As Love Shifts (10 page)

The outside camera system had been placed on steel towers around the bunkers and it indicated that everything within sight was underwater. It was extremely claustrophobic knowing that a lake now stood over the top of their underground living facility.

Most families had brought food with them, including them, so a picnic of sorts was h
el
d in their room, but the emergency rations that Ever had purchased would hold them if need be. Kris hoped that the time spent below would convince the financial council of the need for fresh water and provisions. It was sort of a moot point now, because money would be needed to help rebuild their world.

He was glad that Mick had convinced them to insure the house well, and he was very worried about his brother. Their father had said that Mick had not returned his calls, and it was only a hope that he was safe. Kris couldn’t allow himself to dwell on Mick. He loved his brother, but Mick had chosen his own path and Kris had a family and a clan to worry about.

He heard one of the children growl in their sleep and was instantly on high alert. The absolute quiet of the room was unnerving. He was accustomed to the soft sounds of the forest and the creaks of a house that was too new to have settled completely. Now there was nothing but the soft sound of breathing around him. It had occurred to him that the fresh air vents on the outside now had a slim chance of being submerged if the rain didn’t slack off. He couldn’t remember exactly how many feet above ground they were, but figured they would know if water came surging through the air ducts. Was it possible for the entire place to become an underground grave as it filled with water?

A soft moan made him sit up slightly. The children were all still cuddled under their blankets and in human form. He was worried about Lash as he gently lay back down.

Ever slowly shifted her leg over Liam’s head, laying her bent knee over his waist as she rolled to the side. He put his arm around her and Demetri adjusted himself so his arm was still draped over her ribs. The soft sound of her sobs made him kiss the top of her head. He had assumed that she was sleeping, but he guessed that he was wrong.

“What’s up?” he whispered.

“Where did they go?”

“Where did who go?”

“My babies. They should barely be speaking single words and they talk like adults. They should be crawling, and they walk and run flawlessly. They don’t wear diapers and can dress themselves with a little assistance. They aren’t babies anymore. They are more like undersized five-year-olds. Shit, they are far smarter than even a five-year-old would be. Why didn’t someone warn me that they would be like this?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were stressed about their advancements. They are were, Ever. A baby wolf can’t live in the wild if it can’t walk or communicate with the pack. It needs to be intelligent and crafty enough to run with the pack and learn from them. A wolf pup joins the pack and begins to hunt with them by eight months old. That is the mile marker for our babies. Just because they look human, doesn’t mean that they are. You need to stop comparing them with human babies and remember that they mature in the early stages of life, as a werewolf does. That’s why we threw out your baby books.”

She nodded silently against his chest, but he could still feel her tears dripping onto her skin. Why was she suddenly stressing over this? “Why the tears?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because of Lash. He really brought home the fact that my babies aren’t babies anymore. He is so damn intelligent and I had no idea that such thoughts were brewing in his mind. It broke my heart when he said that he didn’t want to die. An infant is not supposed to know about death.”

“I hate to mention this, but I don’t want to add to your shock. Their physical growth will accelerate now that other milestones have been met. Within a year or two, they will be twice if not three times this size. Enjoy holding them while you can, it will be far more difficult in a short time.”

Ever lifted her head to glare at him. In the dimness of the small secondary light, he could see that her eyes were red and puffy. Her irises had grown noticeably lighter since they had arrived on the clan property, but he had noticed the same thing about his own eyes. There was supposed to be magic on the land itself, internal natural powers that gave weres added strength. It was a good place for his family and he was glad that he had made the choice to bring Ever here. “Lash may have shown you what you didn’t want to consider, but it only happened because you are an impressive witch. You have accomplished so many amazing feats and now you have brought our child home to us. You are
my alpha
mate
in the true sense of the word.” The role of alpha was a bit tiring at times, but Ever had proven herself to truly be his equal. Now she was reminding him that part of her mind was still human.

Hugging her tighter, he turned her face up to his. “I know something that would make you feel better.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Some very quiet, under-the-covers sex.”

