Ever Cynical

Chapter 36🌶️- Knots & Stuff

Anais POV

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Now I understood his statement of it being both happy but potentially upsetting news, and why he hesitated. And why he felt he could not wait. I would have flipped my s**t if I knew he'd known and just... didn't tell me. I was having a family. A real family. The pack I already considered my family, of course, but this was my direct offspring. My baby!

Kieran looked far too pleased with himself.

"Soooo... Was that knotting... normal?" I asked, addressing the most urgent thing first. "Is it... always going to be like that?" As much as it had been sexy and I'd loved the utter sense of connection, it had also been exhausting and just... long. What if I'd had to pee or something? I know there are some people that enjoy "golden showers" but I'm gonna go ahead and say not me, and not Kier. He liked after care far too much to make more of a mess, of that I was certain.

No, mo bhanríon. That was an exception, Ri'dubh himself answered. I trembled, thinking about him and his golden eyes, that silky, sleek dark fur. He laughed lowly. I thought you wanted to wait for a while before we mated again, Annnaaaa? He drew my name out, making my core clench. What the hell? I cleared my throat, ignoring his question, deciding that information was more important at the moment than my alpha's kinks.

Plenty of time for that later.

"Why was it necessary?" I asked firmly, determined to get answers before my heat made me into a totally irrational hussy... again.

Kier told you about our low fertility, right? Ri questioned.

"Yeah." That had been such a painful discussion for both of us.

Well, Selene has tied your fertility to the pack's. This was, for lack or a better term, a magical mating. Kieran giggled, and I clenched my thighs. Can't you two be serious? Jeez! Ri'dubh exclaimed indignantly. Anyway, it jump-started fertility within our pack, but it will also affect anyone that joins. We have become a blessed pack. Most likely, Helga will end up with pup as well, and her wolf revived. It's just the beginning of the ways you will heal our people, Ana.

"How nice that Helga and I can be pregnant together." I clapped my hands with glee. Kieran shifted on his feet looking a little uncomfortable. "What is it, Kier?" What else could possibly be wrong?

"Well, the thing is... It's not just one," he announced. How very specific of him.

"Not just one what?" Sometimes he could be so difficult to get things out of. Something we both needed to work on, I'm sure.

"Pup." He practically squeaked. Oh, duh.

"Right, my pup and Helga's, so two." I reasoned. Unfortunately, his face was pained and yet excited. For Goddess' sake!

"Nooo, I mean you don't just have one pup in your belly." I felt the blood drain from my face as Kieran grasped my hand. I could feel his distress warring with his enthusiasm through the bond. "I'm sorry, I know this is all overwhelming. The last two weeks have been a storm of stress for you, but I didn't want to hide anything from you." If he cried I was going to kill him. Not really, just... Jeez!

"How many, Kier." He looked away, his cheeks flushed, but I pulled his face where I could look into his eyes. "How. Many. Mon coeur?" I demanded of him again. He sighed, not looking away. He placed a hand on my belly. "What are you doing?"

"Counting." He was quite focused as he spoke. "You're especially fertile right now, so until your heat is over, more babies can be created." I clenched my thighs. "Mo chridhe, it's too late for that." He misinterpreted my clenching for blocking. I guess? But what it really meant was that I was turned on. Then he sniffed and grinned as he understood. "So I should have told you sooner, then, huh?" He refocused on my belly, rubbing a gentle circle over my womb, which now housed our progeny.

"Currently you've got three in there... Tell me when you want to work on a fourth." He winked. Three... Three! "Don't worry, future knots should last at most five minutes. As would be normal." His statement was reassuring. Once in a while a long knot could be un, but certainly not regularly.

If she wants me again, I could put another pup in her for sure, Ri'dubh piped up. Claire giggled, her tail wagging in my head.

You surely could, ma Cherie, she announced, praising her wolf mate.

"Wait, isn't it dangerous for me to shift when I'm pregnant? Like, it could have hurt my babies? Should I not have let Claire out that second time?" I exclaimed, suddenly very concerned. I would never forgive myself if I put my little ones in danger, even if I didn;t know about them yet.

Hush ma Cherie, it was fine. Though I probably shouldn't after maybe four months, since the total gestation for wolves is six months. Possibly shorter given they're fully alpha-blooded babies. We can, even then, just it's a lot for your body. It could cause you to have another one of those situations where you pass out for like, a week, Claire announced.

