Christmas With the Alphas: A Claimed Novella (3 page)

His mate had clearly lost her mind. There was no other logical excuse for what she was doing. Still, Caim decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sitting down,” she said, as she lowered herself onto the fur she had laid out.

Dawn immediately rushed to her side. His mate’s condition had the pup confused and frightened, and she immediately sought to comfort the pup. She put an arm around Dawn’s neck and kissed the top of her head.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”

This was most certainly not ‘okay’. She was sitting on the ground, lying to their daughter, and she had definitely lost her mind.

“Get up,” Caim ordered. “We are going back to the den. I’ll get Fern.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but her words were cut short by a hissing moan as another pain hit her. Caim watched, feeling the blood drain from his face as she clutched at her swollen belly.

“I really don’t think we’ll make it that far,” she said, still wincing in pain. “These pups want out.”

Bile rose in Caim’s throat. “You can’t have them here.”

His mate looked exasperated. “They aren’t exactly going to wait, Caim. Please, just sit down and help me.”

Caim stared at her for a long moment, as if he could somehow delay the inevitable. Deep down, he knew that his mate was right. If the pups were coming, there was nothing either of them could do except let them come.

Finally, he asked, “What can I do?”

It must have been the right question, because relief was evident on her face. “For now, hold me.”

Caim got behind her and forced his large body not to tremble. He wrapped his arms around her waist and put his legs on either side of her.

The next pain hit her just as he settled down. She gripped his hands and squeezed them with more strength than he knew she had. By the time the pain had passed, Caim found that a thin sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead.

“How much longer will it be?” he asked her.

He was met with a long groan. “Can you please shut up?”

Caim sat with his mate as her body was wracked with pain after pain. Sometimes, he honored her request for silence. Other times, she wanted him to talk to her—reassure her that everything would bee all right. Each time, he told her it would be, but worried that he may be lying to her.

As he sat with her, Caim wished that he could take her pain into his own body. He wished that she didn’t have to feel any pain at all, that childbirth as a whole could be easy and uncomplicated. He wished that he could do something for her besides just wishing for pointless things.

Although it felt like an eternity, the first pup arrived in under an hour. It was purple and seemed somehow misshapen. Caim could not recall Dawn being so unpleasant-looking and concluded that the pup must have gotten it from his father. He cut the cord and wrapped the pup in the pelt from his back before passing him off to his mother.

While he didn’t care for the pup, Caim found that he couldn’t take his eyes off it. By the time its brother was born, it seemed to have taken on a more natural hue, though its head still had a strange shape.

The second pup was easier for her and Caim was relieved when it was finally over. While Mila nursed, he disposed of the afterbirth—an experience Asch would owe him dearly for.

He arrived back in the clearing to find that the first pup had become rather handsome and the other was well on its way.

“I can’t believe they’re actually boys,” Mila said as he crouched down beside her. “I was hoping Dawn would have a little sister.”

Beside her, Dawn let out a soft whine. Caim reached over to pat his daughter on the head.

“I will give you a sister next year,” Caim assured her.

His pup barked excitedly, while Mila let out a loud snort.

“Not the best time to mention getting me pregnant again,” she grumbled.

Caim sat back down, holding her for a few more minutes as she continued to nurse. He would have been content to stay there for a while longer, perhaps even build a fire for them, but thick flurries of snow began to fall from the sky.

His mate appeared anxious. “I don’t think I can ride on your back. Not this soon.”

Caim placed a kiss on her temple, before lifting her up into his arms.

“I will carry you.”

She laid her head against his shoulder as he set off down the mountainside, Dawn weaving between his legs.

Mila and her new pups were asleep by the time they arrived back at the den. He set her down on a pallet of furs before tending to the fire. Dawn stayed up with him for a little while, but eventually fell asleep while draped over her mother’s legs. Caim considered leaving to get Fern, but couldn’t stomach the thought of leaving Mila and the pups unprotected. He assured himself that she was fine and that she needed her sleep.

He didn’t think Dawn would dare run off again that night, but even so, he couldn’t bring himself to rest. He stayed awake and alert, watching over his mate and pups while they rested.

Asch could smell his own scent as he approached the den, which was strange as he had not been there for years. Mila must have taken one of his pelts with her the day before, he decided.

The night away from her had felt impossibly long and he had regretted not sending Caim to The Cairn in his stead. The smell of the cats had put his protective instincts into overdrive and he had been unable to think of anything else except charging into the den and rending them limb from limb.

But instead of fierce opponents, all they had found were three young cat cubs, terrified and huddled into a small cavern. They had spent all night trying to coax them out, and when that hadn’t worked, River, Lotus, and Brae had gone in and rounded them up. They each had some nasty scratches to show for it.

