by C. W. Gray
Val could vaguely hear Leti’s mate, Hack, inside the house.
Hack sounded exasperated. “Sami, you can’t keep chewing on Pax’s tail. Who knows where that thing’s been! Okay, okay, sorry Pax. I’m sure your tail is the cleanest hunting cat tail on the station.”
Val hid his smile and waved to Draif and Leti before moving on.
Soon he was passing Wyatt and Morgan’s house. Estella played with the twins in the front yard, Luna at her side. Their new pet, a cat named Captain Tater Tot, watched them from where he lay on the rail of the front porch.
Val snorted when he saw Princess Buttercup scratching at the front door, Stardust perched on his head. The large Fire Veil dragon always dropped Stardust off at home in the evening after a day of playing.
Morgan opened the door and scowled down at the dragon. “You’re late, so you only get one treat.”
Princess hissed, tail thumping hard on the porch floor.
Morgan rolled his eyes. “Fine, you get two, but Stardust better not have slept all day. If he stays up all night tonight, I’m bringing him to you.”
Val chuckled and continued on. Definitely not a normal neighborhood.
When he finally reached his own home, he stood still for a moment and watched Crea and Nessa. The two young girls sat on the porch swing and whispered back and forth to one another. Scythe lay on his back in front of them, legs in the air as he snored.
They had finished the last of the paperwork for the adoption last week and filed everything. It wouldn’t be long before Crea was officially a Philbert.
Muffin bleated again, and Val patted the goat’s back. “Thanks for the escort. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He shook his head and watched the goat trot back down the road to Leti’s house.
A hefty weight pressed against his leg, and he looked down and saw nothing. “Hey, Lotus. Thanks for watching over Seshi today. We’ll cuddle and watch the vid-screen tonight, alright? That romantic comedy you like so well has a new episode out.”
A faint, rumbling purr sounded around him, and he smiled. “Okay, so I really like the show too. Don’t tell anyone.”
By the time he made it inside, all he wanted was a shower and a bite to eat. Well, he wouldn’t mind a kiss either.
Verion sat on the couch in the living room, Seshi in his lap. Val’s son was cooing and waving his arms at the empty space beside them on the couch, so he had the feeling Marshmallow was visiting again.
Verion’s attention was focused on the tablet in his hands. He’d been working from home for the last month, but Val knew his mate needed to get back to his labs.
Val was looking forward to his three months of paternity leave. He wanted to spend more time with Seshi and Crea.
Verion looked up and smiled. “You’re home.”
Val leaned over the couch and kissed his mate. “I’m home.”
Epilogue
Five years later
Seshi fiddled with the trash compactor in front of him, small hands deftly turning the driver as he took the back off it. His Aunt Poppy had dropped it off that morning for him to work on. His Uncle Clyde had brought him another glider engine to play with too. It sat in one of the corners of the yard, waiting for him.
Marshmallow ran around behind him, squeaking happily as she played with Jellybean. Uncle Fire had cried when Jellybean passed a few years ago, but he was happy to know his two guinea pigs were happily together again.
Seshi paused and looked behind him. I’ll take care of them, he vowed to himself. He loved his Uncle Fire and would do everything he could to make sure Marshmallow and Jellybean were happy ghosts.
Lotus rumbled with laughter from where he was stretched out in the grass nearby.
“You can’t laugh at them,” Seshi said, pointing his driver at the large Betonize hunting cat spirit. “You act like a kitten when Dojee comes to visit us.”
The large, Grell spirit often shifted and played with Lotus when he was there. The man hadn’t told Seshi what he needed from them yet, but sometimes, spirits just wanted someone to play with. Sometimes, they need time to gather their thoughts too, he reminded himself.
For example, the spirit watching him from across the yard. She looked to have been a hybrid girl, maybe a little older than his sister Crea. She wasn’t scared but looked really sad.
Midge whined from where she was curled against his side. She was getting older, but as always, was his best friend.
“Don’t worry, Midgey. I’ll give her time,” Seshi whispered. He knew the girl probably needed him to talk to someone for her, but they’d get there when she was ready.
The backdoor to the house opened, and Crea stepped outside, Scythe following behind her. His sister was dressed in the skirt that their daddies didn’t like, and she wasn’t wearing the leggings with it that she was supposed to.
