Page 42 of Saved By the Selkie

Vati always assured me that it’s natural and normal—it’s how it works. Have pup, get another one. Just like our seal cousins, selkies have a high mortality rate, especially when we’re young. So omegas, from the time of their first heat until they get to be Vati’s age, are almost constantly pregnant.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, but looking at my beautiful pup stirs a powerful, instinctive voice that tells me to have as many pups as I can, to get pupped immediately, so I can experience this all over again.

I do like holding the pup. The way he yawns and snuggles against me is sheer bliss, and I think I could be happy if I never did anything but hold him ever again.

He’s growing, though, so I know he’ll get too big to hold like this eventually. I try to remind myself that’s what pups are supposedto do, but part of me wishes he’d stay this small and snuggly forever.

“Have you named him?”

Anna’s voice cuts through the fog of my thoughts, and I blink. She peers down at the bundle of blankets that is my nursing child, then looks back up at me, dark eyes wide with question.

“Uh. No, not yet.” To be fair, I think I’ve been a little preoccupied with not dying to think about naming the pup. Although he does seem healthy, so maybe it’s safe to give him a name now.

He pulls away from me, yawning and licking his lips. Then he nestles against me, drowsing contentedly, little fingers curling against me as he sighs.

Oh my gods, I want another one. I grit my teeth against the thought.

“Maybe something for you to do,” Anna says, and it takes me a second to realize she’s talking to Aramis.

“Er,” Aramis says.

Porthos laughs. “Not like you’re contributing much!”

I frown when I remember that my alpha has nipples. I look him over, then venture, “Do … human alphas … nurse?”

I wouldn’t mind a break. My nipples are starting to chafe. I’m actually glad the most intensive nursing period will be over soon.

“What!” Aramis cries, and Anna laughs.

“You have nipples,” I accuse. “What are they for?”

“I,” Aramis starts, then stops and stares at me. “I have no idea.”

Anna pats me on the shoulder. “No,” she says, “the men have nipples, but they’re useless.”

Porthos and Aramis exchange a look. Anna smiles. “Like tits on a fish.”

I frown at her, and she just keeps grinning. I don’t get it, but then again, I’m not sure I want to get it.

Anna claps me on the shoulder and stands. “We’ll rest for a while longer. You both need to eat.”

I want to protest again that I’m a selkie and I won’t need to eat until after I’ve been through my heat cycle. But I don’t want to talk about that, so I look at my pup again, asleep in my arms.

It’s a moment before I realize Aramis has moved to sit beside me. I turn my gaze to him slowly, afraid of what I might see in his eyes.

He’s not looking at me. His gaze is steady on the pup. “Can I,” he starts, then hesitates. His gaze bounces up to meet mine.

Wordlessly, I shift closer to him. I’m not sure I trust him to hold the pup, but he leans in, peering down at the baby. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” he says after a minute.

“I didn’t know.” My cheeks are hot.

His head jerks up and he glares at me. “What do you mean, you didn’t know? You didn’t realize you were pregnant until you just—”

“I didn’t know until the brawl in the mess,” I retort. “That was why I asked you for my pelt again, while we were in Sint Jahns.”

“Oh,” he says in this small, defeated voice.

“I needed to go hunt,” I tell him. “And the crew was already upset, so …”