AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I furrowed my brows in confusion and Hunter explained, “Shifters are immortal beings, and once we bond with our mate, they inherit our immortality, because our souls cannot be apart from each other.”
“You…liveforever?”
“I don’t get sick, and the only injury I can’t survive is decapitation; everything else will heal,” Hunter replied with a smile. “Your aging will slow and stop, and your body will become stronger and more resilient. I will live forever, and so will you.” His grin slowly faded as I shook my head side to side.
It was a gift that many would be grateful for, but it wasn’t for me. “I can’t do it,” I told him as tears filled my eyes. “I don’t want to live forever. I can’t watch Brady age and pass on knowing that I will never die.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Grady’s deep voice offered from across the room, grabbing my attention. “Fate would never tear apart a family in such a way.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, confused but hopeful.
“It means,” Hunter replied with a gentle squeeze to my hand, “That little Brady will meet his own shifter mate one day.”
My eyesight blurred as even more tears rushed to the surface. “So…I would live forever with youandBrady?” Hunter nodded as his smile returned. “No sickness? No old age?”
“Just an eternity of happiness,” he whispered, and I lunged forward to wrap him in a tight hug. He embraced me just as tightly, brushing his hands up and down my back.
“Oh, I’m glad everything worked out,” sounded to my left, and when I looked up, I found Cedric smiling down at the pair of us.
I chuckled at the sight of Brady walking in front of him, wearing chocolate smears on both cheeks. “I see you found some ice cream?” I needlessly asked, and my son nodded.
“Cedric gave me extra chocolate syrup! It was so yummy!” I chuckled again at his excitement.
Asher helped Cedric sit down onto a nearby couch, and without hesitation, Brady climbed up onto the tattooed man’s lap, making himself at home. I could take a page out of my young son’s book; he didn’t care about the guys’ size, appearance, or even the animals they became. He wasn’t afraid because they treated him kindly. That’s all that mattered to him.
“May I ask you something?” I questioned Cedric, who nodded with a bright grin. “How are you…?” I pointed at his stomach, unable to find the right words.
“I’m an omega,” he explained. “It means that I am not as big and strong as other shifters, but I have the ability to carry a child.”
It wasn’t even the craziest thing I’d heard that day. All I knew to do was nod in understanding and tell him, “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you,” he and Asher both replied.
“Okay, I have to know,” I said, looking between Asher and Brandon, “Pleasetell me that I wasn’t the only one who freaked out at the lion thing.”
Brandon was first to answer, “I thought Talon was eaten by his lion and I threw a rock at his head.”
“I passed out from shock,” Asher admitted. “Of course, Ididhave a whole pride of lions attacking my truck.”
I scooted back in my seat, getting comfortable. “Ineedto hear these stories.”
The two men obliged, telling me everything about how they’d met their mates, and how things went down when they saw their lions for the first time. Grady wore a wistful smile as he listened, and even Enzo and Felix, as rowdy as they seemed, had a longing look in their eyes. I hoped that all of them found their mates soon.
The pride told me more of their history, from how Hunter had been exiled by his own father, and the way all of their families had turned them away for one reason or another. The stories broke my heart, but it was mended by the fact that they had each other to lean on. They’d made their own family, and I could feel the brotherly love between them.
By the time our conversations slowed, Brady was sound asleep on Asher’s lap, with his head resting on the man’s soft chest.
“Where is the extra room for Brady?” I asked Hunter. “I’ll go put him down for the night.”
“Do you mind if I do it?” Asher asked as he stood up, carefully cradling my boy. “I’d love the practice.”
I nodded and Cedric sighed as he looked at his man adoringly. “You’re going to be the best father.”
“So are you, sweet cheeks,” Asher told him before leaning in for a kiss. He then landed a slap on Cedric’s ass and added, “Let’s get Brady down and then I’ll remind you who the bestDaddyis.”
“Mmm, yes please.”
I blinked in surprise as they left the room, but none of their other friends seemed fazed by the interaction. Apparently I still had some things to learn about the pride. But it was okay; I had forever to do so.
