LOGINJax was still staring at his brother, his mouth slightly agape, the apple in his hand forgotten. The math of "four babies under the age of two" was visibly short-circuiting his brain."Does Mom know?" Jax whispered, his eyes darting to the kitchen door as if summoning her by name might make her appear. "Or Pops? Because if mom finds out she’s getting another set of grand-twins—or even just one—she is going to expand the nursery into the west wing. She might actually buy a school bus."Fennigan ran a hand through his still-damp hair, shaking his head. "No. Nobody knows. Leela wanted to sleep before we unleashed the hurricane. So keep your mouth shut, Jax. seriously."As if on cue—because Elana Blackwood always had impeccable timing—the swinging door from the dining room pushed open."Keep whose mouth shut about what?" Elana’s voice floated in, cheerful but sharp as a tack.She waltzed into the kitchen, a picture of grandmotherly strength. She had Caspian balanced on her right hip and B
The water turned off with a squeak of the handle, leaving the bathroom in a sudden, dripping silence. The steam hung thick in the air, softening the edges of the room.Fennigan didn't let Leela step out onto the cold tile. He grabbed the oversized, fluffy bath sheet from the warmer rack and wrapped her in it while she was still in the stall, cocooning her like a precious, breakable artifact. He lifted her effortlessly, carrying her out of the humidity and into the cooler air of the bedroom.He set her on the edge of the mattress, kneeling to dry her legs and feet with a reverence that made Leela’s throat tight. He found her favorite soft flannel pajamas—the ones with the little moons on them—and helped her button the top, his large fingers clumsy with gentleness."What are we going to tell your parents?" Leela whispered, her voice sounding small in the quiet room. She looked at him, her eyes wide with the logistics of it all. "Fenn... the twins are ten months old. Elana is going to th
Fennigan didn't ask another question. The blood drained from his face. He blurred into motion, bypassing the living room and taking the stairs three at a time, his heart hammering against his ribs like any moment it would burst from his chest and go looking for Leela itself.He burst into the master bedroom, his chest heaving. "Leela!" His eyes darted around the room but the room was empty. The bed was made. But the sound of the shower hissing in the en-suite bathroom cut through the silence. Steam was billowing out from under the bathroom door, fogging the mirrors.She’s hurt, his mind screamed. She’s hiding in there to wash off blood. She’s in pain.He didn't knock. He shoved the bathroom door open, stripping off his tactical vest and heavy boots in two fluid, frantic motions as he stepped into the steamy, tiled room. He saw her silhouette through the frosted glass, her head bowed against the wall. He saw she was silently crying.He yanked the glass door open. He didn't care about h
The kitchen floor was cold, but neither of them moved. The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound for a moment as the realization settled in like a heavy, warm blanket.Ginny stared at her best friend, a cracker halfway to her mouth, her eyes widening as the timeline clicked into place."Four months?" Ginny squeaked, crumbs falling onto her apron. "Leela... that puts you... oh my god."The RealizationLeela groaned, sliding her hands down her face until she was peeking through her fingers again. "The night you and Jax took the twins," she whispered, her voice muffled. "Remember? It was their six-month 'half-birthday,' and you insisted we needed a 'Parents' Night Off' at the cabin."Ginny’s jaw dropped. "I remember. You guys didn't come out of that cabin until noon the next day.""We got carried away," Leela admitted, her cheeks flushing a bright, guilty pink that had nothing to do with the nausea. "We were just so happy to sleep for more than three hours... and then we weren't sle
Everything suddenly shifted into agonizingly slow motion for Leela.She watched with horrifying clarity as the raw egg violently slid out of the shell. She saw the perfectly clear, heavily viscous slime trail thickly into the dry batter. She watched the bright yellow yolk violently wobble, aggressively break apart, and slowly ooze into the white flour.And then... the smell hit her.Usually completely undetectable to even a werewolf's heightened nose, the scent of the raw egg suddenly violently assaulted Leela's senses like a physical, suffocating wall of rotting sulfur, sour milk, and wet dog.The RealizationLeela didn't even try to speak. Her silver eyes violently bulged out of her head, and she aggressively clamped her dirt-stained hand directly over her mouth."Leela?" Ginny asked, pausing with the wire whisk suspended mid-air, a frown creasing her brow as she noticed her friend turning an alarming shade of pale green.Leela bolted.She frantically scrambled across the kitchen ti
The Daily GrindThe daily grind of the Blackwood pack had beautifully, irrevocably settled into a chaotic, exhausting, but intensely happy rhythm. The massive estate was no longer just a heavily fortified, stoic military fortress designed for war; it was finally a true home, radiating with warmth and loud with the joyous, feral sounds of a rapidly growing family.Caspian and Briar were officially ten months old, and they were, in a single word: relentless. They were currently crawling with a terrifying, supernatural speed that completely defied standard physics. They were aggressively pulling themselves up on every sharp edge of the mahogany furniture and constantly babbling back and forth in a rapid, high-pitched twin language that only they seemed to understand, plotting their next coordinated attack on the living room rugs.The Exhausted TeacherThe heavy oak kitchen door swung violently open, carrying a freezing gust of sharp, earthy mountain air into the suffocating, cinnamon-sce







