Chapter Twenty-Seven
Joe thought he’d seen true chaos before, but that was nothing compared to the wolves of the Weir regaining the ability to shift. It was every hand on deck to guide people through it. The children were easier, being younger and more malleable. The older, the ones who remembered being able to shift in the past, also had an easier time of it. It was the people his own age, the parents of the kids, who struggled.
The Cove sent as many people as they could spare as did the den and the other wolf packs who’d regained the ability to shift. In the first week alone, Joe treated over a dozen injuries from bites and scrapes.
“They don’t know their own strength, not at this age,” he told the mother of a four-year-old who’d bitten his older brother quite badly on the hand. “It’ll heal up soon and they’ll learn to play safe with each other. We’ll help teach them.”
They took turns shifting with the new wolves, taking them out for runs through the forests and the orchard, helping them learn to play and breaking up any fights that sprung up. Between that and the babies and his midwifery duties, he was flat out for weeks on end.
It was almost a month later before things started to settle down. All the pack had become wolves again and the pack council decided to throw a party, in part to celebrate, and in part as thanks to those who’d helped them with the transition.
Joe and Kai helped with the preparations, cooking and hanging banners in between feeds and changes. Axel was trying to be all things to all, which meant they saw him often yet he was always on his way somewhere else. Joe knew there were getting close to the point where cracks would start showing.
“We need some time off,” he insisted as they sat down to dinner together, Axel checking his watch for the third time.
“Time off?” his mate repeated.
“We’ve hardly seen each other for weeks. And when we do, it’s all go with the babies.”
“It has been full on,” Kai agreed. “We could do with a break, just the three of us and the kids. No caring for new shifters, no decorating the house for parties.”
“Do you want to go to River Den?”
“That’d be ideal,” Joe said. “But they don’t have space for us right now.”
“We should stay right here,” Kai said. “Just tell people we’re unavailable except for emergencies.”
“Do you think that will work?” Joe wondered.
“Oh yeah,” Axel was quick to reply. “They’ll do a lot to keep us here. If a few days of peace is all we’re asking for, we can have it. I’ll talk to them tomorrow and arrange it.”
They chatted for a while about what they’d do with their time off. Joe could see Axel was distracted and a few times he started to say something then stopped.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s about the party.”
“What about it?”
“What would you think about my parents visiting during it?”
Joe was momentarily tongue-tied. Kai looked similarly stumped.
“Visiting the den?” Joe finally said at last.
“Just for the day. A few hours, even. That’s all,” Axel said firmly.
Axel had told them everything the day he came back from visiting them; what had been said, how they’d seemed. Joe knew Axel was worried about them, and if his mate worried so did he.
“Would they be here, in the house? What about the babies?”
“The front part of the house will be open for the day, as planned. They’ll be allowed in there just like everyone else. The back of the house, upstairs and the nursery will be off limits to anyone who’s not us or someone we’ve enlisted to help with the kids.”
Joe looked to Kai, and the omega gave a nod. He was okay with it. Axel seemed to want it. And there was a part of Joe that wanted to see for himself how they were, without having to face them one-on-one.
“Okay, why not?” he said finally, getting up to put his plate in the sink. “They must be lonely stuck up there all by themselves.”
A second later he felt Axel behind him as the alpha wrapped his arms around him. “I don’t know what I did to deserve a mate as understanding as you, but I’m thankful for you every single day.”
Joe turned in his arms so they were face to face, letting Axel take the lead and press a kiss to his lips.
“I’ll take baby duty,” Kai offered behind them. “If you two want to…”
“Oh no,” Axel said, reaching back to snag Kai’s arm. “They’ll be asleep another while yet. I think all three of us need some time together.”
Axel trailed his hand down Joe’s arm before taking his hand, tugging both him and Kai toward the door.
“But the dishes,” Joe protested half-heartedly.
“Leave them, they’ll keep.”
They kept their voices down as they passed by the nursery, Kai stifling a giggle. When they got to the bedroom door, Axel reeled Kai in first, pressing a kiss to his lips before urging him toward the bed. Joe was next, held firmly in Axel’s arms, his chin nudged up before Axel’s lips found his. Within seconds he was lost, in the touch of Axel’s skin to his, his scent, and the taste of his mouth. He would happily lose himself in that forever.
Axel closed the bedroom door behind him, confident that their shifter hearing would be enough to alert them to any trouble with the cubs. When he turned toward the bed, he found both his mates waiting for him. It was true they’d had little time to themselves since the babies had arrived, a phase of their life that he knew wouldn’t last forever. And yet the physical side of their relationship was so important that he also knew it was wrong to let it slide. The three of them needed to be on the same page, in every sense of the word.
