I found Violent having a little cry in one of the inns. She was being comforted by Martha, stroking her brown hair softly. I had missed her travelling down the other line of dancers, so caught up in watching Penelope’s bond with Kharkov. so many young woman around her had found a mate and she had felt useless. “Has the Moon Goddess just decided I am too fucked up to deserve a mate?” Violet sobbed into Martha’s lap, the mint green darkening with damp patches of tears. “Hush dear there was a whole line of men you did not dance with tonight.” “I don’t know why I got my hopes up. I stayed away from that line because some of the men there were ones who used to visit the hellhole we were caged in.” I let out a soft gasp at the realisation. Maybe I did have rose-tinted glasses regarding mate-bonds and love. Perhaps being endlessly bound to another soul for eternity is not the happy experience I have known so far. There is always the chance one's mate could be a poor character, a brute or

Bella, Lucien and their children were just so charming. Their happiness radiated, lifting us all. Even so I had worries on my mind that distracted me from fully enjoying my time with them. Violet had shied away from the last Full Moon celebrations completely, terrified of being mated to a man who had abused her in the past. No amount of consoling or gentle persuasion could convince her that the Moon Goddess would surely not be so cruel. Tonight she wore my old maroon dress, her brown hair bobbing through the crowd along with those distinctively green cat-shaped eyes. She donned gloves to keep herself private and unmolested. She reminded me of myself back at the start of my time in the Cage. So afraid of the world, assuming every man, even Ivan was out to maim me. So there was no rush. She could wear her gloves as long as she wanted. Martha kept me updated on both her and Penelope. Thankfully Penelope had fully regained her voice, as confirmed by the lusty moans we all heard roarin

If I felt pressure to be a good leader and make the Shadowlands safe before, knowing Cherish was bringing our child into the world only sent it skyrocketing. She had joked she wouldn’t need any rest, lots of exercise. She was unfortunately wrong as within a week of having her pregnancy confirmed she was ruthlessly ill. The remaining human elements of her body struggled with the demands of a shifter pregnancy with the severity of her nausea leaving her stuck in the packhouse. She had the company of Martha, Penelope, and Violet. Martha told us not to worry, though Cherish would be able to carry our baby it was still an extreme experience for her body to go through. Still, she looked immaculate, snuggled under the white covers as the dawning sun peeped through the curtain, a pale lilac cotton nightdress on. Sat in the crook of my arm, her fingers lazily trailed up and down my bare chest, toying with my chest hair. Every breath I took had that gorgeous hint of berries, if she wasn’t so p

Gradually I pulled him up to standing, “you need a sleep, you look like you haven’t slept properly since the day you left.” He ruffled the back of his hair, grinning, “you’re right. Why are you always right?” I raised myself unsteadily onto my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. A gentle little kiss but the scent of apples was like a rush of adrenalin as Halo whined for more. Heading back to our suite he gasped at the changes made. Not knowing if we were having a boy, girl or any combination of both genders our room had a simple, plain white large crib. It was waiting for us at the far end of the room, new cupboards installed ready for all the clothes, bootees, toys and games we would need. I wanted the babies with us as much as possible. The packhouse wasn’t huge, for now they would be fine living with us. Deep down, without Ivan here perhaps I had been worried about safety too. Not knowing how safe the pack was, I wanted our babies where I could see them. Perhaps Ivan wasn’t

All I could think of was that Bella was meant to be here. She promised when we met that she would be here. My mind was racing as scalding hot fluid seeped from me, my waters broken and releasing more liquid everytime I tried to move. Giving birth naturally as a human was never going to be fun. Giving birth to shifting, werewolf twins meant there was a genuine risk I might die. I lay in our bathroom suite, the cool tiles soothing my overheated skin. Before all the chaos I’d had a longer rest than normal, pondering how happy I was to have Ivan return when my waters broke. As I mind-linked him I then remembered to call Martha with the bell. Ivan beat her to it, charging into the room red-faced and terrified, “Cherish is it time? Are you okay!” “There aren’t any contractions yet but my waters have broken so we have a few hours.” “Jackson!” he yelled in panic before remembering the mind-link. Then he took my hands and kissed me, guiding me to the large chair next to the bath. “I’ve