Chapter Twenty-Two
Being back in the den wasn’t the magical cure Axel had been hoping for. Joe, true to his word, wanted some space, and he and Kai were at pains to give it to him. He still came home every night and shared their bed but he spent many hours alone, walking the den’s borders.
“Give him some time,” Cade advised when Axel approached him and Hunter for advice about it. “The time you spent in the Weir really battered at his confidence. He needs to regain that.”
“How will being by himself help? Wouldn’t it be better if he was here, with us?”
“No. Most of the battle is in his own head, Axel. You have to let him work things out for himself.”
Axel conceded that they were probably right. It didn’t make it any easier though. Kai seemed to be working hard at keeping busy, spending most of his time with the other omegas, helping out with their kids.
“All good practice,” he said when Axel asked him.
Meanwhile, Axel threw himself into the usual alpha fallback; fighting practice and protecting the borders. He had a lot to learn now that he’d regained his ability to shift but luckily everyone at the den was very keen to help.
Gradually, they started seeing more of Joe. He’d join them for meals and for long stretches of the evening. They talked, about everything. No subject was off-limits. But there was still a distance between them, something that talking didn’t seem able to overcome.
Finally, they got to a point where Axel felt they needed something to bring all three of them back together. He got more advice from Cade and Hunter as well as one of the poly-mated couples in the den; an omega and two betas. Armed with confidence, he broached the subject at dinner that evening.
“I was thinking we could all take the next few days off. Spend it together.”
Kai was nodding eagerly beside him, but he knew it was Joe who would be the sticking point. The beta looked thoughtful.
“Doing what?”
“Exploring the other side of the den. The cottage is free right now, we’ll have space, peace and quiet, without needing to leave the den.”
“We’ve explored it before.”
“I wasn’t a wolf then. And Kai wasn’t with us.” He bit his tongue before he could plead with his mate. He didn’t want to guilt Joe into doing anything. If the beta wasn’t ready, he wasn’t ready.
Joe held his gaze for a long moment then looked to Kai.
“You know, I think I’d really like that. The den is so busy, it’s hard to get time to ourselves.”
Relief washed over Axel. “Great, I’ll make the arrangements.”
Axel carried a bag on his shoulder and a basket with food which Joe had twice offered to carry and Axel had refused. He wanted at least one of them with two free hands, for Kai’s sake since the omega was almost giddy with excitement. He’d changed twice in the space of half an hour, and Axel was starting to think his plan hadn’t been the best one.
“He’s just nervous,” Joe said quietly as the fox ahead of them stopped to sniff some bushes. “When I first met him, he spent most of his time in fox form. It’s where he’s most comfortable. I guess, with the tension between us all, he’s reverted to that.” Joe glanced at him, a flash of guilt crossing his face. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve nothing to be sorry for. I was the one who pushed us to go to the Weir, and I was the one who kept us there long past the point I should have. I just really wanted things to work out. I guess I felt guilty, what with my brother and everything.”
“It wasn’t just you. I wanted things to work out too, for all our sakes. I should have talked to you earlier about how I was feeling, instead of bottling it all up.”
Axel tugged Joe into his arms, catching his chin between finger and thumb.
“You’re talking now. That’s what matters.”
He let go, leaning in to press a kiss to Joe’s lips. The beta sighed against him, responding to the kiss and wrapping his arms loosely around Axel’s neck.
A short, sharp bark in the distance had them breaking apart, a giggle escaping Joe.
“I think Kai’s getting impatient,” he said breathlessly.
“Let’s show him what he’s missing being in animal form,” Axel teased, moving in for another kiss. He didn’t hold back this time, slipping a hand behind Joe’s neck and his tongue between Joe’s lips.
When they broke apart for air, a very human Kai was standing next to them, looking eager but uncertain. They both reached out together, tugging him into the circle of their arms, each pressing a kiss to his lips in turn.
Axel reached a hand down to Kai’s growing belly, feeling the kick of a pup against his hand.
“They get antsy when I change too fast,” Kai said with a sigh. “Won’t you come for a run with me? We haven’t done that in ages.”
They managed to convince Kai to wait until they dropped their things off at the cottage and ate a snack. The omega would get caught up in things and forget to eat if no one reminded him.
