Page 30

E ight months later…

Faye

I thought the horrors of my life had passed when Kurt fell down the side of that cliff, but I was wrong. I didn’t know that the worst thing to ever happen to me was yet to come, the universe aligning to spite me in my weakest moment.

How am I going to handle this?

A sob rips through me, tears already streaming down my cheeks, and I hear the familiar beats of several pairs of feet heading in my direction.

Their frantic steps in the face of my tears are as familiar as the feeling of their arms wrapped around my body.

But this time, there’s nothing my mates can do.

Everything is ruined. My life is over.

“Faye?” Cayson asks, his voice panicked as he rushes into the room.

The others are right behind him. Eli’s presence in the room is larger than life. Ezra presses the back of his hand to my head. Maverick looks out the window, as though the threat might be out there. Everyone is on high alert for whatever might be upsetting me.

But no, it’s here. In our home.

My gaze sweeps the three massive beds that we’d had pressed together in Eli’s manor to accommodate our big group.

Around the beds, the room is filled with pillows that smell like my alphas, and silvery lupines—my favorite flowers—which Eli had planted in our garden and the boys brought me fresh each day.

Candles cover every surface, and soft blankets lie in every direction.

There are also photos. Lots of them. Of my brother and my grandparents.

But also lots of me and my men. Smiling on the Eiffel Tower.

Being silly at Stonehenge. The men all drunk in a boat in Italy.

My favorites though are probably the ones in Ezra and Cayson’s packs, helping the towns, playing with the children.

I especially love the one of Cayson’s dad glowering at him in the back. That one always makes me laugh.

My men have helped to create the perfect nest for me. A place I feel safe. A place I feel happy.

At least, normally.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Xander asks, his hand coming to mine. Since moving in here, he’s been opening up more and more, finding his words.

“It’s—” I say, choked by my grief. It’s huge, immovable, sitting on my chest. “There’s nothing we can do.”

“What is it?” Eli says, stepping forward, his eyes moving to my belly. “Is it the babies?”

I shake my head, my hand coming to my belly, feeling the lives inside me, nearly ready to come out. I open my mouth to tell them what’s wrong, but every time I think about it, I start to cry again.

“It’s okay,” I say, holding up my hands. I can hardly keep my eyes open. “It’s okay, I’ll just?—”

I’m being dramatic. This is silly. But something about my hormones and these babies makes everything seem really important.

“Faye, darling,” Eli says, putting his hands on my jaw and lifting my face, looking into my eyes. “Breathe. Please, tell us what hurt you so we can destroy it.”

I feel stupid before I even say it. “The pancakes the kitchen made,” I whimper, and he turns, his eyes going immediately to the plate of pancakes beside my bedside table.

“Oh, no,” Cayson says, and I can tell he already knows what’s wrong. The two of us share an insatiable sweet tooth, but the other men look at each other inquisitively.

“The…pancakes?” Ezra asks, raising an eyebrow. I see Xander’s hand twitch, like he might knock them from the table, and the thought makes me giggle.

All of them relax a bit.

“What’s wrong with the pancakes?” Maverick asks, lifting them up. “Did someone put something in them?”

“No, it’s the opposite problem,” I say, still laughing and crying at the same time. If pregnancy hormones from one baby are bad, twins have to be worse. “They’re missing?—”

“Whipped cream, sprinkles, syrup, chocolate chips,” Cayson says, counting out the toppings on his fingers, “blueberries, chopped strawberries, candied walnuts?—”

I nod tearfully as he lists them off, adding, through a hiccup, “Butter—scotch syrup—” I cut myself off with a laugh, shaking my head, “Sorry—I know this is silly. It’s the pregnancy hormones?—”

“It is not silly,” Ezra says, taking the pancakes from Maverick and stepping toward the door. “If you need whipped cream, the twins needs whipped cream?—”

“ And sprinkles, and maple syrup—” Cayson says, following after him.

“ Hey !” Maverick says, turning. “ I was going to get that stuff!”

“No, I can get it,” Xander says. “I know the kitchen staff well.”

“Guys,” Eli says, and they all turn, Ezra and Cayson still fighting over the plate. “Why don’t we just let the kitchen know Faye would like a new plate of pancakes, with all those toppings?”

They all stare at him for a second.

“Okay,” Ezra says, “no—that’s a good idea. That way they’re warm, and the butter melts?—”

“ I was going to suggest that,” Maverick says. “Actually?—”

A servant steps into the room. Xander gives her a dark look, shows her the pancakes, and lists off what they need on them. Her eyes go wider with each word, and then she bobs her head and takes off with the terrible pancakes.

“Here,” Cayson says, pushing past the others and pulling up the blanket at my feet. “Let me rub your feet while we wait on the pancakes.”

I giggle when he touches my foot, then Ezra is at my side, fluffing my pillows. Xander gets me an extra blanket while Maverick drops essential oils onto my wrist. When I let out a laugh, Eli takes my hand, laughing softly with me.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, and I realize I’m no longer sobbing, no longer sure that the worst thing in the world has happened to me. I hate how big the feelings get, but I love that my mates are always here to take care of me and keep them at bay.

“It’s just—” I say, still laughing, watching as they all turn to me, eyes wide.

“You’re supposed to be these big, tough guys,” I keep giggling between each word, “Alphas, ferals, and an ultima,” I laugh, looking to each man, watching their smiles turn from large and goofy to soft and melting, “and yet, here you are. Not so big and tough, after all.”

“Well—” Ezra says, holding up a hand.

Cayson cuts him off, laughing and bumping a shoulder into his. “Remember the onesie?”

“I was not?—”

“He saw a onesie that said Daddy’s little girl and he almost started crying in the middle of the store!”

Ezra tries to cuff him over the back of the head, but Cayson dances away, still cackling loudly. I laugh, watching them, and Eli squeezes my hand. When I look at him, his eyes are on Cayson and Ezra, and he’s smiling.

“I was not crying! I was—I told you, I had allergies! The pollen count is high this season!”

“I think I’m going to start calling you onesie , would you like that?”

Ezra and Cayson launch into a wrestling match, with Maverick and Xander making silent bets at the end of my bed. Outside, the sun is stretching over the horizon. My heart beats, steady and full in my chest.

“Excuse me?” someone says, and we all look to the doorway to see Addilyn, looking bewildered. Her belly is just starting to show, and since she’s only carrying one baby, she’s not on bed rest, like me. “I was just stopping by, and one of the cooks told me to bring this in?”

Joy rushes through me, and I’m so happy to see her that I immediately burst into tears again. Addilyn jumps and drops the pancakes, Ezra and Cayson immediately come to my side, and Maverick is already calling down to the kitchen for another plate while Xander tries to scrape the mess off the floor.

Eli laughs quietly, steadily, squeezing my hand.

I’m laughing and crying and Addilyn is laughing too, apologizing and asking what’s going on, and I realize this is the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m here with my best friend and my mates, and I can’t wait to bring their children into this happy, joyful, sprinkle-filled world.