Page 57 of Sobek’s Joy

Rudy could feel his orgasm building, coiling tight in his gut. Sobek’s free hand snaked beneath him, wrapping around his cock, stroking him in time with his thrusts. The dual sensation sent Rudy over the edge with a cry, his body clenching around Sobek as he came for the third time, his vision whiting out as a slightly painful drizzle dribbled from his dick.

Sobek followed with a deep, guttural groan, his release filling Rudy as he buried himself to the hilt, his body shuddering with the force of his climax.

For a long, breathless moment, neither of them moved. Sobek remained buried inside him, his chest heaving against Rudy’s back. Finally, with a groan, he pulled out, rolling onto his side and pulling Rudy with him so they were tangled together, skin to skin.

Rudy sighed, his body limp with satisfaction. His muscles ached in the best way, his skin still buzzing from the aftershocks of pleasure. He could feel Sobek through their bond - warmth, contentment, a deep, possessive satisfaction that mirrored his own.

Sobek pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, his arms tightening around him. “You’re incredible.”

Rudy huffed a tired laugh. “You’re one to talk.”

“I need to do more work on the headboard.”

“Huh?” That was the last thing Rudy had been thinking about.

“I thought I’d made it sturdy enough so it wouldn’t bang on the wall. I was wrong.”

Rudy sighed. “I’m happy to keep testing your improvements to it,” he mumbled.

Sobek chuckled, the sound a low rumble against Rudy’s back. They lay there in comfortable silence for a long moment, their breaths slowly evening out. Rudy traced idle patterns over Sobek’s forearm, his mind drifting as the post-sex haze began to lift.

A thought, small and insistent, wormed its way into his brain. The kids. School. Rudy sighed, the sound more frustrated than he intended.

Sobek’s arms tightened fractionally. “What’s wrong?”

Rudy hesitated. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, didn’t want to bring the real world intruding into their perfect, intimate bubble. But the worry had taken root, and now it was gnawing at him.

He turned slightly in Sobek’s arms so he could see his face. “It’s about the kids.”

Sobek’s expression darkened, his crocodile instincts already bristling at the perceived threat. “What about them?”

Rudy chewed on his lip. “Seeing them outside today…I was thinking about them going to school…a regular school. I have been putting off enrolling Jack, although he would be due to start kindergarten this fall, but how the hell are any of them supposed to go when they might shift during math classes or grow claws during show-and-tell because someone took their last pencil or climb the walls during gym because they can?”

Sobek was quiet for a long moment, his fingers tracing slow circles on Rudy’s back. “They’re not going to be able to go to school - not until they are a lot older, and maybe not even then.”

Rudy’s chest tightened. He’d known, logically, that regular school wasn’t an option as soon as he learned the truth about his children’s quirks. But hearing it said out loud made it real. “So what, they just…never get an education? Never have friends their own age?”

Sobek was quiet for a long moment. “There are other options.”

Rudy propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at him. “Like what?”

Sobek’s gaze was distant, thoughtful. “You’re not the only one with a new family, Rudy. The gods…a lot of them have found their mates in the last few years. Some of them have children - shifters, or half-gods, or other paranormal beings. They can’t go to regular schools either.”

Rudy’s pulse jumped. “You’re saying…there are other kids, like ours.”

Sobek nodded. “Zeus’s mate, Paulie, they’ve got a son. I’m not sure if he can shift, but Paulie is a half-shifter and a demi-god. Poseidon’s mate, Claude, is a wolf shifter and actually the alpha of his own pack. They’ve got…two children, I think. Then there’s Owen and his mate, Baby. I’m fairly sure all three of their children can shift.

“Ra, the father of the Egyptian pantheon, has a daughter, and Thor and his mate Orin have two sons. Orin is another cat shifter, actually. A sand cat. Anubis and his mate Loki have not long had a set of twins…and those are just the ones I can think of in the moment.

“There are more, and what’s good about that is that they understand the stress of keeping their children hidden from unkind eyes. With a bit of effort, there could be playdates at the very least, which would be a great way for our kids to be around others like them.”

The weight on Rudy’s chest lessened. “Do you think they’d be open to that?”

Sobek’s expression softened. “I think…we’re not the only ones who’ve been searching for a way to give our children a normal life. Or as normal as possible, given the circumstances.” He cupped Rudy’s face, his thumb brushing over his cheekbone. “And I think…it’s not just about the kids. You need this too. You need to know they’ll be okay. That they’ll have a normal future – as normal as they can be as shifters.”

Rudy swallowed hard, his throat suddenly tight. He’d spent so long just trying to survive, to give the kids a safe, stable home. He hadn’t let himself think too far ahead, hadn’t let himself imagine what their lives could be like beyond just…getting through the day.

But Sobek was right. They deserved more than that. The kids deserved to be around others like them. They had a right to live without feeling as if they had to hide, or as if there was anything wrong for being who they were.