"Pass out for a week?" Kieran asked in concern blended with more than a little anger. I sighed. Freaking Claire.

"Yeah, when I wasn't able to get sleep for a while, sometimes I would pass out unexpectedly for a while." I shrugged. I knew s**t like this upset him, but it was in the past. I planned to take much better care of myself, and my family. Nothing I could do about the insomnia till I got to Celtic Moon and it just disappeared. Probably the mate bond.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure that does not happen again." He announced resolutely. I patted his cheek as his love and concern flowed through the bond. Poor guy. My past seemed to give him constant anxiety.

"I'm certain that you will, mon coeur." I looked at the clock. It was five PM. Time to eat. "Let's make some food, bebe."

We toddled into the kitchen and made spinach-mushroom ravioli in a cream garlic sauce with Texas toast. Okay, we reheated Helga's pasta and sauce. It was delicious, as usual. I wanted to have wine, but I wasn't taking a risk with my pups. Kieran flirted with me between bites about how much he looked forward to my help in his office. I suddenly recalled something Claire mentioned after one of his giggles.

"So... you have a secretary fantasy, I hear?" I asked him. He turned as red as a tomato. He cleared his throat. "Listen, mon coeur. I want to know everything you want to try. I mated with your wolf in his natural form. Do you think I care if you want me to dress up, glasses and all, and give you a blowjob under your desk? Maybe even while Geoff talks to you but has no idea I'm there? Just to be clear, I don't even care if he does know I'm there. Everyone knows I'm yours." He needed to know he was the one I would do anything for.

I had lived far too long for anything he wanted to make me feel ashamed.

I was his, after all.

Kieran POV

She had me worried when I told her I had potentially upsetting news. She must have thought I was going to abandon her or something equally idiotic. I had hoped my feelings were crystal clear, but I supposed no relationship was perfect. For her to turn around and offer to blow me, under my desk, regardless of someone being there? Hot as f**k and sexy as sin. Not that I planned on anyone ever being present while her beautiful, pouty mouth gave me pleasure, just the idea that she would do it if I asked her to? Such a turn on, and such a sign of trust.

"Without the audience, absolutely. Geoff has no mate though, I think that would just be cruel." I quipped. She smacked my arm lightly.

"When we go back to the pack house, it will be arranged. Look forward to it. Have to make sure I do it before I'm too pregnant to get off the floor." She laughed heartily. I giggled at the vision, and she clenched her thighs. Ri'dubh grumbled his discontent somewhat incoherently.

I really hope you guys can get that under control before we have to go anywhere important, he said. But Ana, you never answered my question, he purred. Her heat and the gushing were just too much. Seriously. As his purring intensified, she looked at me, only to find golden eyes looking at her instead of green. She stood to, I don't know, get away? Stupid, right? Who runs from an apex predator? I cornered her in front of the fireplace, where I'd started a lovely crackling fire. There was an extra fluffy area rug in front of it. Looked like fur, but I'm certain it was faux, in tones of cream.

The scene was rather inspiring, if I do say so myself. This time, Ri and I were stalking our mate together.

"Lose the shirt and lay down or I'll rip it off of you." I snarled. My wolf was in control, and I was allowing it. Only this time, we were doing it together. Most times, the wolf and human were mostly separate, but I knew he wanted to let me experience it with him, like I had with Claire. I'd let him to the front with me. It was only fair. Her eyes were huge as she complied, tossing my shirt onto the couch and laying her gorgeous nude body on the rug, knees pointed up. "Spread your legs and bend your knees." We demanded. She complied.

"Oooh." She said appreciatively. "This is soft." I shifted in my wolf form, still on the surface with Ri, making her gasp. Although she'd acted hesitant, her hand immediately reached out to our snout, stroking gently before runing her fingers through our long black coat. "All of you is just so irresistible." I smelled her gushing arousal, and moved my nose to the source, lapping up her juices with my long tongue. It was fun doing this as a wolf, I had to acknowledge. It was Ri'dubh's turn to giggle, a raspy and dark sound. "Shit." She said as a new gush of fluid flowed from her. "Was that Ri'dubh giggling? Goddess help me. Your wolf is way too sexy, Kier."

I could not respond verbally, but rather than link my response, I refocused on my prize. Ri was pleased at how much affection and desire his human mate had for him, and her willingness to let him be his primal self.

Our paw held her in place as we continued to lap at her folds while she moaned beneath us, but we were just getting started.