Glancing between Joe and Kai, he tried his best to read their body language, to get a sense of what they needed. Kai was sitting up against the headboard, relaxed and watchful. Joe, in contrast, was sitting near the end of the bed, fidgeting, his hands tugging at his shirt that he couldn’t seem to decide whether to keep on or take off.
Walking toward the bed, Axel shed his clothes, tossing them to the floor. Then he reached for Joe’s t-shirt and tugged it smoothly up and over the beta’s head before reeling Joe in for a long kiss. It was the beta who pulled away first, settling back down on the bed while he tried to catch his breath.
Axel reached down to whisper in his ear. “I know what you need.”
Joe shuddered, his eyes closing for a moment before he looked up and met Axel’s eyes. He nodded, his face full of anticipation.
Axel reached for him, picking him up easily, turning him around and setting him down on the bed on his hands and knees. The next question was Kai. Was the omega in the mood to watch or participate? The answer wasn’t long in coming, as Kai shuffled a few feet down the bed, dragging a pillow with him for his head.
While Axel busied himself getting what he needed from the drawer of their bedside table, Kai and Joe moved closer, whispering and giggling together.
“Ready?” Axel asked as he turned around, already knowing the answer.
Kai was lying flat on his back, his head propped up by pillows while Joe straddled him. The position put Kai’s face level with Joe’s groin. To Axel, it meant one thing for certain; there’d definitely be a second round, everyone getting a share of the pleasure.
Axel climbed up behind Joe, stroking a firm hand down his back and urging the beta to lower his head toward the bed. He took his time preparing Joe, hearing the beta’s low moans paired with full body shudders. Beneath the sounds Joe was making, he could hear Kai, the omega’s soft voice encouraging him. It had been too long since they’d done this.
When Joe was finally ready, Axel took his time, pressing in slowly as the beta gasped and took deep breaths. He felt the moment Kai took Joe into his mouth because the beta went rigid and murmured a curse under his breath.
“Too much?” Axel checked, his hand rubbing circles across Joe’s upper back.
“Need a minute,” Joe managed to reply.
Axel forced himself to hold still, feeling Kai do the same, giving Joe a chance to catch his breath.
“Ready,” the beta said after a long minute. Axel held onto his hips and pulled out slowly before pushing back inside. He felt Kai move too, taking Joe deeper. Within seconds Joe was panting again, his heart thumping. But he didn’t ask them to stop, so Axel kept moving, starting up a rhythm that Kai did his best to match. Joe was hot and tight, sometimes moving with Axel’s thrusts, other times pushing back in reaction to Kai’s mouth on him. It was beautiful to watch and hear their precious mate fall apart with pleasure. Axel took his time, angling his thrusts for maximum impact, loving how vocal Joe was in his reaction. His own orgasm was building, heightened by the scents of his mates, mixed up in their desire.
He knew Joe was close, could feel it in the way the beta’s arms were starting to shake, in the sounds he was making.
“Kai, I’m- ” Joe tried to warn and then he went tense, crying out with pleasure, long and loud, leaving Axel very glad he’d closed the door. Axel kept thrusting, chasing his own release, his arms around Joe’s hips holding the beta in place. He came a few thrusts later, pulling in long breaths of air before he carefully pulled out helping Joe lie down on his side next to Kai and falling onto the bed on Kai’s other side.
Joe was smiling lazily, his eyes drooping closed.
“That was amazing,” the beta offered.
“Very amazing,” Axel agreed, leaning over to kiss him first, then Kai.
“You’re next,” he warned the omega. Kai’s face was flushed with anticipation but he was in no hurry.
“In a little while,” he said, cuddling closer to them.
Afterward, Axel lay on his back in the center of the bed, his body heavy, his arms around Joe and Kai. His mates were curled either side of him, sated and exhausted. One thing a relationship like theirs couldn’t do without? Stamina.
Kai’s face was curled against his chest while Joe’s head was on his shoulder. If he could, he’d let them sleep all night. But with six babies in the next room, they’d be lucky to get ten minutes.
As he lay there, Axel mused about how things had turned out. He’d been lucky, that much he knew for sure. But his luck had been interspersed with tragedy, the kind that never really went away. Having Joe and Kai made it easier. They made life worth living. And the cubs? They made the future worth having. For the longest time, he’d thought the life of a pack alpha was his worst nightmare. Now he was living it, and it was nothing like he’d thought and yet everything he’d expected.
In the distance, a baby let out a soft cry. He held his breath and waited. Beside him, he felt Joe stir, lifting his head to listen. Even Kai seemed half-aware, the omega’s eyes opening just a slit. There was silence from the nursery and all three of them settled back to sleep.