Page 138 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

“I have a birth control spell.” Her head shakes, sending her hair flying across my face.

“It will have been rendered inert,” Knight says. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. Your soul agreed to the terms. No coercion or trickery needed.”

“Holy fuck,” Nadia whispers. “This is the universe punishing me for screwing up Emerson’s spell.”

“Your roommate?” Wraith leans forward, tilting his head. “The one with the wolf pup?”

“She did live with us.” She swallows thickly. “She ended up bonding my boss, but she’s also pregnant with four babies. I gave her a contraception spell. Ohmigod...” She buries her face in her hands.

“She’s clearly got omega blood,” Knight says around the mouthful of food he’s busy chewing.

“Yeah, I just realized that,” Nadia says in a shaky tone. “That puts her in even more danger than the circumstances that led to her being brought back. It’s the only reason I gave into Kash’s request to check if he had pets...”

I have no idea who any of these people are. I listen intently as Nadia and the demons discuss the residents of Haven. They’re going to be our neighbors before long, so I track the facts as well as I can.

Nadia has a friend, who used to live with her, named Emerson.

Before Nadia realized her magic was acting strangely, she gave this friend a contraception spell that failed.

The same friend almost died not too long ago, and Nadia’s nan helped bring her back, but because she’s a seer with knowledge of the future, they’re going to let the pregnant chick be surprised when she finds out she’s popping out four babies.

The conversation continues a little about Kash, the warlock who tried to sacrifice Nadia to a demon for immortality.

My blood boils at the thought as my wolf replays visions of us ripping out the warlock’s throat.

Apparently Knight already handled that for us, but I’d be happy to dig up his corpse and piss on it, just to be sure.

“Luckily, we already had a plan for Malice to take over for Kash once we made it into the human realm.” Knight sets down his empty plate. “Kash was a little too interested in you for obvious reasons, but it was his focus on Atlas that moved up our timeline drastically.”

“We’ve been doting mates, even prior to you binding us.” Wraith gives a serious nod. “We knew you would be displeased if your friend’s mate was caught. Kash was suspicious that Atlas was the cause of the disappearing monsters.”

“Shit.” Nadia shakes her head. “Thank you. I don’t think Aline would survive it if something happened to Atlas. I’ve always thought they’d be cute together.”

There’s more discussion, and it’s clear Aline is important to Nadia. My wolf and I are in agreement that it’s a good thing the demons had a plan to off the council agent.

“It’s no big deal.” Knight tosses his booted feet up on the coffee table. “Malice is head-over-dick in love with the little fae. It was nothing to make sure we reaped the souls, so they couldn’t hang around and cause any trouble as ghosts.”

“Wow, the revelations keep on coming.” Nadia climbs out of my lap, making her way over to sit with Knight and Wraith. “Seriously, thank you for looking out for my friends.”

“It’s nothing.” Wraith bends, kissing her cheek. “I do feel like we need to let you get some rest. The ward needs to be handled swiftly. Once it’s complete, we can make our exit.”

“Don’t forget about me.” Athos materializes next to the fireplace.

Nadia snuggles closer to Knight’s chest. “We’ll add freeing you from the jar to our to-do list.”

The demon covertly flips off the djinn while palming the back of Nadia’s head.

“I could do with some sleep also,” I admit.

“I’m not sleeping in Constantine’s bed,” Nadia mutters.

“I saw a few guest rooms that would work.” Echo shoves himself off the couch, gathering the sleepy little witch.

I follow. My wolf and I won’t be left out of the cuddle pile. Even if we have to share a bed with the bloodsucker.

The next several days go fairly smoothly. We spend time at each of the remaining cornerstones. It’s clear Nadia is furious with Shelby and Carina, but they still work together to fortify the ward.

Echo packs up his belongings. He’s obviously hesitant that we’ll leave him behind.

I feed our little witch. She truly is close to a desiccated vampire after a day of replenishing the ward.

Nadia licks over my neck, sheepishly cuddling close to my chest. I palm the back of her head. That naughty little tongue of hers is going to get her into trouble if she doesn’t stop teasing me.

Three days of working the cornerstones, and each night, she uses her exhaustion as an excuse to avoid letting any of us inside her. Her hips gyrate over my semi-hard cock, and I quirk an eyebrow.

“You might not want to start something you aren’t prepared to finish.” I chuckle.

She groans. “One of these days, I’m going to shove my foot up those demons’ backsides for that silly contract. I’m horny as fuck, but it’s not worth the risk.”

My hand slides into her hair, tilting her face up to mine.

“What risk? The one where I breed you full of my pups? It’s quite possible it’s already happened,” I growl, bumping my cheek against hers. “I’m not even going to lie—it’s all I’ve thought of during your long hours replenishing the ward.”

“Is that right?” Her pupils are huge, round saucers as she licks her lips.

“Oh yeah.” My teeth rake over her neck as I pull her head farther to the side. “It’s played out in all of my many fantasies, especially since it’s clear you’re ovulating.”

She grunts, shoving at my chest. “That’s so weird. How can you be sure?”

“My wolf can sense that you’re fertile. It’s been nearly impossible to keep from mounting you and fucking you full of our cum,” I tell her truthfully. My voice is deep and more gravelly than normal. “It’s been a battle to keep my paws off you.”

Nadia shivers. “Seriously?”

“Yes.” I nod.

“I don’t even know if I want kids,” she murmurs, burying her face in my throat again. “Definitely not so damn fast.”

“That is something to consider.”

“But I also know how sweet my friend Emerson’s daughter is. First thing in the morning or right before bed, she turns into a cuddly little bundle of pure baby wolf snuggles.”

I snort. My wolf and I are equally enamored by that idea. “I’ve waited a very long time for exactly that. We’ll need to look into purchasing a home in Haven.”

“What?” She laughs. “You don’t want to live with Nan?”

“Don’t try me. We’ll have our own house.”

“That does sound nice.” She runs her fingers over my chest. “A family does too.” My heart races at her words. “I won’t be going back to my job at The Den. Not in the same capacity as before, anyway.”

Thank fucking God.

My head falls back as I say a silent prayer of appreciation to the universe.

I don’t know what I would have done if she tried to go back to seeing clients.

It probably would’ve involved Wraith devouring every single fucker who tried to get a spot on her schedule.

Then when they no-showed for the appointment, one of us would jump in and take it.

“Thank you.” I nuzzle my face against hers. “I wouldn’t have handled it well, but I am trying to evolve. The only time I truly want to own you is when we’re both nude.”

“How romantic.” Echo comes up the stairs with a black duffel bag on each shoulder.

“Shall we retire to my house?” I ask the cuddly little witch.

“Yep.” She smiles brightly, and my heart beats funny. She looks at Echo. “Is that all? We can pack my SUV full too.”

I frown, because I also have belongings I’ll need to transfer to Haven. But I have the good sense to keep my mouth shut. I can make multiple trips if need be.

“I have a few more, but I have been trying to keep things light.” Echo sighs.

“I’ll help,” I offer, gently moving Nadia aside before pushing myself off the couch.

“That’s very sweet.” She lights up, and my stupid heart races so loud, the vampire snorts. “You’re all stuck with each other. It’s best to get along.”

“Well, that’s true enough.” The vampire smirks. “I’ll put up with the mutt to keep you.”