Chapter Five

Trike

Waffles, eggs, and bacon piled on a plate and warming, I retrieved Blu's backpack from the footwell. I went to put it on the bed, keeping my gaze away from the door where the sounds of splashing came from.

There was around a five minute interval where Blu's mind was closed to me. I assumed he was reaching out to one or both of his brothers. The length of silence indicated he could have had some success. When he stepped out of the shower minutes later, with a towel draped around tiny hips, I was both relieved he was semi covered and equally annoyed I couldn't see his fleshy bottom. He gave me a sunny smile and skipped into the bedroom, leaving the door open. I caught flashes of his ass from where I was setting the table and knew he was teasing me.

You need to get him to claim us.

I'd lost my shit with my animal half last night, when I'd shifted to catch Blu before he hit the dirt after we'd claimed him. Or he'd claimed him.

We both claimed him. You wanted it as much as I did.

Give over. I wanted to talk it through. What if he'd been pissed at us? What then?

He's not pissed. You can feel how happy he is. He wants to claim you. So get on with it.

Didn't you notice he avoided my question about how we do that?

I'd felt Blu's unease and deliberate change of topic. It couldn't be that bad? At the base of my neck, a tingling started recalling some of the weird shit I'd encountered over my long life.

Doesn't matter how he does it, we want him to be ours fully.

It's alright you sayin' that. Do you wanna be the one to do whatever is worrying him enough to block his thoughts and not tell us?

"Is everything okay?"

I glanced sideways, seeing a dressed Blu hopping from one bare foot to the other. How long had he been standing there? "Sorry, I was arguing with my other half."

Back was the pinched look he appeared to get when he was worried. "Why?"

"He's very bossy. You experienced that last night."

"I liked it." He sniffed the air, his stomach gurgling loudly. "Are we having waffles?"

Seeing that as an out for now, I nodded. "With bacon and scrambled eggs," I supplied, guiding him to the padded seat. If he noticed the missing cover where he'd sat earlier, he never mentioned it. Retrieving the two full plates of food, I placed them down.

He waited to reach for his cutlery until I'd sat after getting him a glass of orange juice. He started to cut the food on his plate into small pieces. I placed my hands over his, getting a feeling from him he'd prefer me to take over. "Let me."

I got rewarded with a bashful smile that melted my heart. Once the food was all cut up, I fed him a piece of waffle first.

He groaned as he chewed, then swallowed. "That's yummy, Da… Trike," he blushed and parted his lips instead of continuing.

It was there between us, what he wanted. I forked a piece of bacon and a little bit of egg, placing it in his mouth. My gaze held his, unsure if it was the mated bond that made me want to take care of him, or just that he looked so damn adorable. "It's okay, you can call me Daddy."

He sucked the food off the fork, his gaze never wavering. He ate the mouthful, his expression appearing pensive. "You don't mind?"

The answer was simple. "No. But I might mess up some ‘cause I've been alone for so long and I've not done this before."

"I've never had a Daddy or a boyfriend…"

I growled at the mention of potential partners and was of the same opinion as my animal. We'd tear apart anyone that touched our mate.

"I'm just explaining I don't have any experience, other than what I've seen on the internet. You have nothing to be jealous of."

His smile was as sweet as honey, making me blush. "Did you get in touch with your brothers?" I asked to change the topic.

"I did. Russ is coming with Olowin to meet us. I explained what I could see out the window, and they knew where we were."

Even though this was important, I got queasy at thoughts of meeting ‘the family' based on lifetimes of experience of reactions to what I was. Finishing feeding him was easier while I kept the conversation flowing, wanting to know everything about him. We were cleaning up when there was a loud knock on the side door.

"It's Russ," he squealed, opening the door before I could utter a word or prepare myself. "Oh, look at the babies!"

Out of the motorhome, he embraced a man who had similar features, then went to the one who I recognized as Frenchie. The two men flanking them were twins judging by their bone structure similarities, but I could tell which was Tala, Frenchie's mate, by the grumpy expression.

I sensed both wolves were strong alphas, a natural ability I'd developed over the centuries to read an opponent's strength.

The noises Blu was making brought my attention to him, witnessing him reaching for a dark-haired infant from the triple stroller and cradling it in his arms. "Aren't you a cutie," he cooed.

It was hard to look away from the beautiful picture he made, only I needed to deal with the dinosaur in the room—me.

The alpha closest to the stroller stepped towards where I remained standing, his imposing stare holding mine. His nose wrinkled. "I'm Olowin, pack alpha."

