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|| TWO WEEKS LATER ||

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DYLAN ||

We came home about two weeks ago and let me just say, I fucking hate this whole recovery process. It can kiss my entire ass and the jam between my toes.

"Your toe jam? Man that's terrible." Maddox laughed.

"Yeah I know and trust me, that wasn't the worst thing I could have thought of."

"I can help you come up with better insults towards your healing process if you want Dylan."

"No thanks."

"Hey, how are you feeling about being a dad now?"

"It's a little weird still, but I love them so much... what about you Maddox? I know you can't speak to their beasts yet, but how do you feel knowing you'll have triplets to look after in the shadow realm pretty soon?"

"I'm nervous as fuck.. I'm not exactly dad material."

"That's how I used to feel too Maddox, but you'll be a great dad. Trust me."

"How do you know that Dylan?"

"Because I can feel you and I know your heart and your intentions and you are a great wolf Maddox and I love you stupid."

"I love you too, idiot human."

I chuckled when I heard him sniffle. Maddox and I have grown so much closer since we first met Raiden and Onyx.

Like seriously, I don't feel like he's a burden to me anymore, but a blessing and I don't hate him, I actually love my wolf more and more with each passing day.

I also no longer want a new wolf.

Maddox was almost nonexistent during my pregnancy and delivery because he didn't feel good either, but since we came home, he's been a huge help with keeping my mental health strong.

Especially our first few nights home when Raiden was losing his shit. I don't know why, but I had the strongest parental instincts when it came to taking care of my boys and my mate just couldn't get the hang of anything, well he did great at making corny dad jokes and laughing at himself, but other than that, he wasn't that great at the whole baby thing.

Me on the other hand, I figured out how to change all of their diapers quick enough to not get peed or pooped on all by myself and I learned how to maximize my time with each of our sons. I learned that Ezra is usually hungry about every three hours while Rhys and Gage are hungry about every two hours. So while they're eating, I had some time between feeding Ezra, so I took that as an opportunity to change his diaper and then let him just hangout with me until it was time for him to eat.

Out of all my boys, Rhys seemed to be the most clingy. He wanted to be held constantly and also needed to be rocked to sleep. I figured that was because he's a wolf like me and we do love affection. Gage preferred to be left alone after eating, he could fall asleep all by himself afterwards, which made sense to him being a leopard. Gage definitely didn't like cuddling or being held too much and Ezra was the easiest baby. I know he didn't cry because of the whole Hybrid thing, but even with that, he was the easiest to deal with. He would just lay there and stare around the room with his big green eyes while sucking his fist. Sometimes he would make the cutest baby noises too.

Besides dealing with our sons and this stupid c-section incision, these past two weeks I've also been dealing with my mate, who hasn't been himself. He hated the fact that he didn't know how to change a diaper or make a bottle correctly, but he loved that he seemed to be the only one that Gage preferred. The leopards stuck together, that's for sure. Other than that, my mate has been on edge. Snapping at everyone and just being more moody than usual. I figured it was because he's been so busy taking care of me and trying to figure out how to take care of our boys, that he hasn't had much time for himself and I could tell that he was becoming a little lost with everyone being so dependent on him.

So I told my perfect mate to go have a black leopard day with Taj, which he wasn't the most excited about. Not because he didn't like Taj because oddly, they get along so well, it makes me and Bennett a little jealous at times, but he upset because he didn't want to leave me or our boys just to go relax.

After fighting me on the idea for like two whole days, Onyx took control and forced his body to leave the house this morning and Bennett has been keeping me company since then.

_____________________________

Ezra was staring away at his uncle BenBen, as my brother has so adorably called himself, while Gage was sleeping on my bed, next to my leg and Rhys was enjoying a bottle in my arms.

Glancing over at Ezra and his uncle BenBen, I frowned when I saw my son scrunch his face up before letting out a rancid fart. I didn't think it was funny at all, but uncle BenBen, oh yeah, he thought that was hysterical.

"Nice one buddy!" Bennett balls my son's hand into a fist before pounding it with his own.

