by J. L. Wilder
“What is a Cavallon?” Xander asked. “That alpha Coywolf told us you were one, but I don’t know what it means.”
“It’s my family line,” she explained. “I’m descended from generations of omegas. The gene has been handed down in my family for hundreds of years, mother to daughter, growing stronger with each generation. Everything you know about omegas is exponentially more true of me because of my Cavallon lineage.”
Pax let out a low whistle. “No wonder so many packs wanted you.”
She nodded. “Legend is that I can carry a larger litter than most. I guess we’ll find out. But I can already see signs of my own pregnancy, even though I’ve only been pregnant for a few days. Nothing you’d notice if you weren’t really familiar with my body, but...I can tell.” She rested a hand on her stomach.
“Well,” Judah said, “I guess that’s that, then.”
Emmett’s heart sank.
“We’ll have to set up some kind of permanent residence,” Judah said. “Someplace for you to have and care for the babies. You can’t very well do that on the road.” He glanced around. “Looks like we’re going to domesticate, guys.”
Emmett’s head darted up. “Wait. What?”
“You can’t have thought you’d take her on the road with you?”
“No, but I thought—I didn’t think the rest of you would stick with us.”
“Are you crazy?” Pax asked. “We’re your pack, Emmett. You’re our alpha. We’re not the Savage Rangers, for God’s sake. Hell’s Wolves don’t bail on each other.”
“Even though I was the one who made the rule against mating in the first place?”
“Well,” Dart said, a twinkle in his eye, “you’re going to have to abolish that rule now.”
Emmett laughed, hardly able to believe his good fortune. “I guess I am.”
“We’re going to stay together? Really?” Hazel asked. “I can be one of you?”
“Do you want to be?” Emmett asked. “I know being part of a pack hasn’t been good for you in the past.”
“Are you kidding? Of course, I want to!” she cried. “It would mean having a real family. A family for our children to be born into.”
“It’ll mean more than that,” Xander said. “You’ll have protection. If anyone else has heard of this Cavallon business—”
“They definitely have.”
“Well, then we can’t rule out the possibility of more packs coming to look for you. But now, you’ll be surrounded by fighters, and we can protect you and the kids.”
“Which reminds me,” Emmett said. “Give me that gun.”
“What?”
He held out his hand. “Maybe you can spy. I can see my way to allowing that. But you’re not going to carry a firearm.” Xander handed it over. “I’m not too happy about the rest of you holding weapons either, by the way. You know I think it’s a weak way of solving things.”
“Yeah, well. It was what we needed today,” Pax pointed out.
Emmett nodded. “I know. We can keep them. But once we get this permanent residence set up, I don’t want you all carrying them around with you. We’re not going to be that kind of family.” He thought of the Coywolves, of sniveling Matthew chasing him out of the house with a gun and a bat, of how helpless they would all be in the real world. “We’re not going to let ourselves rely on human solutions for problems.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little more human,” Hazel said.
“Meaning what?”
“Cell phones. Weren’t you just telling me how you wished your pack had them? If we all had cell phones, what happened over the past few days would have been completely avoidable.”
Emmett had to laugh. “Cell phones,” he said. “I’ll give it serious consideration. In the meantime, let’s get out of here and find somewhere a little less bloody to spend the rest of the night.”
Chapter Nineteen
HAZEL
The bathtub in the Hell’s Wolves’ cabin was small—so small that Hazel couldn’t fully submerge her pregnant belly at nine months. It swelled up before her, cresting out of the water. She liked being in the tub, though, despite the fact that she couldn’t get beneath the water line. Having the ability to float eased the near constant ache in her lower back, and the hot water helped the swelling in her ankles and the pain in her neck and shoulders.
Still, despite the fact that her body was struggling, Hazel was enjoying her pregnancy. She felt more vital and alive than she ever had. She could no longer doubt that this was what she had been made for, what her body had been built to do. She was looking forward to the arrival of her babies, but she had to admit that she would miss being pregnant.
The others were taking bets on how many babies to expect. Judah thought there was no way it would be more than six, but Pax had estimated at least nine. Emmett had opted to stay out of the betting pool altogether. As long as they were healthy, he said, that was all that mattered to him.
Hazel leaned her head back, feeling one of them move slightly. It was rare that none of them at all was moving, but they did tend to relax when she was in the bath.
There was a knock at the door. “Can I come in?”
It was Emmett. “Okay,” she said.
He peeked around the door, then entered, shutting it behind him. “How’s the bath?”
“Good. Warm.”
“You’ve been in here for a while.”
“I can’t really get out on my own,” she pointed out. “It’s a good thing you came by, I was starting to wonder what I was going to do.”
He laughed. “Why not just call me on your cell phone?” He pointed. The phone rested on the back of the toilet, reachable from Hazel’s position in the tub. “You can’t even take a bath without that thing.”
“I could get kidnapped in the bathroom. I might need it.”
“That’s not why. You were playing games in the tub, weren’t you?”
