter babies, or if they do, they’re not telling me. We don’t talk much, oh, um – “
I stuttered to a stop, face blazing as I realised what I had said, but Maria just laughed, leaned over and patted my hand.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Diane. Believe me, I know that shifters can be quite lusty, and once mated, they seem insatiable. Why do you think I have so many children?”
My mouth opened and closed then, before I finally got my next question out.
“How many? I thought it was only Cole and Blair?”
“No, no, I have twelve children, Diane. Remember that long life means lots of opportunities for pregnancy. Thankfully, there are often large gaps between pregnancies, otherwise I would have many more children, but as well as my two oldest boys, I have ten other sons, sadly no daughters. My youngest child was only born fifty years ago, so it is no end of embarrassment to my older children to be confronted with the evidence that their parents still enjoy an active sex life. Remember that your body will have already started changing, and the pregnancy will be infusing your cells with the longevity of shifters. So unless you want a large family, you had better think about your contraception options. As to your other questions, the babies are born human, they usually shift for the first time when adolescence starts. Because they are born human, they need the same gestation period as a human baby, so you can expect your baby nine months from when you think you conceived it. You don’t need to do anything special, just look after yourself, but I don’t think that will be much of a problem. In fact, I think you will have the opposite problem, having two mates means you will have two bossy, overbearing fathers to deal with”.
My blushes had died down a little while Maria explained things to me, but at the mention of two mates, and two fathers, I flushed red again while I worked out how to ask the next questions that were burning into my brain.
“Maria, I know I’m talking about your son here, but I really don’t know who else to ask. Firstly, is it normal to spend almost every moment of every day thinking about sex, and secondly, you mentioned grandchildren before – will you be very disappointed if they are wolves?”
Maria hid her laugh behind her hand, then took pity on me and squeezed my hand before replying.
“I know what you mean. I was embarrassed too, when I was expecting Cole. I could not get enough of Marcos, and I thought there was something wrong with me, but then a kindly older woman took me aside and told me that it was very normal. In humans, a pregnant female often desires lots of sex, I know now that this is hormonal, although it was told to me that this was because women aren’t afraid of getting pregnant anymore, so can be more adventurous.
Believe what you like, it is normal. You also have to remember that as your body changes to take on many of the benefits of being a shifter, such as longer life and a better capacity to heal from injury, you will take on some of their characteristics as well. You will become stronger, your senses sharper, and you can expect your appetite for sex to increase as well. Combine that with all the pregnancy hormones flooding your body, and, well, all I have to say is, enjoy the ride.
Now, you were wondering about grandchildren? Now, here is where I still think like a human, not a shifter. I know that shifters often enter into relationships such as yours, but even after all these years, I still struggle to understand why there isn’t any jealousy, but I can tell you that there isn’t. Cole, Marcos, and I would assume Bram too, won’t care who the baby looks like, and while on an intellectual level they might acknowledge whose sperm fertilized your egg, it won’t matter to them on an emotional level. I can’t guarantee that I won’t be a tiny bit disappointed if your baby was fathered by Bram, not Cole, but I am sure that Cole will love any child you bear as his own, and I love my son – so if he considers himself a father, then I am sure I will love the child as a grandchild. Now, unless you have any other questions, would you mind showing me around your house? I am particularly interested to know where I will stay when I come to visit my grandbabies”.
As I showed Maria around the house, I thought that Blair would be happy to know that when his parents came to stay after the child was born, they would not be staying with him.
Seven
Sunday morning dawned fine and sunny, as most days tended to in late summer, and we left my house in Donnybrook early for our trip to meet Jess for brunch in Port Melbourne. I sat back on the bench seat with a sigh, content to rest for a while, as the morning’s love making session had been very satisfying, and I was now a bit tired. Come to think of it, I had been tired a lot lately, I told myself that maybe it was a symptom of pregnancy. I had bought a couple of books about pregnancy and childbirth during the week, and had spent a bit of time flicking through them, trying to gauge whether my body was reacting normally, and was now quite confident that it was.
Port Melbourne was busy, and we had to park a fair way from the restaurant, and when we finally arrived, I was looking forward to sitting down
for a while. Jess had already arrived, and I waved to her excitedly, stepping quickly forward as she rose from the booth she was occupying, and pulling her in tight for a hug.