"You two are the absolute worst." I tell him, shaking my head at their love and the fact that I'm doing my best to curve my bad language around my boys while they're so young.

I wanted to cuss both of them out so bad, but I would have to wait for that until my boys are at least 10 years old.

If they are anything like me when I was younger, then by the time they are 10 years old, they will be fucking awful and if that's the case, they will formally be known as the little fuckers once again.

"Nah, you're just jealous that Ezra likes his uncle BenBen more than you." Bennett teased before nuzzling his face into my son's neck.

"He only likes you more because he knows I will tell him no and put him in time out if he tries his deadly farting crap near my pillow."

"Your dad is no fun! Pillow farts are the best, I got your uncle Taj that way before and both of his eyes turned red the next day." Bennett laughed, but stopped as soon as Ezra frowned. "No, it wasn't like that buddy, it wasn't to be cruel, it was payback because he stuck his finger in my piece of apple pie and then wouldn't share his piece."

Bennett smiled again as Ezra's frown morphed into his usual expressionless self.

"Have you ever thought about having pups?" I ask him watching their ridiculousness and he nods.

"Yes, but Taj and I both know that I wouldn't be able to carry them."

"Why not?"

"My injuries little brother, I can't see out of my left eye, I can't hear out of my left ear and my right leg is barely usable... a pregnancy wouldn't be easy on my body, so Taj refuses to do anything without condoms."

I guess that's true.. Bennett has a hard time getting around on his own without the craziness of being pregnant and Taj has to support him even if he wanted to walk a few feet away, so yeah a pregnancy wouldn't be easy on his body. Especially if had a damn litter like me.

"Did you grow a womb?" I ask, gently taking the bottle from Rhys mouth before laying him against my chest and burping him.

"Yes, I have a womb... Miles and Allio said it formed perfectly. That's what happens with male mates once they mark each other.. the least dominant male grows the womb."

I frown before nodding at my brothers words. Now it makes sense as to why Raiden didn't grow a womb even after I marked him and why I did. He's more dominant than I am... well damn I guess if I never got pregnant, we would have never had children.

"So Taj is set on you not carrying the pups?" I ask.

"Yes and trust me, when that man puts his foot down, I don't argue because there's no point... He's a beast in more ways than one." Bennett chuckles, but his words caused me to frown. I knew exactly what he meant by that. The image of my brother and his mate having sex is not something I wanted floating through my head.

So I shake the terrifying thoughts away and stare at Gage who was now nuzzling his nose into the side of my leg as Rhys fell asleep against my shoulder.

"So Taj didn't grow a womb and you did, but he refuses to get you pregnant because of your injuries?" I ask, just to clarify.

"Yes and because of that, we're kind of stuck." Bennett says before popping his lips at Ezra.

"So if Taj grew a womb, you two would be able to have pups?" I ask, he nods again.

"Yes, but that could never happen... Eva couldn't even force his body to grow a womb and I'm not equally as dominant or more dominant than him, so he would never be able to grow one.. we marked each other the same night, my womb developed 5 days later and his didn't, so there's just no way." Bennett explains.

Maybe there is....

"So all you need is an equally dominant or more dominant male to mark Taj and his womb would develop?" I ask, curiously.

Bennett narrows his eyes at me.

"Yes, but what are you thinking in that weirdo head of yours?"

"Nothing." I answer innocently, but my brother shakes his head.

"We have been apart for 7 years, but that doesn't mean that I forgot that look." He says, pointing at my all too innocent expression.

"What look? I'm not thinking anything."

"Yes you are, you used to get that same expression everytime you were thinking about sneaking out the house or lying about something... so come on, spill it, what are you thinking?"

I roll my eyes at my brother's intelligence. You would think after 7 years, he would have forgotten the way I reacted when I was trying to be sneaky.

"Well dad told me about the time when he marked Allio so that his womb would develop because Miles being human, he couldn't grow one..." I trail off, Bennett nods.

