Bea gave a decisive nod. “Oh, yes. It’ll be twins, I expect.”
Jez’s cheeks pinked, but her expression was pleased as her eyes darted first to Gage, then Heath, and finally Knox.
As though the mention of kids had summoned them, three of Mia and Luca’s brood came flying into the dining room from the back, where the owner Shaniqua and some of her staff had been keeping them entertained.
“I may have to pick your brains when it comes to childcare,” I said wryly, grabbing the little girl who launched herself into my lap and steadying her in place.
“Hide and seek,” Emiel said, nodding wisely. “Lots of it. Except instead of hiding in the house, you slip outside and take a walk for twenty minutes while they run around looking for you.”
All three children glared at him in outrage.
“I knew it!” crowed one of the older boys.
“Snitch,” Luca said. “Now we’re going to have to find an entirely new way to cheat.”
Three childish voices rose in outrage, as I tried not to give in to laughter.
“Have you decided on a place to move yet?” Zalen asked, addressing Knox—pack leader to pack leader.
Knox made an affirmative noise and set down his cutlery. “We’re leaning toward an area outside of Lisbon. I have an acquaintance who keeps a villa there in addition to his pack’s main home in New York, and he speaks highly of the place.”
“Lisbon,” Byron echoed. “That’s Portugal, right?”
“It is,” Knox confirmed.
Byron met my gaze. “That’s quite a move.”
I shrugged. “Yeah. New language; new customs. But I think we can all use a change after everything that’s happened. Besides, we’ll visit the States at least a couple times a year, if not more. And video calls still work from Europe—I checked.”
Mia chimed in. “If it’s anything like Spain, I bet it’s gorgeous. I did a two-week exchange program to Madrid when I was in high school, and I loved it there.”
“It’s a slower pace of life than what I’m used to,” Knox admitted. “That’s for sure.”
“You say it like that’s a bad thing,” Gage muttered around a mouthful of lobster.
Heath snorted and tipped his head in Knox’s direction. “We’re taking bets on how long he holds out before he’s starting a new business empire on the Iberian Peninsula.”
“Ha, ha,” Knox said. “Very funny.”
After the meal, Nat joined me outside for some air while the others were busy exchanging contact information in the dining room.
“How are you doing, Tony?” he asked. “How are youreallydoing, I mean?”
I paused and blew out a slow breath, letting the question settle over me for a moment.
“I’m... good. Really good. It’s been a lot, though.”
Nat settled back against the brick wall of the restaurant, crossing his arms as he regarded me. “You’re okay with the others having a mating bond, when you’re not a part of it?”
And that was...direct. Apparently, he’d been spending too much time around Bea lately.
“Yeah,” I told him truthfully. “I am. Though I won’t deny that it can be a bit freaky sometimes.”
“Oh, yeah. The silent conversations, am I right?” Nat agreed, nodding his head in understanding. “Anyway, the reason I ask is to make sure you know about the hormone thing. For heats.”
I blinked at him. “The... what?”
“Thehormonething,” he repeated unhelpfully. “You have to get them through, erm... creative means. But betas can get in on the edges of a mating bond by taking omega hormones in the run-up to a heat, and then being bitten in by the alphas. I’ve done it a couple of times, and it can be... well... pretty intense, actually. But it fades after a few days, since betas don’t have a mating gland to regulate the connection.”
