Shifter On Ice (Shifter World - Book Two) (Series of 13 Short Stories)
Chapter Ten: The Omega

Dustin didn’t respond to his mate’s apology but held her closer and let her know with his eyes that she was not getting out of this so easily.

“But enough of that, let’s get back to you two.”Pearl turned to Lyvia and Raj.

“What did you mean by cubs?” Lyvia asked as she returned to her place on the couch.

“Well, I have been getting visions of the Fated Mates for hundreds of years now. When Dustin and Sharissa found each other, I got a dream about their cub. And knew they’d found one another.”

“Are our children important?” Shar asked.

Pearl smiled at her. “Very important to the future of all of us.”

“Who is all of us?” Dustin asked.

“The Supernaturals, of course,” Pearl said with a smile.

“I’m not a Supernatural. I’m a human,” Shar argued.

Pearl turned her head and smiled at her. “You are a Supernatural. You’re a Fated Mate. Do you not have gifts beyond human abilities?”

Shar nodded. “I have my mate’s abilities.”

“All but shifting, yes.” Pearl nodded.

“I’m a Supernatural?” Shar asked with wide eyes and excitement in her voice.

“Indeed.” Pearl chuckled. “So back to why I’m here.” She turned back to Lyvia and Raj. “Lyvia, I know you have been concerned about having your mate’s cub.”

Lyvia nodded. “Yes, we have tried and tried,” she said with a frown.

Pearl smiled. “But as I told you, it wasn’t your time.”

“What does that mean?” Dustin asked.

Pearl looked back at Dustin, then at Lyvia and Raj again. “You two were thousands of miles from home. Raj was playing the games of his life. And you were there with him. Of course, you couldn’t stay home, and traveling while carrying cubs is not safe.”

“Cubs?” Lyvia asked, her voice squeaking.

“Yes,” Pearl said, excitement in her voice. “I dreamed about them. And oh, girl, they’re so beautiful.” She turned to Shar and smiled at her. “So are yours.”

“Do I have more than this one?” Shar asked, placing her hand over her stomach.

Pearl nodded. “Yes, you and your mate have more than one. But it’s this pregnancy that’s important.” She smiled. “Your cub will lead them all.”

“Ou-our cub?” Shar squeaked.

Pearl chuckled. “Yours is the oldest, after all.”

“How many others?” Raj asked.

Pearl looked at him. “Several more Fated Mates, and each couple will produce the next step to the army….”

“Army!” Shar nearly screamed.

“Not the kind you think,” Pearl said. “Your children are destined to save the world. Why do you think the Goddesses created Fated Mates? They know when they will be needed. That is why there haven’t been any in so many years.”

“Wasn’t Tate’s parents the last?” Dustin asked.

“Yes,” Pearl said.

“But there was no war going on when Tate was born,” Raj said. “There hasn’t been in thousands of years. Not since….”

“Not since Christ, yes, I know.” Pearl nodded. “Tate has a different fate in store for him.”

“A different fate?” Dustin asked, confused.

Pearl nodded. “For one, helping you and your mates. If you will notice, he has a soft spot for Fated Mates. And his parents are a big reason for that. But also, it was born into him to protect the Fated Mates.”

“He’s a bodyguard, so to speak,” Raj said with a nod.

“So to speak.” Pearl nodded. “But he also has another position. I can’t reveal it to you; it’s too soon.”

“Damn, this shit is confusing,” Dustin said, collapsing into a chair. He turned and pulled Shar onto his lap.

“What is happening that the Goddesses created us for?” Lyvia asked.

“We won’t know until the Goddesses feel fit to tell us,” Pearl said. “When I know, I will be sure to tell all of you.”

“What about our cubs?” Raj asked.

“Yes, your cubs.” Pearl smiled. “The Goddesses knew you weren’t ready. So, they blocked your conception while you were away. But now….” She pointed at Lyvia’s stomach.

Lyvia wrapped her arms around her stomach. “No way,” she said, her eyes large as saucers. “Holy fuck.”

“But she just started her heat yesterday.” Raj looked from his mate to the witch and back again.

Pearl chuckled. “And have you not noticed how much calmer she is now, after your first tryst last night?”

Raj grinned from ear to ear. “Just the once, that’s all it took?”

Pearl chuckled. “That’s all that was needed. Did it not only take once for Dustin and Shar once she stopped taking her birth control?”

Dustin and Shar nodded.

“We’re actually going to have a cub?” Lyvia squealed with happiness.

Raj held her close and kissed her temple.

“No, Lyvia, you’re not having a cub,” Pearl said.

Lyvia’s face fell. “But you said….”

Pearl took hold of Lyvia’s hand and squeezed it. “Lyvia, you’re the most special of the group.”

Lyvia’s eyes blinked. “How so?”

Pearl looked at Raj, then back at Lyvia. “Lyvia, how much do you know about your family’s past?”

Lyvia shrugged. “Not much. They never really liked me because I was a girl. My dad only wanted boys.”

Pearl nodded. “That’s because the females on your dad’s side of the family have a high chance of being what their ancestors were.”

“I don’t understand.” Lyvia shook her head.

“Lyvia.” Pearl scooted closer to Lyvia. “You’re an Omega.”

Lyvia’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth fell open.

“Holy fuck,” Raj said, jumping back from his mate.

