by Lisa Oliver
“You had the gall to ask him to babysit the twins? Sei, did you hit your head on a rock when you gave birth?”
“Of course not. That’s not how it’s done.”
He’s hit his head at some time in his life. Owen couldn’t believe Poseidon was being so clueless. “When Baby was little who did you ask to babysit him?”
“Why would he need a babysitter in my domain? He was perfectly safe there.”
Now, Owen wanted to hit something. The problem was, Sei genuinely didn’t see what he’d done wrong. “Were you around to make sure he got to eat three meals a day? Did you give him his bath every night? Tuck him into bed? Read him stories? Teach him to tie his own shoes?”
“Things were different then.”
Owen folded his big arms across his chest. “Actually, no they weren’t. A child, no matter when in history they were born, still deserved love, acceptance, and basics like food and comfort from their parents.”
“I was busy and it’s not like Himeros stuck around and did his bit.”
“And I suppose letting Baby know from his first memories what a shit Himeros was, was just another way of showing how much you cared?”
Poseidon thumped the counter top. “It was ancient history. For fuck’s sake, why can’t everyone just let it go? Honestly, since the Fates started dragging my family into this mating lark, I’ve had to grovel and apologize to damn near every son I have. Enough is enough. I’ve changed. I’m a different person than I was then and it’s time that was respected.”
“Baby does respect that – he stuck up for you and Claude in front of Himeros and Aphrodite. But that doesn’t mean he’s still not grieving inside for the life he didn’t have; that he’s still not worried about how good he’ll be as a father when he’s got no decent role models to look up to. That lack of confidence stems directly from the way you and Himeros treated him.”
“Baby’s got no reason to feel down about himself. He’s the best-looking son I have, and aside from his looks,” Poseidon added when Owen huffed, “he’s bright, he’s clever, he cares about the twins even though he rarely lets me see him act that way. Face it, he cares about people far more than I give him credit for. He’s going to be a great father one day, and what he’s doing with this house is nothing short of amazing. Every one of my other sons have homes they conjured, prettied up with their powers. My son showed me his callouses. I saw him physically painting that frame. He even warned me off using my powers to help him. I’m so damn proud of him and what he’s accomplished despite his shitty upbringing.”
“Did you mean that? About being proud of me, I mean?” Baby’s quiet voice came from the kitchen doorway.
“I told you I was proud of you when we were outside,” Poseidon turned to face his son. “I meant every word. You’ve done what very few people have the strength to do, and I’m not talking about working on this house. You rose above two complete shits of fathers, forged a life for yourself, and found the courage and compassion to accept an asshole mate who was just as bad as I was in some things. I won’t forget the thousand year wait before claiming in a hurry,” he added as an aside to Owen.
Trust Poseidon to get his digs in. But the lord of the sea hadn’t finished. “I might not have ever told you I loved you like a father should to his son, but you’ve always had a special place in my heart, Baby. If I seemed uncaring, it wasn’t intentional. Honestly, Claude has taught me a lot about the importance of family and caring for others.”
Poseidon walked over to stand in front of his son. “You, my sweet child, you’ve always had more strength than your brothers put together. Artie shunned the world and stayed in the library – Lasse and Nereus both went out with friends, but they never tried to go it alone. But you, only you had the courage and the curiosity to step out into the human world and live, and for that, I am very proud of you. Have you got a hug for your slightly tarnished dad?”
“I’ve never seen you hug anyone except Claude and the twins, before today.” The two men embraced clumsily.
“Meh,” Poseidon stepped back and smoothed down his shirt. “Just don’t tell your brothers about this or they will all be wanting hugs too. Now, where’s my mate and has he finished sanding that floor yet, only we do have twins to get home to.”
Claude’s chuckle came from the dining room. “I’m standing right here, watching a very touching father and son bonding moment that is centuries overdue. I think, if you’re so inclined Baby, you should seriously consider having a working party here – invite your brothers and their mates, and us of course – let them all develop some callouses of their own. Come on, Sei, let’s head back. If my instincts are right, it must be the twins bath time.”