After they ate, they shifted and played a game of hide and seek. Axel was It, as usual, and hung around the cottage for a few minutes while the other two raced away to hide. He was still getting used to his wolf form. In some ways, it felt like he’d always been on four paws. In other ways, it felt strange and alien. He loved the different perspective it gave him and he’d already filled a new sketchbook full of scenes he’d seen as a wolf.
When he thought enough time had passed, he set off, following Joe and Kai’s scents. Their trail diverged, Kai toward the river and Joe deeper into the woods. He followed Joe’s first, knowing Kai liked the game dragged out for longer whereas Joe’s wolf would get bored and start nosing around for something to do.
Creeping through the forest, he tried to silence his steps, imagining he was stalking prey. Joe’s scent grew stronger and stronger and then… stopped. Where was his mate?
He listened but couldn’t hear anything nor could he see any marks or tracks to suggest where Joe had gone. Unless he’d changed back to human form but even then, Axel would be able to track his scent…
A giggle from above him had him glancing up into the tree. Joe was up there, in human form, grinning down at him.
“So that’s what an utterly confused wolf looks like.”
Axel growled unhappily. Changing form was cheating.
“I know, sorry. I got bored, saw some apples and decided to pick them.”
He clambered down to stand next to Axel, a dozen apples clutched in his shirt. “They’re sweet, good for eating. A pity, I was hoping they were cooking apples and I could twist Ollie’s arm about making a crumb-”
A shrieking sound carried on the wind made both of them jump, Joe dropping his apples to the floor. Axel was shifting and moving before the sound had even stopped, racing back toward the river. Kai.
Kai loved water. Rivers, lakes, the sea by the Cove. There was something about it. He wondered if, in another life, he’d been some sort of sea creature. A dolphin maybe. Or a seal, like in Joe’s story.
He knew he could hold his breath for a long time, so he waded into the water and waited among the reeds for Axel to appear in the distance. Then he’d duck down and hide until Axel came close, scare him and take off running. He knew the alpha would catch him, but that was half the fun.
While he waited, he wondered. Joe had seemed so happy when Kai had found him and Axel kissing. He was glad his mate was healing. It was a hurt Kai couldn’t see, but he knew it was there all the same.
A sound from behind him startled him. He spun around. Axel? But it wasn’t the alpha. There was something else there, someone else, lurking behind the reeds. He dived for the shore, pulling himself up onto the bank. It was probably just another den shifter.
The reeds rustled again and Kai backed away, looking for Axel or Joe. Where were his mates?
A body pushed through the reeds just as their scent reached Kai. Hyena. There were no hyenas at the den. This was no friend of theirs.
The hyena growled low under its breath and stalked forward. Kai backed away quickly, torn between running and barking for help. Could he run fast enough with so many babies inside him?
The hyena made his mind up for him by diving forward. Kai let out a single bark as he turned and fled, hearing the hyena right behind him. It caught up with him seconds later, teeth biting into his hind leg. He made a sound he barely recognized as coming from his mouth, turning to try to fight the hyena off, snapping his teeth and snarling.
He heard a howl in the distance, followed by a second. Help was coming, he just needed to hold on. But the hyena’s attack grew more vicious, his teeth letting go of Kai’s leg and snapping at his neck, Kai turned, trying to protect himself and the cubs he carried within him. A wave of protectiveness ran through him, followed by a white-hot anger he’d never felt before. His body shifted, his wolf form becoming something larger, something unfamiliar, and the tables turned.
Joe shifted back into a wolf and raced after Axel, knowing something was terribly wrong but not knowing what. He prayed Kai was okay.
As they left the edge of the forest, they could see Kai in the distance with some other animal attacking him. Was that a hyena? The attacker went in for the kill, and Joe howled from anger and fear, only to see Kai turn over onto his stomach and shift. Joe had seen omega shift into many different animals before, but he’d never seen them shift from one animal form to another. White fur with dark stripes covered Kai and he let out a roar that shook the ground beneath them, one huge paw swiping at the hyena and sending it flying through the air.
By the time they reached Kai, it was all over, the hyena slumped on the ground, unmoving. Kai tried to get up onto all four paws but whimpered and lay back down. Axel went to check the hyena wasn’t a danger. Joe shifted back to human form, making a beeline for Kai.
“Kai, shift back now so I can check you over.”
The white tiger growled under its breath and leaned over to lick at its hind leg. Joe could see the teeth marks and torn skin.
“It’s okay, Kai. It’s all over. You’re safe. Change back.”
Joe rested a hand on Kai’s flank only to pull it back a second later when Kai snapped and growled at him.
