by Jade Alters
“I don’t want to be a jerk,” she said, voice still sounding a little shaky, “but this is really weird.”
I laughed, a rippling roar-purr that transformed into a sound she’d find much more recognizable as I shifted back. “Yeah, I guess it must be.”
“And there you are again.”
Her eyes met mine, alight with what looked like attraction. I imagined her hands on me, and watched both her smile and her blush spread.
“So it’s real,” she accepted, sitting back in the chair again. “And you’re a… a pack?”
“A pride,” said Preston. “But yes.”
“It finally makes sense.” Her head fell back against the couch cushion as she processed the news, though her body language was a lot more relaxed now. She seemed to be safe and secure, surrounded by all four of us. It seemed like a natural place for her to be. “And you’re really not mad about…?”
“We don’t get jealous about this stuff,” said Stone. “Not under, uh. Certain specific circumstances.”
She blinked, shaking her head. “What do you mean?”
We all turned to Blake, even Jess was able to sense the potency of his authority in this moment. When he looked at her, his eyes warmed and creased at the corners — a rare visible sign of happiness in his serious, ageless face.
“We think you’re something special to us, Jessica. We think you’re our One Mate.”
Jess’ brow furrowed in confusion, lips pursed into a tight line. I cleared my throat and answered the unspoken question. After all, this was all very new to her; she shouldn’t have to ask.
“It means you’re the fated partner for all four of us,” I explained. “Mate to the whole pride.” I traced my fingertips across her upper arm, and down over the curve of her elbow. It felt like a new level of intimacy, somehow more than the private moments we’d already shared together. She felt vulnerable and light, her skin was satin-soft. Still, the enormity of the announcement had shaken her. For a few moments, she just blinked down at her hands, thinking — then looked up, voice low.
“So. This shifter thing. It’s genetic…?”
Blake nodded, but for some reason this was a tipping point for her. She closed her eyes, head falling back against the couch again. It seemed involuntary; she had gone limp.
“Jess?” Stone said, squeezing her hand. “Are you okay?”
“Lion baby,” she said. “I’m having a lion baby.”
Jessica
I hadn’t fainted. At least, I didn’t think so; I could still hear all their voices around me. I was just a little overwhelmed, and had to take a moment to withdraw. Surely anybody would feel the same way? Even so, I felt an irritating flicker of weakness coursing through me. I was surrounded by these form-shifting beings, skilled and talented enough to conduct top-level government work — and here I was fading away like some damsel in distress.
Granted, I was supporting another life now, but… jeez. The kid couldn’t take up that many resources so quickly, could they?
When I opened my eyes, I saw four concerned faces around me, and reddened with embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to freak out like that.”
“Don’t apologize,” said Stone. “It’s a lot to take in. But, uh. You said…?”
I ran my tongue over the back of my teeth. Me and my big mouth. “I said, um, Lion baby.”
It was Stone’s reaction that reassured me. The instant it came out of my mouth, still hesitant and unsure, his eyes illuminated.
“Are you sure?” he pressed, lifting his hand to grip my forearm instead. He seemed consumed with excitement — filled to the brim with the exact opposite of the disgust and anger I had been so afraid of. “I mean. You took a test? It’s — definitely, yes? You’re pregnant?”
I looked between Stone and the others. His face was always easier to read than anybody else’s, but I could see traces and glimmers of the same excitement in their eyes too.
“Yes,” I said, after a moment’s hesitation. For the first time, I felt free enough to smile about this whole situation — to acknowledge my excitement and my happiness, not just the panic and upset. It felt like ages since I’d seen that test develop, but in truth it had been less than 24 hours. As they all shifted in closer to me, hands petting and smoothing at any inch of me they could reach, I felt my eyes brim with happy tears. “I’m sure.”
They peppered the bare skin of my body with eager kisses, too quick and numerous to track. Blake alone sat upright, his gaze steady and soft as he met my eyes. “As though there was any doubt about who you are,” he said. “As though there ever could be.”
“I don’t know whose baby it is,” I admitted.