“Wow, have you been working out?” Jess exclaimed as she pulled away from me. “I thought you were trying to squeeze the air out of me”.
I thought of what Maria had said, that my strength would increase, and was trying to work out if I felt any stronger, when I saw Jess look over my right shoulder, then my left, her jaw dropping before she finally looked at me.
“Are these them? Your boyfriends? Oh. My. God. Do they have any brothers?”
I turned to look at them, indicating Cole with a smile.
“This one does. Maybe if you ask nicely I might introduce you. Can we sit down though? I could do with a rest”.
We slid into the booth, I found myself sitting in between Bram and Cole, with Jess on the other side of Cole who sat back so that Jess and I could talk across him. Jess flicked him a greedy look, then looked at me closer.
“You look really good, Diane. A bit tired”, Jess blushed a little, then ploughed on, “but really good. Have you lost weight? Are you working out or something, because you look really toned and healthy”.
I looked down at myself. Had I lost weight?
“I don’t think I’ve lost any weight, but I’m not stuck at a desk all day, so maybe because I’m moving around a bit I might have toned up a little. Sitting at a desk all day was really bad for me, I know now”.
“Hmmm. Well, sitting at a desk in John’s office wasn’t good. Do you see him anymore, or, wait, is that bad form talking about the ex in front of these guys?”
About to answer, I was cut off by Cole.
“Am I right when I say that it sounds like you didn’t like him?”
Jess rolled her eyes.
“Well, d’uh. Couldn’t stand him, didn’t know what Diane saw in him, glad she finally came to her senses. He didn’t like me either, but that’s only to be expected, I never tried to hide my dislike for him. But enough about the dickweed, tell me about yourselves. I can’t say that I would blame Diane for wanting to claim either of you as her partner, but both of you? That doesn’t sound like Diane and I want to be sure she knows what she’s doing”.
“What do you want to know?” asked Bram. “Besides the fact that we both adore Diane and want to be with her and our children for the rest of our lives”.
“Your children? So, do either of you guys already have kids?”
As both men shook their heads, Jess’s eyes grew rounder.
“So, what, you want to have kids together? Do you, like, take it in turns to knock Diane up, or what?”
“Jess”, I whispered loudly in embarrassment. “You’re being rude”.
“No, she’s not”, Cole replied, squeezing my thigh as he spoke. “She’s concerned about your wellbeing. I can understand that, you too, Bram?”
“Yep. Diane, you know what we have isn’t understood by most people, so you can’t blame Jess for being worried about you. To answer your question, Jess, when our baby is born, he will be our baby, he will have one mother, and two fathers. It doesn’t matter which of us he looks like, the baby will have three parents”.
Jess stared at Bram for a while, then Cole, then me.
“You guys are serious, aren’t you? You really don’t care? I just need to get this straight in my head. You guys all sleep together, right?” At our nods, she continued, but more quietly as I had shushed her, worrying that people around us might be listening. “So, what if Diane just feels like being with one of you from time to time, what would the other one think, or isn’t that allowed?”
Cole laughed.
“Already done it, Jess. Both of us know that Diane loves us both, so neither of us is insecure enough to be jealous. If Diane just wants to spend time with one of us that’s ok. We know that at the end of the day, we’ll all be together again, and we each enjoy that so much more that we will always come back to that”.
“Oh, so do you two guys – “ Jess asked, pointing between one and the other. Both shook their heads vehemently.
“No”, laughed Bram. Cole then acted mock offended.
“Why not, aren’t I your type?”
“No, you’re a dude, dude. You know I’m not the slightest bit interested in your meat and two veg”.
Jess threw back her head and laughed. She patted Cole on the arm.
“If your brother has a wicked sense of humour like you, I have got to meet him. In the meantime, it looks to me like Diane knows what she’s doing. Unless you two guys are great actors, you seem pretty genuine to me”.
The waitress interrupted then asking if we had chosen our food. When we realised that none of us had even looked at the menu, she took drink orders from us and we turned to the menu while we waited for our drinks to arrive.
When our drinks arrived and we placed our food orders, Jess went to clink her wine glass against mine, then saw me holding a glass of orange juice. She raised her eyebrow, then clapped her hand to her mouth.
“When you were talking about babies before, you weren’t talking about the future were you? Are you already pregnant?” At my nod, she looked from Bram to Cole. “And I guess neither of you know or care who hit the bullseye? Unbelievable. So, tell me about this brother of yours, Cole, does he have a friend?”
