Page 9

Chapter Eight

“S o, what happens now?” Mo asked, wondering if it was impolite to consider a nap or round two? Round two would be better, even if he did feel like he’d dropped into some sort of alternate universe. Zack rolled away.

“I ought to go check on Mattie.”

Mo felt the vibes in the room shift, as if the last hour hadn’t just happened, and it annoyed the crap out of him. Victor rolled away as well.

“Wait just a minute.” They both paused. “What the hell is this? You spout all this me Tarzan you Jane bullshit and then leave everything hanging?”

Zack flushed. “I—” He looked at Victor for some reason.

“Look, I know all this is new, but you can’t just blow hot and cold like this. I mean, what’s the end goal here?”

“The end goal,” Victor said carefully, like he was talking to a preschooler, “is that we mate.”

“But you’re human,” Zack added. “And with everything going on. We don’t want to steamroll you.”

“So, what was this? Let’s give him a quickie to shut him up for a time?” Mo was furious, and he didn’t know why, but the calmer Victor seemed, the angrier he got. This was crap. Utter crap. This wasn’t what it was supposed to be like.

And he stilled. What wasn’t it supposed to be like? Why the hell did he feel used? No matter what, he thought, this wasn’t a romance book, and he needed to find his sister. The big lugs could go screw themselves. He scrambled out of bed, but Victor grabbed his hand. Mo looked down at the large hand that seemed like it could encircle both his wrists. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”

Victor moved his hand away instantly, and Mo yanked on the borrowed clothes, and left the room not looking back, but feeling the stares of two pairs of eyes burning into his back all the way down to the kitchen. He needed a coffee. No, he needed a double vodka. Mo huffed. “Not that I’ve ever had even a single vodka.”

He stopped suddenly, for some reason expecting the kitchen to be empty, but Zack’s dad was sitting at the table with Mattie on his lap. Mattie was coloring and concentrating hard the way little kids did. His dark hair was the image of his dad’s, and it made Mo’s breath catch. Christopher looked up and smiled. “There might be some vodka in the top cupboard, but if so, I don’t know how old it is.” His eyes twinkled. “But I made some fresh coffee, if that helps.” He patted his chest. “I’m only allowed so much caffeine on a weekend.”

Mo hesitated, then decided if the two idiots upstairs weren’t going to communicate, maybe Christopher would. He smiled and went to help himself, then took a seat next to him and glanced down at the drawing. “Ooh dragons,” Mo acknowledged, enthusiastically. “Is that the prince? Because it looks like he has a castle.” Mo pointed to the building in the distance. Mattie glanced at it, seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded. “Maybe you should draw a crown he can wear on his head?” Mo thought for a moment. “Unless you think it might fall off when he’s flying?”

Mattie paused again, but shook his head. “When he a boy.”

“When he’s a boy?” Mo repeated subtly, using the correct possessive contraction. “You mean he’s a shifter dragon?” Wow! How many toddlers would come up with that? And then he grinned. One who had grown up around them.

“And what color is the prince going to be?”

Mattie thought again, and Mo looked at the drawing. He would bet ninety-nine kids out of a hundred, when faced with a coloring scene, always started with the main image, in this case the dragon, but Mattie had started with the sky. Interesting.

“Red,” Mattie pronounced confidently.

Mo nodded his agreement, and because he couldn’t seem to turn it off, added, “Can you point to the red color?” He gestured to the box of crayons and Mattie reached over and plucked the red one out.

“Good job, buddy,” Mo praised, and took a sip of his coffee. He glanced over at Christopher, who had an amused smile on his face. “Sorry,” Mo murmured. “Force of habit.”

Christopher chuckled. “Please don’t apologize. I owe you our thanks anyway. We all do.”

Mo was a little nonplussed. “Umm, I would think you’d want me out of here. I seem to have some unpleasant hangers-on,” he said vaguely for Mattie’s benefit.

Christopher grinned. “Oh, don’t worry about that. This house has seen plenty of action, and the boys will keep the kids safe. I meant with the work you’re doing with Tyler.”

“He’s a clever kid.”

