by Barb Shuler
“What is it, baby?” Her cheeks flame red at my question. Horacio and I exchange a look before meeting her gaze again.
“I need to... um... go to the ladies room. You squished me a little too hard there…” she laughs softly, and covers her face in embarrassment. I snort out a small laugh. I can honestly say I’ve never squeezed the piss out of anyone before… this is a first. Horacio stands and helps her from my lap. I move into the kitchen to get something to drink. A little whiskey sounds really good right about now.
Twenty-Four
Horacio
Two Weeks Later
In the last two weeks our lives have once again taken a big leap. Jasmine’s pregnancy seems to have gone into hyperdrive. The once slight baby bump is now a full on, can’t be missed, actual baby bump. The baby seems to be developing normally - just at a quicker rate. Jasmine has had no ill effects from the pregnancy, but she is a little wigged out at how fast her it’s progressing. Between her DNA and Ty’s, or possibly mine, we don’t know how long the fetus’s gestation will actually take. According to what Kelanie can remember from when Jasmine’s mom, Hadley, had been pregnant, things seem to be moving along fine.
Her cravings have us in the kitchen a lot. If were not in the kitchen, either Ty or myself are going into town to get some of the oddest combinations of foods. I seriously mean, the woman will eat anything together now. Peanut butter with pickles. She actually dips them in the jar and munches away. Ack! Or worse yet… nachos with anchovies. I mean, guys eat weird things, don’t get me wrong, but the things she eats together give me indigestion just thinking about it.
Something else has also changed in her. Her sex drive. Not that I am complaining. It does make life interesting as neither myself or Ty can deny her what she needs. Though... sometimes we just can’t indulge her or our own desires. Times like today, when we have other people in the cabin, I have to fight my urges. I’d love nothing more than to bend her over the table she is currently setting and fuck her until she collapses. The stink eye Kelanie keeps giving me makes that impossible.
The air changes around us and I sigh as Amandrell and Alec pop in. I growl and sit the maps I have in my lap aside.
“Do you Fae not know how to knock?” I glare at them both. Amandrell flips her middle finger at me, not missing a beat.
“I will make it so you can’t speak, cat.” She grins at me. A growl rumbles through me as I move closer to her. I’d never hurt her, as she’d never hurt me but this is what we always do. Like bickering children.
“Horacio!” Ty’s booming voice comes from the front door as it opens. I sighed and move into the kitchen where I hop up on the counter and grab an apple from the fruit bowl. With a murmured curse to the Fae I bit into the apple. I choke and then spit the pieces of styrofoam and wax apple out.
“What the fuck?” I grunt as I wipe my mouth. Amandrell snickers.
“Wax isn’t a food group…” she remarks.
“Fucking Fae!”
“Enough, the whole lot of you are acting like spoiled children. If you can’t behave, get the hell out,” Jasmine snaps. I looked up to see her standing there, a fierce look on her face. Her hands are on her hips and she looks pissed. Ty snorts and moves to her, kissing her forehead. As he moves around her he pulls her back against him. Oh, I know exactly what he is thinking. She looks fucking hot when she’s pissed off.
“You heard my granddaughter. Behave, or leave,” Kelanie says. She scowls at everyone as she moves to lay a book on the counter. She has been looking through the ancient books she had given Jasmine to read. “I found something about the prophecy. Something I missed before. It says, ‘Whosoever holds court when the child of an original is brought forth to the lands shall be the ruling force. Said child shall be the realm’s leader once age is reached.’”
“What’s that mean?” Jasmine’s small, scared voice has me moving from my perch on the counter to her side. I take her hand and bring it to rest on my chest. She relaxes as Ty’s hand rests protectively over her swollen belly.
“It means your child is the next ruler of the realms. That’s why those mangy wolves wanted you to be a part of their pack. They wanted to mate and impregnate you with their foul seed.” Kelanie lets out a string of curses and the book sails across the room, slamming in to the wall before falling to the floor. “That’s also why they’ve backed off. Their healer would have sensed the baby already in your womb. We must alert the council. Alec!”
