Chapter Eighteen

Burke

"This is not my fault," Ricky protested.

I grinned. He sounded as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"I'm gonna stage an intervention if he keeps doing that," Maximus declared.

"How exactly, oh custard of my loins, are you going to intervene?" Tim asked, rubbing his belly. He was such a slim stalk, it made the pronounced baby bump really obvious.

"I'll cut it down. It's more rust than metal, anyway. He's not safe up there."

‘Up there' was ten feet off the ground. I clung on and rested my forehead against the pole as I listened to them talk. Maximus was right about one thing. This pole was a rust factory.

I looked down at my mate and pride leader. "It's not my fault either. You know I have no control over this."

Ricky looked up and grinned at me. "Want me to come up and rescue you, heart of mine?"

"Yes please," I confessed sheepishly, doing my best to hide my embarrassment.

He climbed the pole as if he were born to do it, reaching me in seconds.

"You're going to have to teach them how to get down," I pointed out. Or was that me who needed teaching? Who knew, but right then I wasn't thinking about anything other than falling flat on my face.

Ricky groaned aloud. "I've tried. They're not listening to reason."

I sighed heavily because he was right. The babies never listened.

We had… an issue .

My babies liked to climb. Problem with that… they weren't even born yet. They loved climbing just like their Papa. How that was possible when I was as agile as a bull, Great Rhu would need to explain to me. So far, I'd found myself up trees, poles and ladders, with no clue how I got there. The first several times, it freaked me out. At least now I can say I'm damn good at climbing.

The problem was none of my little stalks knew how to get me down. I had an alarm and a tracker now, so Ricky could find me and come rescue me. He found it funny. The pride and the town, not so much. It could be the fact I was nearly always stark ballsy naked, and my balls were the first thing they saw when they looked up. It wasn't a show anyone needed to see, except my stalk, if only I could get my babies to agree.

Ricky guided me down, and I reached the ground, sighing in relief. I shifted, needing the comfort of four hooves in the soil. My mate scratched behind my fluffy ears, and I mooed low in pleasure. He could do that all day.

Maximus gave me a stern look, but I could see the worry behind his eyes. "This has got to stop, Ricky. What happens if your mate faints again and falls to the ground? It could hurt your babies."

"I've had that conversation with them," Ricky muttered, his hand stroking my belly. "I don't know who they take after, I was never like this."

I mooed to make a point that until I'd gotten pregnant, I'd never been adventurous. My baby rhubarb sure had changed that, and we both had tried over and over to talk sense into them. But they were babies, and they didn't understand danger. When you were giving birth to a calf and a crown of rhubarb, it seemed the rules were thrown out the window, or off the top of the pole. They loved climbing, and I was the only way they could get there. The town had locked away its ladders, but unless they wanted to cut all the trees down, there was no shortage of places for me to climb— them .

I was giving birth to alpha shifters. We knew that already. How a beta and an omega could produce alphas we didn't know, but they'd informed us the second they started talking. Did I mention they could do that? Apart from freaking out the town, the other thing they did was talk, endlessly. To me, to their Papa, to Tim and his babies, to Maximus and Crimson. Anyone who would listen. Ricky was enchanted by his chatty babies and spent hours with his ear pressed against my belly.

I shifted back to my human form and kissed Ricky. "I'm hungry," I confessed. I usually munched on fresh grass while Ricky took time out in the soil, but there were times only human food would do.

"Drew made us a veggie lasagna," he said, slinging an arm around my shoulders and holding me close as I leaned in. "When the alarm went up, he said you'd need it."

Drew knew me well. I was feeding for seven now and I was always hungry. It was amazing I wasn't twice the size.

As we walked to the house, Ricky pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Maximus is worried."

"I know." I heaved a sigh.

"He's got a point. If you faint halfway up the pole…"

I was glad he left it there. No one needed to remind me I had precious cargo on board. "I know that, too."

"Baby, we've got to convince the little rascals that they can climb with Papa when they're born. Everyone who talks to them has got to convince them."

I snorted. "Good luck with that one, Papa."

He shoved me up against the side of the house, pinning my hands above my head, his mouth hovering over mine. "No one's gonna hurt my beautiful, glorious, sexy ballsy-bull. Not even our babies." He placed a hand over my belly. "You're mine, all mine."

The aromas of rhubarb and custard intensified between us. Then he kissed me so beautifully, my toes curled, and my inner bull was ready to roll over and show his belly. All that possession was mine.

The whole pride was waiting impatiently for us when we joined them, looking a little more flushed, but who could blame me.

"We thought you'd gotten lost," Maximus said impatiently.

"Just having a discussion with my omega," Ricky said cheerfully, giving me a saucy wink.

Tim arched an eyebrow. "With your tongue down his throat?"

"That's the one," Ricky agreed, not at all embarrassed at being called out.

I was not going to blush.

I was not.

I rolled my eyes at my epic fail. I went the same shade as Randy's hair. Ricky smirked and led me to the table. We'd barely sat down when there was a knock at the door.

Randy sighed, dug out his wallet, and handed a note to Drew.

"Told you he'd be here today," Drew crowed in delight.

"Who?" Apollo asked.

Randy grunted and headed toward the door. To absolutely no one's surprise, except perhaps Apollo, Glass appeared behind Randy.

"Hey." He looked uncomfortable, his gaze zeroing in on Apollo.

Apollo went several shades of rhubarb and he looked as if he was about to bolt when Tim clamped a hand around his wrist. The lion couldn't go anywhere unless he took Tim with him, and that wasn't going to happen with Maximus right there.

"Come in, Glass," Maximus said. "Do you want to eat? Drew made veggie lasagna."

At Glass's nod, we all shuffled up, which meant Drew had to press against me from head to foot. Like I'd mind that when we were the best of friends? Of course, that meant the only place available then was next to Apollo, who glared at his alpha.

Maximus gave him his ‘you wanna fight me?' expression.

Like Apollo would fight his alpha. But to my amusement, Glass was glaring at Maximus. Now this was a stalk who'd fight the alpha lion without thinking about it.

Ricky laughed in my mind. You know if Glass joins the pride, the fights are going to be spectacular. He's the grumpiest stalk in town.

Maybe Apollo will mellow him, I suggested, because he was more chilled than Maximus.

Ricky's snort told me what he thought of that idea. I rested my head on his shoulder and let the chatting and laughing wash around me as I cupped my belly. I was such a lucky bull.