"Trike," I offered in a friendly tone due to us being sort of related.

"What are you?"

"My mate is a dinosaur," Blu answered proudly, the first to react to the question.

Frenchie and Russ laughed directly at Blu. "Pull the other one," Frenchie said.

"He isn't lying," I responded, a little more growly than usual when I got a dose of hurt feeling from Blu.

Russ stopped laughing and looked at Olowin. "He's telling the truth." Incredulous was how he sounded as he glanced back at me. "How? Your kind is extinct!"

"No entirely."

"We need to go back to the pack house, now," Olowin muttered, his attention moving beyond the motorhome.

"I'll go with Blu and direct them," Frenchie supplied, a wide smile stretching over his face.

"No you won't," said Tala. "I'll go."

Frenchie's hands went to his tiny hips, and he shook his head. "Stop being bossy. You know I'll be perfectly safe. Blu is my brother, and I want to catch up with him."

Minutes later after more arguing, we were on our way. Frenchie won and sat next to Blu, firing questions at him. "How did you meet Trike?"

"On the road out of town." A long silence followed and suggested they were keeping the conversation private.

"He's huge?" Frenchie asked aloud, giving me the once over.

"His dein-on-y-chus is, yes. And beautiful. He has feathers."

"Feathers? Can you fly?" Frenchie wriggled in his seat. "Next turn and follow the road for about three miles," he continued, like he wasn't having two different conversations.

"I can't fly. When dinosaurs roamed around millions of years ago, feathers were common." Seeing he was gearing to ask more questions, I supplied quickly, knowing the drill, "I'm fast. I have a tail I use to counterbalance my body weight, and my teeth and claws are a deadly weapon against my enemies."

"I bet. They'll come in real handy here with the potato haters. You can slice and dice them into French fries." His laughter didn't sound humorous.

My blood ran cold.

What does he mean by potato haters? This came from my animal half, and he sounded pissed.

Give me a damn chance to ask him.

Hurry. We aren't staying if there is a risk to our mate.

Like I'd want to stay and put Blu in harm's way.

"What are you talking about?" The bite to my words got a dose of worry from Blu.

Frenchie reached out and patted my arm. "It's nothing for you to worry ‘bout. Tala and Olowin are dealing with the problem."

"How so?" I asked, working to keep my anger to myself at the non-answer.

"I'm sure they'll explain it better, but the short of it is, Russ can detect if folks are bullshitting him, so he helps Olowin to weed out the bad potatoes in the pack." Frenchie's answer helped a little to settle my bouncing heart rate until he continued on. "Our biggest problem is the shifter council. They're sniffing around after someone told them Olowin gave birth to potatoes."

"He's an alpha!"

"I know, great, right?" As Blu wasn't freaking out, I had to assume he already knew this bit of information. "Oh, you need to slow and take the next left. That road leads directly to the pack house."

It was easier to follow the directions than where my train of thought wanted to go and the excitement coming from my dinosaur at the prospect of children and us having them. Alpha's weren't known to have the ability to get pregnant. It was no wonder the council was interested in interspecies mating resulting in this type of anomaly. I suspected Olowin wasn't the type of man who wanted to be examined under a microscope. I know I wouldn't.

A large, three-storey house came into view as we took the next bend. Pulling to a stop next to two trucks parked outside the front of the house, I admired the solid wooden structure with enormous windows. "Nice place."

"Russ and Olowin have the middle and top floor as their home. The top floor gives you a view over the forest," Frenchie supplied, already unbuckled, and moving out of his seat. The man seemed to have a ball of energy inside him that stopped him from being still for more than a second. Blu waited in his seat, looking expectantly at me.

"Do you want me to come around and help you out?"

A bashful smile and glowing eyes were hard to resist when he nodded.

Tala, Russ, and Olowin, minus the children, were watching in the lower window as I exited the motorhome. My animal half alerted me to the wolves in the surrounding forest—eight of them.

Frenchie went straight inside, not waiting as I helped Blu. "Wrap your legs around my middle and hold on to me," I encouraged, instead of putting him down, wanting to keep him safe in my arms.

He rested his head on my broad shoulder, snuggling right in, leaving me with a fluttery feeling in the center of my chest.

"Just so you know, my brothers wouldn't hurt me."

"It's not your brothers I'm worried about." I gave a pointed stare at those barely hidden in the tree line.

