Page 41 of Pooch Planet

Chapter Fifteen

Shep bowed his head, his bottom lip pushed out as he kicked at the meadow grass with his toe.

“I’m sure gonna miss you, Benji.” He peered up at him. “I won’t even be there when you deliver your pups.”

“I’ll send a vid feed, I promise.” Benji placed a hand over his visibly protruding belly, the growth of his litter picking up speed over the past two weeks. “And Antoine promised we’ll come back to visit before they’re out of the puppy stage.”

Shep gazed up at the ship that had landed the night before, arriving in time for the specific purpose of transporting him and Antoine back to the Bastille.

My new home.

A brief jolt of sadness washed over him that was then replaced with excitement. He’d always wanted to get away from Small Breed Village and travel around. But he’d never expected he’d be so lucky as to get away from Pooch Planet. He loved Shep and there were many nice things about his birthplace, but there wasn’t a future for him here.

His future lay ahead with Antoine.

Antoine peeked out from the entrance to the ship at the top of the ramp. “Sweetheart? The pilot’s ready to leave. I hate to interrupt your goodbyes, but we need to get ahead of a meteor storm that’s in our path.”

“Okay, I’ll just be one more minute.”

Antoine smiled and waved at Shep. “It was nice meeting you, and I wish you and Champ all the best.” He regarded Benji again. “Do you need help up the ramp?”

“No, thanks. I can do it.”

Benji rubbed his belly as Antoine blew him a kiss then disappeared back into the ship. He didn’t want to admit that carrying what the doctor was now sure were three pups, was becoming a tad difficult. His small frame didn’t support large litters, and if they had any more, he’d probably have to be induced early.

But that was a long way off. He and Antoine had already decided to enjoy their triplets for a while before deciding on expanding their family.

He regarded a mopey Shep. “So, things are still going well with Champ? You think he’s the one?”

That seemed to brighten Shep’s mood. He broke out in a grin. “He’s definitely the one. I’m glad I took your advice and made the first move. Who knew Champ was such a shy Alpha?”

Benji chuckled. “True.” A silence built between them and tears blurred Benji’s vision. He blinked them away. “Well, I guess this is it.”

He chanced a peek at Shep whose lip was trembling. “Dude, I’m gonna miss you so damn much.”

Shep yanked Benji into a hug and wept against his neck. Benji had never witnessed such an emotional display from his buddy before. Frankly, he hadn’t known the pooch had it in him.

“Hey, it’s all right.” He gave Shep a squeeze. “I’ll come visit, plus maybe you and Champ can take an interplanetary vacation sometime. Isn’t he studying to be a vet? You’ll be rolling in credits in no time.”

Shep let him go then wiped his nose on his sleeve. He nodded, hiccupping on a sob then sucking in a loud snort. “Yeah, he thinks he’ll have his license in a few months.”

Benji patted Shep’s shoulder. “See? We’ll get to spend lots of time together.”

“Sweetheart?” Antoine’s voice echoed from above. “I’m sorry, but the pilot is insisting we leave right away.”

Benji sighed then looked up at Antoine. “Okay! I’m coming now!” He turned back to Shep. “You take care and…” They’d never been sappy with each other at all, but if ever there was a time for sentiment, this was it. “…I love you.”

Shep cried out on a loud wail, “I love you toooooooooo!”

Benji smacked his forehead. However, he was grateful to have such a true friend, and even more grateful that Shep would have an Alpha of his very own to care for him.

His buddy deserved all the happiness in the universe.

* * * *

Antoine tried not to stare too much at Benji as he ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ his way through their space journey. Benji had been in the observation chair with his nose pressed to the oval shaped porthole almost the entire trip. Sharp gasps had been added to his repertoire of reactions when they’d passed close by the meteor storm.

Right before they’d entered hyperspace, Benji had bounced in his seat, pointing excitedly to a pink and purple neon planet. He’d wanted to know if Old Earth looked like that too. He said he’d heard so much about their ancient origins his whole life and had always wanted to visit the place where the original humans who had eventually evolved into shifters had come from.