Chapter 66
Two Years Later
W hat people didn’t tell you about having children—they became the loves of your life, but also your greatest nightmares.
And having two at the exact same time?
I attempted to wrestle my two-year-old daughter into her coat, but the little shit simply kicked out at me with a petulant, “No, Mommy!”
“It’s cold, Avree,” I said softly. Placatingly.
Sometimes, it felt like I was doing more mental gymnastics with her than the entire council.
“I don’t want that coat!” Tears welled in her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest.
I took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Then what coat do you want?”
“Dat one!” She pointed a chubby finger at a brown jacket—which was currently on her twin brother.
Maxwell stared at his sister with wide, guileless eyes before twisting in his father’s arms. Devlin tightened his grip on our son.
“That’s Maxwell’s coat,” I said, once again adopting a soft, soothing voice.
“I WANT IT!” Avree began to cry in earnest, and Maxwell wiggled in Devlin’s arms, as if responding to his sister’s distress.
Despite being twins, the two of them couldn’t be more different.
Avree was loud and incredibly smart for her age. She could already speak articulately and had just begun to read. Maxwell, on the other hand, was shy and timid, constantly hiding his face. He had yet to speak beyond a few words here and there.
One thing was certain—the two of them loved each other fiercely.
“All right. Come on. We’re going to be late.” Bash bent down, scooped Avree up, and held her against his hip.
“I don’t have a coat, Daddy!” Avree whined.
But then she promptly got distracted when Killian began making faces over Bash’s shoulder.
I grabbed Avree’s discarded coat and then followed my mates out of the house and to the van.
It was a quick drive to Mali and Atta’s house. After their wedding a year prior, they purchased a house just down the street from us. It made sense for the two of them to remain close to the capital, especially with Atta’s position on the council.
The last two years had seen my mates traveling constantly. There was so much that had to be done in their individual kingdoms. Most days, half of my mates were gone, though they all returned before dusk fell.
That was a rule of our household—all of us had to be home before dark.
Today was different, though. None of my mates had gone out, and they had no intentions to.
It was our two-year anniversary,and we planned on celebrating.
Flutters exploded in my belly, and I found myself squirming in the passenger seat.
Since the twins had come along, it had been way too long since I’d been able to be with more than one of my mates at the same time. We needed today, especially since tomorrow was the little terrors’ birthday.
Mali and Atta’s cottage was half the size of ours, constructed out of red brick. It had a cute porch with a swing on it, and a perfectly manicured garden in the backyard.
Mali opened on the first knock, her smile widening when she caught sight of my babies.
“How are my favorite niece and nephew doing?” She immediately reached to take Avree from Bash, and the young girl went willingly, already rattling off a list of “requirements” she had for her stay here.
Diva.
Maxwell was a lot more reserved as he surveyed Mali from beneath his fringe of reddish-brown hair. Timidly, he lifted a hand to wave before instantly sucking on his thumb.
Lupe reached forward to extract his thumb from his mouth.
“No,” Lupe chastised softly.
We’d been trying to break that bad habit for months now.
“Atta! Mary-Lynette! They’re here!” Mali called, balancing Avree on her hip.
A blur of movement preceded Mary-Lynette’s arrival, the young girl’s face split into a huge grin. Maxwell immediately smiled and reached for her, straining in Devlin’s arms.
“Hi, baby boy!” Mary-Lynette said, grabbing Maxwell.
My baby giggled as she bounced him.
“Hey, guys!” Atta appeared behind the other two, wiping her hands on a rag. Her brown hair was brushed back into a messy ponytail, and she wore a pair of faded jeans and a sweater. The outfit looked so different from what she usually wore at the capital that I did a double take. “I just finished dinner. Mary-Lynette? Why don’t you help the two of them clean up?”
“Okay.” Mary-Lynette reached for Avree and then, balancing one child on either hip, headed in the direction of the bathroom.
Atta watched them go before refocusing on us. “You guys will be picking them up tomorrow morning, correct?”
