Dance Around - Susi Hawke Page 0,31

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9

Dan

I didn't realize the rest of my family had finally joined us until I heard Sacha's voice. "Gross! The big bunny is showing us his butt! Look at his balls swinging. I told you they were super big and pink, Dad!"

Do not growl at the child. Do not growl at the child. Do not growl at the… Looking over my shoulder, I growled at Gibby instead. He immediately covered Sacha's eyes with one hand and clamped the other over the boy's mouth long enough to whisper in his ear.

"Mind your tongue, Sacha. I think we’ve wandered into something super cool and important."

Mom sidled up to them and discreetly jerked Gibby's hands away from my nephew's face. "Use your words, sweetie. There's no need to put your hands on him, even if you didn't mean it to be offensive. And as for you, young man. Mind your manners and no more talking about balls."

I followed his hand, pointing at Gil and the very large set of bright pink balls, swaying like a pendulum with every wriggle of his butt. Sacha wasn't wrong, and he definitely hadn't meant to be rude. His tone made it obvious he was impressed. He was simply too young to know when to keep his thoughts to himself.

Hell, I was too young to know when to keep my mouth shut, and I'd been on the planet for eighty-four years. Nash was the only one of my brothers who had been alive longer, and he barely had me beat by two years and three months. My nephew had time to learn, and I doubted Gil cared who was looking at his balls right now.

If he'd been in human form, or maybe if he wasn't literally about to give birth from the looks of things, I wouldn't have wanted anyone looking at any part of my mate's nether regions. But being mad or overly possessive over a fierce but adorable bunny clinging to the back of our couch and wriggling his big puffy tail was difficult.

He jerked his head back and forth, those long ears smacking against his back as the chitters turned to deceptively soft grunts. When I scented his pain, I knelt on the couch beside him, barely outside the nest, and rubbed his back.

"You've got this, Blondie. You're tough. You're proud. You're a mighty fucking omega who can literally create life inside your amazing body. Push for me. You can do it."

With a loud ripping sound, his claws dug deep into the couch. Gil threw his head back and grunted at the ceiling, his eyes squeezed tight as his butt wriggled faster while he bore down. Thanks to all the new hair, I didn't see the opening until a tiny head popped out below his tail.

Before I had a chance to realize it was happening, a tiny bunny dropped through the fur and landed in the soft nest waiting below. I tried to catch the little one before they fell completely, but a quick shake of Edgar’s head told me not to intervene.

Heart melting, I looked at the naked, hairless bunny with its eyes tightly shut. The skin was covered with thick, mucus-like film, and I wondered aloud if I was supposed to do something about it. Edgar shook his head again. "When the nesting process is complete, Gil will know how to proceed. The kitten is fine in the meantime."

My head jerked back as I stared at him. "Kitten? No way. Look at those ears—he’s definitely a bunny."

Rolling his eyes at me the way he always seemed to do, Edgar chuckled. "Baby bunnies are called kittens, Moreno. Rather perfect in this case, given their sire is a puma shifter. But yes, we call them kittens."

Huh. Apparently, I had a lot to learn about my own child. Starting with how rabbits gave birth in shifted form and began life as animals. I couldn't think of any other shifter genus like it. I supposed short pregnancies and easier births than their human counterparts explained why the brood was so extensive.

Although I would never be stupid enough to suggest Gil’s current level of pain might not compare to what he might feel if he were human. I focused on Gil. His tail was still twitching, and he was still straining, so obviously, another baby was coming.

One baby was shocking enough, but we were going to have twins? It was a lot to take in. Amazing, but definitely a lot.

My family was enjoying the moment. They were chattering excitedly,