Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
The guys were never gonna let me live it down. Not when the doctor had specifically told us that it was normal for twins.
But when Evette waddled into the room we’d set up as a nursery—where Keane and I were putting together the cribs—to tell me that it was time, all of the preparation I’d done to be ready for their birth fled from my mind. It didn’t help that she kept clenching and moaning in pain every time she had a contraction. I wanted to fix it, hating that she was hurting, but there was nothing I could do.
“Leyton,” Laina said softly, her lips pressing together to hide her amusement. “Grab her bag from the bedroom, and Keane will drive you to the hospital.”
With a chuff that was more bear than man, I picked up my mate and carried her to the car, then ran back to grab her bag. By the time I’d returned, my common sense had returned, and I held her hand through each pain, whispering words of encouragement.
Luckily, the cubs waited until she was settled in a hospital bed before they decided to come into the world. Her reminders that she could talk us through the process if we didn’t make it there in time did nothing to ease my fear.
I was propped onto the bed next to Evette, and we gazed down at our girls with adoration as the nurse set one in her arms and the other in mine.
“They’re perfect,” Evette whispered, her voice filled with awe. And something else that I wasn’t sure about.
I glanced at her to see a slightly sheepish glint in her eyes. “Of course they are. Look at their mother.”
She blushed and beamed happily, but that glint was still there.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just…” Her blush spread and darkened. “I was kind of wondering if…”
I raised an eyebrow, trying not to chuckle at how adorable she was.
“I kind of wondered if they might come out with…you know…a little…um…fur or something.”
I tossed my head back as laughter burst from my chest, then immediately slammed my mouth shut when the babies stirred.
Still, my shoulders shook with silent laughter, though I tried to stop since Evette’s face was tomato red.
“You are so fucking perfect,” I told her tenderly before leaning down to brush a kiss over her lips. “Even if some babies are born with hints of their animal, I never had any doubt that our cubs would be just as perfect as their incredible mother.”
Evette looked up at me with love shining in her eyes, and I kissed her passionately.
When I pulled back, my lips twitched though I tried to keep my face serious. “In fact, I think we should start planning to make another perfect little cub as soon as possible.”
Evette’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes rounded. “We just had twins, Leyton!”
I grinned, and she shook her head in exasperation, realizing that I was teasing…mostly.
Or maybe I’d been predicting the future because the twins weren’t quite one when we found out she was pregnant again.
But I definitely hadn’t imagined another set of twins.
Neither of us was disappointed, though. It wouldn’t be easy, but our lives would always be filled with love and happiness.
EPILOGUE
EVETTE
“Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.”
I could barely hold my head up as I scrubbed the last of the lunch dishes. Two sets of twins only a few years apart was probably not the best plan. But if I’d learned anything from being a parent, it was that the best things in life took you by surprise.
Like falling in love and marrying a grizzly shifter.
“Mommy. Mommy. MOMMY.”
“Hey, honey, why don’t you give Mommy a break, and I can help you?” Leyton’s commanding voice boomed through the room.
Our little girl blinked, looking back and forth between the two of us. “You know where the choo choo went?”
Leyton flashed me a smile. “Why don’t your sister and I help you find it before we draw Mommy a bath?”
Ellie flashed him a big, gap-toothed smile. “Oh, maybe my choo choo is in the bathroom!”
She didn’t wait for an answer as she grabbed her twin sister’s chubby little hand. Then she and Eva toddled down the hall.
Leyton stood to his full height, looming over me before grabbing the other half-asleep twins from the pack on my back.
“I’ll get these guys down, too.”
“Thank you,” I managed to let out a sigh, leaning against him as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Give me five minutes, and your bath will be ready. I can’t promise what the girls will also put in the tub, though.”
I laughed as he headed down the hall with a twin on each shoulder. Our boys were only three months old, but they were already almost as much of a handful as their older sisters.
Finishing the last of the dishes, I dried my hands before heading into our primary suite. The scent of lavender filled the air, and the sound of running water rushed through the room.