Eight
By the time the settlement day of my new house arrived, there had been so many changes in my life, and yet I knew there were still many more to come. It had been a bit of a rush at the end, as the people who bought my house wanted to be in a little sooner, so I had been very busy trying to get my affairs sorted, changing my address the week before settlement to ensure nothing went astray, packing my things and directing the shifters who came to move everything into storage, and thinking with glee of how I could finally contribute financially to my new family, once the cheque had been deposited in my bank account.
My conveyancer pulled out all stops and managed to get the settlement done on the day before Anzac Day, and I planned to go to bed early, exhausted from all the rush. Work on the building site had also finished early as most of the men wanted to go to the dawn service the next day, and Bram had suggested that he and Cole and I all go out for an early dinner before turning in. As it was still very warm for April, we were sitting outside, and when my phone rang, I answered it in surprise, seeing that it was Jess calling. She knew that the signal wasn’t very good where I was living, and would usually send a text, so I wondered why she had tried to call me. It wasn’t long before I was seething at her news. A solicitor’s letter had arrived at her house, addressed to me. It was the solicitor that was working for John, handling our divorce, which made me worry that maybe I had some papers to sign.
“I didn’t think I had anything more to sign. The decree nisi has come through, and the decree absolute should come through automatically, or I thought it would. It’s due in a couple of weeks, so I hope nothing has gone wrong”.
“What are you doing tomorrow? You can pick it up, or I can bring it to you”.
“I’m going to the Dawn Service with the guys and some of their friends and - ”
“Some of their friends?” Jess’s voice was starting to move up a register again, and I smiled as she continued. “Are they all as hot as your guys?”
I looked at Bram and Cole, who were looking at me keenly. I knew that their hearing was good enough to have heard what Jess said, even if she hadn’t almost deafened me with her last question.
“Well, I don’t think so. They aren’t bad, but not a patch on these two”.
“They’re sitting right there, aren’t they?”
“Uh-huh. And they can hear you”.
“Hi guys”, yelled Jess loud enough that I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “So, back to the interesting stuff, are their friends single?”
“Jess, there’s no hope for you. Yes, I believe so. I’m not sure exactly who’s going, and who isn’t, but there will be a lot
of single men there, I’m sure”.
“Ok then, where will I meet you?”
“Jess, you are aware that the service starts at dawn, aren’t you? Like, you have to be there and take your place before the sun comes up?”
“Oh. Well, let’s be honest, that’s never going to happen. Maybe I can meet you afterwards?”
We finally agreed to meet Jess at her favourite eatery in Lygon Street in Carlton for lunch. Traditionally, the men would gather at Young & Jackson’s hotel for a few drinks after the service, so we decided to go home via Carlton and meet Jess to pick up my letter.
The next morning I was starting to think that Jess might have had the right idea as I stood sleepily in the brisk air in between Bram and Cole, surrounded by many of their pack members, waiting for the service to start. I had been astounded to hear of the history of service of pack members, many of whom tried to avoid the notice of the government, yet had felt compelled to enlist when they felt that the country needed their help. As Alphas were never permitted to serve in case they were killed in action, Bram had not been able to enlist, but Cole had served in both World Wars.
After Vietnam, shifters often didn’t enlist, due to the rise in media coverage, and the risk that they would be spotted and recognised. As they didn’t appear to age, they couldn’t risk being photographed. Sometimes shifters would enlist for special services, where photographs were not likely to be taken, but those roles were rare. I started to shiver in the cold air, and my movements must have been noticed as both Cole and Bram moved closer to me, sandwiching me between their solid bodies and sharing their body warmth. As the service began, I noticed that many of the shifters stood solemnly, with downcast eyes, and I felt their pain as they remembered friends who had fallen. Bram had explained that most of the shifters had returned from the wars, as their superior senses and strength tended to keep them safe from most danger, but of course they had seen human comrades die, and that would have been very difficult for them. To make matters worse, they could not continue to bond with fellow soldiers after their return home, as their friends would get old, but they would not, and so they had to let those friendships lapse. I understood more of why shifters tended to keep to themselves. Spending time with humans whose life spans were short in comparison was difficult, when those humans tended to grow old and die all too quickly.