He was exaggerating, but I appreciated the invitation, nonetheless. I climbed the steps and dipped my toe as the others scooted over to give me room. The water was room temperature, as I'd suspected. Not cold, but not anything I would call hot. Instead, the water was that perfect temperature that required no period of adjustment.
With the exception of Calvin, who was still working on rolling over independently, the children stood on the same bench the rest of us sat on. They could shuffle around without the water going too high, and if anyone of them did go off the step, one of us would be near enough to grab them. At the moment, Bran was the strongest walker, but Madison and Patrick were eager to become mobile.
"When these niblets learn to run, that will be the death of me," Phin said.
"We need to work on our herding skills," Riley suggested. "If a border collie can keep hundreds of sheep in check, I think three wolves could manage four children."
"Five, soon!" Kansas chirped.
The other men looked to me, their heads turning at the same time.
Kansas sat back. "Unless you don't… I mean, you don't have to. No one expects you to…your body, your choice!" By then, his face was blazing red.
I smiled so he would know I wasn't offended. But I was curious. Patrick stood to the right but grabbed onto my arm, working his little body around where he crawled in my lap.
I felt chosen, like when a stray or friend's pet chooses to trust you enough to sit on you. Patrick seemed to have a plan, though, and grabbed a finger on both of my hands. I pulled, guessing he wanted to be on his feet, and he squealed out his happiness. "What is it like? Does it feel weird?"
"Definitely," Riley said.
At the same time, Nash said, "It's a little strange."
A little? I'd thought it would be a lot strange. "How does it happen?"
Riley held Bran under his arms in the deeper part of the tub so he could kick his legs. "Well, when two people love each other very much…"
Warmth spread out from my chest at the gentle teasing. I liked that they felt comfortable enough with me to joke around. The bond these three men had not with each other, but with each of the Walker cousins, was intimidating.
All these men, living together, loving and caring for each other, it wasn't a situation I'd seen before, and I didn't think I ever would again. What these men had was unique, and I didn't want to do anything to disturb their bonds.
But I so desperately wanted to be included.
"They call the pregnancies blessed. And, according to shifter history, it has happened before, but not often. Riley becoming pregnant was a miracle. When me and Kansas also did, it was like nuclear levels of miraculousness. But no one knows exactly why it is happening or how we all can do what we can do," Phineas explained.
"What other similarities do you all have?" Patrick grew bored of standing on my thighs and tried to climb over my shoulder.
Phineas reached forward for the plastic book and handed it to me. "You don't have to read it, just open the pages. Books are about the only thing I've found that makes either of these two rascals slow down."
I opened the book, and Patrick turned, settling into my lap like magic. He grabbed the book from me but kept it open like he was reading a newspaper.
"We all have abilities. That's the obvious one. And we all came from less than ideal backgrounds," Riley said.
I was two for two at the moment. "I was adopted."
"Is your birthday June twenty-first?" Riley asked with a knowing smile.
"How did you… ?"
"June twenty-first." Phin raised his hand.
"Here too," Kansas added.
"The others were all born on the same day in December too. At the same exact moment, well, give or take a half a second."
It felt like we were on the edge of figuring something out, but I didn't know what that thing was.
"Don't break your brain over it," Phin said. "We haven't been able to figure it out either."
Did that mean I would definitely become pregnant? And if that happened, I'd turn into a shifter too. At least, that seemed to be how it went. I'd have to cross that bridge when I came to it. "Aver called me mate today. It was the first time. It feels…"
Riley sighed while Phin's cheeks went pink.
"It's amazing, isn't it," Kansas whispered. "I mean, we can never tell them this, but I swear, all Wyatt has to do is call me mate, and there's just something so primal…"
Riley nodded. "It's like pow, right to the penis."
"Penis!" Bran shouted.
Kansas burst out laughing, which was the wrong thing to do in the moment because it only made Bran scream penis louder and louder searching for the same reaction.
"Branson Evelyn Aver Nash Wyatt Walker Junior," Riley said, but to no avail. The child continued screaming the word, making it hard not to laugh. "Great, now the rest of the children are going to start." His words seemed annoyed, but he didn't sound that way.
He sounded happy. They all did. Deliriously happy. No one here had been forced into anything, and this, more than anything else, convinced me of what I wanted.
Was the world ready to handle a tiny Hollister-Aver hybrid? I didn't know the answer to that question, but my hope was that we'd find out.
Chapter Nine
Aver
Ever since Hollister had returned from his time in the tub with the others, he'd been quiet. I'd assumed he was nervous about the coming dinner. I wasn't nervous as much as I wanted to get this part of my life over with.
It was strange how I'd held on to something for so long, but now, I couldn't wait to get rid of it.
"At any point, if you want to leave, just tell me. We'll leave." I pulled the car around the driveway so that when it was time to go, we could drive straight out. Planning an exit strategy off pack lands had become common practice for us cousins. We'd had more contact recently than we'd ever had with the pack since we'd left, and I didn't see that changing while everything was still up in the air. Ideally, the pack would get to a place where they were self-sufficient, and we could continue to maintain healthy separation.
While Delia had tried to use pack law to force us in, since her arrest, the shifter council had decided that the blessed mates needed to be protected, above all else. No one understood why the blessed pregnancies were happening, but there was one fact most shifters agreed with: they needed to be protected.
I had to let go of Hollister's hand while we both got out, but his palm was in mine as soon as I could get to him.
"Are you sure?" Hollister asked, staring at where we were joined. His voice was steady and his eyes clear.
"Positive. I've held this back for almost forty years. I'm done doing that."
Hollister grinned. "If that's what you want."
I had a hunch that not only was Hollister not scared, but he was looking forward to this. If there was any part that he was nervous about, it was likely how this was all going to affect me. But I didn't want him worrying about that either.
My finger barely pressed on the doorbell when the door opened to reveal Glendon and Clarice Walker. Both blond like myself, my mother's hair was more platinum, while my father and I shared a darker tone.