I look around the room, and everyone is stunned into silence. “Did you hear that?” I ask them, meeting Nikos’s gaze.
He nods, his eyes glistening with tears. “Yes, his first real words.” He and Hali seem to have their own language that they communicate with, much like the kraken babies did, but this is the first time I’ve heard Ty say something in English. It’s the language we all speak to the babies, because none of them are old enough for communicator implants. We will eventually allow them to have them, but not until their brains have developed more.
“Aw, babe, how does that feel?” Cas asks, and I just about burst with pride.
“So fucking good,” I reply.
“Fucking good!” Jack yells and bangs his hands on the table to get our attention. “My fucking turn for cuddles.” He holds his hands up, making grabby motions.
There’s another stunned silence, and I hang my head with shame as everyone else bursts into laughter. There’s no point in scolding Jack, since he doesn’t know what he did wrong, and try as I might, I have not succeeded in completely curbing my language in front of them. I have no one to blame but myself.
Cas scoops him up and whispers to him that we don’t use that word, but I don’t think Jack pays any attention. He wriggles out of his father’s arms, slides down his body, and runs over to me, tugging on my pajama pants. “Cuddles, Mama. I missed you.”
Aww, I just about melt into the floor. I crouch down, Ty still on my hip, and open my spare arm for Jack. He throws his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist, almost kicking his brother.
“Up, Mama, up,” he demands, and I stand with a little help from Maxsim, who gives me a boost from behind with his giant head. I hadn’t noticed that he and Echo were in cat form. He licks a strip of exposed skin when my shirt rides up from Jack’slegs before he and Echo walk over to the door. Xavier waves a hand, and the door opens, letting them out.
“They wanted to go for a run after dinner. Echo is feeling fat now that his belly is starting to stick out. It’s normal, but he’s hormonal, more than I would have expected at this stage in his pregnancy,” Link explains from the sink where he’s stacking dishes into our industrial-sized dishwasher.
“I mean, is it any surprise that his pregnancy isn’t normal? Nothing we do is normal,” I point out, and he just smiles and nods in agreement.
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Tirrian agrees, lifting Callie, while Ghosie grabs Cordy out of her highchair. Both of them wiggle to get down, and they slide down their fathers’ legs and make a beeline to me, almost knocking me over.
“Whoa. How about we let Mama sit down, and then she can snuggle with all of you?” Brannock suggests, snatching up Cordy and swinging her around. Zeydan eyes Callie cautiously. I can feel his need to get to know the children, but I don’t think he’s been around many, and he isn’t sure how to act with them.
“Don’t be hesitant. They aren’t breakable,” Xavier tells him, obviously able to feel the same thing I do. “Trust me, with this family, you’re going to have to stake a claim, or you’re never going to get cuddles.” He scoops Callie up and places her in Zeydan’s arms before flopping back on the large sectional that is somehow big enough for most of us.
“Right, let’s watch a movie. What shall we watch?” Saxon suggests as I take Brannock’s recommendation and settle onto the sofa with Xavier, holding Ty and Jack in my arms. Callie and Cordy have both lost interest in me as Zeydan and Brannock also take their seats, situating them on their laps.
“Rain, rain.” Cordy claps her hands and bounces up and down on Brannock’s lap, and he groans.
“Not rain again,” he argues, and I frown.
“What is she talking about?”
He grimaces. “Remember when I showed them that clip from the movie last night with the girl jumping out of the cake?”
My eyes widen as I think about them watchingUnder Siege. “That’s not suitable for them,” I scold, and his eyes widen, and he shakes his head.
“No, not that one, the second one, the musical. Kinga has had it on repeat for them all day.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay. I love that movie, it’s one of my favorite classics,” I tell him, and he nods.
“Yes, it’s a great movie, and it was one of Chloe’s favorites too, but it’s been playing nonstop all day, and I’m going to be dreaming of yellow raincoats and black umbrellas,” he grumbles, and I giggle.
“But they are so adorable when they watch it,” Saxon argues as he uses the tablet to put it on the viewing window screen. We could move to our family theater room, but the fire is on, and it’s cozy out here.
We watch the movie, and the older kids jump up and dance, shaking their little bums, trying to copy the movements on the screen for the first couple of dance numbers, but eventually, they start to tire and pick a lap to curl up in. The whole time, Ty and Hali stay snuggled up in my arms, Hali demanding my attention once Silac took a seat next to me.
Eventually, Max and Echo return, laying at my feet in cat form. It’s such a perfect family evening, and I can’t wait for many more to come.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lila
We are about a day out from Earth when the thirteen of us sit down for another strategic planning meeting. We consider inviting Tirrian’s brothers, Saxon’s cousins, and Zeydan’s god brothers to join the raid, but we decide the less people to set off the sensors, the better.
“Teleporting directly into the building is out. Smith will hit the kill switch and poison all the prisoners without even flinching,” Brannock explains as we start to plan who will do what with the raid. “And teleporting outside the facility is also out, since they have infrared sensors that will pick up anyone who suddenly appears.”