"Yeah, he did mark Allio and his womb did develop, but then dad rejected him after his womb developed and their bond affected dad the whole time he was technically mated to Allio." Bennett says.

"But what I'm saying is... dad was equally as dominant as Allio and he marked him and made his womb develop, so what if we find someone equally as dominant as Taj... and he marks him only for Taj's womb to develop and then whoever marks him can reject him once it's done..... like dad did with Allio."

"I mean that could work, but that whole thing really affected Miles and Allio's bond because Allio wanted dad in a way that mates would because technically they were mated and dad struggled with it too, even days after the rejection." Bennett explains.

"Well, Taj is mated to you and maybe we can find another mated male that's on Taj's level to mark him... if both parties are already mated before this happens, maybe it would be easier for everything to happen?" I suggest and Bennett nods.

"That makes sense, but there's nobody here in the pack that's equally as dominant as Taj.. he's a Feline.. there's no other being here that's equally as dominant as a Feline except....." Bennett trails off before looking back at me.

"Another Feline." He whispers, I nod.

"Exactly."

"But who would be willing to mark Taj? This is a lot to ask and I'm not even sure I would be able to handle Taj wanting another man. Not to mention that my mate isn't exactly the kind of man that would allow another man to mark him just for the sake of having pups."

There is one person that Taj might be comfortable enough with to allow this to happen and if what my brother said was true and Taj wants his own cubs that bad, he might be willing to do this.

It seems like the only way.

"Have you asked him that? Do you know for sure that he wouldn't want this?" I ask, he shakes his head.

"No, I haven't asked him."

"Then he might be ok with it." I tell him.

Bennett grows quiet and seems to think for a little while. His attention trails back to Ezra and he smiles down at his nephew before offering his finger to my son, which he quickly grabs and squeezes like the adorable little fucker he is.

My brother chuckles softly before sighing and looking back at me.

"Do you have any idea who we could ask? Who would Taj be comfortable with?"

I smile nervously before biting my bottom lip.

"Raiden."

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RAIDEN ||

I'm actually glad that pups told me to take this time away for myself. I haven't felt this relaxed in months to be honest.

I could feel how happy Dylan was through our bond, so I figured him and Bennett were enjoying themselves and our boys weren't driving him too crazy, not that he would need any help with dealing with the craziness.

He's literally a natural when it comes to parenthood. I couldn't figure out how to put a diaper on correctly, but Pups could change all of our boys in one sitting while making all of their bottles. He could probably juggle apples at the same time if he tried.

"Raid."

Taj's voice pulled me out of my all too jealous thoughts of my mate being the absolute perfect parent as I looked at him.

"Yeah?" I ask, as we sat on the edge of the silver river.

"This is the exact spot where I found Bennett all those years ago." Taj says as he looks around the surrounding area.

"Is that why you wanted to come here?" I ask, he nods.

"Yes, I don't get to come back here a lot because I'm so invested in taking care of Bennett, but being back here now brings back some nice and some not so nice memories for me."

"I'm listening." I tell him and he sighs before letting it all out.

Taj tells me about the exact moment he found Bennett's form on the edge of the silver river, in the exact spot we were sitting. He was naked as he probably shifted from his wolf and his left eye and left ear were bleeding and his leg was torn to shreds. Taj said he was on his solitary journey for 3 years at that point and his black leopard, Bane was walking through the surrounding forest when he smelled water and wanted to go for a swim.

As he walked towards the silver river, they caught Bennett's scent and it drove both of them crazy. They knew he was their mate and rushed to find him.

The closer they got to the water, the more Bennett's scent and the scent of blood mixed in the air. The moment Bane saw him halfway on land and halfway in the river, he pulled him up. He healed Bennett's leg as much as he could, but that didn't do much for the damage that was already done.

Taj learned that Bennett was laying there helpless like that for 3 days before he and Bane found him. Taj stayed with Bennett for 4 days after finding him before Liam showed up.

