She didn’t seem to appreciate my commentary, which was unusual. Normally my brilliant observationsat leastearned me an eye-roll or a reluctant smile. But her face remained drawn with exhaustion, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow.
Of course, it could have been that nasty-smelling potion she’d just finished drinking, too.
Still. New tactic.
I smoothed back her damp hair and dotted small, tender kisses on her forehead, her closed eyelids, the tip of her nose, her flushed cheeks.
“What can I do to help, darling?” I whispered against her temple. “Some water? Croissants? Goblin Moonshine?”
“Babies. Want to see them.”
My heart squeezed at the raw maternal longing in her voice, and I looked at my brothers. Cas’ eyes were very bright, and Ko wore that expression that meant he was feeling more than he could verbalize as he knee-walked over and placed the babies in her arms.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Oh, they’re perfect.”
“Wemadethose.” I peered over her shoulder. “Well, mostlyyoumade those, but we helped. A little. At the beginning.”
The boy looked like a raging cherry, despite Ko kissing his head and murmuring. Our son hadn’t stopped making noise since his dramatic entrance, and Cas’ left eye was starting to twitch. Not in irritation, though. No, he was in full panic mode because he didn’t know how to calm our son.
The girl slept peacefully, without a care in the world. Like she already knew she was safe and had nothing to worry about.
“Are you up to nursing him, beloved?” Ko asked. “Maybe that will calm him.”
“Yes, I’ll try it.”
She fumbled with the front of her nightshirt even as she held onto our babies, and I brushed her fingers away and deftly undid the buttons myself. The soft cotton fabric parted, revealing her milk-swollen breasts, and I felt a twinge of possessiveness. Those beautiful curves suddenly had a more practical purpose than serving as my playground.
I watched, fascinated, as Ko guided our daughter to Seri’s right breast. The tiny girl latched on immediately, as if she’d been practicing for this moment her entire brief existence. Then he placed our son at Seri’s plump left nipple, and after a moment of confusion and what looked like irritation, he also figured out the nursing situation.
The moment he latched on, the crying stopped. The sudden silence was almost as shocking as his birth had been.
“Hey!” I exclaimed as I watched both babies suckle, their tiny cheeks working with surprising vigor. “Those aremytits!”
Two pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.
“Ourtits,” I amended. “Ourcollectivetits. Thebrotherhood’stits.”
“Well, now they’re our children’s for the next several months,” Ko pointed out.
“We created milk vampires?” I quirked an eyebrow as our boy attacked his nom-noms with piranha enthusiasm. “Whoa, easy there, junior.”
My pinky snuck in to break suction. Big mistake. The ensuing howl made my ears ring.
“Zane.” Cas’ voice carried ultrasound intensity. “And it’s colostrum. The actual milk won’t come in for another day or two.”
He leaned down, inhaling deeply near our daughter’s head.
“She smells of earth magic,” he told Seri what Ko and I had already deduced.
“Like Papa?” She looked up, her tired eyes suddenly bright. “And our son? What does he smell like?”
Cas leaned down and kissed our boy’s forehead, drawing in another long breath. He didn’t really need to since the smell was all over the kid; he just wanted an excuse to be affectionate without me teasing him or Ko smirking.
“Moon magic.”
“A wolf shifter like Mama?” Seri gasped.
“Dhampir schnozzes don’t lie, bubbles.” I traced the tip of my forefinger along our daughter’s ear, finding it softer than hummingbird down.