“Yes, ma’am?” he stammers.
“Get word to each member. They are to meet me in the council chambers in two days. I need to check one more book in my library. I shall meet them there. Alert your father last. Tell him it’s begun,” she commands, spinning to give her granddaughter a quick kiss on the forehead. “No worries, my child. I won’t let anything happen to you or your baby.” With a final glance around she is gone. Alec follows her out. Amandrell stands in the living area, her face drawn in a tight line of worry.
“Do not fret. This will be... Excuse me. I must take care of something. I will return.”
“Well, that was ominous…” Jasmine sighs as she pulls from mine and Ty’s holds. “I’m hungry.” She moves to the pantry and pulls out a big bag of chips. I shake my head and chuckle.
“I’m not sure the pack of mutts has actually given up,” Ty remarks. He moves to the kitchen and takes the bottle of salsa Jasmine is struggling to open and pops the lid off for her. She gives him a small smile as she takes the bottle back and pours some in a bowl.
“What makes you say that, Ty? Are they back in town? Do we need to go-”
“No, it’s just a feeling. My gut is never wrong, though. I feel like something big is still coming.”
I grab a cup and fill it with ice for her. She points at the bottle of coke in the fridge when I open it. The crunching of the chips in her mouth makes me chuckle again. She gives me a look and I wink at her. Her cheeks flush and I hand her the drink which is still fizzing. I kiss her cheek and lean up against the counter so I can face Ty. His brows are pulled together.
“What do you think is coming this way?” I ask. His gaze darts to Jasmine and then back to me. He shakes his head but then speaks anyway.
“I’m not sure. Jassy had that vision of someone warning her about Reapers. The mutts are up to something, and with the way Kelanie and Amandrell just acted - my hackles are up.”
“Maybe-” Jasmine starts but stops as she finishes chewing what was in her mouth. “Maybe the wolves ran off. Why would they come back. They know they can’t have me.” She shoves another salsa covered chip in her mouth as she looks back over her shoulder at Ty.
“Them knowing that and grasping it are two different things, baby. If that prophecy holds true-”
“This is far from over,” I finish for him.
“Exactly! Shit’s only going to get worse. And then some,” Ty agrees.
“Come on. Let’s not think about that,” Jasmine says putting the chips away and closing up the salsa. “I’m going to take a nice long shower, then curl up and watch some TV. I don’t want to think about this stuff right now.. I just.. No. No more!” She walked off down the hall, calling back when she hits the doorway to our room. “I wouldn’t say no to someone helping me wash my hair…” She giggles as she shuts the door.
Needless to say, Ty and I moved down the hall quickly. Who were we to deny our girl anything? No shifter alive would ever deny their mate. Not a one.
Twenty-Five
Jasmine
My mind wanders as I absently stare up at the ceiling. The large bed I share with my boys is more than comfy, it’s warm and inviting. With a small sigh I shift where I lay. I am so hungry... again. This is ridiculous. Between hunger for food, and a different hunger coursing through me for the two men in bed with me, I am going to go crazy. My body has become one big ball of energy since I found out I am pregnant. It not like I wasn’t always aroused before then. I’ve heard people say that pregnant women are always horny. Not sure if tha
t’s true, or normal, but it sure is true for me and it’s become my new normal. Good thing I have two very sexy shifters that are more than willing and happy to help me out with my neverending needs.
They both indulge my every whim.. and I think I could get used to this.
I can’t take the throbbing between my legs anymore. I have to relieve myself or I may combust. I run my hand down and let my fingers run across the sheer panties the boys got me on one of those days I was feeling not so sexy. I’m huge with this baby belly starting to take up my vision. The day I looked down and could no longer see my feet was, let’s just say, a not so great day. I bite my bottom lip, my fingers skimming across my most sensitive spot. It’s not as easy as it used to be with my belly in the way. My arms need to be just a little bit longer, but for now they will do just fine.
