I Was The Only Omega In The Beast World-Chapter 170: CP: The Cubs Reaction To The Stones

Granite’s massive paw closed carefully around the bronze earth stone, the rough pads of his fingers dwarfing the small, cold artifact. For a long moment the old bear simply held it, eyes half-lidded, breathing slow and deep the way he did when he was listening to the land itself.

Alex watched, one hand still pressed to the firm curve of his belly where the little ones continued their restless fluttering. The nausea had eased to a low simmer thanks to the ginger tea Sally kept forcing on him, but the ache in his lower back had sharpened into a steady, pulling throb that radiated down into his hips. His breasts felt heavier by the hour, tender and tight against the soft linen of his shirt; every small shift made the sensitive nipples brush fabric and send tiny sparks of discomfort through him.

Granite exhaled through his nose, a low rumble that vibrated in Alex’s bones.

"Nothing," the bear said at last. His voice was calm, but there was a faint crease between his brows. "It feels like ordinary stone. Heavy. Old. But no life in it. No pull." He turned the bronze stone over in his paw, claws clicking lightly against its surface. "Yet your cubs are moving more since you brought the pouch closer. I can smell the change in you—richer, warmer. They’re reaching for something the stone used to give."

Alex nodded, swallowing against another mild wave of queasiness. "They feel it even if the stones don’t answer me anymore. It’s like... they’re listening through me."

Naga’s coil shifted, one smooth loop sliding higher to cradle the underside of Alex’s swollen belly more securely. The cool scales felt blessedly good against the low-grade heat radiating from his skin. " The stones may be dormant, but the bond between you and the little ones is not."

Leo crouched in front of Alex, golden eyes flicking between the stone in Granite’s paw and the way Alex was unconsciously rubbing slow circles over the ache in his lower back. "You’re hurting more today," the lion noted, voice low but uncompromising. "Don’t shrug it off. I can see the tension in your shoulders and the way you keep shifting your weight. Your ankles are swelling again too."

"I’m fine," Alex started, but the lie died when another dull throb rolled through his spine and made him wince. His free hand pressed harder into his lower back. "Okay. Not completely fine. The backache is worse when I sit too long in one position, and my chest..." He glanced down at the noticeable swell beneath his shirt, cheeks warming. "Everything feels heavier. Tighter. It didn’t happen during my first pregnancy."

Zale’s beastman form drew closer, aqua green eyes filled with tenderness. " Serpants do not require milking by nature so your body didn’t bother to produce it before but now your milk glands are developing meaning you’re most likely having cubs.

And cubs are naturally bigger than few slim snakes so this is normal." Gentle water tendrils created on Zale’s fingertips, cool and soothing as they wrapped lightly around Alex’s swollen ankles and the base of his spine, massaging with precise, gentle pressure. "Lean back. Let us ease what we can."

Alex did lean, grateful, letting Naga’s coils and Leo’s body and Zale’s cool touch support him while Lucas stayed close on his other side, one large hand resting over Alex’s on the swell of his belly. The wolf lord’s thumb stroked slow, possessive circles, feeling the faint flutters beneath the skin.

"Try the stone again," Lucas said quietly. "But don’t force it. If the cubs are reaching, let them reach through you."

Alex took the Bronze stone back from Granite. The moment his fingers closed around it, the fluttering inside his womb intensified—small, curious pulses that felt almost like tiny hands pressing outward. His belly tightened briefly, not painful, but noticeable enough that all four mates tensed around him.

"They’re... interested," Alex breathed. "Not waking the stone, but... talking to it? Or through it?" He closed his eyes, focusing on the connection between the cold artifact in his palm and the warm, living presences growing inside him.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the bronze stone gave the faintest shiver.

It wasn’t warmth—but it was movement. A tiny tremor that traveled up Alex’s arm and settled low in his belly, syncing for a single moment with the heartbeats of his unborn children. The nausea eased slightly. The ache in his back dulled. Even the tenderness in his chest felt a fraction less sharp.

Alex’s eyes snapped open. "Did you feel that?"

