Lion Conquers All by Krystal Shannan

6

PENNY

Penny stared down at her babies and her mate all sprawled all the floor together on a pile of thick, soft blankets. He was cooing at them and dangling little baby toys with bells. She really couldn’t believe this was her life.

She had children.

Four of them.

Two girls and two boys.

It was like insta-family with one pregnancy. And the same thing had happened to Naomi, though she’d only gotten three kids out of her pregnancy. The other women in the tribe were equally as concerned about when and if they got pregnant.

Although, Ava seemed to be as nonchalant as ever. She was a Reylean by birth. She said she’d only ever heard of twins on Reylea. And that multiple births weren’t common. The men had agreed.

Penny glanced down at her beautiful children again and frowned. Obviously, something was different here. One multiple pregnancy could’ve been chalked up to a strange occurrence.

But not two.

Two was a developing pattern.

“Do you think Connie will ever come around to Aarav?”

Kann put the toy down between Angela and Erik. Both babies watched the toy with greedy eyes and reached out with their cute little chubby fingers, but they weren’t agile enough yet to roll over. They were getting close though. Mia had almost done it last week.

“It’s been what…almost nine months?”

“I think Connie was hurt a long time ago and I think Aarav is slowly building trust with her. I’m not sure there’s much we can do.”

“I haven’t said anything.”

“Good. I don’t like that she’s denying the soul call. It’s got to be killing them both.”

He knew she wanted to fix it. She always wanted to fix things. She didn’t like people being at odds with each other and Connie was in their circle. She was as close to Tribe as you could get without being “in the club”.

“She’s never talked about anything. How do you know she was hurt?” Penny grabbed her water bottle off the dining table and then returned to the living room and sat down next to Kann.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezed, and kissed the top of her head.

“Little things. If you watch her and think about interactions she’s had with other people and the Tribe.”

“Like what?”

“Like she doesn’t like to be alone with males, human or Reylean.”

“Wha—” Penny started to object to the claim and then paused, running through all the times Connie had been around. She couldn’t think of an instance where Connie would’ve been alone with one of the guys. Maybe it was something Kann had picked up on at some point, but she’d apparently been blind. Because she couldn’t see it. Couldn’t remember any type of clue that Connie was uncomfortable around men.

Connie hadn’t dated. Ever. Not that she could remember, but Penny had only been in Mystery a little over a year. And not dating wasn’t a reason to say that she was afraid or uncomfortable with the opposite sex.

“I don’t see it.”

Kann rubbed Mia’s belly and then Erik’s. They were both making that face. The one that said they were about to cry and ask to be fed.

“Be right back.” Kann hopped up and hurried to the kitchen. He set to work making four bottles, warmed them and then returned to her side on the floor.

They propped the babies up in their little line of nursing pillows and then began the feeding.

Penny chuckled, they were hungry little things. So far she hadn’t seen any signs of them being lions, but Kann had assured her that even in Reyleans, beasts didn’t typically show until they were more mobile.

Which was a terrifying thought.

What was she going to do with four lion cubs? They would they never be able to safely take them into town. She was going to be a shut-in. A hermit.

“Someone’s here.” Kann looked toward the door and focused. “It’s Naomi.” He cocked his head and continued to stare at the front door. “The babies are with her along with Saul and Lorelei.”

Penny smiled. She loved Naomi. They were baby mommas together. Their kids were only a couple months apart. Naomi’s were more mobile already though, rolling over from front to back and scooting along on the floor. Just a few inches at a time, but they were moving.

Fear snaked down Penny’s spine like someone had dropped ice down the back of her shirt. “What are we going to do when they start crawling, Kann? There’s four of them? They outnumber us.”

He laughed that deep rolling laugh she loved so much. The sound made her feel all warm and safe and secure. It chased her worried away and she found herself smiling along with him.

“It will be fine. We have a Tribe. We will have help whenever we need it.”

A knock on the door proceeded the door opening and Naomi’s head popping inside. “Hey guys, mind if we invade?”

“Of course not.” Kann waved at Naomi. “We’re feeding the horde.”

Naomi laughed. “Mine will be jealous and probably want to eat again too. Saul and Lorelei are with me.”

“I heard them,” Kann said. “It’s good. We could use the help getting them down for their naps. Then we can feed yours.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She held up a black tote bag. “I also brought wine. Once the little minions are all asleep, we can pretend to be grownups and have a drink.

“Oh.” Penny grinned up at Naomi. “That sounds amazing.”

Naomi nodded. “Col will be here in a couple hours. He had to run to town and check on something.” Naomi put the bag on the kitchen counter. “I should’ve been listening better, but I didn’t.”

Saul and Lorelei came through the door. Saul had two of Naomi’s and Lorelei had the other.

Kann hopped up from the floor, leaving his children on their blankets to greet his friend. The whole tribe was considered family, but Saul was also a lion. It gave them a stronger bond within the group. And now there was Lorelei, too. And the other Ka’lagh warriors who had stayed.

So many lions.

She liked lions.

Saul and Kann were both amazing with the babies. They held them, played with them, and let her nap whenever she needed a break. Which was often.

Even after he’d found Lorelei, Saul didn’t stop his rotation between the houses with babies. Lorelei had started coming with him.

She had been a queen in her land. In Reylea.

