Page 13 of A Bunny for the Bear (Beartastic Summer of Love)

Chapter Thirteen

Ross

“Are you sure I'm doing this right?” I asked Nolan since Barrett was nursing their youngest baby as I held their other one in my arms.

I had just successfully changed their diaper after a fifteen-minute fight. I didn't know babies squirmed so much. It was something I had not prepared for.

Nolan patted my back gently, careful not to jar me too much. “You're doing great, Ross. I promise it gets easier with time. The first few moments holding a child are nerve-wracking, especially when it's your own. I'm glad you're getting some practice in.”

He winked at me as he left to go check on his mate and other child. I shook my head as I froze. I didn't want to possibly drop the baby, and I felt like there was a great chance of that happening if I moved.

Judy kicked my leg from where she sat on the couch. I hissed at her for it as I cautiously turned. When I turned to look her way, she grinned.

“You’ve got to loosen up. If you're tense, the baby is gonna know that you're tense.”

I scowled. “How do you know all this?”

“How does anyone know all this?” She shrugged. “We learn it. There's not really a class on how to be a parent, not when you're talking about shifters. Each baby is unique. Yours will be too. Do you still not know what you're having?”

I shook my head. “No. The babies have been very sneaky. The two scans we'd had with Dr. Hepbuck were inconclusive. He said that some babies just didn't want parents to know. Apparently, ours fell into that bunch.”

Judy laughed and rubbed her own growing stomach. She still had a while to deliver and though I felt a sense of jealousy over the fact that she would get to carry her baby longer, I also understood that I was lucky to go through the process quickly.

They had all told me about how months and months of endless pain was annoying. I only got a single month, a few weeks, and then I got to hold my precious babies.

“Have a seat. It's gonna be okay,” Barrett called from his place across the room on the couch.

I backed up slowly, then did the most careful squat known to man. By the time my butt touched the seat, I was damn near sweating.

“Now that wasn't so bad,” Judy said as she bumped my shoulder.

I glared at her. "Woman, I am probably going to have to see the doctor about heart palpitations after this.”

She giggled but stopped when Clynt waddled in with a carton of ice cream in his hand. "Hey, that was mine for later!" she cried.

He snorted. "You snooze; you lose. Or better yet, you pick on the new friend, and I steal your ice cream."

Judy tried to wiggle forward as if she was going to go after him, but she had sunk deep into the couch. When she huffed and rolled back, we all broke into laughter. It felt good to be surrounded by other Omegas. And it felt great knowing that they knew my past and didn't think any less of me.

In fact, most of them were angry on my behalf. It took everything to get them all to understand that going after my old pack would do no good. They were history in my mind. I found a new family. They were treating me just fine.

“Is there anything else you have questions about?” Kris asked as he dropped onto the couch beside Judy.

She scowled at her mate. "How could you let him eat my ice cream?"

He raised a hand. "Hey, I'm not going up against a pregnant Omega. Tried that, got a punch to the gut for it.”

“I only hit you because you scared me," Clynt whined, then took a haughty sniff.

I shook my head. "No, I am all out of questions, I think. We've got most of the supplies we need. Thanks to you all loaning us some hand-me-down clothes, I think our babies will be good until their first birthday."

Barrett hummed. “You would think so, but it's amazing how quickly they can go through things.

That's part of the reason we've built this community system.

We keep everything sorted by gender and don't get anything with the child's name on it. The easier it is to identify them purely by outfit, the better. Plus when they outgrow it, it just goes back in the container for the next person.”

“Way to make the most of a baby boom,” I muttered.

Of course with everyone having shifter hearing, they heard my hushed tone.

Nolan smiled the biggest. “And to think it all started with us. My little human.”

Barrett smiled back at his mate and tilted his chin up for a kiss. As their lips pressed together, I felt a pang of longing.

My mate wasn't here. He had gone to supervise more work on the house.

They had already laid a foundation and soon they would be getting started on building.

While the space wouldn't be ready when the babies came home, it wouldn't be long before we were upgrading our lives and starting over in our forever place.

It excited me to know that we would have plenty of space to grow and that my mate wanted that with me. He wanted a future where we were together. Where our family could bloom.

"You look all mushy eyed over there." Clynt teased around a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. "You're thinking about your Alpha aren't you?"

Large, rough hands landed on his shoulders. He startled, dropping the container of ice cream in the spoon.

"What in the—?" he tilted his head back only to find his mate watching him.