“Really? Well, fuck it. I never get these time zone differences worked out properly. Remember what I said, Baby, I do love you, son of my heart.” And with a flash, the two men were gone as quickly as they arrived.
“Are you okay?” Owen asked, when Baby stayed standing in the doorway.
“Yeah.” Baby rubbed his chest. “I think so. If not now, I know I will be, thanks to you.” His hand slid lower down his body as his tone dropped suggestively. “I think I need a shower. Sanding is tough work. I probably have dust in a dozen body crevices that could be hard for little old me to reach.” His hand curled over the ample bulge in his groin.
Owen’s body reacted instantly, his blood quickening, his cock hardening. He might never see Baby’s body in anything but shades of gray, and that was only when his animal spirit came forward, but Baby’s aura was exciting all by itself. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom,” he said as he translocated.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Damn it, Owen, I said I’m all right. For gods’ sake fuck me like you mean it.” Baby rested against the pillows used to support his distended stomach, doing his best to push back against his horny mate’s thrusts as he lay on his side. “Harder. Faster. Damn it, don’t you want me anymore?”
Winter had finally given way to spring, and then there was a short blaze of summer. The nights were getting cooler again and the shades of greenery across the moors were turning brown. Baby was as big as a house, or at least that was how it felt to him. His stomach just popped out one day, and then got steadily bigger, and bigger and bigger. It took a raging crying fit from him, to get Owen to admit he was carrying more than one child. But how many, Owen couldn’t say. If anyone asked Baby, he muttered something about a soccer team.
The little ones were showing no sign of moving from their comfy home. The nursery was finished. Baby hadn’t seen his cock in months, but that didn’t stop him wanting his mate with a passion that never died. Unfortunately, the bigger his stomach got, the gentler Owen became, and the pounding Baby craved was nothing but a distant memory.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Owen grunted, and Baby could tell his mate’s restraint was costing him. “Oh, fuck, but you feel so good around me. How could you ever doubt I want you when my cock hardens every time you walk into the room?”
Clearly, that was a rhetorical question. Owen’s hand had found his neglected dick and was pumping it steadily creating perfect pressure with his palm and fingers. Baby was already panting. With his heart pounding, his blood singing and arousal running through his veins like fire, being made love to by Owen was the closest he got to feeling like his old self. Considering anytime he managed to stand upright, he couldn’t see his feet, Baby was so far removed from his sexy self, there wasn’t a comparison.
But Owen still desired him, still cared for him in every way, through moods and hormone changes, and bouts of horniness that lasted days, like the past week. “Oh, there,” Baby tried to arch his back as Owen’s cock hit the spot. “Right there, right aaargh, FUCK! STOP!”
Pain. Unimaginable pain swept through his abdomen as though someone had sliced it with a poker. Just as Baby thought it was easing, it hit back again, harder than ever. “Owen, help me. Fuck.”
Owen pulling out – ouch. But it was nothing compared to the r
ivers of pain sending his whole belly into spasms, one after the other. “The babies. Help the babies. Quickly.” Baby could feel their distress as if it was his own. “Quickly. Get them out.”
“I’ll get help. Silvanus!” Owen roared even as claws appeared on his right hand. “Baby, my angel, I can’t see…”
“Do it now!” Baby screamed, his body rigid from the pain, and then instantly slumped as Owen’s left hand rested on his forehead, sending waves of calm through his adrenalin laden body. “Please don’t let them die,” he whimpered as he felt the first cut of Owen’s claw against his skin. “Please, please, please don’t let them die.”
“I have to use two hands to lift them out.” Owen sounded as though he was sobbing. “The pain might return.”
“I don’t care, please. You have to get the babies.” This is all my fault, Baby raged to himself. Always thinking with my dick and now… Owen’s hand was gone from his forehead, and Baby closed his eyes as squelching sounds rang around the room. The wound across his stomach hurt as though singed with fire, and Baby clenched his fists. Come on, please. Please. Please be all right.
