Things had calmed down drastically in the weeks since the confrontation. I sat with Layla and Rhonda on the flat stones in front of my house, the three of us enjoying the afternoon sun while our eyes tracked the chaos unfolding in the clearing below. My mates had decided that today was a sparring day, which meant that Ravin, Leon, Veylan, Caelion, and Soryn were all in various states of undress, shifting between forms and throwing each other around with enthusiastic violence. Aureon had joined them, his white fur gleaming as he dodged a swipe from Leon with grace.
Layla and Rhonda’s mates had joined in as well, making it a proper free for all. The sound of bodies hitting the ground, of growls and laughter and the occasional yelp of pain, drifted up to us like music.
Wren sat with us too, her own pregnancy beginning to show beneath her loose top, her cheeks flushed with the glow of it. She held a cup of cool water in her hands; her eyes fixed on the spectacle below with shy fascination.
"He has been wanting you since he arrived," Rhonda said, gesturing with her chin toward where Aureon was currently pinning Caelion to the dirt. "Before your newborns, even. And now they are two and a half weeks old, and that man is still waiting." She laughed, the sound rich and knowing. "You have to give him that. Patience of a saint, that one."
"Or a fool," Layla added, rubbing her lower back with a grimace as she shifted on the stone. "I would have swept him up a lot sooner. A male that devoted? That determined? You do not let that cool on the shelf."
"Unless you are waiting for your body to stop feeling like it was hit by a boulder," I muttered, and they all laughed.
Wren spoke up then, her voice soft and shy as it always was. "He really is a handsome beast," she said, her cheeks pinking as she watched the sparring below. "All that white fur. And his eyes." She sighed, dreamy and distant. "Like melted gold."
"Careful, Wren," Rhonda teased. "Your mate might hear you."
Wren’s eyes widened in mock horror, and we all dissolved into giggles.
If only they knew, I thought, smiling at the memories of our conversations. If only they knew how exhausting it was just to get a complete sentence across some days. Yes, my tiger beast was handsome. Yes, he was patient, frustratingly, admirably patient. And yes, he was mine now. Mine in the binding ways, marked by the blue bind on my wrist that nobody sees but us and the tie that connected our souls.
But not completely mine. Not yet.
A girl has got to heal down there, I reminded myself, shifting uncomfortably on the stone I sat upon. Six weeks. My girl parts needs to heal and strengthen back up. And Aureon, for all his dramatic sighs and pointed glances, had actually been respectful of that boundary. Mostly.
"How are the others taking it?" Layla asked, reading my mind as she always did. "The new addition?"
"They are..." I paused, searching for the right word. "Adjusting."
"That bad?" Rhonda raised an eyebrow.
"Last night," I said, dropping my voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Leon told Aureon that he has much to learn about being a proper mate. That youth and enthusiasm are no substitute for experience and wisdom."
Rhonda leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. "And?"
"And Aureon smiled," I confirmed, my voice rising with remembered exasperation. "He said, ’You are absolutely right, Leon. I am young. I am new. I have so much energy.’" I mimicked Aureon’s smooth tone, all false humility and sparkling eyes. "Then he offered to take over Leon’s hunting duties, his patrol duties, and his firewood collection, so that Leon could rest his old bones and perhaps consider retirement."
"Retirement?" Layla choked on her water.
"He said it with such sincerity," I wailed, throwing my hands up. "Leon turned purple. I thought he was going to shift and bite him right there at the dinner table."
"Did he?" Wren asked, breathless.
"No," I groaned. "Because Aureon added that he would be honored to learn from such an experienced male, and that he hoped to be half as competent as Leon by the time he reached his advanced age."
"Advanced age?" Rhonda repeated, her voice cracking.
"Leon is twenty-two," I said. "Twenty-two, Rhonda. Not exactly ancient. I am twenty-four. Should I feel ancient?"
"To an eighteen-year-old in his prime, any age higher is old to him," Layla said, rubbing her belly with a wince, "twenty-two might as well be one foot in the grave."
"It is like living with six overgrown cubs," I muttered, glaring down at the sparring field where Leon was currently trying to knock Aureon into a tree with significantly more force than necessary. "All competing for the same person like I’m a toy. Am I a toy to them?"
"You are the prize," Wren corrected gently.
"I am the exhausted female who just wants to nap," I countered, and they laughed again.
The sparring had ended hours ago, the males having exhausted themselves trying to prove who was strongest, fastest, most worthy of bragging rights. My mates had trickled back to the den one by one, all except Aureon, who had slipped inside without a word while I was still gossiping with the women. I caught a glimpse of white fur disappearing through the entrance flap, followed by the sound of cubs shrieking with delight, and I knew he had found his audience.
Layla, Rhonda, Wren, and I remained on our stones, watching as our own mates gathered nearby, talking amongst themselves with the kind of male camaraderie that involved more grunting and posturing than actual conversation. Rhonda’s mate kept looking over, his tail twitching with impatience. Layla’s kept checking the position of the sun as if it might have moved without his permission.
"They are getting restless," Layla observed, though she made no move to stand.
"Let them wait," Rhonda said, settling more firmly onto her stone. "We carried their cubs. We can carry a conversation."
We laughed, and the sound carried, prompting a round of exaggerated sighs from the waiting males.
But eventually, even I had to admit that the light was fading, and the air was growing cold. When Rhonda’s mate Darius, actually started pacing, his arms crossed and his ears pinned back in a display of wounded patience, we finally relented.
