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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 disapproving hrumpf from 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 is hungry .

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 latest book 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 of normal had 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 to inside the 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.

Now, though, she just jumps on Luca’s bed and noses her way under his blankets like she’s expecting this to take a while.

That does not bode well for Nix getting to the cafe and back with his mate before someone figures out they are gone—or at least until someone thinks to check that security app thingy.

Nix sighs bitterly.

Next thing he knows, they’ll want to microchip him like they had Tsuki.

Luca’s room is dark and quiet, but the bathroom light is on, so maybe that’s a good sign.

“Luca? You ready?”

There’s a small crash, followed by a round of curse words in a few languages that are definitely not in Nix’s repertoire.

“Shit. Porra. Fuck. Merde!”

By the time Nix gets to the door, his mate is sitting on the bathroom floor, tangled in the cords for both his hair dryer and his curling iron. Both are still plugged in, and both are still turned on.

Nix yanks the cords out with a sigh.

“Are you okay?”

There’s nothing but the scent of burnt coffee in the bathroom at the question.

“No, I am not okay. Not at all,” Luca says, banging the back of his head on the bathroom cabinet a few times before rubbing his eyes.

Nix knows Luca isn’t just talking about being tangled up in the cords and landing on his bare ass.

It’s way more, Nix supposes.

And way worse.

“I’m sorry, Baby. Is it…my fault?”

His not-so-old anxieties raise their ugly heads.

“What? No! It’s Gideon’s. You know that, right?”

Luca grabs his hand and squeezes.

“He’s not where I need him, and it’s making me feel…”

He waves his hand like Nix will understand everything that means—bad, untethered, out-of-control…lonely.

“You say it’s not me, Luca, but you guys were happy before all this shit. Happy before I…mrmpf…”

There’s a hand covering his mouth, and it smells like hair products and frustration.

“Don’t you dare, Nix. We are way happier now that you’re here. We are , dammit. Even if Gideon can’t calm the fuck down for the five seconds it takes to spank my ass, I would not want to do one more day without you. You complete me. Us. ”

He throws the last of the hair appliances off his bare legs and gets to his feet, pulling Nix with him.

“Come on, baby-papa, let’s go. Luca needs cake. Enough of this maudlin shit. I’ll deal with Gideon Carnell later.”

Nix trails after him, but not before grabbing a pair of sweatpants laid out on the bed.

Tsuki shakes off her nest of blankets and still makes it down the stairs before them.

The main floor is deserted, containing only the lingering scents of food and family. Everyone had places to be today (thank the Goddess)—from Quest to the hospital to meeting the real estate agent for the new Phoenix Records studio space.

Luca had vehemently declined to meet a stranger just to see a million spaces that would need renovation. Instead, Grayson had gone along to offer his design opinion.

Most importantly, though, Rowan had been persuaded to go back to the studio—and it sure helped with those boundaries Nix had tried so hard to put in place.

Even if twenty-three texts are sitting in Nix’s notifications from him alone—including three requests for photos, one apology gif, and something suspiciously labeled “for science.”

Doodle and Domino are lying in a patch of sun and only deign to crack an eye when they come in.

They, too, are grown more lanky and wild than they’d been in the beginning.

There are countless cat toys and dog toys in various stages of destruction all over the floor, and Nix sees Tsuki pick one or two up and put them in the toy basket before she plops down in the sun with her tinier-but-equally-spoiled pack members.

Ah, the life of a well-loved pet is to be envied.

Except maybe for the lack of ice cream.

Maybe they should have some before they go?

He checks his phone for the time and carefully puts it back in his bag. Not enough time if they went to get back before the others know they’re gone.

He’d more than learned his lesson after the last few times, that’s for sure.

Luca is at the front door already, in his lavender winter coat, with his boots already tied by the time Nix gets there.

He’s awfully cute, but he’s going to freeze his ass off.

“Uh, Baby? You forgot your pants.”

“Well, fuck me.”

He pulls off his boots and accepts the skinny black sweats, grumbling the whole time about winter and pants but his heart doesn’t seem to be in the familiar tirade.

Nix bends over to tie his mate’s laces for him so that they can avoid a meltdown, and when he stands too quickly, tiny black spots dance in his vision. He throws out a hand, which lands right on the top of Tsuki’s head.

He’s thankful Luca already has the door open and his fingerprint on the security system, so he doesn’t notice.

“Good girl. We’ll be back,” he says.

But Tsuki is having none of it.