I’m just able to get my fingers in the right spot and run them in small circles. My hips rock slightly with the motion. A small moan escapes and I pull my legs up slightly, my knees bending and my fingers moving a little faster. I should have known to be quieter, but truth is, I love waking them up this way. The moment I moan they both become alert. I can feel just how aware of me they are by the hard lengths of them pressing against my side and hip.
They lean into me. The scruff of their unshaven faces prickle my skin as they kiss up each side of my neck. I absolutely love that feeling. Talk about bringing a girl's body to attention. My nipples tighten at the sensation.
“Morning, my boys,” I say softly. My fingers move faster as my body comes to life at their closeness.
“Morning, beautiful.”
“Morning, love.”
I breathe out as their words wrap around me, as gentle as their caresses. Their lips and teeth - oh God, the teeth against my skin, it’s like a mini orgasm every time they do it - move up my neck. I can feel my need to come growing. I take in a deep breath and feel their large hands both circle my belly. Our baby is in that basketball sized bump they’re now caressing. I moan, my body drawing tighter as they both continue to touch, kiss and nip at my skin.
Soon my hand is pushed aside and I feel the warm, strong hands of my mates removing my panties and each pulling a knee towards them. I sit up slightly to remove my sleep shirt. My boys don’t let my body cool down at all. Nope, as soon as I’m laying back on the pillows my now slightly bigger breasts are engulfed by hot, wet mouths, both sucking and nipping at my nipples as their combined fingers work against my center. One plays with my clit and the other fucks me with his fingers.
Those big, strong fingers guiding in and out of me as they worship my body is almost too much.
“God… oh God!”
There is a growl from both sides of me - and God help me, I moan - as they work their fingers in a slow, torturous rhythm. My hands move to their sleep shorts - which are deliciously tented by now - and I slide my hands in and grip their thick, hard cocks. They’re both leaking precum, thank God. I don’t have the time, or the patience for that matter, to stop and spit into my hands or get the lube. I need them now. I want them to come with me and I know just what to do to make them both go over the cliff with me.
“Jassy girl…” my big bear moans in my ear, causing delicious shivers to run down my body. He’s such a big man but his tenderness with me shows just the kind of man he truly is.
“Ours,” Horacio growls out and then his lips meet Ty’s as they lean over me. I lick my lips and smile when they pull back and look down at me. One by one they kiss me stupid. The my-body-is-wound-so-tight-I-could-be-on-fire-and-neither-realise-nor-care, kind of stupid.
My back arches up as they both move their large fingers inside me harder, and faster. The sensations running through me are enough to send me over the edge but I push it back, refusing to finish without them. I’ve almost got them there with me. My thumbnails - which are almost non existent - move up along the underside of their cocks as I twist my wrists. They both growl and their hips buck. I squeeze harder and repeat the move.
“Fuck!” One of them growls out, the other moaning deliciously. My body jerks again as my pussy is pounded by their fingers. They work in tandem to make my body come undone, as only they can. But the sensation of someone running a slickened finger over my other hole has my toes curing. My eyes meet Horacio’s and he smirks as I feel his digit slide into me. The combined friction of their actions are enough to send me into orbit.
I run my hands up and down their stiff cocks as I lose the battle with my own orgasm. I scream out their names and come undone. The tightening in my stomach, the throbbing of my pussy, it’s all too much. Their fingers keep moving inside me until I feel that wall building again. My hips rock with their movements as I twist my wrists again.
Horacio comes first, his warm seed filling my palm before Ty growls and fills my other hand. I continue to stroke my hands up and down their shafts, pulling every bit of ecstasy from them as I feel my own orgasm, one that shakes me to my core, hit. My grip on them tightens as my body draws up, back arched off the bed. They continue to move their fingers inside me, helping ride out each and every wave of my orgasm until I can take no more.