“You’re gonna get in trouble,” he said, shaking his head.
Crea made a face at him and stomped down the stairs. “Is Nora or Seshia here now? I need to talk to them. The dads are making me so mad.”
Scythe sighed and collapsed beside Lotus in the grass. Seshi knew how the dog felt. Crea made him sigh a lot too.
Nora chuckled from where she sat with Seshia on a bench in the corner. The two spirits were a constant presence in his life, just like his daddies, and they liked it when Crea came to them for help.
“They’re in the corner,” he said, pointing to the bench.
Crea nodded and stomped over. She started ranting to the spirits about something or other, so he tuned her out. He had other stuff to think about.
The door opened again, and Seshi’s daddy, Veri, smiled at him. His daddy held Seshi’s younger sister, Tessa, on his hip. She had been another surprise baby like him. Seshi thought maybe after having one baby, it shouldn’t really be a surprise anymore, but his daddies had sure acted shocked.
Tessa looked a lot like his big brother, Wyatt. She didn’t have eyes like Seshi’s either. He kinda wished she did, so he wouldn’t be the only kid with them.
The other kids in the neighborhood didn’t care, though. They liked him anyway.
Veri eyed the spirit in the corner, then gave him a questioning look.
Seshi shrugged and smiled. He’d deal with her when it was the right time.
His daddy, Val, slipped around Veri, taking a moment to kiss the other man before turning to watch them. They kiss a lot, Seshi thought, making a face. He didn’t understand why, but it grossed him out and made him happy all at once.
Val rolled his eyes when he saw Crea ranting to what looked like an empty bench. “Dinner’s ready, kids. Come inside. Crea, put the leggings on.”
“Dad,” she said, drawing the word out. “They look stupid.”
Seshi set his driver aside and stood up. He waved goodbye to the spirit across the yard and ran inside, Midge, the guinea pigs, and Lotus following behind.
Also by C.W. Gray
Charybdis Station Chronicles – science fiction/fantasy, mpreg
The Blue Solace Series
http://mybook.to/BlueSolaceSeries
The Mercenary’s Mate
The General’s Mate
The Soldier’s Mate
The Lieutenant’s Mate
The Engineer’s Mate
The Captain’s Mate
The Rebel’s Mate
Charybdis Station
Death’s Mate
Fire’s Mate – Coming Soon
Rune and Silas – Coming Soon
The Hobson Hills Omegas – non-shifter, mpreg, omegaverse
http://mybook.to/HHOseries
Falling for the Omega
Snow Kisses for My Omega
Romancing the Omega
Healing the Omega
A Pint for my Omega
Unraveling the Omega
The Alpha’s Christmas Wish
Convincing the Alpha
Title TBA – Sheriff McKenzie’s Book – Coming Soon
Hobson Hills Shorts – sho
rt stories from the world of Hobson Hills Omegas
The Beta’s Love Song – http://mybook.to/BetaLoveSong
Bennett’s Dream – http://mybook.to/BennettsDream
Justin’s Journey – http://mybook.to/JustinJourney
Grey’s Gift – http://mybook.to/GreyGift
Hobson Hills Shorts: Volume One – http://mybook.to/HHOShortsVolumeOne
Holiday Omegas Shorts – holiday short stories from the world of The Silver Isles – paranormal, mpreg, omegaverse
http://mybook.to/HolidayOmegaSeries
Cauldron Cake Pops and a Witch’s Kiss
Sugar Cookies and a Witch’s Love
Candy Hearts and a Witch’s Ring
Carrot Cake and a Witch’s Surprise
Muddy Paws and a Fae’s Wings – Coming in October 2020
The Silver Isles – paranormal, mermen, mpreg, omegaverse
http://mybook.to/TheSilverIsles
The Guppy Prince
The Not so Little Merman
The Sea Witch – Coming Soon
Book 2.5 – “A Mate from the Deep”
http://mybook.to/AMateFromTheDeep
If you would like to keep up with releases, please like and follow me on Instagram (@c.w._gray) or Facebook (@cwgrayauthor), join C.W. Gray’s Reading Nook on Facebook, or visit my website at https://cwgray-author.com