After his tea, Mori lay down for a nap and Wess set about making a handful of flavors of snow ice cream. Andy taste tested it every step of the way, including sticking his tongue in the milk. Wess shrugged it off and said we just wouldn’t tell the others if they asked for some. I didn’t think there would be much left over for sharing besides for Mori.
Colton went back to our parents’ home to check in with the guards and all of that, but I did my best not to think about any of it. I was carrying not one but two little babies inside me. My horns kept letting out little puffs of frost whenever I got too warm and eventually, I opened the back door. Baby Andy had his fur coat on and didn’t seem to notice the additional cold.
“Mori will be okay,” Wess said as he mixed together ingredients. “He’s just having a delayed reaction to being almost blown up.”
“Mori wants his mate,” I said, letting out a long, slow breath. “That’s the long and short of it. Sure, he wants other things too but he can’t get it out of his head how close they were to meetingbut they wouldn’t have been if Dern didn’t try to meddle. It’s like he’s grieving something he didn’t have to lose in the first place.”
“I think he wants a baby,” Wess said. “He wants a family and I can’t blame him. I didn’t think about it too much up on the mountain but now I don’t want to live without you three or should I say five now?”
“I just wish there was something I could do for him. It’s almost Yule and I hate that he’s sad. I’d like to kick Dern in the nads.”
“I could probably do that but don’t want to leave you all alone,” Wess grinned. “But we will share our ice cream with him. What do you usually do for Yuletide?”
“What we’ve been doing. Well, not what you and I do, but the party and the tree and the gift shopping. Though, we did most of that online this year. The kids go caroling tonight. That reminds me! We’ll need hot chocolate or something to give them. They always end up at the dads’ house but I like to have something to give them for coming to sing for us.”
“Maybe that will cheer Mori up,” Wess offered hopefully but I wasn’t so sure.
The front door rattled and Wess practically shoved Baby Andy into my arms as he sprinted through the house after grabbing one of the big knives out of the block. The front door swung open as I entered the room but outside was empty. Snow blew in around his bare feet but being that he was so cold-natured Wess didn’t even notice. There on the floor was a postcard, picture side up. I padded over and picked it up as Wess shut the door.
“It’s from Dern. He’s a Postcard Man or something like that,” I sighed and turned the postcard with Santa Claus and his reindeer flying through the sky over to read it. If it was annoying, I’d trash it before my twin ever laid eyes on it.
“Hey Preston,
Ha! You thought it was for Mori, right? I know you check the mail and have tossed out some of my postcards. No hard feelings. You haven’t blocked anything too seriously but I talked to some friends who put me in touch with some of their friends and about a dozen people out I found a snow demon who was willing to talk to me. You have about six weeks from conception before your babies arrive. That is if they take after their sire.
Anyway. Stop tossing out my postcards!
Happy holidays, congratulations, and all that crap.
Dern.”
I handed it over to Wess and padded back into the kitchen. If the dead wolf was right, we had about a month give or take before we’d have twins. Yuletide or no Yuletide it was time to get down to business. We had twins to plan for and that probably wouldn’t stop Sharon from showing her ugly face here again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Wess
Nightshade Bear Territory
Over the next few days, I couldn’t convince Preston to sit still much less to relax. His thoughts raced ahead of him, and he chased after his to-do list like he was running down a cub snatcher in the forest. On the other hand, Mori didn’t get out of bed often as Yuletide approached. So, I alternated between taking the convalescing bear his meals and trying to convince Preston that sitting still for more than a few minutes at a time wouldn’t end the world. Only he kept on going like a bear eating up everything in sight to get ready for a long hibernation. Drone deliveries came in droves. Everything a baby might ever want or need, arrived at our house, along with more snacks than we’d ever finish in a lifetime.
Their parents were in and out of the house along with Colton and Lero. The latter of which was still acting strange, but I didn’t have the time to chase after three omegas. Two was my newly discovered but strict limit. Baby Andy trailed behind me or Preston in his bear cub form playing and chewing on everything in sight. Just when it felt like the preparations would never end, Yuletide Eve rolled into our laps and everything fell silent.
For the first time since his twin-revealing ultrasound, Preston didn’t rush out of bed in the morning. He lounged around with me and the baby, talking about how we’d open gifts at his parents’ place tonight and then here in the morning for the baby before going to Yuletide dinner in the village square. Now that the nursery was stocked to the brim and ready for an army of newborns, some of the tension had left my mate.
“Thanks for helping with Mori and Andy---” I put my hand over his mouth.
“Don’t think me for doing stuff. We’re in this together,” I laughed and he licked my hand.
If the baby hadn’t been in bed with us, I’d have a lot to say about what he could lick. Instead, I stole away the blanket and pushed up his shirt to reveal the smooth plain of his belly which was no longer completely flat. At its utmost bottom the smallest baby bump was visible. I placed my hand over it and tried to imagine our children growing inside.
A tiny knock on the door told us Mori was awake and he’d finally gotten out of bed.
“Come in!” Preston called without getting up because he was enjoying his belly rub.
Mori climbed into bed on the other side of his brother and sighed. He didn’t look thrilled to seize the day but at least he’d come out of his bedroom.
“I think I’m sad because I keep playing out this alternative timeline in my head of what my life would be like if I hadn’t messed up at the bar when I dumped the drink on Alvis by accident,” Mori whispered.