Dings of approaching gods sounded as Baby felt a lump resting against his chest. “You’re doing well, Owen,” he heard Silvanus say. “Now the next one. Keep going.”
Someone crawled on the bed. The energies were familiar as was the hand that swept his hair off his face, reducing his pain levels significantly. “Hey, there baby brother, are you going to welcome your little one?”
Opening his eyes, Baby saw the compassionate face of his oldest brother. “Artie,” he whimpered, “you came.”
“We’d have come a lot sooner if the Fates could have let us know of any recent five-minute gap when Owen’s dick wasn’t in your ass,” Artemas teased. “Guess your pregnancy hormones affected you in a totally different way to people like Thor for example. Now, come on. Look. There’s a little girl here waiting to say hello to her daddy, and oops, here comes a boy child too, let’s make some room.”
With the efficiency that was Artemas’ watchword, he’d zapped up a couple more pillows, which were now cradling two tiny and very wide-awake babies. The boy child had hair as white as his father’s, and golden hazel eyes that stared at Baby as though fascinated. The little girl had curls like him and the same blue eyes as Poseidon’s.
“Oh, my gods.” Tears streamed down Baby’s face as he reached out gingerly. “I’m a dad. I’m a real dad, with twins just like Sei.”
“Actually,” Silvanus said, “You have triplets.” He placed the third child on the pillows. “Welcome boy child number two. It’s no wonder you were so big. You’ve done very well, Baby. Owen should be really proud of you.”
Boy child number two was a mixture, with Owen’s hair and Baby’s eyes, and while Baby could marvel at the similarities and differences among his three new children, he felt something was missing as well. He looked back over his shoulder and frowned. “Where’s Owen?”
“He stepped out for a moment,” Silvanus said gently. “I think, given the state he was in when we arrived, he probably needed a chance to freshen up. Now, focus on Artemas for a moment, so I can seal this wound. Owen did an amazing job with the cut, but we can’t leave you like that.”
“Just look at these sweethearts,” Artemas said, stroking the girl’s cheek. “She looks so much like the first time I saw you, all eyes and hair. The same curious look in her eyes as you had. Just beautiful, they all are.”
“I just can’t believe there are three of them.” Baby barely felt what Silvanus was doing to his abs, as he checked each baby’s toes and fingers, stroking the soft skin and chubbiness. He felt a wave of magic as Silvanus cleaned him up and appreciated the shirt that suddenly covered his form and the clean sheets under him. He was not going to think about what he and Owen had been doing when the babies decided it was time to be born.
It didn’t take long before all three children were cleaned, clothed and fed, especially with Silvanus’ and Artemas’ help. Baby wanted to take them to the nursery, the room he hadn’t seen yet, but Owen was still missing, and it felt wrong doing it without him. “Leave them here with me,” he said as Artemas made to pick up the now sleeping girl. “Owen and I can take them to their room when he gets back.”
“Are you sure?” Artemas stepped away from the baby girl. “We can hang around until Owen…”
Baby shook his head. “I’m fine, and I’m sure Owen’s fine too. He probably just got a call from one of his followers or something and couldn’t ignore it. You know how he is.”
Of course, Artemas and Silvanus barely knew Owen at all, but they couldn’t say so, and with repeated offers to help out any time, they finally left Baby alone with a heavy heart and his three new offspring.
“I think your other daddy is being a wee bit of a shit, although we’ll go with overwhelmed for now,” Baby said softly, watching over his sleeping infants. “He’d better be back before you guys wake up for your next feed, or there’s going to be one hell of a racket as I can’t feed all three of you at once.”
Closing his eyes, Baby gave a passing thought to getting some food for himself. But his body still ached, along with his heart, and besides, he’d read somewhere he should take naps as often as new babies allowed. You need to come home, Owen, he sent out to the universe as he drifted off to sleep.
