With a grunt, he pushed me down onto my back. He took my nipple in his mouth, sucking at it as he thrust into me. I gave a guttural moan as he filled me, stretching me to my limit until I could feel his balls against my ass. Once he was fully sheathed, he started grinding into me. Wave after wave crested in my stomach and chest, getting me ever closer to climax.
Nico lifted his head and kissed me, never slowing his hips. Each stroke was a new explosion of pleasure. I ran my fingers through his hair, then pressed my lips to his ear. “Faster. I’m close.
Like a switch had been hit, he started slamming into me. The slap of our flesh meeting mixed with our grunts and moans of delight—a quiet susurration of love and ecstasy. It was like a bomb was ticking away inside me, ready to explode.
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” I groaned, pressing my lips into his shoulder.
“God… I’m gonna come.” His words were hot against my cheek.
Suddenly, he shuddered, and his cock pulsed inside as he came hard and long. That was all it took for my own climax to burst forth. Like a burst of heat and contraction in my core, radiating out to all my limbs as he continued thrusting, emptying himself in me. I bit into his shoulder as I was shattered beneath him, rebuilt, and broken again. Crashing, over and over, with each movement of his cock. When he finally collapsed, fully spent, I quivered beneath him. Spasms still arched across my body like an electrical current. The waves of pleasure slowly wound down until I was left feeling like Jell-O.
“So, uh, was it okay that I woke you?” Nico asked.
“Um, yeah, I’ll allow that anytime,” I said with a smile.
Nico rolled off me after a few minutes, and we both cleaned up before collapsing back on the bed. I nestled myself in the crook of his arm between his chest and bicep. His fingers were trailing up and down my arm when he spoke. “Maddy? I’ve been having some thoughts.”
“Jesus, we only got done a couple of seconds ago. You can’t be ready to go again already,” I said, trying not to laugh.
He chuckled. “Not those kinds of thoughts. I’ve been thinking more about kids.”
The words made me tense up. “I don’t even know if that will be a possibility now.” The way things were going, we didn’t have a guarantee we wouldn’t all be in some government prison by the end of the week. How could we even think about kids?
Nico put a finger beneath my chin and lifted my head until I was looking at him. “Don’t think like that. It’s all gonna be okay. We can start a family. Once all the dust settles, I’ll give you all the babies you want.”
I was silent for a few seconds. A thousand different thoughts rushed through my head. Was he serious? Did he really want that with me? Was I ready for kids? If we survived all this, would I be a good mother? Finally, the real and most important question rose to the surface. “Do youreallythink we can beat Viola?”
Nico sighed. “We have no other choice. It’s not only us. Millions of people want to see this thing finished. Once we air all her dirty laundry, more will come out. I think the royals are closer to a tipping point than they want to believe. As long as we all keep working together, we can take them down.”
As I let my body relax and the first flutters of sleep began to claim my mind, I thought about how much I wanted him to be right. The thought of living in a world run by the royals was too much to accept. Bringing a child into that world, especially a shifter child, was not even a possibility.
The next morning as I headed out of my room to go downstairs, I heard more murmured arguments from my parents’ room. It was still too soft for me to make out individual words. I could imagine what they were probably talking about. Gabriella. They’d said they could overlook all that had happened, but I realized that was mostly lip service to make sure I didn’t get pulled in two different directions. Until they all were able to air their grievances, nothing would be normal again.
I strode over to their room and knocked. Mom answered a moment later. “Maddy? Yes?”
“Be downstairs in ten minutes,” I said. I turned and walked away without waiting for an answer. They’d be there. No question about it.
Next, I headed down to the game room Gabriella was using as her bedroom. I asked her to come to the dining room. She looked more hesitant, probably somehow anticipating what was about to happen. All she did was nod in agreement while chewing the inside of her cheek.
Ten minutes later, we were all sitting around the table, staring at each other. The tension wasn’t as thick as I thought it would be. I could see the blush on Mom’s face as she looked across the table at Gabriella. Dad was busy studying the top of the dining room table, unable or unwilling to meet any of our eyes.
“Okay,” I said, placing my palms on the table. “Now that we have a few minutes, I want us to get it all out in the open. All the questions, answers, hurts and wants. Let’s go. Get it all out.”
The three of them looked at me like I was crazy before Mom sighed and slumped in her chair. She gestured toward Gabriella. “Fine. I guess I’ll go first. This woman made us believe she was someone else all those years ago. I thought she was Doctor Malia Stanford. Now, I find out she’s your birth mother. I have to question her moral standing.” She finally looked at Gabriella. “You continued to pretend and stayed on as Maddy’s doctor even though you knew exactly who she was. Not only that,” she added, “but you were the one who got us the suppression drugs. You had us suppress Maddy’s wolf even though you knew the consequences of that as a shifter yourself. How do you justify all that?” Mom looked exhausted by the time all the words were out.
Gabriella nodded slowly. “You’re right. It wasn’t moral of me to stay Maddy’s doctor. It was simply impossible. The first dayshe came into my practice, and I set eyes on her, my wolf and I both knew who she was. The most heartbreaking thing I ever did was give her away. I was selfish and used my time as her pediatrician to be around her. It was only two or three times a year, but those few times were the most precious days I ever had. Whenever you’d make an appointment to come in, I was excited and giddy for days leading up to it.
“When David died, and I was on the run, young, pregnant, and scared, I did what I thought was right for my baby. I hid the fact that I was a shifter from everyone to keep my head down and stay safe. There was no guarantee that the royals wouldn’t find me at any time. I wanted her to live, and it was the best I could do. It was worse than losing a limb. An arm or a leg can’t look at you with those little eyes and love you the moment they see you. Giving away a child is like giving away your whole heart. I gave her away to protect her, and I took what few chances I could to be with her. I can’t and won’t apologize for that. The same goes for the drugs. The longer the wolf was suppressed, the better the chance that Maddy would go unnoticed by the royals. So, again, I can’t and won’t apologize for giving them to you.”
Dad looked up and gave a weary shrug before glancing at Mom. “She’s right, you know. Wouldn’t we have done the same thing for Maddy? If you had to give her away, wouldn’t you have done anything to be around her? Even if it was only once or twice?”
Mom turned and looked at Dad, first giving him a withering look like he’d betrayed her, but then her face softened. As the idea sank in, she looked a little ashamed. Finally, she nodded. “I suppose you all are right.”
Gabriella sat forward. “You have to know that nothing was done with ill intent. Everything was done to keep Maddy safe. I falsified records and blood tests, all to keep the royals off her tail. I never meant to hurt anyone. I hope you can understand that.”
The conversation bounced back and forth between the three of them. The tension that had filled the room when we started slowly filtered out until they all seemed at ease with each other. It wasn’t long before Mom and Dad were telling embarrassing stories about my childhood to Gabriella, who sat enraptured and living vicariously through their tales about me.
Finally, having had enough of stories and jokes at my expense, I cut in. “It sounds like the hatchet has been buried?”
