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“I want children. I long for children. My heart squeezes with the desire to see the combination of mine and my mate’s genetics melted together into a little, bouncing being of cuteness for all the world to marvel over … said no fae ever in the history of ever. And for good reason.” ~ Peri

P eri paced the clearing like a caged panther, her boots grinding against the sparkling grit of the draheim realm’s ground.

She was ready to murder the next person—or wolf, or child, or oversized lizard—that so much as breathed wrong.

“I’m never volunteering to babysit these mongrels again,” Peri grumbled.

Her mate sat on a fallen log, one arm cradling Hope as she sucked greedily on her bottle.

Slate was nestled at his side, staring up at Lucian like he was the greatest thing since.

.. Well, Peri really didn’t know what kids thought was great.

Maybe snacks? Or naps? A clean diaper? Either way, Slate was entranced.

“Why are they so calm?” she muttered, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m losing my ever-loving mind, and they’re just—what? Perfect little cherubs? Not fair.”

“Perhaps they’re calm because someone is actually providing them with care.” Lucian’s deep voice was laced with amusement. His silver eyes twinkled as he glanced at her.

Peri narrowed her eyes at him. “Care? I’m caring. I’m very caring. I haven’t even killed anyone yet, have I?”

“Low bar, Love,” Lucian said dryly, adjusting Hope’s bottle as if he hadn’t just delivered a verbal smackdown.

Peri opened her mouth to retort, but a loud crash interrupted her, followed by a high-pitched giggle. She whipped around to see Thia darting through the clearing like a feral squirrel, her tiny arms flailing as she narrowly avoided a tree. Titus was right behind her, his face red with frustration.

“You’re not even trying, Tractor,” Peri called out, pointing at Titus. His head snapped up, his little face twisted in exasperation.

“It’s Titus, Aunt Peri,” he huffed, clearly offended. “And I am trying. She’s just … fast.”

“Fast and feral,” Peri muttered, crossing her arms. “Perfect combination.”

“Thia!” Titus barked. “Stop chewing on Serapha’s tail!”

“She’s learning to hunt, this is all part of the process,” Serapha called out from her spot near the edge of the clearing, her massive form sprawled like a lazy cat. Her glowing eyes blinked at Peri, calm as could be. “It’s natural.”

Peri planted her hands on her hips and shot Serapha a look. “Natural? She’s not a draheim young. She doesn’t need to gnaw on your tail like some kind of deranged beaver. And wolves aren’t cats, they don’t play with their food.”

“She’s experimenting,” Serapha replied with a shrug of her massive shoulders. “You should applaud her innovation.”

Peri threw her hands in the air. “Oh, sure. Let’s give her an award for ‘Most Likely to Bite the Wrong End of a Dragon.’”

Titus finally caught up to Thia and grabbed her by the back of her shirt. She flopped dramatically, letting out a wail that could’ve shattered glass. “I swat the fairy! I swat the fairy!” she screeched and kicked her legs.

Peri stopped mid-step, turning to glare at the girl.

“I’d like to see you try, Pup,” she said, her voice low and dangerous.

Thia just grinned, her tiny teeth flashing like a miniature predator.

“You know,” she said, spinning on her heel to glare at Lucian, “I don’t remember signing up for this.

You were supposed to be the one dealing with the kids. ”

“I was holding two of them and right now I still have one,” Lucian said, raising a brow at her. Apparently, Slate had decided staring in awe at her mate had gotten boring and clambered down. “What exactly are you contributing?”

She stared at him blandly, as her eyes dropped to the child he referred to.

Of all of the kids, Hope was the easiest. Mainly because she couldn’t move freely yet.

She was confined to whatever spot she was placed in.

Though the turd was attempting to roll. Peri could just picture the little she-wolf rolling right off of a cliff.

How the hell would Peri explain that to Bethany?

Other than the rolling, she just ate, slept, peed and crapped.

The crapping was the worst part of the whole gig.

Peri had no clue what they’d do if she wasn’t able to materialize the things she needed for the infant, like formula and diapers.

She also had no clue what she would have done if Lucian hadn’t completely taken over baby duty and been the one changing those dirty, little crap bags.

“I’m contributing my sanity,” Peri shot back. “Or what’s left of it. Barely.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Titus muttered under his breath.

