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Eventually, I curled up on Irwin’s other side and we all dozed off. The call of the babies had come early, and we were all exhausted for our own reasons. Looking at the newborns only made me want to hold Baby Lux more than ever. Soon, he’d be here, and I could hold him close to my chest and rock him. My arms ached for a baby I’d yet to meet.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Marcus
I took the last few weeks of Fen’s pregnancy off from work. I hadn’t planned to, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the house. I saw Cord for his sessions in our kitchen and managed Cade through texts when one of his kids swallowed his father’s ring during a visit, but for the most part, I kept my whole attention on my children and mates. I liked to get up early, turn on the coffee pot, and then stow away with them both in the rocking chair while Irwin and Fen slept in.
Faran was just old enough to realize that Olen was new to the world. He liked to pat at his brother with a flat hand or try to num on his fingers. Olen didn’t seem to mind too much. In the world of wolf pups, in a few months, Olen would catch up to Faran and they’d chase each other in circles around the house. I wanted to freeze this moment. They’d never be this little again. Holding a baby might be the only way in the universe to hold the future in your hands.
Those moments were always cracked open by Olen being ready for breakfast. While Irwin fed the children, I cooked breakfast. Fen loved to cook, but hated swollen ankles. I didn’t like that either for him and I was more than capable of cooking. Hell, in the modern world, cooking was just as, if not more important of a skill than hunting, if you wanted to provide for your family.
As the days passed, we spent long uninterrupted hours together with the kids. We watched movies and cartoon shows that made Faran giggle, even though I was pretty sure he wasn’t old enough to follow the plot yet. Sometimes, when the weather was warm enough, we sat outside with them.
“When they’re old enough we have to take them on that slide,” Fen said one afternoon. “I dreamt about it last night.”
“That probably means your pup is coming soon,” Irwin laughed.
“I am not a water slide!” Fen said, but he was grinning too.
“Who knows what babies think we are?” Irwin shrugged.
“We can go on family vacations when they’re old enough,” I said. “Take them camping, to the resort, to visit my parents.”
“To see the ocean!” Fen added.
“Definitely,” Irwin nodded. “Hiking, swimming, to the huge libraries of the world.”
Even waking up multiple times a night to feed the kids didn’t put a damper on our spirits. We were finally a family, and it was even written across Fen’s face. He wasn’t afraid of holding the babies anymore. In fact, I hadn’t seen him be afraid of anything in weeks and that filled me up with joy. He was finally home. All of us were home for a change and that’s exactly where I wanted to be – right there on the front porch with my two favorite wolves by my sides.
Chapter Fifty
Fen
Everyone said most babies come while it’s dark. I knew that was entirely true, because Starry liked to tell the story of how Liam knew exactly what time his water was going to break, and it was in broad daylight. Since my morning sickness hadn’t come in the morning, I expected Baby Lux to be a rebel like Xiam. Besides, he was named after the light. So, of course, he’d want to be born while the sun was shining bright.
I didn’t need the Omega Sight to tell me he was on the way. The morning of his birth, I sat up only to feel as if he had shifted his full weight to the bottom of the full moon, I carried around everywhere with me. Gravity pulled on him and made me achy all over.
“Come on, baby,” I whispered. “Daddy has to pee.”
I scooted to the edge of the bed trying not to wake up Irwin. Marcus was already in the kitchen with the kids. A quiet lullaby I didn’t know the words to drifted through the house along with the aroma of freshly ground and brewed coffee.
“Need help?” Irwin yawned.
“Sorry,” I frowned. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Olen has learned to whine on the family link to get my attention if he doesn’t want Marcus to stop singing,” Irwin chuckled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
It’d be a lie to say, I didn’t appreciate the tug up out of bed he offered. I really had to pee, but still paused long enough to steal a kiss. Irwin was sexy all the time, but there was something about him with bedhead first thing in the morning that drove me wild.
Usually, I headed into the kitchen for breakfast, but that day I crawled back into bed. My wolf wanted to den down, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. We’d already switched to using protective sheets in the bed just in case my water snuck up and broke on us in the middle of the night. So, I followed my instincts and piled up all the pillows around me and draped the blankets over them to make a den. Laying in the dark, my back twinged and gravity tugged at my baby. I breathed deep, one breath after the other focusing on how it would feel to have Baby Lux in my arms.
I dozed off and on that day as if I couldn’t gobble up enough sleep. Somewhere along the way my wolf took over. I figured he decided copying Irwin was the best path forward, because we hadn’t known that many pregnant wolves in our lives. I woke furry and contorted in pain. The bed was wet under my fur, but that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the red-hot pain that meant Baby Lux was on his way into the world.
“Fen?” Marcus called out.
I whined and yipped. Thankfully, Marcus spoke wolf because of Daniel, but even if he didn’t the sounds of labor were pretty Frost-damned distinct. Footfalls were followed by Marcus wiggling into the den with me. Irwin pushed pillows aside so that he fit in too.
“Faran? Olen?” I barked the sounds most closely resembling their names.
