Page 24

Tori

Seven and a Half Years Later

T hro groans as he twists on the bed. Two days ago, he started going through the changing, and he asked if he could stay in one of our spare rooms so he wouldn't traumatize Toron's children.

Apparently, he's perfectly fine traumatizing mine, but then again, Wren and Lark are only three years old and probably won't remember all of Thro's moaning and groaning at all hours.

Marron wraps an arm over my abdomen, spreading his fingers wide over my growing belly.

Vex has promised me there is only one in there this time.

I told Marron if he knocked me up with twins again, I was going to seal him because it was exhausting.

It was exhausting to make them, to carry them, to give birth to both of them, and it has been exhausting still as they grow and decide never to want to sleep at the same time.

The only reason we haven't gone insane is that we have so much family who enjoy helping out.

I didn't get the whole it takes a village thing.

Then I had twins as my first babies, and now I understand.

"Ahh," Thro's groan starts as a low guttural sound that intensifies as he twists in the blankets again.

"Is there anything we can do?" I ask.

I didn't realize what happened to the males when they went through the changing. I was told they grow and their bodies mature, but I didn't know it put them through so much pain when it happened. It makes sense, but it hurts to watch Thro in so much pain and know there's nothing I can do for him.

"We're making him comfortable, keeping the fire going, and I am making sure he eats and gets water," Marron assures me.

"I was left in a safety building alone for the four days it took me to go through the changing.

I promise I am doing everything I can to make sure my brother is in as little pain as possible. "

I lean against Marron, wanting to wrap my arms around him and soothe the younger version of him who had to go through that all on his own with no one there to hold him or make sure he was as comfortable as he could be.

I don't even want to think of how hungry and tired he must have been when it was over.

"You should try to sleep," Marron says. "The twins are asleep, and I will watch Thro."

I don't want to leave Marron on his own, but I'm exhausted.

This next babe will be born soon, and the closer it gets, the more and more tired I've been getting.

I only hope they hold out until Thro is through the changing.

I can't put Marron through his brother and his mate crying out in pain at the same time.

I curl up in bed, as close to the edge as I can safely get.

Wren and Lark are both fast asleep. Their little scaled hands up near their faces.

I wonder if they're going to start sucking their thumbs at some point.

I used to do it when I was little, and my parents had to put a sock on my hand to break the habit.

I smile as I think about my little lizard babies and how much they look like their father. I fall asleep as I think about adding Robin to the family, and I don't wake up until the clouds are bright outside the next morning.

The first thing I notice when my eyes open is that I managed to sleep all through the night without a single babe crying and waking me up.

That's suspicious enough on its own, so when my eyes land on the cribs and they're empty, I freak out a little bit.

I sit up as quickly as a heavily pregnant woman can and wiggle my hips until my feet are on the ground.

"Marron!" I whisper-yell through the house.

Thro isn't groaning and moaning, so I think he's probably asleep right now, which is good. He needs as much sleep as he can get. I peek into the room Thro's been staying in. The bed's empty, and that's when I hear the first giggle—a sound that always manages to put a smile on my face.

"Marron?" I call out a bit louder now that I know everyone's awake.

"In here," Marron calls back, his head popping up at the end of the hall. "Thro has finished going through the changing. You should see him now. He is bigger than me."

Marron says it with so much pride, like it's the best thing in the world that his brother is bigger than him.

Technically speaking, Marron is considered a smaller male.

Is he still almost two feet taller than me?

Yes. So, why it matters how big he is has never bothered me, but it's a point of pride in the males.

Apparently, it's a feature between males that extends beyond species.

"Yes, I am fully grown," Thro shouts, and when I enter the living space, I realize Marron was downplaying it when he said Thro is bigger than him.

He is much bigger than him. By a lot. Not just in height but in muscles.

If I didn't know for sure they share a shitty father, I wouldn't know they're related at all.

"Marron told me I am not allowed to tell you that I now find females arousing. "

Marron hisses, which grabs both of our children's attention.

Their eyes go wide when they see that their father's gaze is red.

He frowns at Thro, who throws his head back and laughs.

It's still hard to make Marron angry, even when he's working on very little sleep and dealing with an annoying younger brother.

"I should kick you out now," Marron snaps.

A knock at the door drags my attention away from the brothers arguing in my living room. They continue to bicker behind me, and Marron threatens to seal his brother if he talks like that to me again. Thro laughs and says that his brother would never be so cruel.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Jen, who's standing on my porch with a platter of food in a top that is way too low-cut to be anything other than her I'm-about-to-seduce-a-fully-grown-male outfit.

"You know what I'm doing here," Jen leans in and whispers. Her hair is curled around her shoulders, and she smells like she's rubbed some of the fragrance Olivia uses in our soaps on her skin. "Is he awake yet?"

"Yeah, and he's feeling much better." I lean against the door, blocking her way into the house. She narrows her eyes at me, but I give her a soft smile. "You look gorgeous, Jen. If he doesn't want you, he's an idiot."

"No, if he doesn't want me, I'm the idiot. I've had a crush on him for like eight years." She's holding the food platter so hard that her knuckles have turned white.

"Who is at the door?" Marron calls out.

"Are you ready?"

I give Jen a second to decide if she wants to do this or if she'd rather come back another time. She closes her eyes for a long moment, and when they open back up, I see her determination.

"I swear I better not have wasted eight years of my life," she mutters as she steps past me and heads into the house.

"Jen's here," I call out.

There's no point in introducing her since she's already in the living room when I say it. But I'm not entirely sure what the protocol is in this situation, and it's making me feel more than a little anxious.

I grab the platter of food from her and set it on the coffee table. I don't miss how there's no sound other than soft toddler babbling from Wren and Lark as Marron attempts to keep them entertained.

Thro's sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his hands. His eyes are wide, focused solely on Jen and where she's standing a few feet away. He blinks a few times. Then, a few more. And the silence is getting awkward.

"Can I sit?" Jen asks her attention fully on Thro. Her cheeks are bright pink, but I can't figure out what Thro is thinking for the life of me. He looks at where she's pointing to the couch next to him. "Or is that your couch right now?"

Thro stares up at her, shifting so there's more space beside him. As soon as Jen sits down, though, he moves onto the coffee table so he's straight across from her. He leans more on his knees, his face close to hers as he narrows his eyes on her.

"What's up?" Jen asks, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

She and Thro have been inseparable since they were teenagers. On Thro's end, it's always been friendship. On Jen's, it's been unrequited love. I don't know who I'll feel worse for if this doesn't go well.

"Thro, either speak to her or get out of her face." Marron nudges his brother's thigh with his foot.

Thro shoos Marron away with a flick of his wrist and returns to staring at Jen.

His gaze looks like he's judging her or examining her.

I don't know. Thro always has something to say.

Right now, he's just being silent and staring at Jen.

I'm not even at a good angle to look at his groin.

Not that I want to, but at least then I'd know if my cousin aroused him. That would be a good sign, right?

Thro lifts a hand to Jen's face and waits for her to nod before placing it against her cheek. His eyes widen as he strokes her before he grabs a strand of her hair, pushing it behind her ear. His fingers trace down her neck, over her shoulder, down to her—

Marron clears his throat, alerting them that the house's owners are still right here. Thro frowns at his brother and jerks his head to the side as if telling him to leave.

I choke on a laugh at the idea of Thro telling Marron and me to hide in the back of the house so he can try to seduce my cousin. When Marron shimmies so he's even comfier on the couch, Thro scowls at him. The scowl is replaced with a signature Thro smile when he turns back to Jen.