Page 92 of The Pregnant Wolf Omega Next Door

Was that a pterodactyl?

“Scribbly Master!” the pterodactyl cried.

Emre’s stomach dropped.

He fumbled Abbie and Bean out of his arms and into Buttwheel’s cargo basket, before hastily climbing out himself.What do I do?He couldn’t leave the pups. But what if Zenith and Huxton needed help? None of their friends knew to come over.

Someone snarled. Meaty thuds rang out, along with scuffling sounds and the whines of wolves.

Emre held his breath so he could hear the commotion better.

Then someone roared, and footsteps pattered away.

The sky opened up with a crack of thunder.

“We’re fine!” Zenith said when Emre unlocked his phone with shaking hands. “No need to call for help, sweetheart. We’re coming back.”

Heaving a sigh of relief, Emre pushed Buttwheel out through the front door and into the rain, letting it soak his skin. The pups would be okay. Zenith could breathe fire on Abbie to dry her, and Bean—

Bean yipped, squirming onto his back to wriggle in the rain. He shifted.

Except he didn’t turn back into a human child. There was suddenly a shimmering blue tail where his legs should be, and he flapped it happily in the downpour.

This was Bean as a merchild, and he was beautiful.

Emre stared, his jaw dropping. “Um, Zenith?”

“What is it?” Zenith’s voice deepened.

Only then did Emre realize that Zenith had shifted into a dragon. Zenith flew over the trees and landed in front of them, large feet thumping on the ground.

Abbie took one look at him and shifted into a dragonet.

Emre yelped. He hurriedly fished Bean out of Buttwheel’s cargo basket; Bean was still soft and squishy next to Abbie’s claws.

“Oh,” Zenith breathed, dipping his head to peer at the children. “Look at you both!”

“We should take a picture,” Huxton said. “One for the Yuletide card?”

Emre’s heart skipped. That suggested a permanence that he hadn’t allowed himself to think about.

“S-sure,” he stammered. “But after that, we’ll need to get Bean into some water. Quinlan gave us some bath salts for him.”

It was onlyafter Huxton had hustled them into the living room and taken a picture, that reality sank in.

“I don’t know how to care for a merbaby,” Emre squeaked. He had stayed in his human shape so he could hold Bean for the photo, so the wolf shifter part of their fam—theirgroup—had not been properly represented.

Zenith cocked his head, Abbie in his scaly arms. “Quinlan said it was pretty easy, didn’t he? Put Bean in the water and let him swim?”

Emre frowned. “I don’t know, it almost soundstooeasy.”

He carried Bean to the master bathroom, where the tub was the biggest.

Zenith shifted back into a human so he could measure out the bath salts. He sprinkled them into the tub, then turned on the water to mix it all up.

Bean sniffed the air and flapped his arms, straining toward the water. Emre’s heart swelled. He held Bean above the filling tub, just enough for Bean to get his hands wet. Bean babbled and tried harder to reach the water, flapping his tail. It was almost difficult to contain him; Bean grew more excited the deeper the tub filled.

When there was enough water, Emre lowered Bean into it.