Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) (25 page)

“No. The babies were normal,” Francesca said, beaming. “Totally normal.”

“What babies?”

“The babies. The half psi, half shifter babies. They were born totally normal. Well, they probably have wild powers that we can’t even imagine, but their bodies were perfect.”

“There are half psi, half shifter children?”

Francesca nodded, some of her exuberance fading. “Yeah. Three of them. They still wanted a superhuman who could shift, so they impregnated female psis with sperm from male shifters. No genetic modification. And they were successful. There were none of the problems there were with humans and shifters mating.”

“That means...” She couldn’t finish the thought. It was too much to hope for. Her body flushed hot, then turned ice cold, and she pulled out a chair at the kitchen table before she fell over.

“You can have children,” Francesca finished, hooking her cane on the edge of the table and smoothing her skirt down as she sat. “I compared our files and the genetic tests they did on us to the psis they impregnated. We have all the genetic markers they highlighted. Evolutionarily, we’re the same.”

“We can have children?” Marcus asked, crossing the room to crouch by Kirra’s chair. Jackson was right behind him. “And they’ll be healthy? You’re sure?”

“Well, there’s never any guarantee,” Francesca said, “but yes, according to everything I read, they should be perfect. And I’m hoping there will be something in the research that will help with the problems shifters have been having conceiving.”

Jackson sank heavily in the chair beside her, head bowed, breathing deep. Kirra turned to him, but Marcus claimed her attention, clasping one hand between both of his. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?”

“Of course,” she said. Unbelievably happy. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted children—little mixes of her and Jackson or Marcus—until she was told it wasn’t possible. And even then she’d just ignored it, because worrying and thinking about it wouldn’t have done any good. But now that it was possible...

“Then why are you crying?” His hands tightened around hers, and true worry clouded his voice.

She hadn’t realized she was. Kirra swiped away the tears with the back of her hand, but they just kept coming. Unable to express herself in words, she threw herself down, into his arms. He hugged her back, and they stayed that way for several moments, kneeling on the floor, her head resting on his shoulder.

***

T
hey didn’t have any furniture in the living room yet—the shifters’ version of furniture tended toward functional hardwood pieces, not plush couches and chairs—so they settled around the table while Marcus made breakfast. Jackson kept his arm stretched out along the back of Kirra’s chair and rubbed the top of her shoulder. She didn’t think he was even aware of what he was doing.

“We need to find the other labs,” she said. “All the other shifters and psis. And especially those children.”

Francesca nodded. “Nothing in their files indicated where they are, but I’ve managed to sort the files so we can search through the newest additions first. That should help.”

“Are there records of the parents?” Kirra asked. “For that matter, are there records of our”—it felt strange to say it—“biological father? Are we part Wolf, Raptor, Cat—”

“You’re not part Cat,” Marcus said. “Raptor maybe, but not Cat.”

Francesca shook her head. “Not that I’ve found so far. Quinn asked that too—with all the tests they did on them over the years, I think he’s afraid he or Kelvin might have a child they don’t know about.”

To not know if you had a child out there somewhere, helpless, at the mercy of megalomaniacs with a god complex. Kirra shuddered. “They might be with their mothers,” she said. “They let us stay with Mom.” 

“Maybe.” Francesca took a few sips of her coffee and waved away the plate of scrambled eggs Marcus made to set in front of her. “I ate hours ago—Quinn dropped by with food. And I need to get back to work.” She shoved back her chair, pressed her hands flat on the table to help her get to her feet, and then grabbed her cane from where it rested against the table. “I just wanted to give you the good news.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Kirra said as she watched her sister limp to the door. She’d never walk without a hitch to her step—the trauma done to her leg while it was healing was too severe—but somehow she managed to make a limp look elegant. And the twins certainly didn’t

mind. Francesca kept insisting they only saw her as a younger sister, but with the looks they gave her, Kirra thought “sister” wasn’t even in their vocabulary. 

After she left, they sat in silence, letting their food grow cold. Jackson and Marcus still seemed a bit stunned, and she knew how they felt. 

“I don’t remember my parents,” Jackson said slowly. “They left me with my uncle when I was two. After he disappeared, I thought I’d never have a family again. Never really expected to have a mate. To have you is more than enough. More than I dreamed of. But if we have a child...” He leaned forward, locking her gaze with his. “I’ll be a good father. I swear it.”

“I know you will,” Kirra said, taking a step toward him, but he held her off.

“No, I mean it. I’ll teach her—”

“Or him,” Kirra said.

“—or him everything I can. I won’t ever lose my temper—”

Marcus snorted a laugh, and Jackson glared at him.

“I won’t ever lose my temper with my child,” he clarified, still glaring, “and I swear to love her. Or him.”

Kirra swiped at fresh tears that had somehow appeared on her cheeks and reached out to grasp their hands. “For a long time I lived in fear. I functioned and lived my life, but always, always, I felt as if I had to be looking over my shoulder, ready for attack or betrayal. You’ve changed all that. I can breathe here. I love you both so much. And I’ll love our children so much. They won’t grow up feeling as if they need to look over their shoulders. They’ll know you’ll always have their backs.”

“We will,” Jackson said. “And yours too.

“Always.” Marcus agreed. Then he broke the solemn mood and gave her an exaggerated leer. “Although we have to have children before we can take care of them. Shouldn’t we work on that?” He waggled his eyebrows and tilted his head toward the bedroom door. Jackson sighed, but didn’t protest when Kirra followed Marcus and dragged him behind her.

Blackstone and experiments and labs and worry and work could wait. At least for a little while.

She had a family that needed her.

The End