Page 87

Ezra

Days turned into weeks and though Scarlett never asked, Ezra left the house periodically to give her a break from being inside his head. Especially when she had important essays for her classes to complete, he drove until he could no longer feel her.

They didn’t say it, but Mateo and Vince appreciated the breaks too.

Unlike Scarlett, they didn’t love him unconditionally and didn’t have a mate bond to help them cope.

Scarlett became better at managing four different minds, being able to choose which one to listen to more.

He hated that she often sought out the other two, but who could blame her?

Plus, she clearly felt bad about it so every time he caught himself falling down a jealousy rampage, he tried his best to silence it right away.

Right now, all three of them patiently awaited her return.

She’d been out all day for classes, and meeting up with a study group after.

But when her link finally returned to their consciousness, she had withdrawn from all three of them.

Knowing something was up, Mateo pulled out her favourite hoodie and threw it into the dryer while Ezra started on her favourite drink.

When she finally stepped into the house she laughed at their sweet gestures.

“Nothing is wrong,” she said lightly with a bright grin on her face. She held up three boxes, all nicely wrapped in golden paper. She clearly didn’t want to spoil her surprise, having them sit around her on the carpet by the couches. “Open them.”

Each took the one with their name on it and the moment Ezra had his unwrapped, a pregnancy test fell into his lap—and he started to panic. Looking up, Mateo and Vince held up matching baby outfits that each read Favourite Uncle .

“I wasn’t sure what you’ll want to be called but…” Scarlett trailed off when she felt the storm inside him.

Fuck, why had Ezra thought this was such a good idea?

Everyone knew if the parents were fucked up the child would end up the same.

How was he supposed to raise a healthy human being?

He was everyone’s worst nightmare, and not even his mate could cope with his fucked up mental state.

He was going to ruin an innocent soul, the poor child already cursed with his DNA.

“Ezra.” Something heavy settled into his lap and warmth spread all over his cheeks. “I’m here.” Scarlett pushed her mind into his letting him feel her excitement and love. “Don’t be worried, you’re going to be a wonderful parent.”

“They are going to be so innocent.”

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

He hadn’t even realised he’d closed them, only feeling the darkness of his thoughts. “Fuck.”

Scarlett chuckled lightly, her joy slowly dissolving the storm in his mind. “Look around you.”

He did, Mateo coming into view first. He clutched the little outfit to his chest, tears pouring down his cheeks. Then Scarlett forced his gaze over to Vince, who smiled down at the pregnancy test, mouthing the word uncle .

“We are here. We are all going to figure this out together. This is what we wanted. I felt the panic too. What if I’m not good enough?

What if I finally get to hold this tiny being in my arms and I have no clue what to do with it?

” Scarlett laughed, presenting Ezra with a book .

“I thought this might calm our nerves for now.”

Parenting for Dummies.

Ezra snorted, resting his head against hers and though he still was struggling to feel joyous himself, he allowed himself to bathe in hers.

A month had passed since Scarlett announced her pregnancy.

Though they wanted to keep it a secret just a little longer, they’d begun the search for a midwife.

It was one of Scarlett’s biggest concerns.

Ezra finally managed to find a witch who specialised in midwifery and had assisted many rogue wolves through their pregnancies and births.

They were meeting with her today, and though Scarlett was rather nervous, Ezra stepped up to the front porch and knocked anyway.

A moment later the door opened, and he was greeted with a motherly smile from a petite, thirty-something brunette. “How wonderful all four of you came!” She reached her hand out to him and softly shook it. “I’m Matilda.”

“I’m Ezra.” Then he turned and introduced the other two men before taking Scarlett’s hand and pulling her closer. “This one is the most important. This is Scarlett, our mate.”

“It is very nice to meet you,” Matilda said, taking her hand and stepping aside. “Come in. Let's get to know each other a little.”

Matilda’s house looked like any other in the neighbourhood, but the second Ezra stepped inside, it was clearly the house of a witch.

Herbs hung in the kitchen where a potion simmered on the gas stove, and she clearly preferred candles over any kind of modern electricity.

Maybe humans thought she was odd for displaying skulls along her shelves, but Ezra felt oddly at home.

Especially when he noticed the witchcraft books scattered over the top of a Ouija board.

“Tea anyone?” Matilda asked, guiding them to sit on the couches.

With his warning from their adventure to the witch village they all shook their heads.

Matilda only laughed. “I will take that as a compliment that you see me as capable of poisoning you.” She sat opposite them, her hands folded in her lap and waiting for one of them to take the lead.