“If that’s okay with you.” Dair handed her the backpack we always kept full of supplies for our children.
“Of course it is.” Atta smiled warmly. “You know I love the little terrors.”
“Mary-Lynette’s here,” I pointed out. “Does that mean Axel is too?”
Mali nodded. “Axel and HH. They’ve been…hitting it off.”
Her expression turned decidedly mischievous.
Years ago, HH had lost his mate—my best friend, Diego—and had been mourning him ever since. But I knew Diego, and he would want his lover to be happy.
But with Axel? I loved the shadow. I truly did, but he was a little…unhinged on a good day. I once caught him putting tiny hats on his weapons.
Mali leaned forward, keeping her voice low. “A couple of nights ago, Axel, Atta, and I went over to HH’s house. Atta and I left around eight, but Axel didn’t return home until the following morning.”
“Seriously?” I gawked.
She nodded. “And I heard from the grapevine that HH is a giver, not a taker, so I’m beginning to believe that our little assassin friend likes getting fucked up the ass?—”
“Yup. Nope. Let’s end this conversation now,” Ryland interrupted, making a face.
Bash began to dramatically dry heave behind me.
Mali giggled and backed away. “Talk later?”
“Definitely.” I needed to know all the details, even if it emotionally scarred me for life.
“Have fun, you eight!” Atta called, waving.
“Make sure to take lots of breaks,” added Mali.
“Keep pain medication on hand,” said Atta.
“And water.”
“Don’t forget to ice down there.”
“And if you get bored doing her, you can do each other.”
All seven of my mates flipped them off, and Mali and Atta descended into giggles. I rolled my eyes at their antics, but honestly…they weren’t wrong. At least about the first few points. Since my mates weren’t sexually interested in each other, it meant I had to do all the grunt work, if you caught my drift. We had to get pretty damn creative during sexy times to save my poor vagina from complete annihilation.
Fortunately for me, I was pretty good at taking five at a time. One in my pussy, another in my asshole, a third in my mouth, and the last two in each of my hands. Then, once that was done, the other two would have free rein and could choose any hole. And?—
I began to laugh as we walked back to the van.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Jax stared at me as if I’d gone completely insane.
“Just about how much of a shameless hussy I am,” I answered with a smirk.
Bash snorted. “But you’re our shameless hussy.”
“Bash-hole,” I quipped.
“You know, we don’t have to have sex tonight if you don’t want to,” Dair said seriously, his kind eyes ensnaring my own. “We could just chill and cuddle.”
All of my mates nodded in agreement, and the enormity of my emotions for them overwhelmed me. I really, really loved these men.
“This is the first night in two years that we have no children at home.” I gave them all a piercing look. “I’ll be damned if I’m not fucked on every surface at least once.”
The temperature ratcheted up a dozen notches as my mates all stared at me, their expressions ravenous. My reaction was instantaneous and visceral. My nipples pebbled, and wetness coated my thighs—something Lupe could no doubt sniff, if his agonized groan was any indication.
“I call front!” Bash declared suddenly, waving his hand in the air.
“Back!” Killian exclaimed.
“Kitchen counter,” Jax piped in.
“Living room wall,” added Devlin.
“Bathtub!” Lupe called.
My other mates interjected as well, each location more and more ridiculous.
I couldn’t stop smiling.
Our happily ever after hadn’t been easy. It’d been messy and bloody, and sometimes, I had wondered if it was even possible for us. Yet here we were, years later, as happy as we could ever be.
With them at my side, I didn’t feel like an assassin, a Liberator, or even a queen. I felt like…me, like Z, a human girl who had endured unspeakable horrors but managed to survive them all.
Lupe scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder, racing towards the van. I laughed and pounded at his back half- heartedly. All of my mates smiled as they slid in after me, their hair windswept and their eyes alight with excitement.
We survived the malicious kings and Aaliyah. Gabriel and Lilith. War and death. For the first time in forever, we were happy.
And if anyone tried to take this happiness away from us, they would face my wrath.