He shook his head. “It’s our baby. We’ll all parent it together. The biological details are… not all that important.”
I swallowed, trying to push down the knot of emotion in my throat. I had experienced such extremes of emotion today that I had no stamina reserves left to use. Still I wanted more; I didn’t want to spend a second away from them ever again, but we still had so much lost time to catch up on. I felt one of their hands smooth over the flat plane of my stomach, as if feeling out for the young life inside. It would be some time yet before our baby could ‘talk’ back.
“Is this what you were worried about?” Blake asked. “What was making you sick?”
“Actually, no. I didn’t even know until Doctor Gray came. I was worried about causing a fight between you guys. I’ve never… I mean. Not that I spent a whole bunch of time around military units,” I admitted, lips twitching into a smile. “But I’ve never seen a group so tight-knit. The thought of ruining that… I don’t know.”
Preston fingers combed through my hair, gentle and soft. I leaned into his hand, closing my eyes, and tried to let go of all the weight.
“I guess I don’t need to worry about that any more.”
“Definitely not,” Hale confirmed. “We just want you happy and safe.”
I opened my eyes, ready with a bright smile for him — but was surprised to see looks of guilt and sadness on all their faces. I blinked, looking between them all. “Wait. What’s wrong?”
“The safety part,” said Stone. “We failed you on that one, pretty hard.”
I flushed, shaking my head. “That was my fault. I went out for a walk by myself. I should have known better than that.”
“It’s our job to keep you safe,” Blake said. “We’re glad that you are, but-”
“We’re all safe now. That’s all that matters,” I insisted. I felt the intensity of all their eyes on me, and took the time to meet their gazes one by one. I wanted them to know that this wasn’t on them — that I didn’t think they’d failed me in any way. Far from it. They’d rushed ahead their mission and risked their lives just to bring me back as quickly as possible.
I caught Blake’s eyes last, strong and certain. After a beat, he relented, nodding his head.
“Okay,” he said. “You’re right. But still, I-”
“Ah!” I reached out for his lips with my finger, playfully tapping him into silence. I felt him smile underneath my fingertip. “Quit while you’re ahead.”
“Game’s over, guys,” said Hale, grinning at us both. “If that’s how easily she controls an alpha, we’re all screwed.”
We laughed, but there was already a jolt of electricity in the air between us. Before it could bubble up and over, I extricated myself from the pile and stood to face them — my four North men, all gazing at me as though painlessly staring into the sun.
“I’m going to get a shower,” I announced, trying to keep my voice even. “You should all clean up too, and then — then maybe we’ll see.”
Either I’d forgotten how to be subtle or they were highly receptive to my suggestive tone. Whichever it was, it was immediately obvious that the North men understood exactly what I meant by that. They were already scrambling up from the couch, smoothing down the cushions and practically tripping over themselves to do what they cou
ld for me. Stone’s hand was already extended to try and help me up on one side, and Hale’s on the other.
“Jeez,” I said, grinning. “Anyone would think I’d said something exciting.” They hovered at my heels all the way to my bedroom door, stopping right at the threshold as though some forcefield held them back. When I looked over my shoulder at them, the ardent hunger in their eyes sent a flush of lust over my whole body.
Just imagining their desperate hands on me, all at one time, had my heart pounding.
“Well, go on,” I said, sounding shyer than I intended. “Clean up. I won’t be long.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Blake, turning on his heel. Hale had already taken off down the hallway, and Preston wasn’t far behind. Only Stone remained behind, eyes trailing a soft and eager line over my still-clothed body as though there wasn’t a stitch of clothing on me. My toes tightened in my socks, and I felt heat throbbing inside me.
“Sure you’re okay?” he asked, voice both solid and soft like candlelight. “I know this is a lot to take in. We wouldn’t want to rush you into it.”
That warmth crept up the back of my neck, and I had to fight myself not to close the gap between us. I wanted to kiss all that hope and sweetness off his lips until there was only something dark and animal left — but right now we had to wait. All five of us did.
