Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“The M-Psy who worked on this took no dangerous risks,” Ashaya had reported back. “I’d go so far as to say Shoshanna got lucky with the depth of Liberty’s power—Psy have never been able to predict psychic strength beyond basic genetic matches. Most of the heavy lifting in this case was done by the Gradient levels involved.”
A mother herself, the other woman had smiled. “Enjoy your cub, Auden. She’s healthy and strong and from what I saw when we met, she’s cherished by the entire pack and will grow up into a joyful and well-adjusted adult.”
Auden intended to follow that advice.
“It’s time for Liberty to go hang out with Finn now,” Auden said to Jojo when Liberty yawned and closed her eyes again. “And hey”—she tapped Jojo on the nose—“isn’t it a special dinner tonight?”
The cub lit up. “Pancakes!” Thus reminded of the promised breakfast-for-dinner night at the dining aerie, she ran off at speed.
Auden’s heart filled to overflowing, as it so often did these days. Seven weeks after Liberty’s birth and three weeks after her release from the pack’s infirmary—to which she’d been shifted after Bashir agreed she was out of the critical danger zone—she felt more at home in RainFire than she ever had in the Scott home.
Her stay in the infirmary had been nothing she could’ve imagined; she’d had a packmate or three drop by every single day. Each had brought stories or food or a funny show to watch with her. And her Remi had been with her through it all; he’d even snuck in cake and fed it to her bite after bite.
Smiling, she turned…and nearly ran into Kit.
“Can I hold her?” He made big, adorable eyes at her.
Rina’s brother was ridiculously charming; they’d all miss him when he headed home next week. “I’m taking her to Finn.” The healer had the night off because no one had managed to harm or otherwise injure themselves this past week, but instead of telling the pack to leave him alone, he’d volunteered to babysit while partaking of the communal meal.
“That’s just how healers are,” Lark had reassured her when Auden worried about Finn’s lack of downtime. “This is his idea of downtime—chilling with the pack, cubs hanging off him. Also, trust me, he’ll be less babysitting Libby and more keeping an eye on her while the pack cuddles her.”
Liberty, Auden already knew, would thrive in the midst of the noise and conversation. Her and Remi’s child might as well have been born half-changeling, she’d settled with such joy into the pack’s communal way of life.
Kit held out his hands. “I’ll take her. Promise I won’t kidnap her and run away. Too scared of Remi’s wrath.”
Lips twitching, Auden gave the baby another cuddle before handing her over into those careful arms. Trust here, with these people, came easy. Not only because she was Remi’s mate, but because each and every person here had watched over Liberty while she couldn’t. Never would any of them harm her.
Kit’s smile was that of a heartbreaker as he cuddled her close, his auburn hair falling over his forehead as he bent to nuzzle at the baby. “Hey, kitten.”
Good thing Phoebe wasn’t in range or the poor juvenile would surely have fainted. Her crush on Kit was sweet and young and made Auden smile—because to her, it showed the love in which Phoebe had been raised, that she felt safe crushing on a dangerous dominant. Auden wanted the same carefree sense of possibility for her baby.
“Does she need a bottle?” Kit looked up, the evening sunshine soft gold on his skin. “I could feed her.”
“No, I just fed her.” She’d done so sitting outside in the sun, under the wide canopy of an aerie tree.
No one had minded, smiles shot her way. Because she lived in a changeling pack, and breastfeeding a cub was nothing monumental on which to offer comment. Auden was still shy enough to use a shawl but her baby would grow up as wild and free as Jojo—who’d run naked through the closest stand of trees only the other day, while doing a warrior yell.
Three other equally naked cubs had followed, all of them echoing her cry.
Auden loved the thought of her child whooping it up after the assured ringleader of the cubs.
“But,” she added when Kit’s face fell, “I pumped more milk for later that’s in the infirmary fridge. You can ask Finn if you can do her next feed.” Because tonight, Auden was going out on a date with her mate.
Not only that, but she had, as of today, a full bill of health. Signed and sealed.
Finally.
Remington Denier was about to be pounced on by a very sexually frustrated woman who he’d managed to rouse to fever pitch night after night with his kisses and his stroking and his petting…and those oh-so-sexy words he purred in her ear.