She appeared stunned. “The babies are asleep at our feet and Daisy is on the sofa.”

“I know. That’s what makes it so deliciously illicit. We will have to be very quiet or we will get caught.”

He was thrilled to see a grin on her face as she chewed on her bottom lip with her top teeth. She was intrigued and the endorphins would help to offset her sadness.

“I don’t know if I can be that quiet,” she replied with a low giggle.

Kris gave her a wiggle of his eyebrows. “I’m sure you can. Let’s try.”

Ever slowly lifted Demetri’s arm, placing it on his side. He grumbled and readjusted his body to make himself more comfortable. Glancing down at Liam, Kris realized that she couldn’t move him herself. He released her, getting up and ever so gently shifting his brother’s upper body to the side until she could slide her leg out from under him.

He grabbed a sheet from the storage bench and, quickly stripping off his jeans, lay down with it over their bodies. Ever was sleeping in a cute pair of cotton shorts and a tank top and he slowly peeled the top upward as he kissed her skin. She tasted of rain and the wildness of the storm, some of the electric quality of the outer air still clinging to her skin. Kris inhaled with reverence, smelling the dirt and slight aroma of pine. She smelled so good and the scent made him feel far less claustrophobic. Kissing and licking, he moved up to her breasts, grasping them firmly with his palms. She had such lovely breasts, small in comparison to some, but definitely adequate and they had fed his children well. Of course, they had been larger then, but even as they had returned to normal size, they had retained their pert and perky nature. He longed to devour her nipples, the puckering flesh taut between his lips as he lapped at it with his tongue. Ever released a purring moan and he quickly put his finger to her lips to remind her to be quiet.

Kris didn’t really want her to be silent, he so enjoyed the mewls and whimpers that billowed from her throat as a sign of her pleasure, but he also didn’t want to wake the others. He wanted Ever all to himself right now.

He moved to the other breast, tugging on her nipple with his teeth before sliding up to silence her with his mouth. She greeted his tongue lustily, her hands slipping into his hair, her nails skimming over his scalp. He enjoyed the feeling of her playing with his hair, her fingertips kneading and grabbing to keep his lips sealed to her own. She had become a more demanding lover over the last two years and that was a good thing. She had never truly been timid about sex, but now she was more like a lion than a lamb.

Ever’s hips pressed into his, his cock rising in response to the soft brush of her skin. He really should have removed her shorts before and he reluctantly broke from the embrace, sitting up to slide her shorts down her silky legs. She kept the fur on her pussy short and neat, but one day soon, he was going to shave it just to see what the skin beneath felt like. That would have to wait until the water receded. They didn’t have the privacy for such an intimate act here in the bunker.

Swiping his finger in the hot wetness of her cunt, he slipped upward, using her sweet moisture to stroke and aggravate her clit. Ever enjoyed having her clit touched, be it a soft brush or a harder caress. She inhaled sharply, an almost silent sound squeaking past her restraint. Kris chuckled at the tortured expression on her face, her eyes closing as if it was painful for her to be quiet. She was a rather vocal lover. Lifting her thighs with his palms, he slid forward, entering the steamy warmth of her body with the slowness that she so enjoyed. It made every tiny ripple and flashing throb of her pussy more evident as it clasped his cock, closing in around it and making the blood throb ever harder. As he lowered himself to again nibble at her nipples, she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her feet together to keep them tightly sealed as one.

He sucked her nipple into his mouth, her hands returning to his hair as he slowly pumped his hips. The sounds of flesh slapping might wake Liam and he didn’t want that and would reserve dramatic movements until things had risen to a fevered peak.

She felt so good, hot and wet, accepting his offering with a delight that required no words to express. Her pussy was twitching and grabbing at his dick, her breasts rising to meet his mouth. She was delicious beyond a gourmet meal, or the fresh taste of a kill on his tongue. The hard flesh tormented his tongue, and he nibbled upon it, hearing the wheezing sound of her captured pleasure. She was meeting him, thrust for thrust, her body rising and lowering in opposition to his. Her hands were grabbing at his shoulders and upper arms as she traced the muscles with her fingers.

