Ever Cynical

Chapter 37🌶️- Back to Reality

Kieran POV

Anais was a moaning mess as my wolf and I scent marked and licked every inch of her body. She kept begging, saying "please" over and over as her temperature spiked higher, and her core wept. We kept purring, both soothing and maddening at the same time as her heat ratcheted up.

Kier, this is going to be it, Ri'dubh announced. Just like me, my wolf can be hard to get relevant details out of, sometimes. I rolled my eyes mentally.

It, what?

I'm going to force her heat to break, and she will have a fourth pup in her belly, he said gravely.

Can we even do that? I questioned. I'd never heard of something like that before.

Of course, he said proudly. We are a blessed alpha... Selene has taught me many things. He was clearly happy about the pups, and his mate's desire for him.

We stuck our nose into her mark, licking until she started to cry in desperation. We bit her mark hard and lowered our giant body until we could line our arousal up with her core, thrusting deeply, teeth holding her in place. She was so slick that even Ri'dubh's increased size encountered little resistance. We growled as we set a brutal pace, pushing her ability to keep up, But keep up, she did, gyrating her hips wildly as she let go of her inhibitions. Her eyes were still blue, but edged in violet, showing her wolf was there with her.

This. This was true mating on a primal level.

We felt her clenching around us, her hands gripping our fur as she crested her orgasm, howling her release, as we soon followed, also howling in utter ecstasy. Ri'dubh released his knot with a guttural growl. We filled her so much that our c*m pushed out around the edges of where our bodies were still connected. He let go of her shoulder, licking the wound, then licked her tears. She stroked his head tenderly caressing him, holding him close. When I tried to pull into the back of our mind and give them this poignant moment, he did not allow it.

For both of us, is all he said gruffly. After a few minutes, the knot retracted, and he shifted, leaving me hard inside her as she grinned up at me. Our wolves were making a habit of these quick changes. Apparently, they also had quite a sense of humor.

"Why do they do that!" I exclaimed. "Just leave us mid-s****l act like it won't be awkward... Jeez." I crawled off of her and pulled her to the bathroom, where we bathed together, no hanky-panky. I giggled when she put a soapy beard on her face, and she tilted her head in consideration.

"Ohhhh. My heat! It's over?!" She exclaimed. "Like, you giggle still gives me shivers and I want to jump you, but no massive gush this time. Whew!" I grinned at her, glad we were done doing our bunny impression, no longer hyper focused on procreation, to the neglect of everything else. I hugged her and kissed her forehead. "We can go home tomorrow!" She clapped.

"Yeah, back to reality." I sighed, not so excited to go deal with the shitstorm that awaited us. She cupped my cheek lovingly, her thumb slowly stroking over my cheekbone and sending tingles across it.

"There is nothing we can't face together, mon coeur." Her eyes flashed purple. "I dare anyone to try and hurt my pack, my family, or my babies. They have no idea who they are messing with." I patted her shoulder soothingly.

"Yes, mo chridhe, I know. It's not me you need to wave your aura around at." She quirked a brow and splashed me. "I'm immune anyway."

"Hmm, but you'll never be immune to... other charms I have." She said, making big, fakely innocent eyes at me, flapping her eyelashes.

"Mo shíorghrá, for you, I can be both the most tender and the hardest alpha in existence." I said, with utmost sincerity.

"Ah yes, indeed, and of course you weren't referring to your c**k when you say hardest, right?" She giggled. I growled with a bit of indignation.

"Not this time, no." I pouted. I was totally having a serious moment! s**t. I'd have to watch my words around her sharp wit or I'd easily be hoist on my own petard.

"Okay, okay, mon coeur. I understand." She laid back in the tub, closing her eyes as her hands swirled the water and soap suds lazily. I laid my hand on her belly, and felt it, the additional flutter. She peered up at me, "So, what's the final count?" I took a deep breath.

"Well, Ri'dubh wasn't wrong that he could give you another pup. He was just off on the number." I grumbled. Dumbass wolf. I could hear his deep, dark laughter in the back of my mind. She gripped my arm, looking both concerned and excited all at once.

"Kier, how many? Don't be cryptic, just f*****g tell me." She begged.

"Final pup count, this time, is five." I huffed. She turned pink with pleasure. My jaw hung open, surprised. "You do realize that this is five babies all at once, right? As happy as I am to have pups, that could be a lot to deal with." She nodded, a softness about her as she thought about becoming a mother.