Inside, Russ guided us into a large office where Olowin now sat. His fingers were templed under his chin and his elbows rested on the desk in front of him as he stared at his brother, who sat on the other side.

I took the seat Russ guided us to, placing Blu in my lap. His scent and proximity warred with need and keeping my thoughts above my waistline.

Keep alert. I didn't really need to tell my animal side this, but I felt edgy. His snorted reply showed I was being stupid.

"Would it be presumptuous to ask to see your mating mark?" Olowin questioned, his stony expression giving nothing away.

I noticed he said mark, not using the plural, and my senses started to buzz while Blu wiggled on my lap, tilting his head, and pulling at the collar of the T-shirt he wore.

"See, my dino bit me. He was keen," he boasted, making me grin.

"What's this about?" I asked with a hint of steel in my tone when Olowin looked at Tala, then back at Russ.

An odd feeling of relaxation washed over me. I looked about the room, attempting to assess who was responsible.

Blu, can Russ send out vibes to relax a situation as well as detect bullshit?

No, but Frenchie can.

Intrigued, I ignored the other men for a moment. What can you do?

He glanced away, his cheeks going a deep pink. Make the earth move into mountains in seconds. It's really handy for harvesting.

I bet it is, or if anyone got stuck in a mudslide.

The blush deepened, but I didn't miss how pleased he was at my pride in his ability.

"So you've completed the mating ritual? Eaten a part of Blu?" Olowin asked.

My head fired in Olowin's direction. "Eaten a part of Blu! What the fuck business of yours is that?"

"He hasn't. He doesn't know what we're talkin' ‘bout," Tala muttered sullenly, though I thought I could hear a hint of amusement.

"Then can someone please explain?" I demanded, getting a sinking feeling that I wasn't going to like what was coming when Blu, who had already avoided answering me earlier, blocked me from his thoughts.

Frenchie stepped forward. "Potato shifters mate instinctually in the first instance. However, for a true mating, a mate must cut a piece of us off and eat it."

Shooting up from my seat, with Blu dangling from my neck, I stared at the men in the room like they were all insane. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Tala's bark of laughter held no humor. "No, unfortunately we aren't."

Frenchie's giggles appeared catching, as when he started, Russ and Blu followed suit. "What… how… why… oh gods." My knees weakened and buckled, so I sank back down on the seat. Blu ended up in an awkward heap on my lap, continuing to giggle.

My other half became amused at my panic. You can do it. You can eat a part of him.

My mouth is too large.

That stopped his amusement, although the quick fire response brought a scowl at the truth.

"He wouldn't react like that if he was a spy from the council," Russ pointed out to the others, confusing the issue.

"I'm not a fucking spy," I growled, my jaw elongating at the insult my animal was furious about. "I've kept to my damn self and off the council radar from its very inception. They don't know anything about me."

"How have you done that?" Tala asked, a spark of interest in his eyes.

Whereas Blu made a noise of distress in the back of his throat. I gently ran a hand up and down his back in a soothing motion.

It's fine, my little potato-sauras.

To the others, I answered, "Because I've been alive for a very fucking long time and I'm skilled at staying off grid. I have multiple IDs and enough cash to get lost forever."

"Enough, Tala. That's not the issue right now," Olowin said with force, but no alpha power, which made me surmise it wasn't effective on his brother. "You should know that being here right now puts you at risk of the council finding out about your existence. Since they found out I gave birth, they've been snooping around. There are folks who are… not as happy to have other shifters moving into town and becoming part of our pack."

"What are you doing to protect your mates?" I asked when a flood of concern came from Blu over his brother's and children's safety.

"With Russ and Frenchie's abilities, I'm working to find and eliminate the risks to my family and the pack. I've new pack enforcers who are some of the best fighters from these parts. And so far, I've chased away the council representatives, although that won't stop them."

It was there, the concern when Olowin looked at Russ, along with love. I might have spent less than two full days with my mate, but the pull was strong, and I'd have taken on the entire pack and council to protect what Fate deemed me worthy of. If anyone dared to touch, to harm my mate, I'd gut them without a second thought and piss on their bloodied corpse. Taking a deep breath at the knowledge it was time to stop hiding, I released it.

"I've a long memory." Turning my attention to Blu, I held his affectionate stare. "I can help protect you."

We can, my other—over excited—half said, loving the prospect of showing off.

Why do you have to have the last word?

Because I'll be the badass chomping on bones, that's why. Now shut up and listen to what they're talking about.