From what they gathered from the one cub that would talk, their father had left them there three days ago and hadn’t returned. Asch knew that did not bode well, but he reassured them nonetheless and made sure they were fed before leaving the den. He had no idea what he was going to do with them, but casting them out in the winter was not an option.

Caim was waiting for him outside of the den. Asch slowed to a halt and shifted, disconcerted by the dark shadows under Caim’s eyes.

“Is Mila okay?” he asked, his voice still gruff from the change.

Caim folded his arms under his chest, and for the first time in months, seemed to be back to his old, arrogant self.

“While you were off playing with cats, I was delivering your sons. Were I not there, they would have surely died. You are forever in my debt.”

The words had halted Asch and he stood staring at Caim as his mind struggled to process what he had just heard.

Mila had given birth?

To his sons?

“I am going hunting,” Caim announced before shifting.

As he took his leave, Asch called out for him. He had so many questions, but Caim disappeared into the forest without looking back.

Anxiety threatened to hold him in place, but the desire to see Mila and his pups had him moving forward. As he reached the mouth of the den, a brown blur went whizzing by him. Dawn took off after her father, barking with excitement.

He took a deep breath, and then started down the passageway. The room was heated with a small fire that cast a warm glow around the room. Mila sat propped up against the wall, her bleary eyes staring downward at what was in her arms.

Although he had been quiet, she must have sensed him enter because she looked up, giving him a weary smile.

“Merry Christmas, papa.” She nodded towards a bundle of fur beside her. “Here, hold him. If I take this one off the boob before he’s finished, he’s going to throw a fit.”

Asch’s eyes widened as he realized there was another pup next to her. He wasted no time in clearing the distance between them.

He crouched down, and at first he could only stare at his son.

“Are they supposed to be this small?” he asked.

The pup was alarmingly tiny. He remembered Dawn being bigger, and she was quite premature.

“Twins are usually littler,” she said. “But don’t worry, they’ll catch up in no time.”

He hesitated another moment before lifting his son up and settling him in his arms. Even with as small and new as he was, Asch’s son bore a remarkable resemblance to him. They shared the same nose, the same hazel eyes, and though his head was still bare, Asch was certain he would share his father’s coppery hair. He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect son.

He examined him for a while, unaware of time until he heard a soft burping sound. He looked up to see that Mila had finished feeding the other pup and without warning, she unceremoniously dropped him into Asch’s arms. Both pups began to squirm restlessly.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his anxiety returning in full force.

“Going back to sleep,” she informed him. She began to make her way over to the furs by the fire.

“Wait, uh, we should head back to The Cairn.”

She let out a huff. “I’m not going anywhere for at least a day or two, so you’d better get comfortable.”

Asch realized that he was in no position to argue with her. He leaned back against the wall and did his best to sooth the pups as Mila began to doze off.

It took some time, but eventually they settled down and fell asleep. Once they did, Asch’s anxiety left him once again and before long he found a profound sense of peace.

“My sons,” he said softly, looking between each pup. “My sons…”

Caim and Dawn were quiet when they returned, each bringing with them a fat hare. Dawn set her game by the doorway and raced over to observe her brothers.

“I will go get Fern,” Caim told him. “I’ll be back in the evening with more meat and fresh water.”

Caim called for his daughter and the pup reluctantly followed her father.

Asch looked down at his sons and then back up at his friend. “Caim?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

“Hn.”

Dawn raced out of the den, but Caim paused in the doorway, his eyes resting on Mila’s sleeping form.

“You should know,” Caim said. “Mila and I have an agreement. When she is fertile again, I alone will mate with her.”

Asch arched a brow. “Mila agreed to that?”

“She did.”

With a pup in each arm, Asch could hardly fathom the prospect of having more children.

“She’s all yours, Caim.”

When they were alone, Asch made his way over to the furs. He settled the pups down with their mother and then lay down with her. He was unable to resist kissing her, first her shoulder, then her neck, and then the side of her face.

“What are you doing?” she grumbled in a sleep-laden voice.

“I love you,” he said.

Mila put a hand over his face in a weak attempt to push him away.

“I love you, too. Now go away.”

He kissed her forehead. “Never.”

Over 20 Steamy Stories, Only 99¢…

Taming the Alpha

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A savvy young woman uses her encyclopedic knowledge of ancient artifacts to charm a world-weary dragon god.

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Tensions are running high at Halcyon…

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Alder and Hale have always been as different as night and day, but both alphas will stop at nothing to protect the women they love. Lines are crossed and ties are strengthened in the sixth entry of Running With Alphas…

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