I collapse into the pillows, breathing heavy, my heart pounding so hard it’s all I can hear until my body starts to relax again. Gentle kisses are placed against my lips and cheeks as I try to slow my breathing.
God, I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but please don’t let this end. I couldn’t be me without my boys. My life would cease to be mine without my strong, big hearted men by my side.
I feel the bed shift behind me and a cold draft of air brushes across my overheated skin. I shiver at the coolness washing over me. A moment later the bed dips down and I feel the warmth of a washcloth between my legs and on my hands. My boys take care of me, as they always do. I completely relax as Ty settles back into the bed and a sheet is pulled over us. Their body heat once again encompasses me as I relax, the darkness of sleep calling my name.
“Sleep, my girl,” Ty’s soft voice whispers against my ear.
“We have you, love,” Horacio says, a small kiss graces my cheek and I slowly drift off, allowing the darkness to take me under with my boys wrapped protectively, comfortingly, around me.
Twenty-Six
Tiberius
Today had started as any other. Horacio and I had our time with Jasmine before we went out to start patrols. She was going to be doing whatever it was she did while we were out. We tried to refrain from caging her in. But she would always have a guard close by, even when she couldn’t see them and thought she was alone. There was no exception to that.
What in the actual fuck was going on out here today? Had everyone lost their god forsaken minds? There was an unusual influx of shifters around. I could scent each and every one of them. My path crosses with a few humans, as always. I’m polite to the shop owners, and the lady from the coffee house. She always slips us an extra bear claw when we go in. It might sound a bit cliché, but they were my favorites.
When I round the corner leading to the old warehouses, you know that part of town that always has shady motherfuckers in it, I catch the scent of something new. I follow the scent trail and stop a few yards from a group of shifters. They are large, but not wolves. They smell different than the shifters around here.
I keep to the shadows, thankful the wind is not going to give my position away. I can hear them talking. They are talking about us. Horacio and I. A growl builds in my chest as I move closer and I get a good look at them. I catch sight of one. he is in mid shift. Since it is taking him a while to actually pull his cat forward I know he is one of the rats. The shifters that think they are on the same level as a Guardian, or a pureblood.
“We have to take them down separately. Together they are too strong.,” one of them says. I snort. Yeah, lets see you try it, asshole.
“No, we take them together.”
“They are both Guardians. We don’t stand a chance against them!” one of the others says, coming up to join the others. I like him. He
seems to be using his brain. Not to be cocky, but I could wipe the floor with them all before they even had time to twitch a tail. I scent the air again and that’s when it hits me. Tigers! We don’t have many tiger shifters in these parts. What in the hell brought them to Oregon?
“You corner one, the other will come. The Sorcerer's say they are connected,” another spits out. His face wrinkles up in disgust as he speaks.
“What about the girl?”
My head snaps in the direction of the new voice. Four more of the fuckers step forward to join the party. They stare at each other before the biggest of them speaks again.
“She is of no concern of ours. We are here for the Bear Guardian.”
“What about-”
“No, let’s go. We will get him before he finds us.”
I wonder if I should pop out like a Jack-in-the-box and say boo. Maybe one of them will shit on themselves. I am a big mother fucking bear after all. I can be extremely menacing, when I choose to. I decide now is one of those times, so I step out and see what happens. There are nine of them now, and one of me, but I’m not worried. That was until I got closer. One of them pulls a gun out and the dart sinks into my skin before I can react. Shit, that stings.
I clamp my hand over my neck but it’s too late. I’m already falling face first to the ground. Mother fucking hell!
HORACIO
Something isn’t right. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, screaming at me. But why? I pushed the thought from my mind as I walked through the old streets. I keep to the shadows, as always. I try to remain unseen by many of the humans. A big guy stalking around seems to make them twitchy.
I catch the scent of a wolf and growl. It better not be one of those fucktards from the Crossfire Pack. I’m ready to skin them all. I follow him through the winding alleyways and down towards the water tower. I’ll confront him once we are out sight of the humans. Unlike these assholes, I follow the damn rules.