Page 16

Arley

“P apa.” JoJo ran full force into the back of my legs while I stood in front of the kitchen sink washing dishes. “Lily said I smell like I’m decaying. Tell her to stop it. I don’t think I can control my anger any longer if she keeps it up.”

Dropping the wet yellow sponge into the empty sink, I turned and took in the sight before me. JoJo was covered in mud and grass, while his sister was standing in the doorway, holding her nose close and her face scrunched up in disgust. Her brand-new light-pink dress splotched with her brother’s mess.

“Papa. Maddie and I were having a picnic and JoJo and KiKi came over and threw mud balls at us. They got my pretty new dress all dirty.” Lily lifted the skirt of her dress and twirled around before she faced us again, put her fists on her hips, and huffed. “They need to be punished. I’m going to go tell Daddy.”

“Well, you are already telling me so we can wait to tell Daddy until he gets home from work. Go get your brothers and sisters, we are having a family meeting in five minutes in the living room. So everyone must meet me in there. Okay?”

“If it’s a family meeting, Daddy should be there, too.” JoJo stomped his foot and glared at me. “He’s family too.”

“He is, and you’re right.” I learned long ago to pick my battles with the six of them. And JoJo had a strong desire to always include his father in any discussions we had. I didn’t have the energy to fight him on this. I just hoped Fen wasn’t still busy with his meetings. “I’ll call him while you two go gather the troops.”

“Should we get Gramma and Grandpa too?” Lily cocked her head and her lips twisted up. She was testing me but I would let it slide this time.

“Of course.” I patted them both on the head and kissed their cheeks. “Go get everyone and wait for me on the couch.”

The two of them ran off to get everyone, and I chuckled to myself as I dialed my mate’s number. He was going to love this one.

“Hey, babe. Everything Okay?” Fen’s low tone sent exciting shivers down my spine and I adjusted myself. Even after seven years together, he could light me up with one single mundane word. I honestly was surprised we hadn’t had a second pregnancy with the way he turned me on almost constantly.

“We are having a family meeting in a few minutes and JoJo demands you partake in the drama.” I made my way into the living room and sat down on our brown leather couch. No one else was in the room yet.

“What did they do now?” Fen chuckled, the noise making me smile. “Frogs in the underwear drawer, or did one of them replace the tea set with action figures again?”

“No, neither of those, although they were good guesses.” I shook my head and sighed. The kids always had some chaotic mess I got to share with my mate. “Today was throwing mud balls during a picnic.”

“Well, they did say they missed the snow.” Fen reminded me that the kids had asked when winter would be coming back. Then when it did, they would ask when the pool could be opened again.

“True. But did they have to do this the day I am waiting for my final grades?” I shifted my weight on the couch so I was sitting up against the back cushion and I tilted my head back so I was staring at the ceiling. I had to dust the fans, it seemed. “I’m stressed enough. And it seems like every time I turn around, I find a new chore to do or a new fire to put out.”

“Well, at least the fires are all metaphorical. Right?” Fen waited for my laugh but I didn’t feel like giving one, so he continued speaking. “I know, sweetie, but we both know you nailed those exams and will get to graduate next month. You’ve got this. Want me to play the mean parent today?”

“Can you? I mean, neither of us are really mean. But can you be the one to give them their consequences. I think JoJo and KiKi need to do laundry.” I thought about other chores that they could realistically help with. “And maybe spend some time in the garden, making sure that the vegetables and fruits are growing.”

“Sounds fair,” Fen agreed. “Any of the others? Do you think any of them need consequences?”

“Not based on what I heard so far. But you know things always come out during discussions, so add to the plan if needed. Those were the only two Lily pointed out.”

“Lily too?”

“No, she was just chasing JoJo as far as I can tell.” Honestly, I was surprised that she didn’t

retaliate in some way. Usually I would have to discipline all the kids involved because they would try to get even.

“Really?” Fen knew that it was strange for Lily to not act out too. “She didn’t punch him this time?”

“Not that I heard.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, a headache starting to sneak its way in. I had no time for headaches.

“See, they are learning.” Fen chuckled. “Maybe these meetings will start becoming less and less.”