Axel appeared by their side. “Give him a minute, Joe. It’s just a leg wound, it’ll heal.”
“But the babies…”
“He’ll change back when he feels safe. And I think the best way to make that happen is to head back home. We need to let the others know what happened and warn them, there may be others.”
“We don’t even know if Kai can walk,” Joe started to argue only for Kai to pull himself up onto his paws with a huff. The tiger leaned over, nudging Joe softly with his nose.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Joe said, stroking Kai’s nose with his hand. “When we heard you scream like that, I thought the worst had happened.”
Feeling tears in his eyes, he knelt down and reached out, hugging Kai carefully. Axel joined them, giving the three of them a moment together before he got back to his feet.
Kai pulled away from Joe then surprised him by licking a line of tears from his face, his tongue warm.
Despite himself, he laughed. “Thanks, Kai. Never been licked by a tiger before.”
“Come on,” Axel urged. “We should get moving. I don’t want to be taken by surprise if there are more of these guys or their lion friends about.”
That got them moving, Kai growling softly as he padded after Joe, Axel following behind to make sure they were safe.
They weren’t gone fifty feet when they saw someone in the distance making their way toward them.
“It’s Hunter,” Joe called back to Axel. “In bear form.”
He shifted back when he reached them, staring bemusedly at the lion standing between them.
“Are you guys okay? Wait. Is that Kai?”
Joe took a step back, feeling protective. “Yeah. He was attacked and he shifted to something stronger to protect himself.”
“You omega never fail to surprise me. What happened?”
Axel explained about the hyena, and Hunter listened intently. “One of the kids was flying and heard Kai’s scream. He came back and sounded the alarm. I set off this way, Jensen’s got two groups doing a sweep of the border in shifter form. If there are any more of them, we’ll find them. You should get back, get Kai’s leg checked out.”
While Hunter went to see about the hyena, they kept going, keeping a fast pace and reaching the village in half the time it had taken them to reach the cottage.
“We’ll go to the clinic,” Joe said. “I’ll see to your leg.”
But Kai, still in tiger form, seemed happy to ignore Joe’s words, walking straight to their house. Axel followed him while Joe ran to the clinic and gathered the supplies he’d need. When he returned, he found them in their bedroom, Kai still in tiger form and crouched on the floor next to their bed.
Axel stepped outside so they could talk, making sure Kai knew they were still there.
“He needs to feel safe,” Axel suggested. “I don’t think he’ll change back otherwise.”
“Then we’d better get in there. I know if it was me, the only place I’d feel safe right now was with you two.”
With some coaxing, Joe got Kai up into the bed. He and Axel sat either side of him while he did his best to clean and bandage the wound on Kai’s leg. It wasn’t healing as quickly as he’d have liked. He also checked on the babies, finding strong, steady heartbeats.
“All good,” he reassured Kai and Axel, hiding his concern over Kai’s leg. It was probably because of the extra energy needed to shift to a tiger. Once he’d had some time to recharge, he’d be healing as normal.
Kai laid his head on his paws, his ears up and listening as his eyes watched the door; still wary, still frightened. Joe and Axel laid down next to him, making sure to keep physical contact with his fur and ensuring he could easily get their scents. They were all the tricks Joe knew to help ground a scared shifter. Ollie and Cade came to check on them a little while later but left quickly once they realized what was going on.
Eventually, Kai’s alertness faded, and he drifted off to sleep. Joe fell asleep next to him, distantly hearing Hunter arrive to give Axel an update before leaving again. When he woke the next time, Kai was back in human form, stretched out next to them. Joe woke Axel and the alpha lifted Kai while Joe pulled back the covers so Axel could lay him down on the sheets. They climbed in either side of him, bracing him between them. He barely stirred, murmuring something under his breath. Joe shushed him and whispered words of comfort, gratified when he relaxed back into sleep.
He fell asleep again himself, hearing Axel’s deep breathing across from him.
When he woke again, he knew it was late, sometime after midnight, the room dark around them. Kai was awake beside him, his eyes bright in the gloom.
“Joe,” he whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s time.”
As he said it, Kai took Joe’s hand and pressed it to his stomach. Joe felt the telltale tightening of a contraction.
“Yeah, I think it is.”
“What if we’re not ready?” Kai asked.
Joe leaned over to press a kiss to Kai’s cheek.
“We’re ready, Kai. Right here and waiting.”