After an uneventful pregnancy, nobody was surprised when my labor went just as smoothly. “I keep saying that the goddess decided to go easy on you after all she put you through while you were carrying triplets,” Uncle Tau said with a chuckle as he gathered the afterbirth for disposal while Uncle Jun helped me get cleaned up.

Kyle was sitting beside me on the bed with his back against the headboard, cuddling all three babies in his arms. Our sons were on either side with our daughter snuggled in between her brothers. Kyle looked up at Uncle Jun. “Would you mind taking a picture of us like this when you have a moment? Kara, Barry, and Allen are never going to be this small again.”

Uncle Jun rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time at the mention of our babies’ names. So I was a DC fan, what of it? It ran in the family on both sides, as evidenced by my dads’ names, Clark and Kent, and my uncles’ too for that matter, Peter and Parker. I figured that my little Supergirl and her brothers who’d been named for the Flash were a perfect addition.

Once he’d helped me pull up my pants, Uncle Jun efficiently gathered up the wad of bloody linens and carried them out while I went to snuggle up next to my mate and admire our babies. “Aren’t you guys adorable.” I glanced up to see Lulu, Lei, and Aurora walking into the room. Lulu held up her phone and started taking pictures of my family while her mates brought our cubs over to join us.

I stretched my arms out for my boys. “There’s my big guys! Did you have fun with your aunties while your daddy gave you babies to protect and love?”

Zane sniffed at my flattened stomach then crawled up against my arm to peek over it cautiously and examine the babies. Xander curled up against my chest, staring at the babies with a longing gaze. I absently petted him, wondering what was wrong with the little alpha, while I glanced back at Lulu. “Did Destiny have her babies too? I know she was going into labor when I was because we were both having cramps while we ate breakfast for dinner last night.”

Lulu rolled her eyes. “Okay, can I just go on record and say that your family are a bunch of fucking nerds?”

Aurora batted at Lulu’s shoulder. “Language, babe. Little cubs have big ears and loose lips, you know?”

Lulu had the grace to blush. “Sorry. Let me rephrase that. Do you know that your family are a bunch of freaking nerds? Anyway, only you and your cousin would name your babies after comic books.”

“Well, us and our parents and our grandparents…” My voice trailed off as I realized what she was saying. “Wait, what did she name her babies? And before you tell me that, what did she have? We were being so careful not to scent for gender.”

Aurora sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hands to her chest as she beamed at the babies. “A boy and a girl. A little alpha she-cat like Uncle Maon predicted, and a male omega fox.”

“And they’re basically named after Batman and Robin.” Lulu snickered. “The boy is Bruce and the girl is literally named Robin.”

I grinned, loving Destiny’s style. “I hope when Faith and Phoenix have a baby that they’ll follow the family tradition.”

“What tradition? Until Robin and Kara, you guys were a bunch of misogynists. Only naming your boys after DC characters while the girls got names like Destiny and Faith, and you trips were named after the original superboys,” Lei teased. “At least the new generation is doing it right, I suppose.”

“That’s not due to misogyny.” I rolled my eyes. “Uncle Peter and Uncle Parker hate the whole DC name thing, that’s why they get annoyed when they’re called the Spidermen.”

The girls started arguing about what they might name their future children, but I tuned them out when I realized that the cubs were still looking at the babies doubtfully and both of them had stiff, rigid postures like they weren’t sure what to do with themselves. I reached out and petted each of them, slowly running my hands over their spines, smiling when they automatically arched up into my touch. “Why are you boys acting so shy? This is your family, silly cubs. And these are your little brothers and sister.”

I gasped and shared a look with Kyle when both cubs made a pitiful mewling noise and hid their faces in their paws. All of a sudden it hit me, and I realized what the problem was. I reached out to Kyle over our bond so the cubs couldn’t overhear.

“I just had an epiphany. The boys need to know that we’re their forever family. They were instructed when their mom hid them to stay put and not to shift back until they were told. But honey, who traditionally tells pups to shift? Their alpha parent! We’ve begged and pleaded and cajoled, but you’ve never told them to shift while using your alpha powers. They need to know that we love them and consider them to be ours now too. I bet that’s the answer to getting them unstuck from this form.”

Kyle leaned over to kiss my cheek, taking care not to jostle the triplets. “I’ll try it, but can I just say one thing first? I love that you didn’t second-guess yourself just now. You’ve grown more confident over the past few months and I love seeing that.”

He turned to the girls and asked a silly question. “Who wants to hold a baby? I need to talk to my older sons for a moment.” As soon as he said that, both of the cubs started purring while the girls came over and each quickly took a baby to cuddle. Kyle quirked a brow. “Wow, I didn’t have to ask you ladies twice.”

“Are you kidding?” Lulu chuckled. “At this age, they’re just tiny and sweet and don’t talk back. And better yet? They don’t claw the furniture or climb the walls. Yet.”

Kyle and I each took a cub, carefully settling them on our laps in case this worked so that we didn’t have a large child sitting on our heads or something. Kyle looked back and forth between the cubs, resting his hands on top of their heads as he spoke. “Xander and Zane, you boys are now my oldest sons. You are just as much a part of this family as the new babies, don’t ever forget that.” His voice deepened and a swirl of alpha pheromones flooded the air before he spoke again. “Xander and Zane, as your alpha dad, I compel you to shift.”

The cubs began to twitch, their bodies contorting and twisting as their bones shifted and fluffy fur turned into soft skin. They stretched and grew before our eyes until two adorable four-year-old boys were sitting on our laps. Their bright blond hair and sparkling hazel eyes were every bit as cute in person as they had been in the pictures we’d seen online all those months ago.

“Well, hello there.” I smiled at Zane, pulling him in for a hug while Kyle did the same with Xander. “It’s nice to finally meet you, boys. Now tell me, is there anything you’d like to do now that you’re real boys again?”

Zane stretched forward to whisper in my ear. “Can I use the big boy potty again?”

“I want ice cweam,” Xander said with an adorable lisp.

Connor and Oni came walking in, their jaws dropping in surprise when they saw the scene on our bed with me and Kyle holding a pair of naked four-year-olds while the girls sat around cuddling our babies. Oni shook his head. “I’ll be right back. I’m glad to see that the cubs are boys again, but cubs have fur while naked boys need clothes.”

He turned around and rushed off while Connor came over to greet all of his nephews and his niece. He flashed me a grin. “Four boys and a girl, huh? All I’ve got to say is that you must be getting paid back for all of our sins with four sons. And as for your daughter? She is going to be one spoiled little princess.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “I don’t know about that. Kara is an alpha while Barry and Allen are both omegas like Zane. The way I see it, Kara and Xander are probably going to be running the place before she’s out of diapers.”

Uncle Jun came walking back in with Oni right behind him, both of them carrying clothes for the boys. Uncle Jun wagged a finger at Kyle. “Your children will only run the place if you allow it. If you boys need parenting lessons, come have tea with me sometime. I’ll be happy to teach you how to make children fear you.”

I bit back a laugh when I saw Connor shudder. Yeah, father-in-law or not, I was pretty sure that my brother still carried a hefty amount of fear for Uncle Jun.