by J. E. Cluney
“Well, a local tiger shifter like you have any recommendations for us while we visit Australia?” Tyler asked as he pulled me into his side more, as if he expected Brad to start showing too much interest in me.
“Well, my wife and I actually visit this private rainforest reserve in Maleny sometimes. Warded and owned by supes. Allows us to run freely. We were going to head out this weekend, but if you’d like, I can see if my wife would like to bring the kids out this afternoon? We can take you there so you can stretch your legs. There’s a gorgeous waterfall there too. It’s actually owned by a wolf shifter, so you might see a few of his pack there. One of the only wolf packs in Queensland,” Brad informed us.
“Well, we were planning on heading up to Maleny after this anyway since we’re going to camp there for the night at the show-grounds, so that sounds wonderful,” Darcy smiled.
“Great! I’ll give her a call, you guys take a moment to check out the animals here. Zebras, rhinos, giraffes,” Brad said as we came to the Africa section.
He stepped off to the side, and we continued on to the end of the path where we could look into their enclosure. They all lived in harmony, which was a relief, and I read over some of the facts on a board, and who each one was. Not that I’d be able to tell them apart.
“We’ll loop back through the koala and red kangaroo enclosures after this. There’s a walk-through rainforest aviary too, and a snake display, along with wombats,” Jackson said as he inspected his map.
“Well, she’s more than keen, always exciting to meet others like us. It’s been over a year since the last lot,” Brad grinned.
“Take it they’re not common, even here,” Darcy noted.
“We get quite a few ‘exotic’ shifters through the zoo on holidays, but tigers are rare. And you, you’re not a tiger, right?” Brad turned to Jackson.
“Panther,” Jackson admitted.
“Right, should’ve caught that. I’ve got some panther friends down south, relatives of those who got stupid and seen,” Brad rolled his eyes, unimpressed.
“What’s your wife’s name?” I asked quickly.
“Jenny, and she’ll bring our two daughters, Rose and Harmony. Harmony and Jenny will take turns looking after Rose, since she’s only eight months,” Brad said, unable to contain his grin. He clearly loved his two girls as he pulled out his wallet and showed us a family photo taken recently.
“It’s nice to still see photos in wallets these days,” I remarked. “You have a beautiful family.”
“Thanks, and yeah, I have a heap more on my phone, but I could get in trouble if I’m seen using it,” he admitted. “But we can swap numbers.”
Darcy took his number, and Brad invited us to stay at his place for the night in Maleny, meaning we could pull up our camper there and then take the SUV to the rainforest.
We thanked him for his wonderful offer and accepted, and said our goodbyes as he headed back to the tiger area while we looped back to continue our zoo experience.
“Nice guy,” Tyler stated as we wandered back.
“Yeah, super nice,” I agreed.
“Will be nice to shift and not have to worry. Our last shift was stressful, and I think a rainforest will be awesome,” Jackson sighed as he imagined it.
I didn’t disagree. The idea of racing through a gorgeous rainforest and playing with my mates sounded like a much needed fun time.
“Hey, camel rides! Who’s in?” Tyler grinned excitedly back at us. He’d pointed them out earlier, but we’d said we’d consider it on the way back instead.
“Fine,” I caved in, unable to say no to that bubbly, overexcited face.
Why was a grown man so excited for a camel ride anyway?
15
I stalked through the rainforest, drawing in all the new, fresh scents. My paws were soft and soundless as I moved through the trees, and I paused as I spotted movement ahead.
A sleek black coat made me relax, and I loped over to join Jackson, drawing in his familiar scent and nuzzling him.
A roar behind us made me spin, and I ducked down as Tyler pounced over me, intent to barrel into Jackson. The pair wrestled for a moment playfully, before Jackson rolled free and tore off.
Tyler took off after him, and I padded after them slowly, wondering where Darcy was.
We’d shifted before Brad and Jenny, and we’d all raced through the trees before branching off and exploring.