“I was reading a magazine,” she admitted.
He shook his head. “You are going to drop that thing in the water and destroy it.”
“As though you care about that. Besides, I’m not the only one taking my phone everywhere.”
“No. God knows that’s true. Can’t get Dart and Xander to put them down anymore, even at meals.” He shook his head. “And I suppose every one of our babies will have to have phones of their own too.”
“Not for a few years,” she said, smiling. “We can wait until they know how to talk before we worry about personal communication devices.”
He grinned. “Come on, let’s get you out of there.”
Getting to her feet was hard, especially in the slippery bathtub. Emmett had to stand behind her and haul her upright, and once she was up, she had to use the shower curtain rod to balance herself so she wouldn’t topple over the other way. Emmett grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders—like the tub, the towel was too small to contain her pregnant belly. He helped her to the sink, and she held on with both hands as he carefully patted her dry all over.
“God,” he said, hands wandering over the giant swell of her stomach. “You’re so hot like this.”
“I feel like a balloon.”
“No, you’re like...ripe fruit.” He stepped up close behind her, hips pressing into her, and she could feel just how aroused he was. “Ready to eat.”
She closed her eyes, completely turned on by his vision of her. Just hearing the way he thought of her was electrifying. She dug her hands into the counter and pressed back against him.
His hands slid up to her breasts. “Lock the door.”
She reached over and twisted the latch into place.
There was a rattle as his belt unbuckled, the sound of cloth collapsing to the floor as he dropped his pants and his shirt. Then she felt him behind her, skin on skin, so hard she could only imagine it must have been hurting him. “I’m yours,” she reminded him.
He groaned, tightening his grip on her breasts, and buried himself within her.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. “Look at how beautiful you are, Hazel. God. I’m so lucky.”
And she did feel beautiful. She felt ripe, as he’d said, and divine, and full of utility and purpose. Her body was doing all the things it had been designed for. She was growing her babies and serving her alpha and taking pleasure for herself, and God—it was all too much—
“Come for me,” he growled into her ear, and she did, pushing herself back against him so hard that he actually staggered back a few steps, unprepared. He kept his grip on her, though, kept holding her up, and she rode out her orgasm in his arms.
He turned around, lifted her up—how could he still lift her up, with her body swollen up the way it was? And yet it seemed to be no problem—and settled her on the sink before entering her again. She arched her back, begging for attention to be paid to her nipples, which had become huge and incredibly sensitive, and he bent his head to indulge her. His tongue was so skilled. She felt as if her brain was going to melt with pleasure, and she quickly began to build toward a second orgasm.
He met her there this time, mouth latched onto her breast, hands digging into the flesh of her hips, thrusting just slightly faster and arrhythmically as he lost control.
“Hazel,” he gasped, leaning his forehead against hers.
He helped her down from the sink and into the massive pregnancy dress she’d laid out for after her bath. It was a tent, really, shapeless and formless, but it was comfortable, and in the ninth month of this pregnancy that was what mattered most to Hazel.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Dart’s making dinner.”
“What’s dinner?” It didn’t matter what he said. She was starving. She was always starving. Her own guess in the How Many Babies is Hazel Having bidding pool had been twenty-five, because it felt like every bite of food was claimed by a hungry someone as soon as Hazel swallowed it. She couldn’t seem to eat enough to satisfy herself.
“Chicken,” Emmett said.
“Caught chicken or bought chicken?”
He laughed. “It’s from the store. You’re still not used to the hunting thing, huh?”
“Judah doesn’t like it either!”
“You’ll have to get over it eventually.”
“I don’t have to do anything. Judah has a job now. We can afford to buy food like—”
“Like humans?”
“Well, yeah.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry. I get your point. Humans are doing some things right, and we don’t have to do everything the animal way.”
“Good.”
“I still think the phones are dumb, though.”
She swatted him on the ass. “You won’t think so when Xander goes out on a date and misses his curfew and you want to make sure he’s okay.”
“That is the most human sentence anyone’s ever said. Goes out on a date. Who’s he going to go on a date with? If we find another shifter his age, someone unaffiliated, she can join the pack and they can get to know each other here.”
“And if he wants to date a human?”
“Now you’re just messing with me.”
She grinned. “A little bit.”
“Come on, let’s go get you and those babies something to eat before the pack of wild wolves down there scarfs it all up.
Hazel took his hand and allowed him to lead her down to the kitchen. The smell of roasted chicken wafted up the stairs. Dart was the best cook in the pack, and it was always a treat when he made dinner, but Hazel, hungry as she was, probably would have eaten anything prepared by anyone.
She sat down at the table and Dart immediately put a plate in front of her. “I used that seasoning you liked last time,” he said.
“Thanks.” She took a bite and closed her eyes. “Amazing.”
“I’ve got the pickles!” Xander said, passing her the jar. Everyone laughed. Hazel hadn’t experienced any pickle cravings during her pregnancy, but Xander had been devouring books and online articles about pregnancy cravings and other things to expect. Pickles had become a running joke by month five.
