Page 43 of Pooch Planet

Epilogue

Antoine tiptoed down the hall of his and Benji’s quarters then swiped his hand across the panel that would slide open the door to their master suite. Thankfully, the annoying grind that had woken up their litter the night before had been successfully fixed. He wasn’t sure he could handle another sleepless night. But more importantly, he wasn’t sure Benji could either.

After sliding the panel shut again, he checked the child vid feed they’d had installed right before the pups had been born. The device was about the size of a small dinner plate and was attached to the wall on Antoine’s side of the bed. The screen’s original location on Benji’s side had been a fail. His mate would stare bug-eyed at the device all night until he’d pass out, turn fitfully in his sleep then reawaken every hour to check again. Antoine had put a stop to that right away.

But their pups were sleeping soundly, the two larger female pups—Marie and Michelle—wrapped around their smaller brother, Maurice. He smiled at how cute they were, how unique and wonderful. While they both referred to their litter babies as ‘pups’, Antoine thought of them as pupgoyles. While mostly Chiweenie when shifted—big pointy ears, long snout and sausage body with short legs—they also displayed many gargoyles traits as well.

Most of their gargoyle side was physical, but their fierce protectiveness was there too. He supposed they would change and evolve as they grew. For now, though, he loved the small nubs that had begun to show up by their shoulders, the way their tail was thicker than a typical dog’s and how their eyes would sometimes flash red when they waved around their arms, kicked their feet or wailed to be fed.

“Are they finally asleep?” Benji rolled over and stretched.

Antoine sighed. “I’m sorry, I was trying not to wake you.”

“You didn’t. I always feel guilty when you tell me you’ll take care of them. It’s not fair to you.”

Antoine scrubbed his face with one hand, then let his silken robe drop to the floor. He climbed under the covers, pulling Benji to him.

“I’m their father just as much as you are. What wouldn’t be fair is if I let you take on all the responsibility. I’ll admit I’ve always found it distasteful when I’d see other Alphas displaying that attitude. It seems worse in gargoyle culture, too.”

“I don’t know about that. Have you ever met a Pit Bull shifter? They can be real dicks.”

Antoine chuckled, jostling Benji. He figured as long as they were both awake, all three babies were asleep at the same time—and he wasn’t at risk of being commed in the middle of the night unless there was a dire emergency—it might be a good time to bring up what he’d been churning over in his mind for several months.

“If you’re not too tired, I’d like to talk about something.”

Antoine ran his hand across the side table lamp switch, which he always had programmed to the dimmest setting. Not that Antoine needed the extra light, but he wanted Benji to see the sincerity in Antoine’s eyes when he spoke.

Benji regarded him with a crease of worry decorating his brow. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not wrong. But maybe not all the way right?”

Benji’s expression remained concerned. “Are you mad at me? Tired of the babies crying all the time?” His lower lip quivered. “Need some time away from us before you go gargoyle shit crazy?”

“Oh, sweetheart, no.”

Antoine tugged Benji onto his lap, cradling him and whispering soft words of love. He’d noticed that Benji was still very emotional, even after the pups had been born. Benji’s obstetrician had said that it wasn’t that unusual for omegas to experience bouts of depression or extra sensitivity, but to keep an eye on it if it got worse. Thankfully, Benji had been getting better and was usually full of happiness and fun.

Antoine frowned to himself. Great job fucking that up, idiot.

“Listen, my angel. This is the exact opposite of me wanting to get away from you and the babies. What I’m saying is that I hate being so busy all the time, that we’re stuck here on this ship unless I go and investigate somewhere on another planet or in another galaxy. The last time when I was gone for almost a week, I thought I’d lose my mind from how much I missed you.” Antoine tipped Benji’s head back with a knuckle under his chin. “Do you miss me too?”

“Are you kidding? You know how Chiweenies are.”

Antoine nodded and smiled. “I certainly do. Which is why I think I should step down and we should leave the Bastille.”

Benji gasped, straightening in Antoine’s hold. “You can’t do that!”

Antoine snort-laughed. “I can’t?”

That hadn’t been the reaction he’d expected.

“No! You love your job and if you leave it, then you really will end up hating me and the babies.”

Antoine sighed and rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger. He regarded Benji. “There’s not a reason that exists in this universe that would cause me to hate either you or our pups. So, let that go. However, I’m being quite serious. I’ve thought over all the angles for a while. He cupped Benji’s cheek. “Don’t you see? Now that I have a family, I don’t just want, I need to be with you all.”

“For real?” Benji appeared calmer and more hopeful.

“For real.” He planted a kiss on the tip of Benji’s nose.