Penny had been prepared not to like Lorelei. Or to be snubbed by her, but the lioness shifter had been nothing but kind and grateful to the Tribe for saving her life. She had worked hard to build trust and a relationship with each of them.

They lived alone in the original cabin the guys had all shared last year. The one Douglas had originally rented to them when he hired them on to care for all his rentals.

Now the Tribe had three cabins of their own built. The bunker and another cabin would be built next summer. As soon as the thaw came, she’d have the crews start. She would’ve liked to have more than one cabin built at a time, but there weren’t enough construction crews to hire and get out to Mystery. Her connections in Anchorage were only able to supply enough men for one build at a time.

The bunker was going to be epic. She’d had to reach out to several other contacts to find the equipment and the expertise to install what she needed. It would be top of the line—like Batman and the Bat Cave. Top-of-the-line.

The five adults situated themselves around the spread of blankets and babies on the floor in front of the wood stove. The wall of windows showed off a spectacular view of the river and Denali on the horizon in the distance.

Each cabin had a similar view. She’d made sure the architects designed it so that everyone got a nice water and or mountain view out their living room windows. The cabins were about a quarter of a mile apart. Not close enough for shouting, but close enough that people could be on each other’s doorstep pretty darn fast.

Naomi’s babies started scooting around, playing with the little rattles and toys their mom had brought along in addition to the plethora of toys Penny and Kann had out. There was never a shortage of baby items. Everyone bought things for the children. Clothes. Toys. Diapers.

It truly was a blessing and Penny couldn’t have been more grateful. When the four of them had arrived, she’s been so scared. So overwhelmed.

She hadn’t really ever even babysat. How was she supposed to know what to do with babies?

Not just the Tribe had come together for her, but the town as well. She had several of the knitting grandmothers calling and checking on her regularly. Mrs. Sampson had even had Katherine drive her out a few times so she could personally deliver some blankets the group had made and give her tidbits of wisdom about how to manage her sanity with four babies stealing it daily.

The old woman had been a godsend, sharing burping techniques, rocking, holding, and so many tips and tricks Penny had lost count. Naomi had been great too. The vraka’s mate had grown up in a big family and knew a lot about babies too.

Though Naomi had shared on more than one occasion that she too was also overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do with three babies all at once.

Penny grinned down at the squirming, cooing, mass of infants sprawled across the blankets.

Naomi touched Penny’s arm and their gazes met for a moment. Joy reflected in Naomi’s eyes. The same joy that filled Penny ever single moment since the babies had arrived.

“They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

Naomi nodded. The others murmured their agreements.

“How are the others settling? Didn’t Heather and Shenn find a place in town to rent?” Kann spoke up, starting a topic everyone wanted to discuss but had been unwilling to announce. “And Penny and I were just discussing what might could be done to help Connie and Aarav?”

"Heather and Shenn are doing well. Yes, they found a house to rent in Katherine's neighborhood. And we are going to do absolutely nothing about Connie and Aarav. They have to move at their own pace."

Kann nodded. He wouldn’t argue with Naomi, but Penny knew it wasn't the end of it for him. He was determined that Connie was making a mistake denying the soul call. And maybe the sweet EMT was making a mistake, but it was Connie's choice. And as much as Penny wanted to fix it too, Naomi was probably right.

Aarav couldn't force the issue. And she was impressed that the Ka'lagh male hadn't been pushy in the least.

Since Aarav arrived in Mystery at the beginning of the year he had worked his ass off. He’d gotten his certification for the department, been hired as a deputy, and did everything he could to make sure Connie was taken care of without making her uncomfortable.

The whole Tribe hoped the two of them would eventually get together, but it had to be on Connie's terms.

There was nothing to be done, but wait. She knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier to be reminded of that fact.

Penny picked up Angela, wrapped her in a swaddling blanket and put her up on her shoulder. Her eyes had been drooping and was definitely on her way to dreamland. She almost always went down for a nap the fastest.

Saul plucked Mia from the floor next and wrapped her other daughter up just as tightly in a bright yellow blanket. He smiled across the circle at her. They got up and walked up the stairs to the nursery.

Originally the cribs had been in hers and Kann’s master bedroom on the bottom floor, but as soon as the little ones had transitioned to sleeping through most of the night without waking to be fed, they’d moved them to their own room. The way the cabins were designed, all the extra bedrooms were upstairs along with a large open living space.

“How are you and Lorelei doing?”

“Very well, Penny. Thank you.”

“Has she been sleeping better?”

“The nightmares are less, but still difficult for her. It is good to have distractions and our rotation with you and Naomi. It gives her mind something else to focus on.” He swayed back and forth while gently patting her daughter’s back. “Are her eyes closed?”

“Yes.”

He lifted the baby and placed her ever so carefully in the crib at the far end.

Penny had put labels on each of the cribs so she wouldn’t forget which baby slept where. They liked the consistency and routine, but all the Reyleans just knew where to put the babies.

Penny chalked it up to scent. They all put the baby in the bed that smelled like that baby. Kann did the same thing without ever looking at the labels.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell the difference between her children. She could. It was more that she was usually so tired she forgot to pay attention to which bed they preferred and would rather avoid the scream-fest from that mistake.

The babies were particular.

Amazing.

But very particular.