“Maybe. But I doubt it. Or if they do, they will only start back up again once they all hit puberty. Footsteps sounded from the hallway. “They’re coming, I’ll put you on speaker.”

“We got this.”

Hitting the speaker icon, I placed my cell on the coffee table as the first of our little pack ran in.

“JoJo said we are having a meeting.” Our most serious boy, Simon, sat down next to me. He sounded exhausted for a seven-year-old, even adding a sigh. “What did they do now?”

“We’ll cover that when everyone gets here.” I hugged him closer. There was something about holding Simon that helped my head feel better. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a touch of healing magic.

“Okay, Papa.” Taking out his notebook, Simon started working out a math problem. While his brothers and sisters liked playing outside, my little Si loved staying indoors and learning. “I’ll just finish my homework while we wait.”

“Homework?” I was puzzled at his statement. “You’re on summer break. How do you have homework?”

“I assigned it to myself.” Si answered another question. “I can’t let myself forget how to solve these equations.”

“You are already ahead, Si. Don’t forget to have fun, too. Okay?” I reminded him. “Maybe you can go play some board games after the family meeting.”

“Okay, Papa.” Si smiled at me. “As long as you play too.”

“Deal.” I kissed Simon on the top of his head.

“Papa?” Danny poked his head in from around the corner. “Am I in trouble?”

“Not that I know of.” I patted the seat beside me. “Were you with JoJo and Kiki?”

“No. I was taking a nap in the bushes.” Danny sat and laid his head on my lap. “Then Lily told me I had to come here for a family meeting. Why are we having a meeting?”

“I’ll let Daddy answer questions today.” I ran my hands through Danny’s hair, his eyes falling closed.

“Let’s wait until everyone gets here, okay, buddy.” Fen was amused. After all these years, I could read his emotions by the tone he used and the wording.

“Don’t fret, Danny-boy. We are all here now.” Grandma Tricia walked in with the rest of the squad and winked at my smallest boy. “We’ll get this session over with quick as can be, then you can go back out to nap with the flowers.”

Danny’s face lit up at the prospect of catching more z’s. I had asked the pediatrician about how often the boy slept, worried that he was missing some vitamins or was sick. But all tests came back normal and the doctor was not alarmed. He informed us that some young shifters tended to sleep more and that since it had been a characteristic of our son since birth, and all examinations proved Danny to be a healthy little boy, happy and growing properly, it was just something that his body needed. He also warned that there may be a time when things switched up and he would need less. Once the doctor laid our fears to rest, we decided just to let him follow his body’s natural rhythm. We homeschooled all six kids, so we could work with all their various schedules. Although, I had to admit that most of them flowed together in a harmonious fashion with ours, so it all felt easy to go with the flow.

“So now that we are all here, can we get to the meat of the matter?” Grandpa Daniel gestured toward the back patio. “I was about to grill up some steaks for lunch and want to get that started before it rains again.”

“Steaks?” Fen loved steaks, so of course his interest was piqued now. “I sure hope someone comes and drops me off some lunch.”

“If you let us get this meeting over quickly, I’ll make sure one of us does.” Daniel laughed and tickled JoJo who was sitting on his lap, still covered in mud. KiKi leaned against his side, just as dirty. “I hear that these two stinkers have some things to confess.”

“We’re sorry.” Kiki peeked out from her hiding place beside her grandfather. “We just wanted to play a game like we did before.

“That was with snow and everyone knew we were having a snowball fight.” I pointed out the difference between the snowball fight and today’s stunt. “Today, it seems Lily and Maddie were minding their own business and you made a mess where they didn’t want one. Am I wrong with that information?”

“No, Papa.” Kiki, hung her head, a pout on her lips. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Fen said, taking over the conversation like we had planned and laying out all the consequences for the children’s actions. “But I think you need to go clean up the mess you and JoJo made and make sure that Lily and Maddie know that you won’t do it again.”

“Okay, Daddy.” JoJo and KiKi nodded their heads, speaking in unison.

“Now, all of you go on and get that cleanup started. Go ahead and start your chores for the day and I will see you after my meeting with my publishers, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy,” the kids all chorused and ran off, my in-laws following in their wake.