The sound of running water reached my ears, and I changed direction, heading towards the sound instead.
God, the air was so damp and fresh here, and I felt oddly in my element, although it was a little warmer than I would’ve liked.
The scent of fresh water reached me, and I sped up, my throat a little dry from playing with my mates.
I stepped out into a small clearing, looking up at the small waterfall cascading down into a pool before me.
Darcy stood just within the water, the spray of the waterfall drenching him as he enjoyed the water.
I padded to the edge of the water, lapping up some of the sweet goodness before wading in.
Darcy turned, watching me coming over, before his tail flicked mischievously.
Don’t you dare.
I growled as he pounced on me, knocking me into the deeper water and plunging me under.
I clawed at him in annoyance, and he swatted me as he swam back to shallow waters.
I followed him, splashing after him and knocking him down, wrestling in the cool water.
He shifted back to man, laughing as I pinned him down.
I gave in and shifted to woman, and he sat up, kissing me deeply.
“Told you I’d get you alone,” he murmured as he wrapped his arms around me while I straddled him.
I doubted it was overly comfy sitting his naked ass on the rocks here, but he seemed content.
I smiled softly before kissing him again, a sweet, tender kiss.
“I love you,” I breathed once I pulled back, my chest swelling as the sheer love overwhelmed me in that moment. His wet hair hung into his eyes, and they were overjoyed as he gave me a peck back.
“I love you too, T,” he murmured. “I hope this holiday has improved for you.”
“Definitely,” I chuckled, before quivering as I felt something prod my leg. “Really?”
“You’re naked and on top of me, what do you expect?” he snickered.
“Well, handsome, it’s too risky,” I breathed.
I sat up as I sensed a shifter in the area, and I clambered off Darcy to his dismay, shifting back to tiger as I wondered who had found us.
Not a cat shifter.
A grey wolf peered over the edge of the waterfall, staring down at Darcy and I. Darcy was still naked and in man form, and he waved at the wolf.
It snorted and nodded in acknowledgement before loping off.
Well, that was our moment ruined. Not that we should have sexy fun here anyway, not when the others could appear at any moment.
As if I’d magically summoned them, Tyler and Jackson bounded from the trees, launching into the water as Brad and his daughter Harmony joined us, and Darcy quickly shifted back to tiger.
Harmony’s smaller frame gave her away, and I joined in on the play they were undergoing in the water, everyone splashing and pouncing on one another.
I wouldn’t lie, I hadn’t had this much fun in ages, and I could hear the deep rumbles of everyone as they made sounds of joy and delight.
This holiday was certainly improving, and I was grateful we’d met Brad and his family.
I shifted back to woman and redressed before wandering over to the picnic table by our parked cars.
Night was beginning to fall, and the rainforest had come alive with all sorts of night sounds.
“Hey, you guys having fun?” Jenny asked as she held Rose while sitting on the bench.
“Definitely. This place is beautiful,” I exclaimed as I joined her.
“Harmony was pretty excited to join you guys. Not often she gets to
play with other tigers,” Jenny murmured.
“I’m glad she had fun,” I said softly as I sat down beside her and gazed down at Rose, who was sound asleep.
Harmony had wavy blonde hair like her mother, while Rose had her father’s brown locks. Both daughters had their mother’s brown eyes though.
I’d spoke to Harmony a bit, asking her about school and such before we’d all headed off into the rainforest. I was actually surprised she’d so willingly joined us, especially since we were strangers, but Australians did seem to be more trusting for some reason.
“So, I’ve been wondering, what’s the go with you all? I asked Brad if he thought you were family, but he’s not sure, since he said you and Tyler seemed to be together, but…” Jenny let her words trail off as she pursed her lips and frowned down at Rose. “Don’t worry, forget I said anything.”
