When we reach the top of the stairs, I hesitate. I’m not overly familiar with this part of the house, used to going the other way up to my nest, so I wait for them to nudge me before I move. Several scents intertwine in the air, not giving me a clue.
“Are we going to a bedroom?” I ask lightly. “Because you know you don’t have to blindfold me for that, right?”
Luc swats me on the ass and I squeal. “I have a feeling you’d enjoy it though, brat.”
I shiver.He’s not wrong.
We slow to a stop, Max and Nik letting go of my hands. I can almost taste the shift on my tongue as excitement turns to nervousness in the air. I can’t see much through the blindfold no matter how much I strain my eyes.
“Okay.” I’m getting a little nervous. “What now?”
Hands gently settle on my hips and turn me, and a hint of warm gingerbread curls around me as hands lift up and remove the blindfold. Blinking, I look up at Nikolai. We’re in a doorway, and I can see the hallway behind him.
He stares at me, his jaw working nervously. Reaching up, I brush through his hair, and something like dust falls out. Rubbing it between my fingers, it feels like… sawdust?
Taking my hands, he gently kisses the knuckles on my left hand, then the other. “I know you were worried about not having things in place for the twins, little bird. So, we made you something.”
“Technically, Nik did most of the work,” Bastien jokes, but his voice is a little unsteady. “We just helped with the heavy lifting.”
A hand brushes my shoulder “Turn around, love,” Max coaxes me, and Nik nods.
Slowly, I spin in place before stopping still, my breath leaving me in a whoosh as I look around the room.
Two large windows are adorned with simple white muslin curtains, the breeze outside making them flutter invitingly. Cream walls surround the room with a matching rug on the wall. And against the far corner, there’s—
I bring my hands to my mouth on a sob.
“Oh,” I whisper. “This is…,”
Two wooden cribs sit against the wall with fresh white blankets draped over them. Behind them, a painted willow tree decorates the wall in pale green. There’s a chair in the corner of the room that looks comfortable enough to sleep on, and a small matching wooden table opposite with a chest of drawers packed full ofthings.
“I made a list,” Bastien says carefully as I take a step forward. “When we did the research. It took a while to get hold of everything, but if there’s anything missing, we can grab that too. We’ve got a whole store cupboard full of diapers and everything.”
I smile tearfully at him. “Of course you did,” I tease, and he grins at me. My organized beta.
Luc and Max stay quiet, giving me small smiles when I turn to them. But it’s Nikolai, lingering in the doorway, that I grab by the hand.
“You made all of this? For them?” I ask. He settles his hands on my stomach as his eyes search mine. “I figured that our children deserved their own nursery. Do you like it?”
My heart feels too full for my chest. “I love it,” I whisper. “Nik, this is… incredible.”
His shy smile settles into me like warm sunlight, and I spin back around with a laugh. Tugging Nik into the room, I trail my fingers over the reddish wood of the cribs, admiring the smoothness and the intricate whirls he’s engraved.
“I left a space for their names,” he rumbles as his arms close around me, his chin settling atop my head. “When we know.”
I twist to blink up at him as Luc steps forward. “Have you thought about names, love?”
I shift a little on my feet. I have been thinking about names, but I haven’t spoken to them about it yet. I take Nik’s hand in mine and wind our fingers together.
“Emery,” I breathe. “I want to call her Emery. But only if it’s okay with you, and Nash.”
Nik’s mouth opens, his eyes misting as he swallows hard and tilts his head up to the ceiling. His hands grip mine tightly. Around me, the pack shifts, moving a little closer until I’m surrounded by their warmth.
Nik finally looks back at me, a sheen of moisture across his eyes. “I think,” he says hoarsely, “Em would have been honored, sweetheart.”
“Emery Grey,” Max says, with a smile. “It’s got a ring to it.”
Luc nudges me. “What about our little man?”