"I just never thought I'd get to have babies, er, pups. I really thought I was going to be this lone person, never dying, until who knows what happens in the future." She said, tears forming. It still bothered me so much that her life had been so tough.

"Babe, don't cry." I swiped her tears away with my thumbs. "Let's go sleep, hmm?" I helped her out of the tub, drying her off. We got tucked into the bed for the last time, at least for now, and promptly fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms, finally sated.

Anais POV

The alarm woke us up all too soon. We were a tangle of limbs and body parts upon awakening, and after a hard and fast quickie, Kieran was full of energy and zipping around. My mate toasted us bagels, then topped them with some delicious herbed cheese spread. We had some coffee after he convinced me that my morning cup wasn't going to do anything to five pups. We tidied up a bit and packed our things, saying goodbye to our little haven. We linked hands as we drove back to the pack house, and I took the chance to examine Kieran's mark.

It was black knotwork, not the usual silvery filigree you saw in marks, but still beautiful. There were two wolves facing each other, making a heart, with a single crown above them both, one black and one white. It was also huge, like five inches by five inches. There was no hiding it unless we wore turtlenecks. We also had developed knotwork rings on our left ring fingers that appeared to be part of our mark, but not connected directly to it. Oddly, there seemed to be an almost... empty space between the wolves adn crown. Odd, indeed.

"Do you like it?" He asked, a little shy.

"Of course I do, mon coeur, but I'm a little worried about the crown. Regardless of what it really means, people are going to interpret it to mean that we are somehow declaring ourselves royals." I was worried about gossip making trouble. Ludolf already had his sights set on Kieran and me. Something like this was bound to be inflammatory.

"One thing at a time, mo chridhe. Let's handle that when and if it comes, okay? For now, we need to deal with Ekezeic and reaching out to our allies. We will need the Elder Council's help keeping our pups out of enemy hands." He said solemnly, and I nodded. We were quietly introspective for the remainder of the drive, each of us thinking about what we needed to do in order to keep everyone safe.

Ekezeic was standing outside of the pack house, his massive arms crossed over his equally massive chest, as we pulled up. He grinned when we exited the SUV and grasped hands, walking over to him together. His lizard eyes flicked over both of us, assessing. They paused at my belly, his eyebrows jumping to his hairline.

"Busy, were we?" He laughed incredulously. I flushed to the roots of my hair. "No, don't be embarrassed, meine sonne, it's a very good thing. You will see. Maybe a bit early given the circumstances, but I can understand why neither of you wanted to wait. Now, I've been waiting for a proper tour." He announced with a sniff.

"We tried to show him around, but he said if it wasn't the Alpha or Luna, not to bother." Lugh piped up from behind him. When Ekezeic shot him a glare, he shrugged. "What? It's what you said. I'm not lying to my Luna to make you look good, Basilisk King or not." He huffed. I had to hold back a giggle. Ekezeic must have been quite bossy in our absence, but in this pack where titles were not as important as the person, it had not gotten him very far.

Honestly, it was probably good for him. Slow his roll and remind him he's not always in charge. Bold fucker.

"I need to get her to walk me around before she can't because-" Ekezeic started. I cut him off by placing a hand over his smug mouth.. Cheeky geezer. Using my pups to make me do things! He knew I wasn't ready to tell anyone. They had literally just been conceived in the last two days! And poor Lugh, my serious Gamma, he'd probably treat me like a glass sculpture and hover over me constantly if he knew. I understood it, it was just way too soon to go there.

"It's fine, Lugh. I know how... irascible he can be. I've got this." I said, trying to pull away from my mate. Kieran refused to release my hand until I looked at him. I could feel his reluctance through the bond. I'm sure he thought he was being clingy.

"Will you be alright, mo shíorghrá?" Kieran asked softly. I rolled my eyes as I felt his worry. I loved this man to the moon and back, but I could already tell he was going to handle me with kid gloves whether I needed it or not. Just like Lugh, probably. It was just a tour of the pack house, and if Ekezeic wanted to see more, we were taking a damn car. I patted his cheek affectionately.

"Everything will be just fine, mon coeur." I reassured my cute alpha. His eyes narrowed on my face like he wanted to push to join us, as did Lugh, clearly sensing his alpha's overprotective attitude. He knew Kieran would not be like that without a good reason. While I appreciated his attentiveness, I would be fine with the beast I pretty much considered my only parent.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more capable of defending me, besides my mate. I had no doubt Lugh was strong, but against his alpha or the Basilisk King, he'd struggle too.

It felt strange to have to many supporters, but never would I take it for granted.