Page 46 of Manix
My mom squealed again, and I rolled my eyes. I didn't think she was going to stop doing that until she held a cub in her arms. We headed out of the building and down the steps, crossing the road to head toward the commissary. We got so many looks that it was getting hard to ignore, but my dad had been right—the news of Naja, and of Raiden’s pregnancy, would have spread through town even before we stepped through our front door this afternoon.
31
Naja
Two weeks later, it was easy to forget that life had ever been uncertain. We settled into a routine that was so comfortable, it was easy to lull myself into complacency. It didn’t hurt that there were now extra patrols on our quadrant. The stern-faced men who were with the Legion Force had visited, as promised, and openly gazed at me like I was a miracle. I was like a beacon of hope, but these guys weren’t looking at me like I might provide them heirs. They were looking at me like I was the return of the Goddess’ blessing. Like I was heralding the return of the female Omega.
It was disconcerting, even though they’d been perfectly respectful. I’d been glad once they left and it was back to being just me and the guys. Now that I’d committed to staying, they seemed happy to let our relationship progress at a more natural pace. Which meant no more orgies.
Honestly, I was a little put out.
Now that the heat was gone, I couldn’t use that as an excuse anymore, and had to actually admit to myself that I just wanted to ride them all like I was the only cowgirl in the rodeo.
Everyone was pretty giddy with excitement today though, because the guys had sunk an absolute shit ton of money into an at-home, medical grade ultrasound machine. I mean, I was antisocial, but buying your own ultrasound machine so you didn’t have to travel to town was next level.
We all huddled around Raiden’s bed as Gatlin worked his way through the instructions. Finally, he plugged it into his smartphone with a humph, and pulled up the program. I leaned back against Ellar, who kissed my cheek. “Isn’t it too soon to hear heartbeats? It's been what, like a couple of weeks?”
Ellar nuzzled my hair; he was easily the most physically affectionate of the guys. It was like he couldn’t help but touch me, and I wasn’t complaining. Despite having been groped every night at the club, I’d come to realize I was touch starved. “Manix gestation is quicker. Given there are usually multiple cubs, they tend to be smaller when they are born, but just as strong as normal human children. So we should be able to hear heartbeats, though I don’t think we’ll get a clear picture of them yet.”
Excitement was written over all their faces. I was nervous. What if my eggs were defective because I was half tiger? What if Gatlin’s nose was broken and they hadn’t actually conceived? Would they still want me if I couldn’t give them babies?
Raiden must have sensed my anxiety, because he reached out a hand. “Come and lie with me.”
I crawled up the bed and lay beside him, my head pillowed on the crook of his arm. He leaned down, kissing me softly. “It’ll be okay, baby. IknowI’m with cub, but even if I’m not, it changes nothing. I promise.”
Hands stroked soothingly down my back and arms as they all reassured me. I was going to cry, but I swallowed hard. Gatlin leaned down to kiss Raiden, and then me. “Let’s do this.”
He handed it over to Seven, who’d become designated ultrasound technician. They’d decided his videogame skills were basically transferable, which had made me laugh my ass off. We all held our breath as he slid the wand over Raiden's abdominal muscles, the sound of silence dragging on and on until I wouldn’t have heard anything over the sound of my own pounding heart. Seven continued to move it around until a frenetic sound boomed out of Gatlin’s smartphone. Not just one heartbeat, but several.
I let out a relieved laugh as we all looked at the screen. Honestly, I was looking at a Rorschach painting or something because I had no idea what I was seeing, but Seven had taken his new role very seriously. He moved the wand over the blobs, and there was a bunch of tiny distinct shapes. Like… five, with fluttering movements.
“Holy shit, are they heartbeats?” Finlo gasped, leaning closer to the screen. He had Luisa in his arms, and she looked just as interested in the grainy images on the tiny screen.
Seven squinted. “I think so. Let me see if I can pick up how many there are. I learned what I could, but our physiology isn’t the same as the people these machines were created for.” He hummed under his breath as he moved the probe around, staring at the screen. “One, and there is two just to the left of him. Three down here, and wait... No, there's four over there. I think we’re having four cubs. Oh wait, no, five.”
I flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. I should have run, because right there, in the pseudo-womb of the man beside me, were my kids. This was so fucking weird. I was going to be a mom, or like a dad, or something.
Ellar noted down all the things Seven was reading out so we could keep tabs on their growth and progress, and Gatlin squatted down beside me. “Doing okay?”
I shook my head, and then I nodded. And then I shook my head again. I didn’t know what I felt right now. Overwhelmed mostly.
I gave Gatlin a weak smile. “Just seems real now, I guess. In… like a hundred or so days, we’ll be cutting Raiden open to deliver my kids. I mean, our kids.”
Gatlin nodded. “Our kids. It's a beautiful thing, but terrifying. I know.” There was stress around the corners of his eyes, and I knew he wasn’t giving me lip service. He was legit terrified. I squeezed his fingers.
“You’ll figure it out. You’ll be a great parent.”
He squeezed them back and smiled. “We’ll be great parents, Naja. You too, if you want to be.” I swallowed hard and nodded. This conversation was too much, too intense to have when I could literally hear the heartbeats of the cubs.
I needed to sort my shit out as soon as possible, because I refused to bring five innocent lives into a world that was still being haunted but the ghosts of my past. I wanted to run away, but I knew if I left the room, one of them would follow me, and I refused to bring down the joy of the moment.
So I nestled further into Raiden, closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of my future.
I wasn’tsurprised when it was Ellar who found me in the attic nest, sitting in front of the big round window looking out over the mountains. After they’d recorded a small sample of the ultrasound to send to the Manix doctors, they’d put away the ultrasound and celebrated. I’d snuck away under the guise of putting Luisa down for her nap, which I did, but instead of heading back out to the celebrations, I snuck away to the attic nest. It was a beautiful room, and someone had put a lot of thought into making it the most inviting, comforting place in the entire world.
“May I come and sit?”
Ugh. He was really the sweetest. “Of course. It’s your house.”
