Page 73 of Happily Ever After… Again and Again

“I know you really wanted to stay home, but look what happened.” Nix frowns and crosses his arms, his disapproval obvious.

It’s the first time anyone has shown any kind of anger about Rowan’spre-dick-ament,and he finds it’s actually a relief. At that moment, he can perfectly imagine what kind of father Nix will be.

“I’m sorry,” Rowan murmurs.

Nix’s anger vanishes as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a sunshine-y smile. “As long as you’re okay. But next time? You’re coming with me and Gray. I need your dick in one piece—for future reasons. You know?”

“Reasons?” Rowan bites his lower lip, and it’s gratifying to see Nix’s eyes shift down to watch. Of course, Leo has to spoil it. Even if he knows he deserves it.

Leo grins mischievously, and Rowan knows this is just the beginning. “Yeah, you really put it between a rock and a hard place, eh?”

IX

Stars and Raindrops

This takes place immediately before the babies come in the summer after Eternal Light. It is pure indulgence on my part and inspired by Gideon’s soft heart and Nix’s pure joy in living his happily ever after. You might sense I have a soft spot for the two of them.

I hope you feel all the love.

Content Warnings

Mpreg

Stars and Raindrops

Gideon huffs in annoyance.

It’s hotter than the Sun God’s ball-sack today (thank you, Rowan, for the visual), despite the total lack of sunshine. Early June can be beautiful, but climate change means Gideon has a river of sweat flowing between his shoulder blades.

He cannot be blamed for his annoyance.

The market had been a cesspit of humanity, tourists, and other chefs up with the sun looking for the best in fish and produce. Afterward, he’d sweated through prep in Quest’s kitchen covering for Elias’s vacation, all before receiving the call from their favorite family grocer that someone else would have to collect the pack’s order this morning.

Normally, they’d have had the local grocer’s son do it, but young Tate has the plague, and there is no way Gideon is accepting food from a snot-nosed (literally—because normally, he’s quite nice) teenager who could infect Gideon’s very pregnant mate. It hadn’t mattered to Gideon that Finn had told them time and time again that Nix couldn’t catch human viruses anymore. No, they would not be taking any chances.

So, Gideon sacrificed his post-market Saturday afternoon shower and subsequent downtime to trawl the aisles for virus-free food instead.

To make matters worse, the first raindrops splatter on the trunk’s window just as Gideon pulls the first grocery basket out of the back of his SUV. Picking up his pace, he places it on the front step—out of range of the increasing downpour—followed by the second and third.

Given the sweltering day, it’s no surprise when the skies open up just asGideon reaches for the last basket.

The yellow basket is filled with the fresh produce he’d purchased from the market; the scent of fresh tomatoes, berries, and onions fills his nose after sitting in the warm vehicle on the way from Quest.

The rain washes away some of the day’s sweat. With a swipe of his hand, he pushes back strands of hair—longer now than he prefers—dripping into his eyes. Still, he’s as susceptible as any guy to a few well-placed compliments.

There’s a movement on the porch in his periphery, and his kitten is standing on the now-empty porch.

Did Nix really carry all those baskets in?

“Dammit, Kitten,” he mutters under his breath.

Nix could carry him in off the porch without breaking a sweat, but Gideon’s wolf doesn’t enjoy seeing him struggle with the ungainly baskets over his very large—and beautiful—baby belly.

Finn says it will be any day now, but it won’t be soon enough for the pack.

They’re all hovering like expectant fathers, and it’s making everyone irritable, especially Nix, who does not like being under watchful eyes every second.

There’d been a helluva argument when Nix had caught Jay peering around the corner from the library just yesterday evening, as Nix had been baking cookies for the Sentinel crew.