If I’d just been feeding Skye, I would’ve made him a bowl of spaghetti with red sauce, that seemed to be all the baby wanted, but he and Xenia were basking in the sunroom together, so I settled for a tray of tea sandwiches and cookies. Something light and easy to graze on while they commiserated over the woes of pregnancy.
I carried the tray in and set it down carefully between them before standing up straight. I was a Rossi by pack name, but I’d started as a servant, and I knew my place.
“Can I get either of you anything else?” I asked, folding my hands behind my back and smiling so large my eyes shut.
My job was to keep them comfortable–especiallyXenia. Not because she was a guest, but because she was carrying not one, buttwobabies. I couldn’t wrap my head around that. Skye and Violet were both different shades of miserable right now, and I couldn’t imagine either of them with twins.
I watched Skye reach for a cookie, hesitate, then take it anyway. He chewed slowly, eyes drifting toward the hallway like he could see through the walls.
“What’re the alphas talking about?” he asked casually, but the tension in his shoulders gave him away.
I shrugged and hummed. “Could be anything. Could be nothing.”
That earned me a look. He knew me too well for that.
“I really don’t know,” I added, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my apron. “Doors were already shut by the time I came back into the kitchen. No yelling yet, which is usually a good sign.”
Xenia nodded, rubbing her belly like she was soothing herself as much as the babies.
Skye twisted his hands in his lap, picking at the chipped black polish barely clinging to his nails.
“They won’t drag you in there, will they?” he asked.
I snorted softly. “They have to,mi cielo.They need me.”
Alpha meetings required caffeine and patience, and more often than not, I provided both.
“I’ll be sitting in once I bring them their coffee,” I said. “Just to keep things civil.”
“Then you’ll tell me everything?” he pressed.
I nodded, even though it was a lie. Skye was tough for an omega, but he was still pregnant, which meantno stress.
“Of course,” I said, then tipped my head. “But can you do me a favor?”
He nodded immediately.
“Violet didn’t eat breakfast. She should be back from her appointment soon.” I glanced toward the kitchen, trying to remember how long was on the timer. “I’ve got peanut butter oat muffins in the oven. Can you get them out for me in five minutes?”
Skye blinked, then smiled with his whole face, my favorite kind. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Good,” I said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “Toothpick test. If it comes out clean, they’re done. If not, give them another minute. Andpleaseuse a towel. The tray’s hot.”
He laughed quietly. “I know, I know. I’m not a kid.”
“No, but you’re precious to me, and I don’t want you hurt,” I murmured, already backing away. “Gracias,mi cielo.”
With that, I took my leave, shutting the glass doors to the sunroom behind me. I passed through the kitchen, checked the oven out of habit, the timer was exactly where I thought it would be, then grabbed the tray of espresso I’d set up earlier: small porcelain cups, a metal carafe of dark, strong coffee, a small pitcher of milk, and a little dish of brown sugar.
With everything in place, I squared my shoulders and headed toward the living room.
The voices grew clearer with every step and tension hummed just beneath the surface. I took a breath and schooled my expression into something neutral and pleasant.
“And why the fuck should I trust a Stellar?” Vinny snapped as I entered the room.
Of coursehewas the one being abrasive.
“I was a Stellar. I’m a Bentley now,” the black-haired one said, crossing his arms. “I got excommunicated for defending your cousin.”
