Rose

May (Six plus months after last chapter, and after events of My Mystery Mate)

Rose’s POV

“Oh God! Harder! Harder! Ooooooh… GOD I’M ALMOST THERE! Harder! PLEASE! Oh GOD!!”

“SAY IT!”

“NOOOOO OH GOD!!”

“You’re not coming until I hear it from you.”

“NO PLEASE DON’T STOP!!! NO!!!!!’

“Say it then.”

“I CAN’T BABY I CAN’T!”

I knocked loudly on Charlotte’s door. “Just TELL HIM your ass belongs to him now so the rest of us can get some sleep!”

“MOM!!! Oh GAWD!”

I laughed, the rooms were supposed to be soundproofed, but new mates were loud. I should know, it was only last year that Gunny and I were keeping HER up all night. I hung a gift bag on her door, in it was a ball gag and some anal lube. I chuckled to myself as I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, imagining her reaction when she saw it. I was sleep deprived, and I needed water and a snack.

I ate an apple, then poured myself a tall glass and drank it down before going back upstairs to the nursery. Set next to our room, the four babies were sleeping side by side. The identical triplets, Angela, April and Allison, were still asleep, while brother Bruce was awake. He was watching the mobile spin above him, little rabbits and mice spinning around as he reached for them. They were all dressed in onesies, and my life since their birth four weeks ago had been hectic.

“Hi baby, come to Momma.” He giggled as I picked him up, bringing him with me over to the changing table for a diaper change. I was an expert by now, I could literally do it in my sleep, then I took him to my padded rocking chair. One of my favorite presents from my baby shower, the gliding motion and wide, pillowed arms helped me feed two at a time. My breasts were sore and full, and as I unbuttoned my top, I pulled him close. He immediately latched on and started to pull hard.

I relaxed as he fed, pausing after a few minutes to burp him. He was a strong boy, regaining his birth weight after a few days and already a half pound above his four-pound, one-ounce birth weight. He was almost done when the girls woke, crying, and in moments the whole room was full of noise from them.

“Here, I’ll take him,” Gunny said. He put Bruce back in the crib for now, as I took Allison and he took April for their changes. Once they were clean, I sat down, and he placed them where they could both feed while he changed Angela. He sat on the papasan chair next to me with the two while I took care of the girls I had.

“I’m kind of jealous of them,” he said as I burped Allison. “You have the epic huge mounds, and you won’t let me touch them because they get all the nipple time.”

“You’re such a guy,” I said as I winced, Allison latching on again. “They are always sore, and I feel like a milking cow. It’s hard to feel beautiful with these basketballs up top.”

“You’re amazing,” he said. “I never dreamed life could be like this.” He had Bruce dropping off to sleep now, his little hands gripping his shirt. Bruce was named after one of his previous sniper team partners, who had been killed by a mortar attack in his Iraq mess hall. He was stroking Angela’s back to calm her down while she waited her turn at the breakfast bar.

“I think I scared the hell out of Charlotte, she’s not planning to get pregnant right away now.”

“Not for lack of opportunity,” Gunny snorted. “Those two are as bad as we were.”

I laughed. “Not as kinky yet, but they are still young. Just wait until they can mate in animal form.” I leaned back, thinking of how much our lives had changed since Gunny pushed his way into my heart. “Only two days until she can change.” She had just turned eighteen, meaning she could be claimed by Josh and they could start a sexual relationship finally, but she had to wait for her finals to be done at school before being turned. She needed the four-day weekend for her change, and graduation was right before we left for the Gila Pack for their big Memorial Day get-together.

“Has she decided panther or wolf?”

“Not yet, but Ella and I are lobbying hard. I think seeing the difference in childbirth and the cubs faster development is a big selling point, plus we are better looking,” I said. “Still, Josh is a wolf and I’m sure he wants to be the one to change her.”

“Yeah, if I was Josh I’d feel the same way.”

