Page 90 of Prayers for the Prickly

“You have a boy, dear,” Aunty Eunice said before she tucked the first whelplet next to the second one, giggling as she tucked the blanket around him. “And he just tried to nip me. Something tells me he’s going to take after both of you in the temper department.”

Don’t have a temper, just hate when stupid shit happens.

I nuzzled him in response, proud of him, and worried.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry long. Less than thirty minutes later, a trio of hedgehogs lay snuggled up in blankets beside their siblings, and August finally looked relaxed and at ease.

He’d done it.

My wonderful, awesome, amazingly persistent prickly had delivered three sons and two daughters…and given me five more people to love.

Chapter 34

August

Wow.

Just…wow.

Three boys and two girls.

That was just…amazing.

Peering down into those five sweet faces was a dream come true.

Our little hedgehogs snuffled and rooted along their larger wolverine siblings’ sides, while Gregor locked eyes with me, his ears sticking up, eyes widening when our wolverine daughter nuzzled against him searching for a teat.

She was so dammed adorable, and determined, resisting every gentle effort he made to turn her around that I couldn’t help but squeak happy giggles as I watched her try to climb on his nose when it got in her way.

That one was going to keep us on our toes.

Mom picked me up and I thought she was going to move me closer, only she lifted me and carefully stood, removing me from my nest, at which point, I angrily started squeaking in protest.

“It’s just for a moment, dear,” Mom soothed. “So you can shift and clean up in case one of the little one’s shifts. We talked about this part, remember? Let me carry you down, so you don’t have to manage the steps just yet. Your Gregor already showed me where the master bathroom was in preparation for today.

It’s okay, sweetheart, I’ll be right here with the whelplets and when you come back, we can share their names.

I ached, I was exhausted, and I really just wanted to hold them, but Mom was right. Shifting would not only help my body heal, but it would allow me to ask all the questions I had, something I wouldn’t be able to do easily if I had to translate hedgehog for my mate. I doubted I’d be able to manage well enough to be clear in the state I was in, and that hot water was sure to feel good, once I was under it. Softly, in my little squeaky chatter, I accepted her offer, with my thanks, and gratefully nestled in the crook of her arm as she carried me downstairs.

“I’m so proud of you,” she murmured. “And thrilled at the way our family has just grown. If you’d like, I’ll make a few phone calls to start letting people know, starting with Gregor’s folks. I think he could do with having his dad here, now that the excitement is over.”

I wholeheartedly agreed and let her know that, especially after the way he’d handled our daughter’s rushed birth while he’d been in fur and completely out of his element. Where I’d been on the verge of panic several times in those early moments, my mate had remained steady and reassuring, barely allowing hints of his own anxiety to filter through the mind link we’d shared. I wondered, for a moment, if someone had schooled him on how to do that, but with the next exhausted thought it didn’t matter. Our whelplets were here and I couldn’t wait to hold them.

Inside the bathroom, she took a towel from the stack on the counter, and placed it in the middle of the floor on the rug, one of several additions Gregor had added when the air conditioner had left the stone floor a little colder than my liking. I was just glad he’d opted for stone and not tile, because I was notorious for slipping on it and hurting myself when I hit the ground. That’s why the floor in my kitchen was stone, too. Same risk of breakage when you dropped something fragile, but a lot less risk of slipping.

“I’ll be outside if you need me,” Mom said before kissing me on the snout and straightening up, leaving me with a little wave before she closed the door behind her.

Alone, I took a moment to breathe and let my thoughts stop whirling so I could focus on shifting back to my human form. The aches that accompanied the shift were far less intense than what I’d just been through and thus easy to ignore as my body stretched and reformed. The room spun when I was done, and I needed a minute with my hand braced against the wall, before I could straighten up fully.

Okay. Things were only a little off kilter now, so I took a moment more, steadied myself, and took the four short steps to the shower stall. Hot water had never felt so nice, and that overhead nozzle position was absolutely perfect for cleaning up head to toe, including my hair, but I didn’t want to be in here too long. I wanted to get back upstairs to my whelplets so I could hold them and hug my mate.

Mom was right, though. I did feel better by the time I’d finished.

I stepped out in sleep pants, still towel drying my hair, grateful for the shelves he’d built into the corner, where we’d taken to keeping a few pairs in addition to all of the extra towels. She was a little ways down the hall, phone pressed to her ear, bright smile on her face as she held out a cold bottle of pineapple juice, my absolute favorite.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, honey, ready to go see your babies?”

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