“Don’t joke like that,” Alex muttered. “Ripping families apart is an atrocity.”
“It is, and I sometimes fear for this one,” Qylar said. “If they ever found out—we’re not the kind of aliens they deport. They’d take us to a black site to cut us open and see what’s inside.”
Alex shivered. “They come for my kids and they’re going down. My little tentacles might not be much, but I would find a way to keep my family together.”
“Rest assured—Cryss and I won’t allow anything to happen to your family.”
“Ourfamily,” Alex corrected. “It’s yours, too.”
Qylar didn’t reply.
“And when you find your mate and have kids, we’ll be onebigfamily,” Alex said.
Alex got up and collected the kids’ empty plates, and Qylar realized he’d not seen any signs of Cryss.
“Where’s your husband?”
“He’s driving down to Seaside. He said he’d texted you about it last night, but you were clearlytoo busyto respond.”
Qylar patted his pocket and realized he’d left his phone next door. “I don’t have my phone with me. What was the text?”
“He just learned of a place calledthe Meaterydown there. They supposedly have the best beef in California, and he’s picking up a few things. Since there’s no cows on Nefyria, I think he’s going to eat his body weight in beef before we leave.”
Qylar chuckled. Cryss never saw a problem a roast couldn’t fix. When he was excited, nervous, or worried, the cooking began, which had been near constant lately. Cryss had been bringing over heaping plates for weeks. Good thing Qylar had a near bottomless pit for a stomach and an adoration for Cryss’s culinary skills.
Now in hindsight, the most recent spate of over-cooking was likely due to Alex’s pregnancy and concern for his child and mate’s lives.
“You all didn’t go with him?”
“We were going to, but I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to be cooped up in a car for hours.”
Qylar scoffed. “He should’ve taken the kids and let you rest.”
“He planned to, but I told him not to. It’s an hour and a half one way, if there’s no traffic jams. There’s no reason to stuff two little ones in car seats for three hours or more when they could be playing in the comfort of their own home.”
“Plus Zaadi got sick on our last long drive,” Qylar added.
“That, too,” Alex said. “They’d be much happier here.”
“Orat the park,” Qylar said before popping a few more blueberries into his mouth. Ael spread a tentacle over andsnagged a couple, too. The kid was awfully young to be so good at picking up tiny bits like that. Maybe all those blueberries weren’t so bad after all.
“Thank you for offering to take them. It’s appreciated.”
“No thanks needed. You know that.”
Alex sighed and slowly ran a hand down his abdomen. It was the first time Qylar noticed a hint of the swell. He gnashed his teeth together at the sight of it. He didn’t begrudge them their children. He loved Zaadi and Ael… and would love the new child just as much. But he was not yet in the right headspace to see it without feeling a stab of pain.
Zaadi walked over to him and tugged on his knee. “Let’sgooooo,Uncle Q.”
Qylar eyed Ael, who was shoving blueberries into his mouth as fast as he could, making him look like a squirrel with his cheeks full of nuts. Qylar snorted with laughter, shaking his head. Zaadi marched to the front door, dragging her brother with her. She turned to eye Qylar, who still hadn’t risen.
“Uncle Q?!”
Qylar slid off the stool and sauntered her way. “Yes, my princess.”
Zaadi giggled.
Alex helped load both kids into the wagon and gave them both kisses before Qylar led them outside.