I handed him Allison, and he burped her and settled her on his lap before handing me Angela. We’d developed a system, and soon he had fallen asleep with the four tucked in to his side on the big chair. I moved to the bed and fell asleep immediately.

I woke all too soon to the sound of crying babies, but I didn’t get up. Taking a sniff, I could tell Larissa was here, and soon she undid my top and tucked the girls in for their morning feed. Gunny was not in bed, so after the first two were done, I sat up to burp them. “Good morning, Larissa.” She had been a lifesaver, stepping in as a nanny while we struggled with the demands of the four babies.

“Good morning, Alpha. How was the night?”

“Too short,” I said. “Gunny is wishing he was in combat again, he says he got more sleep then.”

She laughed. “Mom says it will get better. Just wait until they sleep through the night in a few months.” We swapped out the babies as she put the two who were done into the basket. “I’ll take these two down while you finish up.”

I watched her go, smiling a bit as I heard the girls begging to be able to hold them. I was just burping Bruce when Charlotte knocked and came in. “How are my little brother and sister,” she asked, her voice breaking slightly as she tried to talk softly.

I noticed she was walking a little carefully, and her eyes betrayed her fatigue. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Her face turned red. “You know the answer to that, Mom.” She got a goofy look on her face. “We just… finally, we can, and we just can’t stop,” she said.

“Just wait until your change, when you can fully bond it gets even better,” I said. I was so happy for my girl, she was happy and had her whole life ahead of her, and Josh was a good man. I handed her the babies, then got up and changed as she left with them.

By the time I got down to the dining room, all the babies were being entertained by Pack members at the table or in the living room. They were happy babies when clean and full, and there was no shortage of arms in our big family to hold them.

The house was still big for our small pack, since most people had left for the island late last year. Alpha Ella, Craig, Mitchell and Darryl (7, wolves), daughter Emmanuel (4, wolf), fraternal twins Renee (2, panther) and Gary (wolf), and now triplets Marjorie, Mabel and Melissa (4 months, all panthers) gave her the big family she wanted.

The woman was crazy, she was looking forward to her next pregnancy already.

Al and Marge, plus Carl and Mabel, stayed with their Alpha pair. I missed their cooking and their helpful presence.

Craig’s sister Olivia and her mate Mark built their own island house nearby, with former wolf (now panther) twins Tony and Tina, daughters Elanor and Elizabeth (5) and son Alex (2), all wolves.

Jacob and Melanie Weinberg (wolves) and daughter Chance (5) built a home near the docks, where Jacob was in charge of the fishing boats and water transportation.

Jerry and Mary Peters, Justin (13) and Lawrence (11) built a house up the hill from the beach next to the Pack school they were building.

Elders Mark Miller and Lois Albertson stayed in the main house, where they could help with repairs and child care.

Not everyone they expected left. John and Teri Johnson (23), the only survivors of the Rochester pack, decided to stay because they preferred to stay in the States. The Spencers, John, Angela, Josh and Jane, all stayed because “the Island has crappy internet,” as Josh said. Jane and Charlotte were also best friends, and they didn’t want to be apart after they both mated.

The Albertsons didn’t want to leave the States with their oldest getting to college age. Grandma Lois, parents Zach and Laurie, and children Lars (22), Logan (20), Larissa (19), Lance (16) and Linda (14) were all living in the neighborhood with us.

Some of the cats who had showed up had become full members as well. Minka Peterson, the lynx from Minnesota, was first to be added. She was soon joined by another dozen cats from all over the country and even the world, including Tatiana Dubronov, a Siberian Tiger whose family escaped Communism during the Russian Revolution. For those who didn’t feel comfortable joining, we had an Affiliation status. These cats were allowed to purchase adjoining properties and had permission to run on some of our private lands but could not enter the residential areas without permission. This was becoming a popular option as word got out.

