Ella “Ella,” my mate growls as my tears start to subside a little bit. And I look up at him with a sniff, into his face that is terribly dark with his anger. His whole body is shaking – not trembling like mine was, but honestly shaking as if he’s trying very, very hard to hold himself back. “Yo
Rafe starts to cry in his crib at the sound and I think the insane emotions that are pulsing from Sinclair at this moment, but I can’t even look over at my baby, my eyes only on my mate. “Dominic!” I cry, reaching for him, “don’t –“ “What the hell am I supposed to do, Ella,” he growls, and I see
Ella Dawn lights the horizon when the door creeks open and Sinclair comes back into the room. My eyes go immediately to him from my place sitting up in bed where I’ve spent way, way too many hours alone gazing down at my little baby. Sinclair pushes the broken door shut and sighs before he
“You have to find a way to be that stronger man, Dominic,” I say quietly, shaking my head at him. “For me, for your children,” I shrug, looking down at sleeping Rafe. “Because this isn’t going to be the only challenge we face, and your only solution can’t be to shift into your wolf and go out to mur
Ella I frown at him, starting to get angry again. “What does that even mean, Dominic!? You just know – well obviously if I just knew, then I’d have told you definitively yes or no!” “Well, maybe you do know and you’re trying to spare my feelings!” My eyes go wide then and I lean forward
“I mean, I like him a great deal,” I say, giving a little shrug, “and he’s very handsome –“ Sinclair growls at this and I swat at him, scowling a little. “Would you stop?” I scold, “again, like with what I said about Roger being hot, it’s just an observation – it is a fact that Calvin is a very
Cora Roger and I are quiet the next morning as we go through our breakfast routine in the kitchen. It’s not an awkward sort of quiet, just…us thinking our own thoughts while staying very close to one another. We stayed up late last night, first attending to the baby. Roger was heartbroken, t
And I laugh as my gorgeous mate carries me upstairs, and into the bedroom, and slams the door shut behind us. Roger and I thoroughly enjoy our morning off, so much so that we’re still laying in bed chatting hours later, all wrapped up in each other. I slip my fingers through his hair, only half
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an