"Were you about to make fun of that Omega, mate?" The older Alpha asked.

Clynt swallowed the bite in his mouth, then slowly nodded. "I was only teasing him. I missed my mate too."

Even from the angle he was at, I could see the way his lip stuck out in a pout.

Maklihn leaned down, giving him a quick kiss. "Don't be a pain in the ass today. Everyone is supposed to be relaxing and having a good time."

"When am I ever a pain in the ass?" Clynt asked, tone serious.

The room went quiet before everyone started to speak at once.

“All the time.”

“Practically every day.”

“When the sun is shining and even when it's not.”

That last one had me breaking into a fit of giggles. Unfortunately, it startled the baby in my arms. He let out a blood-curdling scream.

With wide eyes I faced Nolan. “Please come take your child from me. I'm terrified now."

He rushed over and swept his baby up, bouncing him until he quieted.

"Is that all it takes?" I asked incredulously.

"Is that all?! It's a little trickier than that, but sometimes the baby just knows when their parent is around. There's a bond, and it's scent related, kind of like how an Alpha can smell when their Omega is pregnant,” Judy said.

I tilted my head to the side. "You could smell it?"

The Alphas around the room nodded.

"Huh that's strange. My Alpha didn't scent me."

Chris whistled. "Could have something to do with the bunny side of you. The rest of us are wolves and bears, you know, large animals. There's a distinct part of our animal side that is scent driven. Are bunnies that same way?”

I put my hands together and stuck them between my legs suddenly shy with all the attention focused on me. "To be honest, I don't really know. Most of what I understand is from books and learning videos online. I didn't grow up around any other bunny shifters."

The reminder of my past made their expressions softened. It wasn't pity that I saw. More like they understood that I wouldn't have the same resources they did. I didn't grow up in a pack nor did I have parents who would have taught me all the intricacies that come with being a bunny shifter.

"That's okay." Chris said, interrupting my wandering thoughts. "You've got us now, and we'll help you figure it all out together whether that be the scent or any other thing you need."

I smiled my thanks and said that we would be in touch. I spent the rest of the night observing the group. My mate showed up as evening fell and brought us all dinner from the diner.

As soon as he set the food down, he swept me into his arms and kissed me soundly. I sank into the touch, grateful to have him around.

"You missed me?" I teased when he pulled back.

"I sure did. I wanted to be with you every minute that I was gone."

I ran my hand along his jaw, and he squeezed me tighter. "I know, but it's a good thing you're getting our house in order and getting our family set up."

He hummed. “Doesn't mean I can't miss you.”

"Are you two gonna join us or are you just gonna make moony eyes at each other?" At the words from Clynt, I blushed and ducked my head.

"You're one to talk," my mate replied. "Didn't I catch you and your Alpha in a compromising position in the bookstore recently?"

I looked between the group and chuckled. It was very clear that that's exactly what had happened. Clynt didn't appear all that bothered though.

Despite the deep blush in his cheeks, he held his head up and stared my mate down. "And what's your point? I'm a pregnant Omega. I have needs."

"Exactly." Hutton told him. "And so does mine. If that means kisses and cuddles when he sees me, then so be it."

Maklihn decided to pull his Omega away before they could get into a deeper conversation. As soon as they were gone, Hutton buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath.

"You smell amazing." His gruff voice moved between us. “I can't wait to get you home later and spread you out."

I shivered. His words lit me up. I wanted that very much.

After a full day of learning about babies and trying to take in as much information as I could, I needed the release that came from being with my mate. We had to get through dinner first though. I couldn't just bail on everyone.

While I knew they would understand, I felt like our connection hinged so much on the time we spent together. I wanted to have more of it. More of them. And if that meant putting aside my sexual desires for a few more hours, then I could do it.

During dinner, we laughed and spoke about how the day had gone. My mate was eager to pick up pieces about how I had spent my time. He smiled when he realized that I struggled as much as he has when we were reading all about the babies. "You were so confident, Omega. What happened?”

At his words, a shiver ran up my spine. Despite suppressing my desires, I still felt a surge of slick move through me at his teasing tone. He took a breath in and froze. His bear came to the front, those eyes glowing.

“We have to go,” he declared far too loudly.

The group turned our way and with several sets of knowing smirks, I was lifted and rushed out of the room. They whistled and catcalled us. It was all background noise to the sound of my mate's heart beating beneath my ear.

As I laid on his chest, and he rushed me away, I appreciated the fact that I would have eternity with this man.