-Cain-Willow walked almost like a robot into the dining room, so quiet as we joined the others. I felt slightly overwhelmed too, but it was clear my mate was processing. “So how did it go?” Weston asked as we joined them at the table again. “Fuck, I wish I was allowed to drink right now,” Willow groaned and chose the seat beside Carter this time and took his mug, smelling the alcohol because she couldn’t drink it. “You think you can get drunk on the smell?” Carter and Weston looked confused at Willow as I sat down in my former seat. Weston turned to me, looking concerned, but then I held up the ultrasound to him, and his eyes grew big. “Twins,” he said. “Let me see,” Carter told him, and he snatched the ultrasound. “Ooooh.” “Sometimes it is in the genes,” Weston teased. “You will have your hands full,” Carter chuckled, waving the ultrasound around. “Why do you think I am smelling your mug?” Willow asked, making us chuckle. “Oh yes, just laugh because none of you will push not

-Willow-I felt warm lips press against my neck, and I jumped a little. I turned, seeing Cain look confused at me as I reacted so powerfully to his touch. “Did I scare you?” he chuckled. “I, um…” I had not even heard him enter the room I was still standing in after bidding the king goodbye. I was so lost in my own world. “No.” “You sure? Your eyes are all big and filled with surprise,” he pointed out. “I’m fine. How was the drive with Carter?” I questioned. “Well, he definitely seems to have been uplifted a little, or so I thought,” he sighed and went to sit on the couch, reaching for some of the treats I had standing out and not asking to be taken care of. “Oh?” “He went right for the liquor cabinet when we came back. I can’t take this, Willow,” he groaned as he leaned back on the couch, munching on a cookie. “He just won’t talk to me!” “Well, Weston has promised we will know soon,” I reminded him. “When is soon? It’s almost a week later,” he pointed out. “And my brother is g

-Cain- “Goddess, look at your faces!” Willow exclaimed. “You’re starting to do serious damage!” As Carter and I sat down to eat, Willow came to inspect me, tilting my head to the side and taking in the cuts and the swelling. I grabbed her hands, kissed them, and then pulled her down on my lap. “We are fine,” I assured her. “We will heal,” Carter added. “Why are you hitting each other so hard?” “It’s called practice. We are keeping our skills sharp.” “But Carter can’t even open his right eye, and the cut on your lip is so swollen, I fear you can’t eat!” she scolded. “Eat the food or your—” I didn’t get to finish that sentence as she placed a hand over my mouth. “Not funny.” I pulled her hand down. “I think it was rather funny.” “What won’t the council think when they see you like that?” she murmured. “What do you mean?” She glanced between Carter and me, who looked puzzled at her. “You didn’t notice the meeting the council has called? Have you two been that distracted late

-Willow- The news spread quickly and was as shocking to me as it was to everyone else. No one had expected the queen would go so far, and yet as the days dragged on, no one was sure how to punish the queen. The council and the princes were completely divided, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad. Now that I knew there was no longer any threat out there to me or my family and the mystery had been solved, I simply stopped being angry. I knew the queen should still be punished, but she wouldn’t have done what she did if she hadn’t been forced to smile and nod through the pain others had put her through. Weston had made a good point to me, I could have been the queen. I could have become just as desperate… “It’s really unbelievable she did it,” Eva said, breaking me free of my trance. She sat in front of me in a small café we had agreed to meet at so I could get out of the house. Cain and I rarely spoke at the moment, and Carter had gone to be with his mate, living with her, though I

-Cain- I watched Weston hold one of my daughters over his head, making a funny face at her and making her laugh. It brought warmth to my heart watching it all happen, yet it was hard to shake the worry seeing my mother so close to my other daughter, whom I had reluctantly allowed her to hold. My daughters were only over a year old, but Carter had lived in this house for a good while now with his own mate, who had just given birth to a son, and it seemed to be okay. Surprisingly enough, everything was going okay, but I was never allowing my mother to be alone with my children, which I had made very clear to Willow. Yet it was hard to resist her when she told me to give it all a chance—to give my mother one. I couldn’t forgive her, but I saw now the benefits of letting her close because she was different. As I truly looked at her with my daughter, I saw she was different because she was allowed to be happy. Therefore, I knew I had to try, at least because I knew better than anyone wha