We said our goodbyes then, the warmth of friendship carrying us through the cooling evening. I watched Layla and Rhonda waddle home, collected by their own mates who had been waiting with increasing restlessness. Wren departed too, her hand resting on her small bump, a secret smile on her lips as her mate wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her toward their den.
Then I turned toward my own home, and the warmth turned to amused dread.
I could hear the chaos before I even pushed aside the entrance flap.
"Again! Again!" Atlas’s voice, high and excited.
"Show us the pounce one more time!" That was Ryder, my middle cub, rarely this animated.
I stepped inside to find Aureon in his tiger form, white fur gleaming in the firelight, crouched in a predatory stance while three of my cubs, Atlas, Ryder, and Chase, circled him with the manic energy of children who had found a new favorite plaything.
Aureon lunged, a controlled, gentle movement that sent all three cubs scattering with shrieks of delighted terror. He caught Atlas by the scruff, lifted him gently, and deposited him on a pile of furs with a huff that was almost a laugh.
"New Daddy is the best!" Atlas announced to the room at large.
"New Daddy does tricks!" Ryder added.
"New Daddy!" Chase added laughing.
I looked around the den, taking in the scene. Ravin sat in the corner, ostensibly sharpening his claws, but his ears were pinned back in a way that suggested he was approximately thirty seconds from accidentally on purpose sitting on someone. Leon was skinning a rabbit with more force than strictly necessary, his jaw tight. Veylan had laid down in his wolf form sleeping nearby. Caelion was pacing.
And Soryn...
Soryn sat alone by the fire, his tail limp, his expression that of a male who had just realized he was no longer the favorite anything.
"New Daddy," Atlas said again, climbing onto Aureon’s back as the white tiger shifted back to his human form. "Do the roar again!"
"The roar," Aureon said, glancing at me with eyes that sparkled with mischief, "is a very serious technique. It cannot be used for mere entertainment."
"Please?" All three cubs, in unison, with big eyes and trembling lower lips.
Aureon melted like snow in summer. "Well. Perhaps a small roar."
He shifted partially, just enough to let out a rumbling growl that vibrated through the floorboards. The cubs shrieked with joy, piling onto him, climbing his shoulders, pulling his hair, treating him like a jungle gym with stripes.
I leaned against the doorway, and I watched my new mate disappear beneath a pile of adoring children.
"Pathetic," Leon muttered, loud enough to be heard.
"Embarrassing," Ravin agreed, though he did not look up from his claws.
"Show offs," Caelion added, still pacing.
Veylan just huffs in his apparent sleep.
Only Soryn said nothing. He sat by the fire, staring into the flames, the picture of dejection.
Then Jasper, my sweet, sleepy Jasper, extracted himself from the pile of newborn cubs who were still asleep. He rubbed his eyes, yawning widely, and toddled across the den on unsteady legs still tired apparently.
He stopped in front of Soryn.
"Dada," he said, his voice thick with sleep. "Up. Hold me."
Soryn’s head snapped up like a startled deer. "What?"
"Sleepy," Jasper insisted, raising his arms. "Dada Soryn hold me."
For a moment, Soryn simply stared, as if he could not quite believe what he was hearing. Then his face transformed, a smile spreading across his features that could have lit the entire den.
"Of course!" he said, his voice cracking slightly. "Of course, my favorite cub! Come to Dada Soryn!"
He scooped Jasper up, holding him close, and the smugness radiating off him was almost visible, a cloud of self-satisfaction that filled the room.
"Did you see?" he asked the room at large, though no one had asked. "Did you see who he chose? Not the new male. Dada Soryn. His favorite."
"He said sleepy, not favorite," Leon muttered.
"He meant favorite," Soryn insisted, rocking Jasper gently. "It is implied. It is understood. It is the bond between father and son."
Jasper was already asleep, his head on Soryn’s shoulder, drooling slightly onto the fur.
"Look at him," Soryn whispered, stroking Jasper’s back with reverent fingers. "My baby. My perfect baby. Who needs tricks and roars when you have love?"
"You are literally holding him hostage," Aureon pointed out from beneath Atlas and Ryder.
"Jealousy is unbecoming," Soryn said airily. "Particularly in those who rely on acrobatics to win affection."
"I saved his life," Aureon said.
"And I held him while he napped," Soryn countered. "Which is clearly more important. Ask any cub. Go ahead. Ask them."
I laughed then, the sound bubbling up despite my exhaustion, and six heads turned toward me.
"Enough," I said, though there was no real force behind it. "Aureon, stop showing off. You are inflating their expectations."
"I cannot help that I am naturally impressive," he said, extracting himself from the pile of cubs with difficulty.
"Soryn, stop gloating. You are going to sprain something."
"Impossible," Soryn said. "I am too flexible for injury. Jasper knows. Do you not, my perfect baby?"
Jasper snored.
"And the rest of you," I said, looking at my other mates, at their carefully neutral expressions and their aggressively casual postures. "Stop sulking. There is enough of me to go around. Eventually."
Ravin looked up, his golden eyes meeting mine. Hopeful.
"Eventually," I repeated, softer. "I promise."
He nodded, once, and some of the tension left his shoulders.
I crossed the den, stepping over stuff toys and discarded furs, and settled myself in the center of it all. One by one, they came to me. Ravin on my left, his warmth familiar and safe. Leon on my right, his presence solid as stone. Veylan behind me, his fingers finding the tension in my neck and kneading it away. Caelion at my feet, his pale hair catching the firelight. Soryn beside him, still clutching Jasper like a prize he had won.
And Aureon, settling across from me, his golden eyes bright with hope and mischief and love. I smiled, yes...this right here is happiness.