A Mate for Lu - Amy Bellows Page 0,68

then bears down. My knot slips out, and in its place is the white of an egg—a perfect, solid egg.

“The egg is beautiful. Just a few more pushes, and you can see it,” I say.

Lu moves forward, grabbing for the plastic headboard of the hospital bed. He brings each of his knees up until he’s in a squatting position. I crawl over to him, kissing the crook of his neck. “I’ve got you. I’m here, baby.”

I hold his cock, slowly pumping it. He just came, but he’s still hard and orgasming can help.

He rocks back and forth. “It’s so big, Sam.”

“I know, I know. But you can do this. Push for me, okay?”

His hands grasp the headboard so hard that his knuckles go white. His whole body tenses and the egg lowers, just a bit.

“Oh, God. I can’t!”

“Breathe. Long inhales, okay.”

He nods, his breath slowing. I pump his cock faster. He’s harder. His orgasm is coming.

“Sam!” he spurts all over the headboard.

“Push now.”

With a low moan he pushes, pushes, pushes, until the egg drops onto the bed. I pull him into my arms and drag him backward, so he can see.

Our egg that took so long to grow is just fine. The shell is just as hard as the shells of my other children’s eggs.

“It’s lovely,” Lu says.

“Yes, it is.”

“We had sex in front of Kevin.”

I laugh. “Yes, we did.”

Lu picks up the egg and brings it to his chest. Without telling him what to do, he knows to shift, his body growing to twice its normal size and softening with fur. I shift with him, and we cuddle our egg close in our animal forms.

It doesn’t matter that we’re in the hospital. We’re together, and our baby is safe.

46

Lu

Ansel was disappointed that we didn’t want a huge audience for the hatching of our chick. But after everything that’s happened, I think our family needs to share this moment alone.

On a lazy Saturday morning when Sam and I are cuddling with the egg in bed, the pecking starts. It’s such a little sound. If we weren’t quiet, we might miss it.

Sam kisses me. “It’s time.”

Everything happens slowly. Sam rounding up the kids. Getting them all to do a family shift. Moving them onto the bed when they’re in their animal forms. Mary is absolutely delighted that she’s bigger than her siblings. She grabs Morgan and rolls onto her back, while they squawk and beat their fuzzy wings in protest.

Poor Liam still has an unfortunate patch of fluff on their chest they haven’t lost yet, despite the smooth feathers on the rest of their body. Being thirteen is awkward, regardless of what form you’re in.

Parker waddles over to Sam, who is barely larger than Mary in his penguin form. Parker tucks their beak into Sam’s feathers, snuggling close.

Penguin shifters really do like to cuddle.

I scoop Mary into my arms to give Parker a break. She wriggles around, trying to get back to her siblings when the first crack happens. The egg rolls onto its side and pops open, revealing white feathers.

That’s strange. All of the pictures I’ve looked at of newly hatched penguins have had black feathers.

Mary stops struggling, and we all watch transfixed as Robin struggles in their shell. They eventually kick off the bottom. Their lower feathers are white too, and they have black feet.

Polar bears have black skin.

They roll onto their feet and try to move forward with the upper half of their shell still on. Sam walks forward and lifts the shell with his beak until it slides off.

Robin is completely white, with the exception of their black beak, eyes, and feet. I pick them up gently with my other paw and bring them to my chest. Mary stares at them curiously, then licks at their head. Mary’s tongue pushes back Robin’s feathers to reveal what looks like a brand on Robin’s head.

It’s the same symbol that Tana, Cy’s cub, has on her forehead: fire.

When Cy sent me the picture of Tana, that insignia terrified me. It has to mean something.

Parker, Morgan, and Liam all waddle across the bed to see their new sibling. I hold Robin out to see their family. Sam joins the kids, inspecting Robin with his beak.

I relax. Maybe that insignia means something. Maybe it doesn’t. For now, Robin is just a newly hatched chick with a family who loves them.

Sam carefully rolls Robin onto the bedspread and waddles forward until Robin is underneath him. He puffs out his chest proudly. He’s claiming