38. Daisy
When I had first fallen pregnant, I had been so scared of doing everything on my own. I had assumed that I would be getting next to no sleep and would be a complete mess. I’d frankly anticipated failing at motherhood.
The reality was vastly different.
My alphas were encouraging me to sleep at every opportunity. They had all taken several weeks of paternity leave and were making the most of every minute.
Stretching lazily, I looked to the side of my bed where the crib stood. Once again, it was empty. It was becoming something of a routine that I would fall asleep to have a quick nap while the babies slept next to me, and by the time I woke up they had been scooped up by their daddies.
“Poppy had a blowout!” Devon declared, coming out of the bathroom, a freshly bathed baby in his arms. He handed her to me. “She’s all clean now, and ready for her lunch.”
“That’ll be my job.” I adjusted the wriggling baby in my lap and released the strap of my nursing bra.
“Would have happily helped, but unfortunately I don’t have the right parts. That didn’t stop her from trying to feed off me, though.” He laughed.
“Oh no,” I cooed. “Daddy’s chest is far too hairy to feed from, isn’t it?”
“There’s also a distinct lack of milk.” Devon grinned.
I had been trying to pump so the guys could feed the babies, but my attempts had been pitiful because the girls were so voracious they had been draining me of every drop. In the three days we had been home, I had basically been a walking buffet for the girls.
Not that my alphas allowed me to walk anywhere.
It took a few days, but we fell into a routine. A blissful, calm routine. The girls were well behaved and didn’t cry much—though that might have been because the moment they made even the smallest fussing noises, one of the alphas was scooping them up and giving them cuddles.
Most of my time was spent in the nest, but occasionally I did venture out. While Devon and Nate changed all the bedding in the nest, I took up a spot on the living room floor with my girls on their play mat and put on videos of dancing fruit for them to watch. They were too young to really enjoy the videos, but I did find them oddly hypnotic.
“We really need to stop letting the mail pile up,” Jeremy said as he rummaged through the stack of envelopes. He was cooking my favorite: Korean rice cakes. The dish that started it all.
“It’s mainly stuff for Nate’s work. Make him go through it.” My eyes never left Poppy as her chubby little hand clenched around my finger.
“There’s one here for you,” he said, singling out a large brown envelope.
“Open it for me? I don’t want to put Poppy down when she’s clinging on tightly.” I nodded to the baby in my lap. Petunia’s hands were outstretched toward the mobile of little stuffed animals above her.
Jeremy ripped open the envelope, pulling out a stack of papers. His brow furrowed while he read.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Legal papers.”
“Again? I thought Cole has no claim on the girls?”
Jeremy shook his head. “He doesn’t… he’s actually seeking to have his parental rights terminated.”
“But… he has no rights.”
“They don’t know we’re bonded, do they?” Jeremy asked, flicking over the pages and whistling in shock. “I can’t fucking believe this. The idiot’s parents are offering a one-off financial settlement. They want to pay you to agree to terminate his rights so he can have nothing to do with the girls. They said they tried to deliver the papers in person, but, as you were unavailable, they had to do it via mail.”
“In person?” I reached for the papers and Jeremy moved closer so I could read. When on earth had they been near my house? Had they gone to my old apartment?
“Oh shit! They came here,” Jeremy said, turning to me with an apologetic smile. “They rang the doorbell while you were in labor—we saw it on the cameras. We planned to tell you after you gave birth but well…”
“The girls were very distracting.” I nodded.
“They are, in the best way. The whole Hanover family seem like dicks.”
“They own a pharmaceutical company, so morals aren’t exactly something they possess.” I chuckled lightly. “Shall we do anything about this?”
“You can accept the money if you want, but his rights are already terminated.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Can we just ignore it for now? I want to focus on the girls. I don’t want to give any of my brain power to those wastes of space.”
Jeremy took my hand. “That sounds like a plan. We can deal with it another time.”
“Where the hell are you guys?” I called as I wandered through the house. Once again I had taken a nap and woke up to the crib being empty.
I knew the guys wouldn’t have taken the girls out of our home without telling me first, but I was still struggling to locate them.
Despite my priority being to find my children, I couldn’t help but marvel at how clean the house was. Sure there was plenty of baby clutter, bottles, hats and toys dotted around, but there was no real mess. Before I’d become part of the pack, I had been prepared to struggle with dishes, laundry and all that household stuff after giving birth, but the guys had taken over all those duties entirely without a single complaint.
Part of me felt like I hadn’t even given birth to twins with how easy and restful this time was, other than my very sore chest. The girls had been abusing my nipples with the constant feedings, and they were getting chapped and itchy.
Though the guys were more than happy to apply nipple balm at any opportunity.
When I passed the door that led to the garage, I could hear muffled voices. I paused, opening the door and took a few steps into the garage before frowning in confusion at the sight before me.
All of my alphas were surrounding Nate’s Jeep which had its tire taken off. Devon was on the floor changing said tire while Nate and Jeremy held each of the girls.
“Now you gotta make sure you use the jack. Don’t try any other ways ‘cause that would just be problematic,” Devon was saying as he worked.
“What are you guys doing?” I laughed as they all turned to look at me.
“Duckie! You should be sleeping,” Jeremy admonished. He was wearing Poppy on his chest in one of those adorable baby slings. Her eyes were wide open and she looked around the room curiously.
“I’m doing nothing but sleeping. I assure you, I’m very well rested. Now, why are my daughters with you while you change a tire?”
Jeremy smirked at me. “The ducklings need to learn. We refuse to let some seventeen-year-old little fuckboy impress them by being able to do the bare minimum.”
I snorted. “The girls are six weeks old and have mushy little brains that don’t retain anything. Now while it’s certainly something admirable they should learn, I don’t think now is the time.”
“It’s never too early to start!” Nate insisted. He had Petunia cradled in his arms, and from the looks of it, she was about to fall asleep.
They weren’t exactly an enraptured audience, but it was too adorable to watch, so I decided to let them continue.