“Well, we don’t have enough arms and you might realize that and…”
“Vatten, I carry you around. I can carry three babies. Hell in a pinch, I’d figure out how to carry all five of them. Don’t make me use Jondi’s dolls to prove it.”
“There is a difference between than being able to and wanting to,” I said and Eran pulled the truck over.
“You’re going to freak out Jondi and Jade,” I said.
“Well, they’ll have to be okay with that,” he said and killed the engine. “Look at me, please.”
I did. His eyes were big and he smelled as if I stepped on his tail and stayed there.
“I love you. I love all five of our children already. If we need help, we’ll take help. I’ll make everyone line up in the corridor for you to sniff them until we find someone you can deal with. If you want another dog shifter around, I’ll ask Mac to come up.He works with kids at the Temple of Juda. Jacand can come over when he has free time. You like him. I’ll fly in your parents.”
“No you won’t!” I shook my head. “They’re due for another litter soon!”
“We will figure this out,” he said and squeezed my hand. “That’s a promise and if you don’t want to have any more for a while after I’ll talk to someone at the clinic and get a vasectomy. As for the other things, I can’t stop the wind, but I do have extra gummies in the backseat. Plenty of snacks everywhere and once we get to the lake, we’ll grill. If you don’t want that stuff, I’ll drive up to the grocery store and find something. And you don’t have to worry about Jade. He’s my friend. Hell, maybe my best friend, but if this is making you uncomfortable, we’ll go home. Seriously. Right now. I’ll turn this truck around and we’ll go home. Sure, I would love for you two to get along, because Jade’s staying in my life, but it’s not something we have to work on right this minute.”
My eyes teared up and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream or vibrate.
“Zoomies,” Eran sighed, getting out of the truck. For a moment, I thought he meant zoomies like some people said fuck and that he was going to tell Jade we were going home. I bit the inside of my cheek not to cry, because I wanted to go to the lake. A second later, he opened my side of the truck and undid my seatbelt.
“Are you kicking me out of the truck because I’m crying?” I blinked.
“Nope. You have the zoomies or need the zoomies. I’m not sure which one of those is the right way to say it. So, zoomies!”he pointed at the big field on the side of the highway. I vibrated and my dog screamed inside his inner sanctum. A second later the sound vibrated out of my throat and shook me from the inside out. Shifting took a bit longer because whatever magical biology that allowed me to shift took into consideration all five of my babies. Plus, I looked and felt a bit more pregnant in my smaller form. I looked between my front legs at the pooch hanging down. Now, my nipples could be called ‘swollen.’
Fifteen minutes later, anyone who drove by would’ve seen me, a white fluffy cat, a winged lion, and a little otter pup running around a field as if we’d lost our minds. Maybe in a way we had lost our minds or at least that human part that says everything will go horribly wrong and everyone will abandon me.
Jondi climbed up on my back and held on for dear life while I ran in circles. He let out happy, little, squeaky baby otter barks. Jade and Eran stopped to watch. I knew that he didn’t take to many people but pregnant people are generally less scary to kids. Like why be so pregnant if you don’t like kids, right?
We ran until I ran out of zoomies and then we had a little picnic of snacks on a blanket in the grass. Maybe we’d all be okay. Maybe Eran would stick around for five kids and Jade would find his mate. Maybe the next time we all sat here like this we’d be joined by his mate and he’d be the pregnant one.
Chapter 31
Mori
Crow’s Beak Airport
The plane touched down shortly after sunset. I got off the plane and ignored Philip. Opting for a mad dash to the restroom to respray my cherry-scented pheromone blocker spray before joining him. He was alone and adjusting his cowboy hat as if this was all some elaborate prank I was playing on him. As promised, he sniffed me and the protocol I laid out before leaving Moonscale London was followed to a T.
Inside his truck, I held my tote bag to my chest. I hadn’t packed anything except my water bottle, pheromone blocker spray, the book, and the scroll that Pami’s letter was written on. Then in the side pocket there was one all-purpose eraser and a pen enchanted to draw runes.
“Where’s your dog?” Philip asked.
“With Preston,” I said.
“You made him come all the way to London to watch your dog?” he huffed.
“No, I took Snowy over there last night. I just dropped him off with a note that I’d pick him up in the middle of the night a few days from now,” I said.
“That seems like an awful lot of work, Mori,” Philip said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull off but I hope it works out. You know that no one can help you unless you let us.”
“I have asked for help. I’ve told you what I need. That’s the best I can do for now. I wouldn’t even be here if I didn’t think this would give Preston and his family a chance to live in peace,” I told him, staring out into the night. “Some things you have to keep to yourself. You of all people know that.”
“I also learned that it’s okay to ask for help,” he said. “Sometimes you need a partner in crime, so to speak.”
“I’ll have Snowy back soon. Ni and Teddy are going to bring the kids to visit too once things calm down on my end.”
“Suit yourself,” he said.