Ever didn’t need to tell him how much she enjoyed the feel of his body. He could tell from her actions, her unspoken desire true, and she was completely his. It was a feeling of oneness that he had never expected to feel and yet as she lay beneath him, it overwhelmed everything else in his mind. Ever, his Ever, his alpha mate, and he loved her more than he could ever express. Breaking the seal on her breast, he slid upward slightly, nipping at her ear. “I love you so much.”

“I know and I love you just as much. You feel amazing.”

He growled softly. “So do you.” He needed to move faster, pick up the pace to meet the demands of his throbbing cock. Kris wanted this to go on forever, but the challenge of stopping his climax was one that would not be denied. Moving his hips faster, he thrust harder and deeper, sinking into the glorious friction of her gripping cunt. The inner muscles clamped tightly around him, her mouth opening in a silent scream as her hips slammed into him. It was the end. He couldn’t hold back a moment longer and he released his restraint, the muscles of his cock throbbing as the heat of his release flashed against nerves that supplied the ultimate pleasure.

Lowering his body back onto hers, he kissed her greedily, taking from her the last of the silent mewls as they struggled to reach her lips. She was amazing. She was everything to him and he would do anything to spend forever with her in his life. He tugged the sheet up around his shoulders, closing his eyes and laying his head on her chest. “I love you,” he whispered before closing his eyes. The claustrophobia that had kept him awake had disappeared with the rush of endorphins and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to sleep on the silky feel of her body.

“Nice,” commented Demetri in her ear. Ever opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

“Nice what?”

He lifted the sheet and gave her a pursed-lipped glare. “You could have at least put some clothing on afterward. Now you get to figure out how to get dressed with four children running around looking for breakfast.

Kris shifted to look at Demetri. “I didn’t want to get dressed and she had no choice because she was lying beneath me.” He reached over onto the floor and lifted her shirt and shorts. Kris leaned on one elbow as he slid the shirt over her head and helped her pull it down.

He shifted downward under the sheet and made her jump by licking her clit before sliding her shorts up her legs. “Kris! I really don’t need that kind of attention at the moment.”

He laughed, dragging the sheet around his waist as he got up. Ever turned to Demetri. “Da da. I’m magically clothed.”

“Yeah, and I’m magically horny just considering what went on while us lowly wolves were sleeping.”

“Oh, probably exactly what you think went on. It was a challenge to see how quiet we could be.”

“I’ll bet. Do you think the storm has stopped?”

“I don’t know. The only way to find out is to go out and look to see if any of the cameras are still up and running. I presume that the solar is still working if we have lights. What’s in the cooler for breakfast?”

“I don’t know.” He rolled and looked at Daisy, and she shrugged. Ever got up and went over to look and see what had been salvaged out of the refrigerator at home. The ice was just about melted and everything was floating in the water. She tugged out a baggie with grilled buffalo strips in it and handed everyone a piece.

Liam looked as if he hadn’t slept well. “Wow, my neck is sore. Care to give me some of your healing love?”

She put the bag down, taking a piece of meat with one hand while she rubbed soothing energy into his neck with the other. Kris wandered out of the tiny bathroom and snatched what was left of her food out of her hand. Ever grunted and took another piece from the bag. She gave the bag to Kris who divvied up the rest between the adults and children. It was enough to fill the void in their stomachs and they were up and ready to run. The problem was that there really wasn’t anywhere to run to.

Kris held his arms out to Lash. “Wanna go explore with us? I want to take a look at the cameras to see if the storm is over.” Lash looked at Ever and she gave him a smile, nodding her head. He slowly got to his feet and allowed Kris to pick him up. It was a good move in the right direction as Kris walked out the door with the children in tow.

“So what do you think?” asked Demetri. “Think he’ll be okay?”