“Don’t forget you promised to play a board game with me after all my chores are completed, Papa?” Simon climbed off the couch and ran after his brothers and sisters.

“I won’t forget,” I called after my son.

“That went well. I expected either more pushback on the chores or to find out there was more to the story.” Fen’s voice came out from the speaker reminding me he was still on the line.

“I know exactly what you mean. It seemed too easy honestly. I’ll keep my eye on them the rest of the afternoon to make sure they follow through.” I took the call off speaker and held it to my ear. “How’s the meeting going?”

“As expected.” Fen had been confident this morning that it would go well; it was me who had been worked up into a nervous wreck. “They want another three books to the series and I also heard that there’s interest in turning The Omegas of Mountain Ridge Pack into a TV series.”

“What?” Overwhelming excitement for my mate had me standing up at the news. I may have even given a little leap and fist pump at the news. This was something we both always wanted for his career. “That’s been your dream for the last four years.”

“Well, it’s been one of my dreams.” Fen’s voice lowered and the sound shot directly to my cock. “There is still that other one that I’ve been trying to talk you into, mate. Another baby would make my year.”

“Well, perhaps when you come home tonight, we can see about making that one come true too.” I couldn’t help but smile as I teased my mate just before disconnecting the call. “See you soon.”

Fen

“I can’t believe you bribed your parents into taking the kids to the waterpark hotel for the weekend.” Arley trailed his hand down my bare chest as we lay in bed. “You must have really wanted to have some alone time with me.”

“Hey, you are the one who teased me by saying we could try for another baby.” I captured his hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “You can’t blame me for making sure we’d have no disruptions. Trying for number seven when numbers one through six keep interrupting didn’t seem like the more productive of weekends.”

“Are you sure that Mom and Dad will be okay with the littles for that long alone. They are a handful even when the four of us are present.” Arley laid his head on my shoulder. “Maybe we should have gone too.”

“That would have defeated the purpose.” I shook my head and kissed the top of Arley’s head. “We needed to be alone to make more babies, remember?”

“Yeah, but…” Arley nibbled his bottom lip, a telltale sign he was nervous about our hoodlums causing my parents problems.

“Shh. Don’t worry. I asked Neal, Dean, Victor, and Tori to go along with them.” I was glad I had our old roommates join my parents and the boys. It should ease Arley’s fears. “Now there will be one adult for every child.”

“Well, sort of.” Arley scoffed, shrugging. “You did say Dean and Victor, right?”

“Hey listen, I know they can get in trouble sometimes, but I swear they are responsible members of the pack. They will look out for our pups just like they were their own.”

“I know. I was just playing around.” Arley leaned up and kissed me. “But are you sure Neal will watch the kids? He might find an omega he hasn’t slept with yet.”

“Don’t worry. He promised he wouldn’t try to break his hex while watching the kids.” I felt sorry for my friend. All these years and still no closer to finding his fated mate.

“Good.” Arley sighed. “I hope he finds him soon. He is so good with the kids and he deserves to have a family of his own.”

“I know.” I squeezed my mate closer. I couldn’t imagine going so long without this connection. I wanted my best friend to find the same. “Maybe this year will bring him closer.”

“We can hope so.” Arley smiled at me. “Listen, Fen, I love you. Thank you for planning this out and making sure I had no reason to fear.”

“You are welcome.” I kissed my mate again, this time lingering a bit longer at his lips. “How about we get back to trying for another pup, or perhaps a little kit?”

“We definitely could go for a few more rounds, alpha.” Arley trailed his hand back down my chest and wrapped his fingers around my length. “But we don’t need to keep trying for another baby.”

“But you promised.” I really wanted more mini-Arleys running around. “Why are you changing your mind now?”

“Oh, babe. I’m not.” Arley placed a quick peck to my mouth and placed my hand on his flat stomach. “But we don’t need to try.”

I flipped Arley onto his back and crawled over him, trapping him between my arms. “You’re serious? We are having another baby.”

“No, alpha.” Arley raised a hand between us and showed me his fingers. “We are having two.”