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“Yes, many of the men do,” Nana said, though the airy tone made that appear to be a good thing.

“We’ll need it. There are many more women now.

Some came to us pregnant, and some will be, if what I’ve seen progressing becomes formalised.

The line is stronger than ever. We will have more pregnant women than we can deal with.

We will need to start training all who have the capability, men and women.

The children are what’s important, not the old ways. ”

Cybil sniffed at that, but didn’t give it too much attention as she turned to regard her new great grandchild with a loving eye, Rose by her side.

“Go home, to your pack. You don’t have long.”

“You know something?” I said.

They all looked at me—Nana, Annie, and the other matriarchs. Then they just nodded.

I ran inside the door as soon as I’d gotten home, and saw Brandon was sitting on the couch with Jules, keeping up the skin to skin contact. He’d been the only one to keep doing it, knowing instinctively what was needed.

“Family meeting,” I said as I passed, striding deeper into the house.

Buddy ran up to greet me, and I ran a hand over his spine, that contact instantly soothing me. I walked up to the nursery and rapped on the door.

“Who is it?” Slade’s voice came muffled through it.

“Finn.”

“Look, mate, I’m a bit?—”

“It’s important.”

He opened the door a crack, as if to check it was me, then dragged me through the gap. I was about to tell him the news, when I took in what had happened to the room.

Jules’ many boxes were lined up against the wall in a neat pile, obviously discarded, but there, instead, was a beautiful set of furniture. Golden wood shone with the obvious care and attention that had been lavished on it, a tiny spinning mobile with little sewn felt wolves hanging over the crib.

“Bloody hell, Slade…”

“Is she gonna like it? I dunno. She wanted all this white stuff, had all these blankets and curtains picked out. I tried, Finn, I fucking tried.”

My hand snapped out and came to rest on his shoulder, and I watched his body sag as he felt it, that reservoir inside me filling him too.

“It’s beautiful. She’s going to love it. Is this Kieran’s work?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head, his eyes beginning to fill.

“It’s mine. I haven’t done much with timber since…

well, forever, but I was trying to follow those fucking instructions, and I couldn’t fucking work out how they went together, and I needed to do this for her, make her something, so I made this.

” His hand instinctively went to his front pocket for a cigarette and then fell away when he remembered he’d quit. “Fuck.”

“Slade, she’s gonna love it. You have to show her.”

“But—”

“You have to show her. You made a beautiful thing, and it’s time to share it. Do it, seriously.”

He nodded, looking stricken despite my hand on his arm, but he straightened and walked to the door.

“Princess, can I get you to come and take a look at this?”

I heard his voice come down the hall and stepped back against the wall, out of the line of sight.

“Slade, this is stupid,” Jules said.

“Just keep them closed for a little bit longer, OK? Not far, I promise.”

I watched them shuffle inside the door, Brandon at her back, Slade drawing her forward as she kept her eyes closed. I caught the moment Brandon saw it all, putting a finger to my lips. We grinned conspiratorially as they led her inside.

“OK, love…” We all heard the tremor in Slade’s voice. “Take a look.”

I wished now Slade was where I was, with a front-row seat of her reaction.

First it was mostly shock, her eyes going wide as they fought to take in everything she saw.

I could see she wanted to stare longer at each individual piece, the details, the shapes, the skill with which they were created drawing the eye, but she pushed on, taking in every single item before the tears started.

“Oh my god,” she said, her hands going to her face. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

“Look, love, I can keep persevering with the other stuff. This isn’t what you wanted?—”

He didn’t get to finish the sentence, as Jules threw herself into his arms. “How did you know?” she cried.

“Know? Love, I?—”

“This is exactly what I wanted.”

Hawk had arrived, and he and Brandon peered over Jules’ shoulders at the contents of the room, slow smiles spreading across their faces as they took it in, complete with Jules peppering kisses all over Slade’s face before he captured her mouth.

We stilled when the kiss turned from slow and sweet into something much more hungry.

The guys’ eyes all flicked to me as I watched them claw at each other, and it took me clearing my throat conspicuously for them to remember the rest of us.

“So, you like it?” Slade asked.

“It’s… I can’t find the words, Slade,” she said, moving away to run her hand along the solid rungs of the crib.

“You don’t have to,” I said. “Hold hands, everyone. Send it down the bond, love, what you’re feeling.”

I was prepared for it, but the sounds of surprise from everyone made it clear they weren’t.

Slade’s face shone, beaming with pleasure, but that was felt by everyone here.

This was it. We needed to share more, what we were feeling, what we were going through to avoid the fucking balls up I’d caused beyond the portal.

I went to pull away, since I didn’t want that spiral of shame to go down the bond, but Brandon strengthened his grip.

Those strange grey eyes, like mine yet not, stared into me, and I could feel what he wanted me to see.

Sharing wasn’t just a positive or negative thing, it was a principle you held to, no matter what. I nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

“Hey, what’s going on?” We turned to see Aaron had arrived with yet more baby proofing supplies.

He took in the pack, the mood, and the furniture, then moved into the room to take up mine and Jules’s hands.

“You did this?” he said, looking around him and shaking his head.

“Solid, well made.” I saw the tension leach out of his body. “Our baby will be safe in here.”

She wasn’t likely to spend much time in here until she was much bigger, if the skin to skin requirement I’d seen before was anything to go by, but that’s not what Slade needed right now, what we all needed was to know we’d done everything we could to make sure our mate and our child were safe.

“We need Jack,” Jules said.

“Where’s he been?” I asked Hawk. “He’s been out of the house at first light for weeks now, and before that, he was out more than he was here.”

The man nodded, glancing around the group. “I’ll take you to him, but we’re gonna need to take a couple of cars to get there.”