Like Dylan told me, Taj said the same that Bennett was completely blind when he found him, Taj never mentioned how Bennett got his sight back in his good eye, but I wouldn't dare ask. That's a very personal question and if he didn't voluntarily offer the information, he clearly didn't want me to know, which was fine.

The past 7 years have consisted of Taj working really hard to get Bennett back to a stage of acceptance as well as working with him on his physical therapy. Bennett relies heavily on Taj to get around because he can't put much weight on his bad leg and he can't see or hear anything from the left side.

The terrifying realization hit me, knowing if Taj didn't find Bennett when he did, he surely would have died and Taj would have lost his mate before he even got to know him.

That's the greatest joy a feline could experience. Finding our mate, building our own family and claiming our own territory.

Taj could have lost his soulmate and he has sacrificed his whole existence to being able to cater to his mate's needs in the pack, instead of going out and finding his own territory.

I have to admit that I didn't like the man when I first met him back in the Wolf's Claw pack, but the more time I spend with him, the more he reminds me of myself.

He's truly selfless.

I like this leopard.

"You know Taj, we have more in common than I thought." I tell him and he nods.

"Yeah, I know you didn't like me in the beginning, but I also know that was because you were skeptical of my intentions and you were trying to protect your mate." He laughs.

"I can't disagree with that." I chuckle.

Taj nods once again before things get quiet between us. His eyes scan the edge of the water before he sighs.

"Raiden, can I ask you a question? You can accept it or not, but technically you're the only one I trust enough to even ask this." He nods more to himself than me. "I can't help but see you and Dylan with your little ones and grow a little envious because I want that so bad." He shakes his head. "I don't even know how to ask this of you."

"What is it?" I ask, frowning as he does.

"Bennett and I.." He trails off before sighing again. "We can't have cubs of our own."

"Why is that? Surely Bennett's womb would have taken after you marked him."

"It did..."

"So why can't you have cubs?"

"I refuse to get him pregnant." Taj says. "I just can't because of his injuries, his body wouldn't be able to support a pregnancy, it would do more harm than good." His frown deepens as he looks over at me.

"I want cubs, more than anything else in this world, being a feline you can understand how much that means to me."

I nod, completely understanding.

"Well, if we were to have cubs, than I would have to be the one to carry them." He tells me.

"Ok."

I was confused as to why we were even talking about this. It all seemed simple enough.

"I don't have a womb, you know we need an equally dominant or more dominant being to mark us if we want to grow a womb."

Shit.. that's true.

Thinking back to when Dylan and I marked each other, his womb developed and mine didn't because I was the more dominant being. So in Bennett and Taj's case, Taj would be the more dominant male, therefore he wouldn't be able to grow a womb even with Bennett's mark.

How could I forget that?

"Raiden." Taj whispers, pulling my attention back to him. "Would you help me?"

"How would I be able to help you?"

"By marking me."

I was taken aback by that. I can understand his thought process behind this and if I was unmated, maybe I would have been able to help, but there's just no way that I could mark him and not feel anything towards him.

I have Dylan and our boys now.

I can't mark another man knowing the bond would pull me towards him. I don't want to be attracted to another man.

"Taj..." I whisper to respond, but I'm cut off by the sound of my mate's voice through our link.

"You should do it."

Shaking my head and blinking a few times, I try to comprehend what he just said.

"Pups, do you even know what I'm thinking?"

"Yes because you left our link open, I can hear your thoughts babe and to be honest, me and Bennett were just talking about the same thing."

"What?"

"Yes Raiden, we were talking about the same thing.. Bennett and Taj want pups or cubs, like so fucking much babe and Taj is the only one that can carry them... but he needs another equally dominant being to mark him and I was thinking about asking you how you felt about it."

"Seriously? So you're ok with this?" I ask in disbelief.

"I know how hard it will be on all of us, but it would only be 3-5 days until Taj's womb develops and then you can reject him, just like dad did for Miles and Allio."

I remember their story. Liam is truly a selfless man for helping them out that way and I would love to do the same for my fellow feline, but I don't want to be attracted to another man now that I have Dylan and our boys.