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“Oh, I can find it on my own,” I tell her, giving her a soft smile. I’ve chaperoned my own share of the mating ceremonies,so I know which room the first-day sniffing is done in. “You guys have a good night,” I call over my shoulder, not missing how Olivia and Ralleth are already busy chatting with one another.

I laugh to myself and then think good for them. I know when I’m around my mates, everyone else disappears. That goes double for when Savi wants my attention. He’s my favorite little guy, and soon, he’s going to have a sibling that I’m going to love just as much.

I take quiet steps up to the door where the mating ceremony will be held. I don’t hear any sounds for a few seconds and I think that maybe I’m even earlier than I thought I was.

I peek around the corner and jump when I see a room full of demons, all being absolutely silent. Some of their eyes go wide when they see me, and Vex and Rallan both turn to face me to see what the others are worried about.

Vex holds a finger up to his lips, telling me to be quiet, as Rallan continues to bounce in place with Savi in the sling strapped to his chest. I tiptoe closer to them, curious about why they’re all being so quiet. Even all the unmated males in the room are quiet and watching us.

“Why are we being silent?” I whisper when I’m close enough to Vex and Rallan.

“Your son is not feeling well,” Rallan says, giving me a smirk because he knows he only calls Savi my child when he’s being extra fussy. So he might get that from his mother. I’m not surprised it’s genetic.

Vex steps up behind me so he can rest his chin on my shoulder as he whispers directly into my ear. “He’s cried nonstop for the last hour. He’s not feeling well, and he’s very unhappy about it.”

“So you guys are having the mating ceremony in silence?” I ask, looking around the room at the males who don’t look put out by it. I know I’d feel cheated if I was looking forward tofinding my mate and had to be extra quiet because of a needy child.

Technically, there’s no talking during the sniffing portion of the mating ceremony, but before and afterward, the participants are allowed to talk amongst each other.

“It’s been postponed until we got him to sleep,” Rallan whispers, his hand cupping the back of Savi’s neck as he continues to rock him in his arms. “We just sent word to Beren’s mate that she can bring the humans.”

“Oh, just let me take him,” I reach for Savi, but Rallan wraps his arms tight around our babe. I narrow my eyes on Rallan and debate whether or not I’m about to fight him on this.

“You shouldn’t have to ruin their night because of our child,” I emphasize the word ‘our’ because Savi’s stubbornness comes from both of us, and Rallan can’t deny that.

“He is not ruining the night,” Rallan whisper-hisses the words before turning to the other males. “Is my son ruining your night?”

All of their eyes go wide at once, and they shake their heads in unison. I’m almost positive I hear one of them blow smoke up our asses by saying it’s an honor to be in our son’s presence.

“I’ve tried taking him,” Vex tells me, wrapping his arms low on my abdomen and holding me close to him. “Your mate refuses to be separated from his young right now.”

Rallan narrows his eyes on us, his fingers flexing against Savi’s small body, still peacefully unaware of the conversations happening in the real world. “My son is in pain. I will be the one to comfort him.”

“Such a good mate,” I run my fingertips over the scales of Rallan’s arms and smile when he relaxes. “You take care of all of us, don’t you.”

Rallan’s lips part, his breathing getting heavy. He’s probably exhausted from watching over a crying child and from having torock him nonstop for who knows how long. I turn to look at Vex, who seems to know what I’m thinking.

“We’ll handle this,” Vex says, tilting his head toward the unmated demons, still standing stock still, waiting for the ceremony to start. “How about you take our son home and try to get some rest.”

Rallan narrows his eyes on us, trying to figure out what game we’re playing. He must decide sleep is well worth it because he’s giving us a soft nod and walking out of the room with a soft bob as he continues to rock Savi in his arms.

I let out a soft laugh as I leaned into Vex’s hold. “Have you ever been in charge of one of these?”

“How hard could it be?” Vex asks, looking at the row of unmated demons, all watching us with wide eyes. “You guys know you’re going to sniff the humans and then go back home, right?”

One of the men closest to us speaks as all the others nod. “We get one sniff on each of their necks, and after we have smelled them all, we leave to go back to our homes. We don’t talk to the females again until tomorrow when we are allowed to woo them.”

“See, this will be easy,” Vex says. He pulls a chair out from one side of the table and motions for me to sit. “The part that’s going to stress me out is how close you are to giving birth. You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

I roll my eyes and wave away his concern. Unfortunately for me, he might be right. It’s almost like my body is waiting for the most inopportune time to start bringing this babe into the world. As soon as Nia comes walking in with all the human women, I feel my first contraction.

I suck in a sharp breath that has Vex looking at me, but I lie and tell him I’m fine. Thankfully, the contractions are spaced pretty far this early, and we’re able to get through the wholemating ceremony with only a handful of contractions trying to alert me to the baby soon to enter this world.

“You should be glad I love you,” Vex snarls as he turns to face me after everyone leaves the room.

“Mhm,” I agree as I feel the start of another contraction. “Scold me later. Just get me home now.”

Vex’s eyes shine a glowing white before he wraps me in his arms and carries me through the great hall bridal style all the way back to our house. Rallan is still rocking Savi as we enter the house, and he goes into overdrive mode as soon as he realizes what’s happening.