“It’s fine, I think it throws a few people off. You were probably confused since Jackson was all cuddly when we got here,” I laughed. “We’re actually all mated. I know, multiple mates is uncommon, it was weird for us too, but it happened. I will admit there was a magic spell involved, but now, I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” I admitted.
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Jenny said in disbelief.
“Yeah, living with three men, it’s great,” I said sarcastically. “Toilet seat is always up.”
Jenny laughed at this and shook her head before rocking Rose again as she stirred a little.
“Well, I can imagine there are many household things that get to you,” she joked.
“Amazingly, they have all started helping out. Darcy does the dishes, Jackson helps me with laundry, Tyler does the bins and will even vacuum on occasion. But no one’s allowed to know that,” I chuckled.
“I wish Brad would do that,” Jenny groaned. “But he does help out in his own way. Still, three mates, that’s incredible.”
She stared at me, and I could see she wanted to ask more, and I couldn’t keep from smiling.
“You want to know what the sex life is like, right?” I chuckled.
“Is that bad of me?” Jenny cringed.
“Not at all,” I laughed softly. “It’s never dull. We take turns, sometimes they’ll all be with me, sharing me. They’re all fine with it,” I explained. “They all know how to please a woman too.”
“Mmm, that must be wonderful,” Jenny practically moaned. “Ever since we had this little one, we’ve struggled to find time. But things should get easier as she gets older.”
She smiled down at her daughter lovingly, and I felt an odd need to hold her wash over me. Rose was so cute and perfect, wrapped up in a blanket in Jenny’s arms.
“Do they ever do things together?” Jenny murmured, almost like she felt guilty for asking.
“No, although, I won’t lie, I’d probably like that,” I grinned and winked, and she stifled giggles.
“What about kids?” she queried.
“We haven’t really discussed that. I’m not sure how it’ll even work with multiple mates,” I sighed.
“Yeah, best talk that one out. I have no idea either,” Jenny said regretfully.
We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before she offered Rose to me.
“Would you like to hold her?”
“Sure,” I said, holding back my sudden burst of odd excitement as I accepted her.
God, she was so cute and sweet, blissfully unaware of everything as she slept.
Such a cute button nose, absolutely tiny hands.
The need for that unique connection swelled inside me, but I fought it off.
What on earth was wrong with me lately? Why was I getting so clucky?
“You want one, don’t you?” Jenny noted, as if she could read me like an open book.
“Is it that obvious?” I mumbled.
“Only because I was right there too. Not sure about what I wanted, then I suddenly knew. I wanted a child of my own, to have a family with Brad and be a mother,” Jenny said sweetly. “You have the same look I did when I held a friend’s baby.”
“I guess I should really discuss this with my guys, right?” I chuckled.
“Yes, but make sure you’re all ready and on the same page. Then again, Harmony was actually completely unexpected. When I started to get clucky, I was already a few weeks pregnant,” she said with a shrug. “Disregard that, actually. I don’t think you’re ever ready, but when they come along, life is perfect and whole,” she smiled tenderly at Rose. “They make everything so much better, even if they drive you utterly insane. Harmony can be a pain now that she’s sixteen, but she’s not too bad.”
“Why so much of an age gap between them?” I asked curiously.
“We only wanted one child. We were complete with just Harmony. I was on the pill, but I fell sick with a stomach bug for a while there. We didn’t use protection, and Rose came along,” Jenny explained. “I actually like the gap, Harmony helps out a lot with Rose, which takes a lot of stress off me.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, but having them closer together is good too. They can grow up together and play with one another.”
I nodded as I smiled down at Rose. God, she was precious.
The others burst from the tree line, shifting back and dressing as Brad laughed with my guys and Harmony spoke excitedly about how fun it was to race them.
Jenny gave me a soft smile as I handed Rose back, and Darcy came over to give me a soft kiss on the forehead.
“You been waiting long?” he asked.
“Nope, just been chatting with Jenny,” I murmured as he gave me a peck on the lips.
I noticed Harmony watching us curiously, as was Brad, but they didn’t say anything.
