8. Bonding

“Embry and I have to go to a meeting with the Elder Council, will you be ok alone?” Osric questions, watching me walk over to the lounge by the fire wearing his dusty pink robe.

“I’ll be fine, Eya and Mum will be downstairs so I’m safe, and I need to rest anyway,” I answer, sitting back down as Osric passes me a pillow for my lower back.

“If you need company Eya will be happy to come up here and annoy you,” Embry teases, handing me my sketchbook and a pouch of pencils.

“Liliana left your bag from the hotel,” Embry mentions, a blush creeping up my cheeks, feeling glad to have the nice sketchbook Liliana got me.

“Thank you, I promise I’ll link you if I need anything. I know Eya and Mum are downstairs I’ll be ok,” I reassure them, reaching up pulling Embry’s head down kissing him playfully, letting his lips and tongue fervently consume mine.

“Good, we should be back around lunch time.” Osric watches Embry and I with an adoring smile enjoying the show.

“Sounds good, I think I’ll find something to read,” I muse, looking around at the bookshelves, watching Embry as he approaches one.

“Do whatever you like, just make sure you relax,” Osric chuckles, leaning down to kiss me gently, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth.

“I will, when you get back, I want to cuddle with your wolves,” I awkwardly request, watching Embry move to stand beside Osric with a large book in his hands as they both smile at me.

“You’re craving us in every way even our wolf side. You only have to ask; we want you comfortable. You’re carrying our pups,” Osric soothes gently, looking down at the book Embry holds out for me.

“I remember seeing Poe in your room in California,” Embry answers, handing me a beautiful dark brown leather-bound collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and poems.

“I love his stories and poems; my favorite is A Dream,” I mention, before gently paging through the book to find it. While reciting the poem from the book, I look up to see Embry and Osric both chuckling at m.

“Gideon likes Poe as well; Osric has quite the library, you’ll enjoy quite a few of them,” Embry says as he walks to the closet to get dressed. I love having that in common with my dad.

“So, my name was influenced by Poe?” I ask them, opening my sketch book with the Poe book now sat on the table at the head of the lounge.

“Only a little, your dark hair is the main reason,” Osric answers, following Embry into the closet to get dressed.

“I remember Gideon saying something like that just like Liliana for purity because her hair,” I smile at the memory of when Liliana and I asked our dad about our names and why we look different despite being near identical. We come from a split egg; the only difference is Liliana lacks the pigment in her hair and eyes where I apparently took it all.

“Gideon adores you girls, he’s become quite the man and father since you were both born,” Osric mentions from inside the closet, Embry comes out in jeans and a green t-shirt, that accentuates his muscular chest underneath the soft fabric.

“Good luck with the Elders, we’ll be here waiting,” I smiling at my handsome mate, rubbing my belly, feeling the flutters as our babies kick and roll.

“Good we’ll be back,” Embry walks over to me leaning down and kisses me tenderly before leaving the room. Osric emerges from the closet in just a pair of black jeans.

“No shirt?” I question, making Osric look down at me with a raised eyebrow, as my cheeks heat under his gaze.

“No, I have a feeling I’ll overheat if I wear a real shirt talking to the Elders,” he admits, pulling my chin up, as I feel butterflies in my stomach at the gentle tingles he leaves in his wake.

“I’ll be here if you need me, and if the Elders still have a problem accepting me, Embry and I will go back to Wolf Creek. But I want to build a new home for us closer to the border of Blood Moon,” I mention looking up into my mate’s intrigued expression.

“Everything should be fine after the meeting. We can talk about building house on the border, it would be nice to be close so we can be together more often,” Osric reassures me, leaving a kiss on my lips before walking towards the door.

I wind up drawing a picture of Embry and Osric lying in bed cuddling, the way I found them after our first night, the three of us together.

“How are you feeling Dear?” A warm kind voice makes me jump, dropping my sketchbook onto the floor with a thud.I must have dozed off watching the fire, reminiscing about my mates.

“Pretty good aside from being exhausted,” I answer sitting up. I move my feet so Mum can sit, when I notice her placing a tray laden with tea and scones on the table in front of me.

“Carrying pups is exhausting all on its own, I can’t imagine how tired you are after facing Orin. You should hear the reverence in Osric’s voice when he talks about it,” Helena speaks proudly of her son, as she walks over to the closet.

“He didn’t plan on leaving without me, even if it meant killing everyone there, I just did what came naturally to me,” I admit, nonchalantly shrugging my shoulders, sitting up making sure to hold my robe closed.

“Embry’s right you are quite modest,” Helena laughs, coming out with a pair of black sweat pants and one of Embry’s tank tops.

“Thank you, I’m not sure it is being modest as much as it is understanding what could have happened, and that I got lucky,” I answer her, standing up, I thankfully take the clothes from her and head towards the bathroom to change.

“Once you’re dressed if you’re feeling up for it, we can go on a walk around the pack,” Helena suggests from the main part of the room, as I pull on Osric’s sweat pants inside the bathroom.

“A walk would be nice, but I don’t think Osric wants me wandering around without someone watching over me,” I mention, grabbing my folded sports bra off the pile of folded clothes on the counter.

“Kitty and Nikki have stayed behind to make sure warriors from Wolf Creek stay with you at all times, Osric should be satisfied if they stay with us,” Helena reassures me with her warm motherly voice. Once I’m finished dressing and walk out into the room she holds up a pair of fur lined boots for me.

“Sounds good, I could use the fresh air,” I admit, sitting down after taking the boots and a pair of socks from her.