I released a slow breath and ran my hand over my belly. Both twins were thankfully asleep. At least, I was pretty sure they were. No tumbling or punching me in the lungs. Sometimes, after an awful nightmare, they were as awake as I was. Almost as if they could sense the internal danger and it had them in fight mode. There was a night last month where I couldn’t seem to escape the dream, where I felt caged in, and it was a strong kick from one of the babies that finally got me out. A literal shock to the system.
“They should be done soon,” I replied. “No chance anyone will get me pregnant again.”
Beside me, Hawk snorted. “Tying it to your magic—and your magic alone—should definitely have the desired effect, then.”
I nodded, settling back as Orion rested a hand on my thigh almost possessively. “Adrian is still working out the potential kinks in the charm,” I explained quietly. “Obviously, it’s not like we can test it. But it should withstand even a meddling Seer.”
We hadn’t seen or heard anything from Sable since before the battle with Dante. Hadn’t even found her body. There was a chance she wasn’t even dead, though that might have been Rowan’s grief talking more than anything. With no sign of her, we had to wonder if she was still out there.
And because of that, the birth control charm Adrian and I were building for once the twins were born would apply strongly to my male mates—and myself—with only one way to turn it off: my magic. And it had to be a two—or ten—yes situation.
It would ensure the biological children Orion was scared to have wouldn’t happen. It would mean not accidentally gettingknocked up again for me. And it didn’t put our future in the hands of anyone but our own.
Deep down, I was a planner at heart. And not being in control of this thing I knew I wanted, this thing I should have been excited about, terrified me.
At least next time, it would all be ours to plan. To discuss and work towards.
Orion gave my thigh a squeeze, offering me a small smile. “It’ll work.”
I rested my hand over his, eyes still locked on the dark sky. “I hope so.”
When the sunfinally rose above the water, I felt like I could finally breathe again. It wasn’t even five in the morning, but the balcony door opened silently, and the patter of small feet sounded behind us. I could barely shift to take in my little sister, but she came around the sitting area and gently threw herself at me—well, more the babies.
Maisie couldn’t wait.
I’d worried—more after getting them home than before—they wouldn’t cope with an even bigger change. Bringing them home to more mates was one thing, but having them learn I was pregnant?
Yeah, we’d had no idea how they’d handle it.
But Maisie was more than just excited. She was ready to finally be a big sister, and it shouldn’t make me want to cry as much as it was.
Ginny was a little more hesitant, but the more she got to help—like with going out shopping with Maeve tosecretlyget babyclothes or picking stuffed animals out with Arthur—the more she opened up about her thoughts.
Eloise, to my utter shock, was happy. Then, of course, she’d state it would help keep me busy so I wouldn’t mother her too much.
Little sisters.
Maisie rubbed her cheek into my belly, splaying her fingers over my bump. “Good morning, babies,” she whispered.
I smoothed a hand over her inky dark curls, feeling the knots I’d need to gently brush out later. “How’d you sleep, nugget?”
“I had a dream about a giant sea monster,” she murmured, looking up at me with wide, blue eyes. “It had eight tentacles, blue skin, and it sparkled.”
“Must have been scary,” Hawk said from beside me. The girls weren’t nearly as cautious around him as they used to be, and had in fact warmed up to him after a few weeks under the same roof. It turned out, without the looming influence of Sable’s warning and hidden memories, Hawk had less of a stick up his ass and wasn’t nearly as grumpy as initially perceived. And to all our shock, he could tell some really,reallygood stories.
Maisie shook her head where it still rested against my belly. “Nope, not at all.”
I frowned, glancing over at my mate, who just stared down at her with worry. Through the bond, I could tell he was shielding some of his thoughts, probably not to stress me out, but I still prodded the bond.They’d all been doing that more, enough so that I knew they were hidingsomethingfrom me. But I was learning not to push too much in that area.
What is it?I asked.
Hawk met my stare and shook his head.Nothing. She’s just full of surprises.
Before I could ask more, I felt a tug down another bond.You okay, Angel?Elias asked, likely from his room further down the hall.Is Maisie with you? She’s not in her bed.
I smiled.She’s with me on the balcony. Telling us all about her dream last night.
“And then,” Maisie continued, pulling back, both hands now on my stomach, “the sea monster disappeared.”