Tom Harris (panther) decided to stay with his mate Daniella (cougar), mother to Kelsey Stillwater who also stayed with her mate Keisha (cheetah). Shelley and her mate Lars had taken a house down the street, and Tom and Kelsey moved into the houses on each side of them. They shared a common backyard with a trampoline park, where their triplets Sharon, Sara and Sally (10) were always playing. All three had been changed to mountain lions by Daniella, while Shelly was now a panther like Lars.

Joe had gotten them both pregnant, and we had given them adjoining houses where the mountains met the wide-open desert, so both had room to run. Tom had purchased the ranch, which added dozens of square miles to the Pack land holdings along the edge of Federal lands. We were all curious as to whether the babies would be wolves or cats; so far, all the female offspring had been cats, the males all wolves. Even so, they shared some characteristics of the non-dominant species. Ella didn’t know, nor did anyone else, so we would have to wait.

I have to admit, it had been a little interesting when we traveled up to Colorado for Joe and Linda’s trial. The babies were only two weeks old, but traveled easily, since they slept all the time. I brought Larissa and Charlotte on the trip to help with them, and by pumping milk at the trial, I was able to watch most of it. I had been nervous the whole time; Linda was Ella’s friend, the one who had changed her, and in a way the mother of all Panthers in both Packs.

*Flashback*

The group of us sat in the back of the room, shocked at the ending of the trial. We were trying to talk to Linda, but she was still in the custody of the Council pending sentencing. When it was pronounced, we all let go a relieved breath, that she would live.

As things calmed down, Joe and Linda stood with their Pack in the front of the room. People lined up around the room, waiting to congratulate them. When we got to the front, Ella took the lead, introducing her mate Craig, then Gunny and I as Alphas of the new Pack. We chatted briefly about being a Panther and Alpha, then moved on after extending them an invitation to visit when things calmed down.

We turned to wait for Keisha and Kelsey, knowing the fireworks were about to start. “Hello, I’m Kelsey Stillwater, of the Guns and Roses pack,” she said as she shook Linda’s hand. “Hello again Joe,” she said as her other hand rubbed her swollen belly.

“You know Joe?”

“Of course I know my baby daddy.” The temperature in the room dropped to freezing as Linda dropped her hand and turned to her mate. I started cracking up, I was expecting her head to do one of those Exorcist turns or something. “And Keisha got knocked up by him too, first try!”

Joe immediately dropped to his knees, his eyes pleading. “Honey, it’s all right, I was only trying to help…”

“HELP? HELP THEM WHAT? GET LAID?” I could see she was fighting back a shift, her claws were coming out and her eyes were starting to glow.

“Kelsey and I are mates, Alpha,” Keisha finally said. “Joe volunteered to help us have babies. He jacked off into a cup, every four hours, for a week. He never touched us, we used a turkey baster,” she said. Linda calmed down as Joe hugged her legs, pulling his head into her belly. “It was very kind of him to agree to help us, both our species have trouble conceiving. He has strong sperm,” she finished.

“That is mine and only mine now,” she said with a growl as Joe frantically nodded his agreement. She pulled him up to his feet. “I know it was before you met me, and I’m not mad. I’m happy my mate was willing to help them out,” she said. “Is he going to be involved in their lives?”

“We are leaving that up to him, and now you,” Kelsey said. “We will not prevent him from seeing them if he wants to be known as their father, and we are not asking for any child support from him.”

“We need to talk,” she said to Joe as he hugged her tight.

*End flashback*

“Alpha Rose, can we swim now?” I looked down at Lynn, she had run down the stairs ahead of her parents to ask. Joe and Linda walked into the room and went over to get plates at the side table.

“What did your mommy say?”

“She said we haz to eat, but I want to swim!” The young girl loved to swim, in human or cat form. They had to practically drag her out of the pool last night, after they arrived in time for dinner. They were staying with us for a week, until we all went to the Gila Pack for the big Memorial Day get-together. “Mommies are always right, you should remember that,” I said. “Do you want to sit next to me? You can hold one of the babies if you stay still,” I said.

