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Nix grabs his crossbody bag and pulls his new yellow sweater down over his ever-growing baby bump as he hears a disapprovinghrumpffrom his bed.

“Do not give me that look. I am going to the café with Luca.”

He’s had enough of being treated like a prisoner in his own home and what the others don’t know…well, that will probably be for the best.

If it isn’t Grayson blocking every door or avenue of escape, it’s Rowan following him from room to room, growling at shadows and wearing out his welcome with everyone he comes into contact with.

At least Grayson is silent about it—unless the opportunity arises to push Rowan’s ever-growing number of buttons.

Oh, he’d tried to put boundaries in place, like Jay had encouraged. He explained that he is his own person and that he was—how did Jay put it?—not a bone to be fought over by two dogs…or something like that.

But despite his lecture, he’s still being pulled back and forth like the rope in a tug-of-war.

It’s difficult to find a moment’s solitude or calm in whatever the two of them have brewing; but also, sometimes, he likes their attention. He likes Rowan’s intense focus and his near-bottomless pockets filled with snacks, because their baby ishungry. Nix is constantly ravenous, and he sometimes feels as though he’s eating for eleven people, not just two.

He likes Grayson sneaking him tiny gifts of flowers and small bits of glass he polished in The Art House. He enjoys lying in front of the fire with his feet in Grayson’s lap while the alpha reads to him from Mary Oliver’s latestbook of poems and then engages him in discussions about their meaning.

He especially likes it when Grayson kisses him all over and spends extra time on his belly before making him come.

He really likes that.

He just doesn’t like the discord between his soulmate and his other mate, who happens to be the biological father of his child.

They are all mates—equals in Nix’s heart. The constant scrutiny and alpha posturing make it harder for his wolf to get on with being “normal.”

Even if his idea ofnormalhad recently expanded to include hiding that he was nauseated in the late afternoon—and sometimes in the middle of the night, too.

The grumpy alphas’ constant presence only meant more eyes on him, whether by proximity or because they were gauging his reaction to all the fuss.

Ugh.If Grayson or Rowan figured it out, it would only mean more seclusion and unwanted coddling—maybe worse, if Gideon, Jay, Leo, or (Goddess forbid) Finn got wind of it.

No, there was already enough concern about him leaving the house; he certainly didn’t need to have that transferred toinsidethe house.

No, sir, thank you very much, I do not want some more.

Nix has found it the least difficult to hide it from Gideon, though that’s mostly because Gideon has hardly been home in the three months since they returned from the mountains after the trial.

He’s maintained he is needed at the restaurant, and Nix would never think his beloved wasn’t being 100% truthful, because he always brings something home for Nix and Luca (and sometimes the others) but he never smells like he’s been cooking.

And the sub-par food he offers to them is so often presented like it’s…evidence? Or maybe even proof of an alibi.

It sets Nix’s wolf on edge, though he wouldn’t be concerned if Gideon’s usual stern-but-sassy demeanor hadn’t turned just plain old grumpy recently. It’s been worrying him, and Luca is decidedly off in response to the shift.

The beta has been going through a slump lately with Gideon’s distracted presence at home, so to cheer him up a bit, Nix had convinced Luca to join him at the Common Grounds today—and then maybe do a bit of baby shopping. You can’t be sad shopping for stuffies and tiny Nikes. Or at least Nix hopes not.

He’s determined not to let any disapproving looks deter him from his attempts at cheering Luca up and spending time alone with his mate. Between Grayson’s and Rowan’s possessive behavior, Gideon’s not-at-all-suspicious absences, and Luca’s emotional slump, Jay has insisted that he go places with one of the mates or, better yet, call Sentinel, and Arlo will send someone that he’d vetted personally to accompany him anywhere he wants to go.

“I am not calling Arlo. Fuck that. What did I say about that look? You can get it off your face right now, young lady.”

Nix points his finger at his nay-sayer and then boops her on the nose, only to be rewarded with a sneeze right in the face.

“Ew. I suppose I deserved that. Come on. Let’s find Luca.”

Tsuki leads the way right next door, where she uses her nose to push down the door handle and open the door.

She’d grown almost overnight and now finally fits into her plate-sized paws. When she’s sitting, her head is as high as Nix’s waist.

She’s smarter than ever, too—and even in Gideon’s absence, he’d arranged for a prototype security doggy door to be installed so she could let herself in and out. It required a nose print or some magic of technology, and Sentinel had been thrilled when Tsuki had taken to it with ease.