But when the mewling cries of his infants woke him, a few hours later, Owen still hadn’t returned. As Baby struggled to feed and clean all three little ones, he ignored the tears running down his cheeks, hoping and praying his babies would too.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Owen snarled as a shadowy figured lurked just beyond the shadows of his fire. “Who dares disturb me in my own domain?”
“You wouldn’t hurt one of your own.” A solid warrior with braided hair, wearing nothing but buckskin pants and a fur draped around his shoulders, strode into the clearing. Seeing no seating, because Owen wasn’t expecting guests, he conjured a log, and sat on it, his back straight as he stared into the fire.
There were few trees on this side of Owen’s domain. Just the blustery ice and snow that raged and settled in accordance with his moods. Owen was calm for the moment, but it wasn’t likely to last.
“Word on the wind tells us this is a time of celebration,” the warrior said quietly after a while. “The Great Spirit has been blessed with offspring – offspring that will grow and lead to greater prosperity and peace among our peoples.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Nanook.” Owen hadn’t dared think about his children, or Baby since he’d fled their home hours before. “The gods no longer influence what man does.”
“Ah, but they do. Else why would the elders sing praises to the sun and blessed moon, telling of a time of great harmony to come?”
“Your people might be overly optimistic, but my domain stretches far further, and most of my people have lost their voice.”
“Change is in the wind,” Nanook said calmly. “Your offspring are a good omen.”
“Why are you here?” Owen snapped. “I don’t recall asking you to come. I seek solitude and wisdom, not airy-fairy concepts that won’t come to pass.”
“I was called by the overwhelming grief of your bear spirit.” Nanook shook his head. “Imagine my surprise when I realized it wasn’t your bear who’d rejected his young, but the great spirit himself.”
“I did not reject them.”
“What else do you call it when your young cubs call to you and you refuse to answer?”
“Stop.” Owen tightened his lips, blinking rapidly to stop his tears. “My mate who bore them is a strong and fine young man who will well be able to cope with the demands young can cause and will raise them to be as strong as he is.”
“So, it is true, what your bear spirit told me. You have no intention of returning to your mate and offspring?”
“I can’t,” Owen bit out, his heart breaking all over again as he thought of never seeing Baby’s shining aur
a again. “I cannot help them; therefore, I could not stay. I would only be a hindrance.”
“Surely, you jest.” Owen could feel the weight of Nanook’s stare. “Since when has the Great Spirit ever been a hindrance to anyone?”
“I can’t see my children.” Owen slapped himself around the side of his head. “Baby was in pain, terrible, terrible pain and I don’t know if I cut his belly in the right place, because I couldn’t see. Only the auras from the life forces of the young ones steered my hand in the right direction, but when it came to releasing them from my mate’s body, their auras were so jumbled together I couldn’t see them.”
“Your bear saw them, plain as day. Why didn’t you use his eyes?”
“Because I was selfish and I panicked, and I wanted to be there for the babies myself, so I pushed my bear back, when he should have come forward and I endangered the lives of my offspring and my mate because of my callous foolishness.”
“The offspring are all healthy – I hear their calls on the wind.”
Owen knew that – he could hear them too. “It doesn’t make any difference. Three children graced my mate’s body, three young ones who need diaper changing, feeding, burping and clothing, not once but many times a day. I have no experience with young ones at all. This is not a situation I’ve prepared for with my lack of sight. I could hurt one or more, badly, and then my precious mate would never forgive me.”
“Your mate is already heartbroken. He fears the neglect that plagued him as a child have revisited him again with your absence.”
“My angel, Baby, has a large family. They will not let him, or my children feel the lack from my absence.”
“Baby hasn’t told them. He sent everyone away. Told them all you require family time and asked that be respected.” Nanook breathed in deeply. “He fears his family will try and hurt you if they knew you’d run off, so he seeks to protect you even as he neglects his own needs and focuses only on the infants.”