“You think you four pussycats could pressure me into anything I didn’t want?” I teased, shedding my sweater as I sloped into the bathroom. Looking back at him one more time, I was pleased to see desire painted all over his face. “Fifteen minutes. We’ll see who’s feeling rushed.”
By the time I closed the bathroom door behind me, my face was flushing pure red. I wasn’t sure who this woman was — this cool, confident person who was taking this entire ‘One Mate’ thing in stride. In the moment, it all felt so natural. The way it felt to have their hands and their eyes on me made it impossible to question. Only now that I was out of the spotlight could I begin to question myself.
This couldn’t really be happening. And even if it was, why had they all chosen me?
The hot water beat down over my aching body, washing away the stress and uncertainty of the past 24 hours. In truth, I figured I should probably sleep off the stress and fear, but I couldn’t have closed my eyes and rested right now for all the money in the world. I knew that my four North men were out there waiting for me with bated breath and eager kisses for many different parts of my body.
Once I hopped out of the shower and the roar of the water left my ears, there was only deceptive silence in the cabin around me. Feeling my nerves begin to riot, I took my time lathering on moisturizing lotion and spritzing myself with perfume — teasing my hair away from my face, twisted and fastened back in the hopes that it would dry into loose waves.
When I looked back at myself in the mirror, I was stunned to see the woman standing there. What they said about pregnancy really must be true. There was a glow to my skin, so golden and light that I almost looked unfamiliar, or even magical. I saw the rise and fall of my chest, gentle and smooth as though I wasn’t panicking inside. I felt good in a way I hadn’t in a long time — empowered by the life inside me and the effect I had on the North men, and anticipating all the pleasure to come.
I took one last deep breath to steady myself, and slipped on my dark satin robe from the back of the bathroom door. Hair still damp, I made my way through my room and the corridor to the comfort of the communal space.
There, before a softly-crackling fire, the North men — my pride — had built a soft-sheeted paradise of pillows and blankets. With the couches pushed slightly aside, the space was enough to fit all of us comfortably. They stood as I approached, half-dressed and hardening just at the sight of me. I swallowed, tongue darting out to wet my lips.
“This is perfect, what you’ve done,” I said. “It’s so beautiful.”
And it was. It felt like an altar to true romance, without the rose petals and the lacy underwear that Hollywood always sold us. There was only the soft cotton of the sheets that would lie beneath us — the smoothness of our skin, and the heat from our bodies intermingling with the fire. If there was a more appealing sight, I’d never seen it.
Preston was closest to me, and held out a hand for me to take. As I took it, stepping into the security and energy of this private space, I felt Blake close in behind me, his lips pressing down softly against the back of my neck — Stone smoothing my hair away with a soft touch, and Hale’s fingertips skimming the simple tie of my robe.
“Can I…?”
“Yes.” I tipped my head back into Blake’s kiss and let Hale do what he wanted — to unpick the knot and let the satin of my robe fall apart. I heard him inhale at the sight of my bare skin beneath, and shuddered as he drew a line from my stomach to the tip of my chin. Stone was less restrained; his arm snaked around my waist, dipping underneath the robe to touch me directly.
My heart was fluttering already. My toes curled in the soft fabric of the blanket beneath us.
I felt like a goddess, brought back to my power by their hands.
Preston’s hands traced a figure of eight over the inside of my leg. I sighed, parting my legs by bare instinct, and my lip trembled as I felt him climb to his knees. His hot breath fluttered against my thigh, painfully close to my sex; I spared a hand to tangle in his hair, eyes squeezed tight shut and managing to stay upright only by the grace of Blake’s presence behind me — and the pressure of his hard cock.
He and Hale worked together to slip the robe down away from my body. It pooled at my feet, no longer required in the glowing heat of the room. I felt more naked than I’d ever been, but at the same time completely invulnerable. There was no safer or better place for me to be in the world. No eyes I wanted on me more than the North pride.
Preston pressed a chaste kiss to the front of my sex as he moved his attention to my other leg, drawing a moan from somewhere deep within me. Stone’s hand massaged at my hip, almost kneading the pleasure out of me with his gentle but well-aimed touch. My eyes fluttered closed again, and it was now that I began to lose track of whose hands were which — of anything tethering me to the solid and serious world outside.