“And Luke has taken him as far as he can go.” Christopher stopped. “We home school the young shifters until they’re secure in their shift,” he added as an explanation, “but Tyler hasn’t been with us that long, and while his confidence in his academic ability is poor, he was bored with the little ones and is close to Alex. And Mac’s at college now.”

“Are they all shifters?” Mo asked. “This is a group foster home, correct?”

Christopher nodded. “My mate and I set it up when the twins—Zack and Riley—were eight. We’ve had over thirty-four kids since then.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Of course, not all of them shift. Depends on breed and designation.”

“Such as?” Mo asked, completely fascinated.

“Some omegas can shift, some never will. Hybrids don’t, as a rule.”

“You mean different species?” Wow!

“Technically,” Christopher agreed. “But we also use the term to describe human and shifter offspring. You, for example.”

Mo leaned back in his chair. With everything that had happened with those two upstairs, he hadn’t really had the time to absorb the bombshell about his mother. “And I must be a non-shifter?”

Christopher grinned. “That’s where it gets complicated. Another of our sons, Asher, who’s on vacation with his mate and their kids, runs this place now with help from Riley and the others. His mate didn’t shift until they were bonded. Tessa and I are heavily involved in the shifter council, and—”

“What’s that?” Mo interrupted, then immediately apologized.

Christopher waved it off. “We basically police ourselves, but we know the time is coming when the human world will eventually know about us and we’re preparing for that. The heads of many nations know about us already, but there is a lot of dissension over how and in what circumstances the news should be shared. We don’t want to cause panic, but with the advent of satellites and mobile phones, it’s a wonder everyone doesn’t already know.”

Mo nodded his understanding. “So, all the kids here came as foster kids and they’ve been adopted?”

“Oh no,” Christopher said. “Jax gave birth, so did Sai. Have you met Jax?”

Mo frowned. “No, the only women I’ve seen are your wife and Cassie. She’s your daughter?” There had been a lot of people at breakfast.

Christopher opened his mouth then closed it, and a slight flush crept up his neck. Mo watched his obvious discomfort. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?” Christopher swallowed, but before Mo had a chance to ask him again, he heard a squeal as a little girl he remembered from breakfast ran in followed by two men. Riley, who he obviously knew, was holding a squirming toddler, and another guy with the most startling green eyes he’d ever seen walked into the kitchen.

“Hi Mo,” Riley greeted him. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused,” Mo answered honestly, then looked at the other guy. He definitely hadn’t been here for breakfast. He put out his hand to Mo, and they shook. Riley bent and settled the toddler down on his wobbly legs.

“I’m Jax, Riley’s mate, and I completely understand. It took me weeks to get everyone straight in my head when I first moved here.”

He looked at the little girl. Must be from a previous relationship, or might not be theirs? He shook the curiosity off. It was none of his business, and he loved blended families. The only thing that gave him pause had been Christopher’s reaction.

Wait…

He said Jax gave birth.

Then he relaxed. Jax must be transgender. He was pleased for him.

Christopher shot Riley an apologetic look and Riley gazed at him for a moment, then chuckled. “He had to know sometime.”

Mo glanced up. “I had to know what?” What the hell was going on?

Jax glanced over at them both, then understanding flashed across his face. He sat across from Mo and smiled. “Male omega shifters can get pregnant and give birth. It requires certain circumstances, but so far Sai, Luke, Olli, and I have all given birth to our babies.”

Mo blinked. Then he blinked again. Part of him wanted to look for the hidden camera to see if he was being punked, but Jax had a grace about him that told Mo he wasn’t lying.

“You gave birth.”

Jax nodded.

“You got pregnant.”

Jax chuckled. “The other way around, but yeah.”

“What’s an omega?” he said, suddenly feeling a little sick.

“A shifter designation. There are many but in general the three are Alpha, Omega, and Beta. We also add gammas into the mix either to describe general shifters or those that work as security for the Alpha.”

“Victor’s an alpha,” Riley put in.

Mo frowned. “But he said Raschid was his alpha.”

“Yes, Raschid is the alpha of his pack, but Victor demonstrates alpha tendencies.”

You’re not kidding.

“I don’t know why I should be surprised after everything else I’ve found out today,” he admitted. But at least he was human. He couldn’t imagine rolling up to the school staff break room six months pregnant.

That was so ridiculous he almost laughed.

Almost.