Naga’s tongue flicked rapidly. "The scent changed again. Sharper. Like aged sweet syrup."

Leo’s ears pricked forward. "The stone moved. I saw it."

Lucas’s hand pressed firmer against the swell. "The cubs reacted too. Stronger flutters."

Zale’s cool tendrils tightened gently around Alex’s lower back. "A connection is forming. Not the old one—something new. The lives inside you are bridging what the shadow tried to break."

Alex stared down at the Bronze stone in his palm. It still looked cold and dull, but now there was the barest hint of something beneath the surface—like a coal that had been banked for weeks and was finally remembering it could glow.

He tried the next stone—the deep blue water pearl. The moment it touched his skin, the fluttering inside him surged again, and Zale’s sphere rippled in response, the water inside brightening for a split second.

One by one, Alex touched each of the seven stones.

None of them woke fully. None of them sang the way they once had.

But each one answered—just a little. A faint tremor. A momentary warmth. A spark that traveled straight to the lives growing inside him, making the small heartbeats quicken and the gentle movements become more deliberate, as if the unborn children were reaching back through Alex to touch something ancient and familiar.

By the time he finished, sweat had broken out along his hairline. The nausea had returned in a low, persistent wave, and the ache in his lower back had sharpened again from the effort of concentrating. His breasts felt even heavier, the nipples tight and overly sensitive, and a new, unfamiliar pressure had settled low in his pelvis—the unmistakable feeling of his body making room, stretching, preparing faster than it had with the snakelings.

Naga noticed everything. One coil slid higher, supporting the swell more firmly while another gently massaged the base of Alex’s spine. "Enough for today," the serpent lord said, voice soft but final. "You’re trembling. Your scent is tipping toward exhaustion and discomfort. The little ones have had their moment. Now you rest." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Leo was already moving, eyes fluttering as he scooped Alex up before he could protest. "No walking back. I’m carrying you."

"I can—"

"You can be carried," Lucas interrupted, falling into step beside them, one hand never leaving the curve of Alex’s belly. "Pregnant mate does not walk when he’s pale and shaking and his back is hurting. That’s unspoken law in beast world."

Zale’s cool mist followed, soothing the nausea and the heat flushing Alex’s skin. "We’ll adjust the sleeping alcove again. More cushions. Better support for your back and hips. Softer wraps for your chest."

Sally looked up from her notebook as they passed, eyes softening when she saw Alex cradled carefully in Leo’s arms. "I’ll have the cooling compresses ready when you get back. And more ginger tea. You look like you need it."

The snakelings swarmed around them as they headed toward the sanctuary, a tide of scales and excited questions, but they kept their voices lower than usual—Jade herding the younger ones back when they got too boisterous, River staying close to Alex’s side with quiet concern.

By the time they reached the main courtyard, Alex was fighting to keep his eyes open. The combination of pregnancy symptoms, the faint connection he’d managed to spark with the stones, and the emotional weight of the morning had drained him more than he wanted to admit. His lower back throbbed steadily, his ankles felt puffy inside his boots, and the tenderness in his chest had settled into a constant, heavy ache.

Naga’s coils took over the moment Leo set him down in the wide, cushioned alcove they’d prepared. The serpent lord arranged him carefully—pillows behind his back, a rolled blanket under his knees to ease the pressure on his spine, another soft wrap draped loosely over his swollen chest to reduce friction.

"Rest," Naga whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to Alex’s temple. "The stones stirred. That is progress. The little ones are strong and reaching. And you—" his coil gave the smallest, protective squeeze around the swell "—are doing more than enough just by growing them."

Lucas settled on one side, large hand resting over Alex’s belly, feeling the continued flutters. Leo took the other side, wing draped like a golden blanket. Zale’s sphere hovered close, cool mist keeping the air comfortable and easing the lingering nausea.

Alex let his eyes drift shut, one hand resting over the curve where new life grew—where at least three, maybe four tiny heartbeats continued their quiet, curious conversation with the ancient stones that had once guided him.