Page 93 of Happily Ever After… Again and Again

Leo chuckles at the memory, leaning into her soft scents. She smells like warm formula and fresh-cut summer grass, layered with the unmistakablenotes of spiced rum and basil-patchouli.

Rowan’s wolf hadn’t settled much in the last twenty-four hours; the expectant alpha father behavior somehow been amplified since the girls were born. Surprisingly, though, Rowan had stayed in his person form the entire time.

As if summoned by the thought, a naked Rowan appears silently beside the bench, hands outstretched for his daughter.

Finn had warned them not to give in too easily when Rowan’s territorial instincts got out of hand. Said they needed to push back just enough so the Wolf would recognize them as equals in parenting. It had been a near-constant battle all day, but at least they hadn’t needed Jay to step in.

Yet.

Instead of Mari, Leo hands over the empty bottle and shifts to make space on the hard metal bench. Rowan drops his naked butt down beside him, clearly still restless. They really need to add something more comfortable out here. It’s a testament to Leo’s restraint that he doesn’t immediately pull out his phone to start shopping for one.

“Give her to me,” Rowan tries again, but Leo stands (sits) his ground.

“No, Rowan. I’m on duty tonight, and you’re okay. Just sit beside me.”

“Leo.”

“I said no. Now tell me, when is your mom coming?”

With a sigh, Rowan lowers his head to smell Mari’s hair. She’d had her first bath after they’d all eaten dinner. “Wednesday, if Nix thinks he’s up to it.”

“Hmm. He’s doing great, yeah?”

“So great. I don’t get how someone can have two people inside them, do all that hard, painful work, and then be up and around like nothing happened. Is it an omega superpower?”

While Finn explained that people who have babies are built to recover from this life-altering event if everything goes smoothly, and omegas are more resilient and heal faster than, say, an alpha or beta might. He’s also just Nix. Smarter, stronger, and more badass than anyone has a right to be.Thank fuck.

“I think it’s the Nix-ness.”

“Fu—uh,fudgingyeah it is. He’s amazing,” Rowan says drowsily. He gives another snuffle of Mari’s soft head before sticking his pointy nose in Leo’s neck.

“Tired, big guy?”

Nodding, Rowan sighs, and Leo feels his long eyelashes tickle his neck. “Hmmm. The Wolf is on guard all the time. He wants out, but then I can’t hold them or Nix, or be in the nest when I’mhim, you know? What if I need to be like…readyfor something?”

Leo’s heart twinges at how forlorn he sounds. Balancing the two parts of himself can’t be easy. “You could be the Wolf out here with me if you wanted. I’ll take care of Mari.”

And of you.

“Yeah?” He doesn’t wait for a second invitation.

There’s just a glow, and in the next blink, a big red wolf is turning in circles before lying in the grass, his head on Leo’s bare feet. Tsuki joins him, pressing her back to the Wolf’s, and it’s not long before the two furry bodies are snoring softly under the starry sky.

“You can trust me, I’ve got you, baby,” Leo murmurs.

***

When Leo rolls out of the nest the next afternoon, he finds he’s alone for the first time in two days. The pack had been inseparable as they’d focused on bonding as a pack and recovering from a taxing day and night.

After a hot shower, he follows his nose to Nix’s room, where he finds shirtless Nix and Luca on the bed, curled around their daughters. They’re asleep–all four of them–in the sunshine. Both girls have a bit of jaundice, and the sunshine helps with something calledbilirubin,or so Finn said before heading to work with new blood samples for processing.

The window is open, and a soft summer breeze stirs the white curtains, sending them billowing gently behind the bed. His mates lie there, beautiful and golden in the diffused light, and for a moment, Leo is rooted in place, a wave of love crashing through him with startling force.

It’s the kind of idyllic summer day that lingers in memory: the low rumbleof Jay and Gideon’s voices downstairs, the occasional clink of glassware, and Rowan and Grayson’s giggles and playful growls as they head toward the Art House. It’s foreplay, in whatever way works for them these days, and Leo silently appreciates their effort to keep it discreet. Nix doesn’t need any extra reminders about the weeks he still has to wait.

“Don’t just stand there, silly. Come snuggle,” Nix whispers, holding out his hand.

Leo slides onto the edge of the bed behind Nix, who pulls his hand over his side so it rests between Rosie and his naked belly. Her little leg is so soft on the back of his hand that he almost can’t feel it, and Nix’s still-rounded tummy is smooth under his palm.