“Me please.” Ra got up to get the plates. Arvyn was an amazing cook.
/~/~/~/~/
There was nothing Arvyn liked more than to see his mates well fed. It was part of his shifter nature to ensure his two men were well fed, warm and comfortable, and as the three of them piled on the couch after the food had been eaten and the dishes done, he was in his element. The fire was merrily crackling away, and the home was a warm oasis from the wind that had picked up outside. The only thing that would’ve made the scene better is if they were all naked in bed, but Arvyn knew they had to talk.
Even so, it was Ra that spoke up first. “Kirill, my mate, if the idea of any of us being pregnant upsets you so much, I can try appealing to the Fates to ask if they could hold off…”
“No. No. That’s not necessary.” Ra was sitting on Arvyn’s lap, with his feet on Kirill’s thighs, but Kirill took his hands in his. “Please understand my pint-sized precious, I wasn’t angry at you this morning, I wasn’t even what you would call upset. I was shocked – completely mind-blowingly shocked. In all the years I’ve lived, male pregnancy is never something I’d ever considered possible and given how rare vampire children are, it was definitely not something I thought could happen to me in my mating.”
“But I knew it was possible,” Ra insisted. “I was at the party they held for Hades and Ali’s mating when Silvanus gave us the message from the Mother. I should’ve warned you both before you came anywhere near me.”
“To be fair,” Arvyn said, not liking how Ra was taking the blame for something that had no blame attached, “I should’ve warned you both before I bit you both that I’m hellishly protective and possessive, that there is no such thing as a divorce and mating is forever, and that the bite I gave you would render you unable to get a hard on for anyone else.”
“And I should’ve warned you both about the same thing.” Arvyn knew Kirill would back him up just to help Ra feel better. “I can’t feed or take blood from anyone or anything else anymore, and I’m just as protective and possessive as our beloved wolf. Are you going to be angry at me about that?”
“No, of course not.” Ra was so cute when he got all puffed up. “You have quirks that relate to who you are…”
“And so do you,” Arvyn said gently, because honestly he loved it when Ra was so protective in his own way. “One of your quirks happens to be that the three of us can get pregnant, and have our own family, which is pretty incredible when you think about it.”
“Did you think it was incredible too, Kir?” Ra asked.
“Yep, and in fact, Arvyn is going to tell us if any of us are pregnant shortly. But,” Kirill held up his finger, “first, we need you to explain to us how this immortality business works. I assume, when we all claimed each other, that our life threads are bound to yours?”
“Yes.” Ra nodded. “The Fates would never be so cruel as to tie a mortal’s lifeline to any of the gods, when by virtue of who we are and what we mean to the tapestry of life, we can never die. If just one of the gods did, millions of people would die with us and the tear in the fabric of life would be horrific. So yes, we have eternity to be together.”
“So Kir and I can’t die.” Arvyn needed to be sure.
“No, my precious wolf. I could not survive in any world where my wolf and vampire weren’t with me and the Fates know that.”
“Awesome.” Kirill stretched out his legs. “So that means, the next time you have to face a fight, like you did today, you will have us by your side, agreed?”
“But…?” Ra looked between the two of them.
“You said when you left to fight Seth on your own, that the powers a god can wield could kill us both. That wasn’t true, though, was it?” Arvyn stroked down Ra’s back.
“Oh, no, I just didn’t think. It’s in my nature to hide my powers from mortals.” Ra buried his face in his hands. “I really am failing at this mating business. Orin and Paulie are going to lecture me so bad.”
“No, they won’t,” Arvyn shared a look with Kirill, “we’ll be with you when you face them too. But no more thinking you have to fight alone. Babe, you’re not alone. You have me and Kirill and we’ll stand by your side fighting assholes like Seth until the sun burns from the sky.” The words were right there on the tip of his tongue, but…
“You know how much I love you both, don’t you, precious,” Kirill said softly.
Yes! Arvyn hadn’t been sure if Kirill would actually say the words.
“Love… me…” His eyes wide, Ra looked at Kirill and then back at Arvyn.
“Me too.” Arvyn nodded. “Apparently our ancient vampire isn’t overly romantic, so there’s no wine, or flowers, or a meal at a fancy restaurant, but like Kir, I love you both with all I am and always will.”
“You love me? Like really love me, just the way I am?” Ra had tears pouring down his face.
Arvyn crooked his finger at Kirill, wrapping Ra in his arms, Kirill doing the same. “Exactly the way you are,” Kirill said fiercely. “Your snuffly little snores…”
“The way your hair all sticks up in the morning…” Arvyn added.
“The sheer joy you take in simple things like sending a text…”
“And how you want to try every new thing…”
“The way your smile lights up a room…”
“We didn’t mean to make you cry,” Arvyn said, “and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way yet…”
“I do!” Ra burst out sobbing again. “These…” he hiccupped, “these are happy tears. I just… I’ve spent an eternity up to now thinking all I was fit for was worship and adoration, but never love... Not the love that comes from the very essence of a soul. I love you both so much, please believe me. I would pluck the sun from the sky for you.”
“Doesn’t your friend Helios ride the sun chariot across the sky every day?” Arvyn chuckled his heart bursting that both of his mates loved him too. “He might object.”
“He might, but only because it will interfere with his mate hunting.” Ra sniffed and rubbed his hands down his cheeks. “So, does that mean we can go back to bed now? I need to show you…”
“We’ve all got that need, babe,” Kirill said roughly, grazing his fangs up Ra’s neck before pulling back. “But first, Arvyn, babe, do you have any news for us?”
Yes. Gods, Arvyn had had to sit on his wolf all afternoon so that none of his news leaked to his mates across the bond. “We’re pregnant.” He grinned widely.
“We’re… Who?” Kirill looked confused. “Me, you, Ra? Who’s we? Is that we in that we all participated, or…”
“We, as in we’re all expecting a child, but our precious Ra is the one who’ll be carrying it.” Arvyn felt like his face would split he was so happy. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Holy shit, we actually did it.” Kirill’s face went white and seconds later he slumped on the couch, his eyes closed.
“I think he fainted.” Ra leaned forward, tapping Kirill’s face gently. “Babe. Babe, are you in there?”