There was a hand between my legs, from behind — a gentle, stroking motion that explored how wet I already was, and set the fire in my stomach that Preston’s quick kiss had promised. Before long those lips were back on my front, this time pointed and purposeful. Preston’s tongue — at least, I assumed it was Preston — rubbed soft and careful life into my sex, flicking slowly over my clit. In time, I felt those fingers press inside me, beginning to explore the tight warmth of my body just as Blake began to rub his cock against the curve of my ass.
I may never know what exactly drew me here to live and work with these men, or why it had to be now. All I did know was that things were exactly as they were supposed to be.
I gave a choked cry as that mouth pressed closer to suck at my clit, back arching and leaning back into Blake’s waiting arms behind me as I submitted to the wave of fast-mounting pleasure. I wasn’t sure when I moved, but when I opened my eyes it seemed I had been carefully carried down to the floor — that my legs were now wrapped over Preston’s shoulders as he continued to worship my pussy, and Blake’s cock against the small of my back.
When I looked to the side, I found Stone’s hard cock waiting for me. I looked up to meet his eyes as I took him into my mouth, relishing in the groan it teased out of him. Hale’s tongue traced a circle around my nipple, spreading the shuddering pleasure I felt to entirely new parts of my body — and just as intense. It wasn’t long before I came for them for the first time, toes tensing and clenching over Preston’s shoulders and still rubbing eagerly at Stone with a spare hand.
Preston looked up at me once I’d bleated out my pleasure, eyes intense with desire.
“Jess, please…”
“God, yes.”
I knew what he wanted, and I needed it too. I shifted forward, feeling my weight supp
orted by Blake and Hale beside me, and let Preston guide his way inside me. Slick-wet from his kisses and my pleasure, there wasn’t the faintest discomfort as I took every inch of him, sinking down into the fireball heat of his lap.
“Fuck, Preston.”
I felt the others close in around us, the heat of their bodies overwhelming in an entirely pleasurable way. Blake kneaded at the small of my back, and I could feel his cock bumping up against the backs of my legs. At either side of me I had Stone and Hale, impressively hard in my hands, and soon Stone leaned in to capture my lips in a rough, eager kiss.
It wasn’t just that I couldn’t tell where my body ended and Preston’s began. I couldn’t delineate between any of the five of us. It was as though we formed one amorous creature, damp with sweat and desperate for more, more, more. As Stone pulled away from our kiss, I buried my face into his hair — breathed in the woody musk of his scent, still flooded with the taste of his kisses.
“Jessica.” Only Blake was still solemn enough to use my full name, even as lust tinged it with urgency — made it sound like a litany more than a name. “Would it be too much, if…?”
“No,” I moaned into the side of Stone’s head, following the pattern of Hale’s kisses over my shoulder and my neck. “Not too much. Please.”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence for me to know what he wanted. Sure enough, Preston slowed his thrusts to give Blake a chance to press up even closer behind me, guiding himself into place. When he finally pushed inside me, I felt the searing bliss of both of their widths together, melting back against Blake’s chest and losing myself in Stone and Hale’s devouring kisses.
I felt that I’d been made for this. Made to carry their child — made to curl and stretch to the shape of them, heart pounding to the rhythm of all four lovers at once.
Was it too soon to call it love? I didn’t think so. Every trailing touch of Stone’s fingertips felt like fire; every circle Hale’s tongue traced over me made me feel a little more alive than the second before. When my pleasure mounted to another powerful orgasm, my eager cries and tight clenching brought Preston to his peak inside me. In the moment, I couldn’t be sure whether it was him or Blake. Only when he withdrew, leaning forward to offer a line of kisses down my body, could I draw my own conclusions. It wasn’t long before Hale moved in to take his place, Preston cupping my chin to draw our lips together. The intersection of those feelings — the desperate, wild pleasure of Blake and Hale thrusting inside me together, and the sweet satisfaction of Preston’s romantic kiss — was surreal and powerful.