“OKAY!” She sat down, and I was passed Allison. I talked her through holding the small baby, and she kept her attention until her parents sat down and put the plate in front of her.

“Can I hold her for a bit,” Linda asked. “No swimming until you finish your plate,” she said.

She reached for Allison and held her expertly while she tucked into her eggs. “Thanks again for inviting us, this place is amazing,” she said. “I love the landscaping you’ve added.” She looked out at the back, where the pool and rockwork had been improved. Tall poles around the outside supported retractable awnings for shade during hotter days, and portions of dead trees had been reinforced and set into concrete posts. These gave the many cats in our Pack spots to climb, play and nap, or just keep an eye on the kids. The huge outdoor pool and waterfall were not as practical in the Colorado mountains.

“It’s been fun, and all the cats love it. Did you try the Challenge Log yet?” The log was in three parts, stretching between two of the newly installed cat trees. The end were fixed branches, allowing cats to climb easily towards the other side. When it got over the deep part of the pool, there was a foot-thick log section set on ball bearings. If you were careful, you could move across it without falling off, but what was really fun was trying to knock others off. It was kind of like log-rolling for cats, with claws instead of shoes.

“Not yet, but it was a blast to watch,” she said. We sometimes had tournaments on weekends because we liked it so much. “I think we need to build a pool like this for our Pack, but I think we’ll do it inside.”

“Maybe we can work something out with movable walls or something to make it all-season,” Joe said. “We have the money to do it.”

Charlotte looked across the table at the Nightmare Pack Alphas. “Alphas, if you had the choice, would you rather be a panther or a wolf?”

Linda knew she was being turned soon, so the question didn’t bother her. “Unlike Ella, I haven’t been both, but each one has its good and bad. I love being able to climb, to swim, and from what I have seen, childbirth is much easier. Panther kitts can shift at birth as you know, and that plus being able to give birth in panther form is a real advantage if you plan a big family.”

“On the other hand, the wolf is fast and can run for hours. There’s nothing like being on a Pack run, or the feel of the Pack on a hunt together. Cats hunt in a completely different way, more solitary,” Joe added.

“It is personality as well. I think cats are natural loners, they will tolerate being around others but appreciate solitude. Wolves are naturally social, they always want to be together, having physical contact and doing things together. They are naturals at Pack rankings, while cats can struggle with fitting in. You know, dogs have masters and cats have support staffs.” Linda laughed a little. “Since turning is best done during sex, wouldn’t that be a little weird having your Mom bite you instead of Josh?”

She flushed and looked down, embarrassed. “His wolf is having trouble holding back, if it wasn’t for Alpha command he would have done it already.”

“That’s natural, he’s your mate. Unless you have your heart set on being a panther, I wouldn’t take the honor of turning you from him. It’s a memory you’ll have forever,” she finished.

We finished breakfast and I looked around. “I think I’m going to go cat and lay around with my babies before it gets too hot,” I said. Plenty of people joined me as I walked out back to the pool. Pulling off my sun dress, I waited until the girls undressed my babies and set them on a blanket before I shifted into my cat. As the babies saw me, they shifted into their fuzzy little kittens and ran towards me, their comically big paws dragging the ground. I led the four to the water; the girls were all spotted, while Bruce had the jet black solid coloration. Laying down in a few inches of water, the babies started to climb around my legs and onto my neck.

It didn’t take long before the whole Pack was out there along with our guests. I watched the older kids playing volleyball as the younger ones played with the fountains and slides in our end, watched carefully by a dozen adults. I watched Gunny leap up onto one of the artificial trees, moving out on a thick branch over me. In moments, he was asleep, his four legs hanging down around the branch.

“You sleep, I’ll watch over the little ones,” Linda told me as she walked naked to the edge of the pool. I nodded my head and then she shifted, as my eyes closed I saw her panther move into the shallow water behind me.

Life was perfect.