There’s the tone that there will be no discussion to the contrary, and it feels a little insane. Who the hell would argue about ice cream and a puppy anyway?
Not me!
Chapter
Forty-Four
Five and a half months later
ANSEL
Standingin the art gallery tonight as a family member to an artist, I’m filled with pride. Bellamy has several of his pieces up for sale tonight at the show, and people keep stopping at his paintings to enjoy them.
I thought Bellamy was going to pass out from the anxiety and excitement on the way here, but he’s doing much better now. Abbott is walking with him and Mr. Duvall as his mentor introduced Bellamy to people in the community who have come to see his art.
I’ve learned that being an artist is about making connections. However, Bellamy wants to make it on his own, so he won’t accept any help from us. I suppose I can accept that.
“Don’t brood,” Cassidy says quietly as she walks slowly beside me.
Her belly is round and I swear that our son has dropped over the last day or so. Now, when I say “our”, I mean the pack’sbaby. We decided that it doesn’t matter if the baby is Bellamy’s, Abbott’s, Shiloh’s or mine.
As long as he’s healthy, we’re good. The odds are pretty good that the baby is Bellamy’s or Abbott’s though.
“I’m not brooding,” I grumble under my breath. My voice has never recovered from being quite so close to going feral, and I don’t think it ever will. When I speak, I command attention. I still have to get used to it.
“Mmmhmm,” Cassidy says, taking a careful breath as she rubs her stomach.
“Cass?” I ask, watching her carefully.
Technically, she and Winter are about a week out from their due dates. Winter is still working and yesterday she was working on theater costumes. There’s a theater company that saw that she’s a seamstress and hired her to work for them for their next production.
I think my girl is still walking on air over that exciting decision.
Things are going very well, everyone is happy, but I am still watching and worrying that something will happen. We have more men than usual at the art show, our friends are here tonight, and security is iron tight.
So why do I feel unsettled?
“What would you say if I told you I’ve been having contractions on and off today, and so has Winter?” Cassidy asks calmly.
“I would say that it makes me want to paddle your ass,” I growl.
“Pfft,” she says, waving my words away. “First children are usually epically late, and none of the contractions are close enough to time.”
“The baby has dropped,” I finally tell her.
“Oh, you noticed that?” she asks.
Her dress is a black gauzy thing with a train that she keeps close to her as we walk. Her breasts have grown, and her cleavage is incredible in this dress. Cassidy was smart and has on lower heels, but I remain close by in case her feet hurt.
We have a system, and it always works.
Her blonde curls tumble over her shoulder, and her red lips twist as pain hits her.
“Fuck,” I mutter, my eyes already searching for Winter.
She’s standing next to Shiloh, and seems alright for now. However, I can feel pain coming from her and Cassidy when I search through our bonds. As the months have passed by, our bonds have gotten stronger.
It’s definitely come in handy when I’m not close enough to smell Winter’s pain.