Pax came in from outside wearing only basketball shorts. It was clear that he’d just come back from a run. Their little cabin was in the middle of a wooded area, on the cheapest tract of land Emmett had been able to find, and the location proved highly convenient for a group of wild wolves suffering the pains of adjusting to life in relative captivity. Pax, more than any of the others, still missed the road, and Hazel felt guilty about what he’d lost. But she also knew that his life had been enhanced by the new freedom to run around he’d discovered.
Now, he sat down at the table and pulled the platter of chicken toward himself. “I found a waterfall today,” he said as he began to load up his plate. “A bunch of fish live at the bottom. It’ll be a great fishing site. We should rig up some poles and go out there.”
“I’d go,” Dart said. “I bet I could catch a fish without a pole, even.”
He probably could, Hazel thought. Dart was young and cocky, but his high opinion of his own skills wasn’t exactly unwarranted. She’d seen him run, and yet, she was always in awe of how fast he could move. If anyone could get the drop on a fish, it would be Dart.
“Actually,” Pax said, “I was thinking it would be a fun place to take the kids when they’re a little older. The pool at the base of the waterfall is really calm. It would be a good place to learn to swim.”
Hazel was touched. “I didn’t know you thought about things like that.”
“Things like what?”
“What it’ll be like when the kids come. Spending time with them.”
“Sure, I do,” he said. “They’ll be part of our pack. Of course, I think about it.”
She smiled at him. Becoming a part of Emmett’s pack, a part of his family, had been a strange and wonderful experience, and she was still coming to terms with how different it was from what Matthew and the Coywolves had offered her. There was real love here, love without terms or conditions. Not only that, she actually liked them. Every member of the Hell’s Wolves had qualities that made him both admirable and endearing. She enjoyed spending time with all of them. This, she thought, was what families really were—people you liked and wanted to be around. The Coywolves had never been a family to her in that way.
“I had an idea too,” Xander said.
“About the kids?” Emmett asked.
“Not exactly,” he said. “But I was thinking we could start taking jobs again. The way we used to when we were on the road.”
Emmett frowned. “We agreed to stop all that when we moved in here,” he said. “We can’t maintain a permanent residence if we’re also doing random jobs that might be criminal in nature. And we also can’t count on a steady client base if we’re staying in one place. I don’t even know if there are any other shifters around here.”
“In the Yukon?” Judah raised an eyebrow. “There must be.”
“That’s not what I meant, anyway,” Xander said. “I thought we could go on the road again. Like we did before. Not all of us, of course. Someone would always be here with Hazel and the kids. But we could go out in small groups, right? Three or four at a time?”
“You miss the road that badly?” Emmett asked.
“Don’t you?”
Emmett glanced at Hazel.
“Yes,” she said. “He does.”
“Not that badly,” he objected. “Not enough to leave you.”
“But you could leave for a few days,” she said. “Go out with the others. Leave Pax or Judah or Dart here with me. With us, I mean.” She looked down at her belly. “Besides, the family could use another source of income besides Judah’s job.”
<
br /> “We’re doing fine,” he objected.”
“Sure. Now, we are,” Pax said. “In a few more weeks, we’re going to have thirty-five new mouths to feed.”
“We’re not going to have thirty-five,” Emmett exclaimed.
“You know he’s right, though,” Hazel said. “And Xander is right too. This is something you should do. Pax is going stir crazy being cooped up in here all the time. So’s Dart. And the kids...when they’re old enough, I want them to know this side of life. I don’t want you to stop riding, to stop working. It’s who you are. It’s who I fell in love with.”
“And aside from all of that,” Judah said, “there might be others like Hazel out there. Other omegas in bad situations. We have the ability to help them. To reunite them with their families, if that’s a good outcome for them, or to help them find new living situations if their families are like the Coywolves. It’s practically our responsibility.”
“I should have known you’d say that,” Emmett said. “What about our responsibility to each other? To our own family?”
“This family always comes first,” Pax said.
“But we won’t have to give anything up to do this,” Judah agreed. “We’ll make sure Hazel and the kids are always well protected. We’ll be able to go on runs, work jobs, and have a home to come back to. It’ll be the best of both worlds, really.”
Emmett turned to Hazel. “You’re really okay with this?”
“This is what I want,” Hazel said. “It’s what’s best for you.”
He nodded, knowing she had a point. “We’ll give it a try,” he agreed.
Xander’s face lit up.
“After the babies are born,” Emmett added. “Until then, no one leaves. We’re going to need all hands on deck.”
“Deal,” Xander said.
The dinner dishes were cleared away. Judah helped Hazel to her feet, and they all made their way into the living room. It had become their habit to relax here after meals. Pax bent to light a fire in the fireplace and Hazel settled on the couch, reclining against several supportive pillows. Emmett sat at the other end of the couch and pulled Hazel’s feet into his lap, massaging them gently. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “You’re amazing.”