“We visited the small settlement in the Black Ridge Mountains not too long ago. Ezra made us promise not to drink anything while there,” Scarlett softly started.

“Ah yes, I believe the rumour has made its rounds within the hunter community, hasn’t it? A wise choice. So, you are the three hunters who slayed the lycans. I was wondering if it might be you.”

Scarlett nodded and fidgeted with the hem of her dress. “Ezra said you have helped many rogues before.” Though necessary, Scarlett grimaced to refer to herself as such.

“And by that expression, I assume you did not grow up without a pack.”

Scarlett shook her head, blinking away tears.

“I’m very sorry for your loss and I hope I can guide you through this next chapter of your life as well as the women of your pack would have.”

Scarlett gave her a watery smile. “Thank you.”

“I’m sure you have many questions, so I’ll tell you a little about myself before I will answer them to the best of my abilities.”

Matilda explained her history, and how she would support all four of them throughout the pregnancy.

She would monitor both Scarlett and the baby’s growth and after a while, she would be able to do so with an ultrasound machine.

Scarlett was very pleased about that, afraid Matilda would be old-fashioned when it came to technology.

When they talked about Scarlett’s early symptoms, especially the fatigue and morning sickness, Matilda gave Ezra some herbs and potions, with explicit instructions on how to prepare them for Scarlett.

She was also pleased to hear that they had vampire blood on reserve for the birth, just in case something were to go wrong.

Scarlett left with a much lighter heart and the homework to think about what kind of birth she envisioned for herself.

On the way home, they stopped at a small boutique so Scarlett could buy the first few pieces of baby clothes.

Ezra stayed close to her, always stealing a kiss or touch.

He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her ever since she’d revealed her pregnancy.

Mateo felt the same, loving the added perk of fucking her bare and taking her any second she let him.

Vince had started to spend more time with her too, but took every chance he could get in his workshop—he’d been building a bassinet from scratch.

“Do you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?” Scarlett asked, deciding on neutral outfits one way or the other.

“As long as they are healthy.”

“Would it matter for your family bloodline?”

“Not at all.”

‘But you know they will carry wolf blood, right? They’ll be burned by silver?’

‘I am aware. If they choose to follow our footsteps and want to hunt, we’ll figure it out.’

‘Gloves are an alternative,’ Mateo chimed in. ‘ But if they don’t feel comfortable with the silver around there will be other methods we can explore.’

Scarlett shuddered, and Mateo avoided even thinking about the details of those methods. “Did you have the same blue eyes as Karena has?” she asked Ezra.

“I did.”

“I wonder if the baby will have them too.”

“I like yours better.”

She turned and kissed his cheek before joining Vince in the toy section. She laid her arm around Vince’s waist and stroked the fluffy wolf in his hands. “Oh, that’s so soft. Is that your first baby money spent?”

“It is.”

“It’s so cute.”

With Mateo having chosen an outfit and nursing pillow, Ezra was the last to choose a pair of shoes—black, of course.

Back home, Scarlett’s fatigue got the better of her and with a little food in her stomach, she disappeared upstairs to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Vince followed, stealing a few quiet moments with her and leaving Ezra and Mateo to their work out.

“I like Matilda, but do you have a good feeling about her?” Mateo asked after a while.

“Yes, she’ll do good.”

“Scarlett seemed to feel good in her presence too. Would you like us to be present during the birth?”

Ezra halted in the movement of grabbing his next weight. He hadn’t thought that was an option. Now that Mateo had given it, he didn’t know if he should take it. But it wasn’t just about him. He paused for a moment, thinking about what Scarlett would want. “We would love to have you there.”

Mateo’s joy over his answer was actually rather pleasing. Ezra had always known Mateo would be okay with Scarlett having both their children, but feeling how much he anticipated it—no matter whose child—was mind boggling.

“I don’t think I’ll be much help,” Ezra admitted, the words leaving his mouth before he could stop them.

Mateo laughed and shook his head. “I don’t believe any of us will be much help. Let’s just hope we don’t run around like headless chickens. I’m counting on Matilda to help us.”

Ezra stared at Mateo and the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and love towards his friend—no, brother —wasn’t anything he had been prepared to feel.

“You’re too sweet, Ezra. But Scarlett’s pregnancy is making you soft and I’m not sure how I can handle two emotional softies at once.”

“Fuck you too.”

Mateo gave him a wink and blew him a rather sassy kiss, instantly banishing the new, fluttery feeling.