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“Our mothers are going to lose their freaking minds…” Emmett laughed, resting a hand on my still-flat stomach as he came to lie down next to me.

I groaned. “Do you think we can keep it a secret, just for now?” I loved all of them, but I knew the minute they found out I was pregnant, they'd be exuberant, all energy and making plans. I wanted to nap, not deal with excitement.

Marshall grimaced. “If that’s what you want, you can certainly try. But our mothers are like bloodhounds. They can figure out that kind of stuff scarily well.”

“Hattie has eyes in the back of her head, I’m sure,” Tobias agreed.

“Ugh, well, they’ll have to use them because I want just a few more minutes before all the spectacle starts.” I was surrounded by my alphas again and already ready to fall back asleep.

“We’ve got your back, Summer.” Tobias nodded, smiling like a goof. “Mission: hide the pregnancy is a go.”

All I could do was laugh… with my eyes closed.

Chapter 53

Tobias

It only took the grandmothers three weeks to figure it out.

Despite her morning sickness, Summer had moved forward with caring for Milo and being generally amazing, focusing on anything other than the lawsuit.

Emmett had assured us time and time again that it would go nowhere. Summer trusted him, but I could understand why she was still anxious about it. We were all still anxious about it.

Thankfully, Milo’s first birthday proved to be an excellent distraction.

We decided to have his party at our house. In the future, we’d probably use larger venues, like the B&B, but for now, the house was perfect. And he was comfortable there—in our home.

Summer looked radiant in a pale pink sundress and a white cardigan as she chased our now-crawling son around the house. He was so close to walking. I didn’t know how we were going to keep up.

As soon as Milo became mobile, that boy could move. He’d cross the living room in the time it took me to grab his diaper. Marshall had gone a little crazy baby-proofing the place.

The backyard was bustling with energy and celebration, a few grills going, and even a bouncy castle. Friends from Milo’s playgroup had come by, along with several of the mothers Summer had become friends with.

Our home was bustling and full of activity in a way it never had been before. Personally, I fucking loved it, and judging by the constant grins on my pack mates’ faces, they loved it too. Even Marshall, and that was saying something.

“Tobias, come grab your son before he crawls over into the barbecue area.” Summer laughed, handing me the wriggling baby, who was a bundle full of giggles and dressed in a special onesie that read, Birthday Boy.

“I thought he was contained to the playpen,” I said, bobbing my son up and down and making a smiling face at him. “That’s why we brought it out here.”

“He was, but it seems he’s learned how to escape that,” Summer said, her hands on her hips as she glowered playfully at the baby. “I think our son has a future in prison breaks.”

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I tried not to laugh. Judging by the grass stains on his knees, he’d managed to get quite far before his mother had scooped him up, which only proved that, yes, escaping would likely be a regular occurrence as he grew up.

“You’re being a little menace today, aren’t you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as I rubbed my nose against Milo’s. “If it weren’t for the fact that it’s your birthday, we’d be having words, mister.”

“I have a feeling we’re going to have our hands full pretty soon,” Summer said, shaking her head.

I knew exactly what she meant. Between Milo becoming mobile and the baby on the way, things were going to get hectic, but I was looking forward to it. As wild as that sounded, I enjoyed the chaos.

“Why don’t you go see Audrey? I’ll take this little guy inside and get him cleaned up,” I suggested.

Summer nodded. “I really should go thank her for the cake. Though, speaking of cake, maybe don’t clean him up too much, considering he’s going to be smashing one of those little ones pretty soon.”

I had to admit, I was rather excited to take photos of our son attacking a birthday cake like a tiny Godzilla. We had bets going on if he’d actually eat any.

Carrying him inside, I found Emmett and Marshall discussing something in the kitchen while Noah was off schmoozing with some of our guests.

“What’s going on?” I asked, cocking a brow.