“Well, let’s head home. We’ll order some of the wood-fired pizzas tonight, I’m sure you guys will love them,” Jenny said as she stood up and shifted Rose in her arms.
“They are ammmmmazzzzing,” Harmony exaggerated. “Our favorite pizzas ever.”
“They don’t skimp out on the toppings. Worth the price,” Brad added as he headed over to Jenny to help her with Rose.
The boys and I loaded into our SUV, and we waited for Brad and his family to head off, following after them back to their place.
“These are amazing,” I stated as I finished my sixth slice of pizza. So cheesy and loaded with toppings. Some of the best pizza I’d ever had.
My boys were wolfing them down, and Brad was telling us about a number of places for us to visit locally, including Gardners falls and Mary Cairncross park.
I reached for another slice of garlic bread, washing my pizza down with a gulp of soda.
“You can’t ever go wrong with Jen’s Pizzas,” Brad beamed as he chose another slice. “You guys are welcome to stay a few nights too if you’d like.”
“Thank you, that’s so sweet of you, but we’ll just stay tonight, we don’t want to impose, and besides, we’re going to be moving on after tomorrow afternoon to a new town,” I thanked him.
He just nodded as he reached for his can of beer.
“I have a question,” Harmony spoke up.
Jenny had popped away to check on Rose, who she’d put to bed once we’d arrived home.
“What’s that?” Brad asked just as Jenny reappeared.
“Are you guys a family? Or all together? Dad said you and Tyler were together and the others must be friends, but you seem close to the others too,” Harmony said as she focused those deep brown eyes on me, completely perplexed, but the question was innocent enough.
“Harmony,” Brad coughed, scolding her.
“It’s fine,” I waved him off. “I know it seems weird. I explained it to your mother earlier.”
“I didn’t tell them, sorry,” Jenny apologized, but I shook my head.
“You see, we’re all mates, which I’m sure you’ve been told about, as I’m sure your parents are mates. Sometimes we can take on more than one mate. And thanks to a botched spell back home, I ended up with three,” I explai
ned.
“So you’re all in love?” Harmony frowned.
“Well, they all love me, and I love all of them. And they love each other like brothers,” I chose my words carefully.
Harmony’s frown deepened as she glanced at her dad.
The boys had fallen oddly silent, focusing on the pizza and averting their eyes.
“Well, it’s not unheard of. There’s even a fae/werewolf halfling up this way who has taken on multiple mates from what I’ve heard,” Brad said, breaking the odd silence that had settled over us.
“Can I have more than one mate?” Harmony asked.
“Maybe, you just have to see what happens,” Brad said quickly.
“I want two. One to play with my hair, and one to do the dishes,” Harmony stated, causing Tyler to choke on his pizza as he snorted back a laugh.
We broke out into chuckles as Jackson patted Tyler’s back as he continued to choke and cough, and Brad just shook his head in amusement at his daughter.
“Maybe I should have a third one too. Y’know, so they can do the cooking as well. Yes, three sounds like a good number, is it a good number?” Harmony mused as she turned to me.
“I think it is,” I said with a shrug.
“I hope they help out around the house a lot, especially if they have to share you. I can only imagine how sore you must get in the bedroom,” Harmony stage-whispered.
My eyes just widened as Tyler broke into rasping laughter, having barely regained himself.
Even Jackson was snickering, and Brad looked horrified as Jenny’s mouth dropped open in shocked amusement.
Darcy was even hiding a smirk behind a piece of pizza.
“Harmony!” Brad scolded her, and she just gave him an innocent shrug.
“We did sex ed at school dad. And they’re still young,” she muttered.
Brad just shook his head in sheer disbelief as I pursed my lips together in an effort to keep from smiling at her.
Damn. I so needed a daughter who grew up like her one day.
16
I awoke, groaning as my stomach knotted and gurgled, the nausea washing over me as I scrambled out of bed and into the bathroom.