Dustin stared at Lyvia from the chair as if she’d grown a second head, and Shar stared at everyone as if they’d all gone mad.

“I-I can’t be,” Lyvia cried. “No.” She shook her head vigorously.

“What’s an Omega, and why is Raj looking at Lyvia as if she’s a foreign object?” Shar asked, watching her friends as they freaked out.

“An Omega is a rare female shifter that can carry more than one cub at a time like an animal. They’re rare, and no one has seen one in hundreds of years,” Dustin said, still staring at Lyvia.

Lyvia started crying.

“Raj,” Pearl said, pointing to Lyvia.

Raj shook his head. What the fuck is wrong with him? What a dick he is for jumping away from his mate. So what if she can have a whole litter of cubs at once? She’s his, and the cubs are theirs. He’s going to love them all until the end of time.

He moved his legs to either side of his mate, then pulled her back against his chest and held her.

“I love you, Lyvia,” he whispered into her ear.

“Even though I’m an Omega?” she asked, still crying.

He chuckled. “Especially because you’re an Omega. Babe, that just means more kids….”

“Oh my God!” Lyvia cried out. “What will we do with so many cubs at once?”

“That’s why you’re starting The Fated Mates Club,” Pearl said with a smile.

“You know about that?” Shar asked, sitting forward. Then she thought about it and sat back against her mate. “Of course you do.”

“You have friends to help you.” Pearl patted Lyvia’s hand.

“How… how many?” Lyvia asked.

Pearl smiled. “Four. Do you want to know the sexes?”

Lyvia nodded and looked up at Raj. “Do we?”

Raj grinned. “Sure.”

“Three boys and a girl,” Pearl said, squeezing Lyvia’s hand when she started to hyperventilate. “After they’re born, you go on the pill if that’s any help.”

Lyvia laughed. “Sounds good to me. We’ll wait until they’re out of the house before we try again.”

Raj chuckled as he kissed Lyvia’s cheek.

“Well, I must be going now,” Pearl said as she jumped to her feet.

“Stay for lunch?” Shar asked, getting to her feet.

“Wish I could.” Pearl smiled at them. “But people are headed this way, and I can’t meet them. It’s not our destiny to meet yet.” She pulled a pair of sunglasses from her purse and placed them on her face. “If you have any questions or ever need me, give me a call.” Cards appeared in their hands. “Take care,” she said, then rushed out the door.

Pearl quickly walked down the path toward the driveway as four shifters walked up. She avoided looking at them as she hurried past them. Pearl sensed one of them stop and look at her as she made her way to her car. If only she hadn’t driven here, she could have poofed out of here before they arrived.

“Hey!” he hollered after her. “Don’t I know you?!”

Pearl closed her eyes and unlocked her car without using her keys. She got into her car as fast as possible and sped out of the driveway without answering him. She watched him in her rearview mirror. He shrugged, then turned and walked up the path to the door.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “It’s not our time yet, my love,” she whispered, then concentrated on the road as she headed to her next stop.

~🐅~

“So, what do you truly think about what I am?” Lyvia asked Raj later that night as they got ready for bed.

Symone and tiger were settled back into her home, and Angel was with Shar. While she was gone, the kittens had gone and grown up. She doesn’t want to miss anything like that again. But she won’t ask Raj to quit what he loves.

“I’m happy, Lyvia.”

She turned to him. “You’re happy that I’m having not one, not two, not three, but four cubs?”

He chuckled. “Lyvia. They’re a part of you and a part of me. I would be happy if you were having eight cubs.”

She grunted. “No, you wouldn’t. But nice try.”

He growled as he jumped on the bed and pulled her down with him.

She giggled as he kissed her.

“Lyvia. I love you. And I love our four little tigers,” he said, rubbing her stomach. “You and I were destined to have these cubs. Did you not hear what Pearl said?”

She smiled as she pushed a lock of hair behind his ear. “I love you too. But four?”

He grinned. “Whatever the Goddesses need them for. They will be a fearsome team.”

She laughed. “Team, huh? Are you looking for a hockey team?”

He shook his head. “I’m putting hockey on the back burner for now.”

She gasped. “Don’t do that….”

He kissed her to silence her. “It’s already done. I called earlier….”

“Oh, Raj. Call them, tell them you’ve changed your mind….”

“Lyvia. You can’t travel while pregnant, especially with four. And you know we can’t be separated. It’s only for a year or two, maybe three.”

She started to cry, and he pulled her against him.

“It’s my choice Lyvia. Once the cubs are old enough to travel with us, I’ll think about hockey again. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be too old in ten or twenty years to start playing again. And maybe our boys or even our daughter will pick up the sport.”

She chuckled. “Nice save there.”

He chuckled. “I would be proud if our tigress took a liking to sports like her old man.”

She smiled. “I love you so much.”

He kissed her hard and deep. When he came up for air, they were both breathing heavily.

“I love you more than my own life, and I will give you and our cubs everything I have.”

She smiled up at him as she gently ran her fingertips down his jaw.

“All we require is your love.”

This book may be over but their story is not.

THIS SERIES IS A LONG INTERTWINING STORY THAT IS OVER 250,000 WORDS. I DIVIDED IT INTO 13 BOOKS, SO THAT EACH FATED MATE COUPLE HAD THEIR OWN BOOK. SO THE BOOKS ARE SHORT (BUT SWEET). ENJOY!