Page 62 of Eternal Light (Fated in the Stars #5)

He places the softest of kisses on Gideon’s nose, and each eyelid, and finally on his mouth like a benediction.

“Good, because I have plans for a Happily Ever After, and you may not know it, but you play a starring role.”

Joy bursts through Gideon at the words, and he has to swing Nix around before whispering, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jay honks the horn, and the world comes rushing back in.

The distant hum of vacuum cleaners and the clinking of glassware drift out from Connall’s front door—sounds Gideon hadn’t even registered until now.

He hadn’t noticed how the world had faded away, how time had stilled for just a moment.

Now that it’s all back—the noise, the movement, the rhythm of life—Gideon can appreciate the fleeting, quiet space they’d shared.

Just the two of them, caught in a moment outside of everything else.

Finn

The safe house—mansion, really—that Lauren had arranged for them was stunning.

Designed by a Were, it had been exactly what they needed after weeks of being shuffled from one temporary spot to another.

Even Finn, who prided himself on being flexible, had let out a quiet sigh, his shoulders sagging when he spotted the garbage bags stuffed with their nesting materials sitting in the foyer.

The moment they stepped inside, Luca had one of the bags open, burying his face in the familiar mix of laundry and blankets.

Within minutes, he was practically spilling the fragrant contents onto the marble floor in his eagerness to inhale the comforting scent of home.

Rowan, freshly shifted back to human form, had finally managed to haul him away and up the stairs to find the pack bedroom, while Grayson and Leo followed behind, hefting the bags up after them.

Jay had disappeared toward the back of the house with Nix hot on his heels—no doubt doing his habitual walk-through of every nook and cranny.

The sounds of pots and running water meant Gideon had somehow found the kitchen—and thank the Goddess, because Finn was starving.

Turns out that tackling a madman and sustaining a grade-three concussion could really ramp up a man’s appetite.

The concussion had initially brought with it nausea and dizziness, which had thankfully faded, leaving behind only a persistent headache.

The pain behind his eyes abates suddenly—the relief so abrupt it could only mean one thing.

There’s a giggle from overhead, and Finn glances upward to see Nix peeking over the banister at the top of the stairs.

There must be another set of stairs somewhere in the house.

Better? Finn hears over their mental link.

“Yes, thank you. How are you doing that?”

Nix throws a leg over the railing and, with a drawn-out weeeeeeeee , slides all the way to the bottom, landing with arms flung high in triumph.

“No idea, hot stuff. But I do what I do, you know?” He winks before sidling up and winding his arms around Finn’s waist.

Finn nods at the banister. “You’re pretty good at that, too. Leo giving you lessons?”

“Yup, when Lauren isn’t home. Frankie pretends she doesn’t hear or see us.”

He giggles, and Finn feels a soft wrist on the back of his neck and a cool nose in his throat; scenting and being scented in return.

“Have you ever tried?”

Of course he had. Who could resist Leo when he was turning on the boyish charm? Not him, that’s for sure.

But Finn hadn’t been as graceful as his omega, so he changes the subject for fear of revealing his less-than-attractive bumbling.

“How are you? I feel like I’ve checked you over in ages.”

“Good, better— best , actually. The babies are moving; wanna feel?”

How was that even a question?

Placing his hand on Nix’s growing abdomen, he is met with a hard bump that moves away before it pops back up again in greeting.

He catches Nix’s eye, and then he can’t look away; sharing this moment never gets old.

“They’re amazing. You are amazing,” Finn whispers reverently.

No matter how many pregnancies he had been witness to, none will ever be as magical as theirs.

“They’re so big now. I feel like I’ve doubled in size since we arrived. My wolf is happy that we can’t hide it anymore, you know? It was weird that Carnell and Withers didn’t notice.”

Finn agreed, but it had occurred to him, based on the previous day’s events, that maybe they’d had some extra-special help keeping the babies invisible to those who might have wanted to do them harm.

He doesn’t say so, because he is a “man of science,” but he has to admit his own beliefs have shifted, especially given that he had heard Them as he’d watched the last atoms of Aleksander Withers float up and disappear into the Wolf Moon.

Continue to do what you feel is right, and use your wonderful mind and heart to protect your pack. You are a good alpha, Finn Merritt. They love and need you just as you are.

The words had slipped across his consciousness, easing the ache in his skull, and while he had gotten used to hearing Nix there, these words were lighter, more melodic, and they vibrated into every area and cell of his brain.

“Finn?” Nix asks, a frown between his brows.

He realizes he’d zoned out, his hand still pressed to Nix’s baby-belly. “Maybe we should lie down before dinner?”

“I’m okay, but I won’t turn down some Finn-Nix time.”

He teases, no matter that he looks and probably sounds like an idiot using one of the several “ship” names Luca had taken to using in the last few months. They were surprisingly effective and, well, fun.

There’s a sudden shriek of laughter from the back of the house, and with a grin, Nix leads him through to the back.

Gideon has Jay pressed up against the counter as water runs in the sink and something boils on the stove. The aroused scent of a rain-soaked forest is currently overpowering what had been Finn’s much-anticipated meal.

Gideon has one hand down Jay’s pants and the other sunk deep into Jay’s hair, while the pack alpha devours Gideon’s mouth. Neither of them notices Finn or Nix, but Nix presses a small finger to his lips in a shhh gesture anyway.

No, Finn wouldn’t interrupt, even to turn off the tap. Which he will not be thinking about (all that wasted water!) for the next twenty minutes, no sir.

When Nix slides the glass doors open to the pool deck, Finn can hear someone in the pool splashing, followed by Luca’s loud cackle. Grayson and Leo are wrestling in the pool while Rowan (person-shaped, thank goodness) tries to swim with Luca attached to his back like a barnacle.

“Nix! Come and save me from Octo-Luc!” Rowan yells as he pretends to be strangled by the smaller man on his back, eyes rolling dramatically while he flails his arms and splashes waves of water over the side of the pool.

It’s met with a giggle and a roar. “No, he’s mine!”

Nix’s voice drops down into a seductive purr as he walks his fingers down Finn’s t-shirt to tap on the metal of his belt buckle.

“What do you say, Dr. Merritt? Interested in some skinny-dipping and maybe a little making out?”

Finn is no fool.

Without hesitation, he wraps his arms around his mate’s waist, pulling their children snugly between them, and hurls them sideways into the pool.

Nix’s gasp of surprise and delight rings out, a burst of joy echoing in Finn’s mind like sunlight on water.