Peri looked over at Titus who stood next to Thia, both staring at her. Costin and Sally’s son blinked innocently. “You do realize that I am your only hope of surviving in this dragon land, right, Tractor?”

“Tractor isn’t even a name, Aunt Patty,” Titus sighed. “Aunt Josephine does a much better job. Honestly, I feel like you’re not even trying anymore.”

Slate let out a happy squeal, clapping his chubby hands together as he watched Thia break free of Titus’s hold and taking off like a tiny tornado.

Slate didn’t talk much, but Peri could see the wheels turning in his little head.

He was too observant for his own good, always watching, always thinking.

She had to admit, if she had to pick a child to be stuck babysitting in the draheim realm, it would be Slate.

He was quiet, serious, and didn’t scream obscenities like a tiny banshee when things didn’t go his way.

Unlike a certain other child. The only time he seemed to have even a tad bit of a sour disposition was when he was hungry, or needed changing, and even then it was quite tame.

Or at least it seemed tame to Peri. She hadn’t spent a lot of time around babies in her long life, and that was on purpose.

“Thia.” Titus huffed as she dove for a puddle of mud, her little body hitting it with a splat. She giggled and began rolling around in it like a happy pig.

Peri walked over to Serapha and leaned her shoulder against the large beast. “Do you see what I’m dealing with? This is what the Great Luna decided I needed to be in charge of in this entire cluster fu?—”

“Language,” Lucian growled.

“I can’t beat the children. I can’t cuss around the children. What exactly am I allowed to do, my love?” Peri asked through narrowed lips.

Lucian’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Behave.”

That damn smile with his damn handsome face was the only thing keeping her from smacking her lovely mate. That and the fact that he truly loved her and the kids and would do anything to keep them all safe. But she wasn’t about to give in. Not yet at least. Where would the fun in that be?

“We can’t be that big of a challenge considering you’re a powerful magical being,” Torion pointed out. “You could literally just make us all stop moving by binding us.”

Peri shrugged the shoulder not leaning against Serapha. “I was trying to be nice.”

Torion and Titus both laughed, which caused Thia, still rolling in the freaking mud, to laugh even more.

Titus had given up trying to corral her, and Peri didn’t blame him.

Besides, maybe she’d get stuck in the mud, then they wouldn’t have to worry about her running into a tree.

Slate paused his little steps. His head swiveled to each of the other kids.

He released Torion’s finger and then he started smiling and clapping his hands.

It was stupidly adorable, but Peri didn’t allow the smile to grace her lips.

“Why is that funny?” she asked dryly.

“You and the word nice do not belong in the same sentence together,” Torion said matter of factly.

Titus nodded. “He’s not wrong.”

“Not wong, not wong,” Thia sang like a damn parrot.

Lucian’s deep voice drew Peri’s attention away from the laughing kids. “Beloved?”

She glanced at him and saw that he was holding out the bottle she’d materialized. It was empty. Again.

“When we get back, we need to talk to Bethany and Drake about how much their little bundle of joy eats.” Peri walked over and placed her finger against the bottle. It refilled with formula. “She’s going to be a large bundle of joy if she keeps up at this pace.”

“Baby wolves burn a lot of calories.” Lucian began to feed Hope again. “It would take an awful lot to make her even a little bit chubby.”

“So is your plan to sit around here and complain until a solution just happens to walk by?” Serapha’s voice was annoyingly calm, and it reminded Peri too much of her mate.

“Actually…” Peri slowly turned back toward the draheim. “I was hoping a solution would fall out of the sky and land on your giant head.”

“Mature.” Serapha sighed.

Lucian adjusted Hope in his arms as she patted the side of the bottle, as if to get the milk to come faster.

“She’s right, Love. It’s time to make a plan and figure out exactly what Celise did.

She tried to send us somewhere, but you managed to thwart her.

She did, however, successfully separate the kids from their parents, which means she’s most likely separated as many of the pack as she could. That could include mates as well.”

“Do you think everyone is alive?” Torion’s question dropped into the clearing like a boulder, the weight of it pressing on all of them.

Peri turned to look at the fae boy who stood near Lucian, who had Slate balanced on his hip like he’d been babysitting his whole life.

Torion’s expression was serious, his eyes filled with a mix of hope and fear.

“They’ve got to be alive.” He sounded a little more desperate.