Page 46 of The Scent of Seduction

“Nicole? Listen to me. Listen to my voice.”

She heard Jaryn reach out to her through their link.

“We will get through this together as a family. I love you. Those little boys are a part of you, no matter how they arrived on this earth. They need a mother and father. We will provide them with a life filled with love. Together we can nurture them and watch them grow into strong men, along with our children, who are yet to come. Couples all over the world adopt children every day. And while Kaden, Gavin, and I may not share DNA, I will love them just as much as I will any other pups we are blessed with. You’re scared. I know you’re hurt and angry. I share the same fear and pain for what you went through, and for what all the children we rescued have experienced in their short lives. Nobody should have to go through that, but you all survived. You’re a strong woman with so much love in her heart. Give us a chance to be a family.”

Nicole curled into Jaryn’s chest as he gently rocked her back and forth. Her stomach finally settled, and she wiped the tears that poured from her eyes. She clung to Jaryn, her neck damp with moisture from his own emotional response. There was another knock at their bedroom door, and Nicole pushed to her feet from the bathroom floor. She splashed cool water on her face and swished out her mouth with some mouthwash. She went back into the bedroom and opened the door. Her emotional turmoil would have to wait.

Her children needed her.

She crossed the living room with her mate at her side. Jaryn’s hand rested on her lower back and she took strength from his silent support. Cooper and Shaun paced the room, each with a baby in their arms. Dual cries filled the vaulted ceiling of their home as the two little red faces scrunched up and their tiny hands clenched into fists. Jaryn headed for Shaun and Nicole for Cooper. She took the little one from his arms and, instantly, the cries stopped as if she had flipped an 'off' switch. Nicole looked down at the flushed face in wonder. Her hand caressed the top of his head and the feather light whips of red hair clung to her fingers. She made cooing noises and rocked him back and forth.

The baby’s feet kicked out repeatedly, and his hands patted at her chest. Maybe it was the endorphins flooding her system with instant recognition of a mother to her child. Maybe it was something special, but love immediately swamped Nicole and the tension headache that had resulted from her crying jag instantly disappeared.

“You have Kaden,” Jaryn said as he came up to stand beside her. “This is Gavin.”

Nicole looked at the infant in her mate’s arms and smiled. She adjusted Kaden in the crook of her arm and reached out to Gavin. His hand gripped her finger, and she could have sworn there was a smile on his face. “Hello, Gavin,” she whispered.

“We should probably feed them, and they’re most likely due for a change,” Jaryn said. “I have some stuff I took from the compound, but we’ll need to stock up.”

Nicole nodded. At that moment, she couldn’t wrap her mind around everything that had to be done. The boys would need a nursery set up, she and Jaryn would have to get them clothes, a supply of diapers and all the other baby paraphernalia that was required for a new addition to the family…times two.

“Don’t panic about all the shopping that needs to be done. Kaden and Gavin are the youngest of the super-shifters rescued. Gillian has already mobilized the pack and we should expect some deliveries in the next couple of hours. Several pack members already said they’d donate the nursery furniture from their pups who no longer use it, and I have a feeling we’ll have enough baby clothes to outfit an army by the time the day’s over.” He smiled.

Nicole’s mouth fell open. “But… why?”

Cooper had two bottles in his hands and handed them to Nicole and Jaryn. “It’s what packs do. We look out for each other.”

Jaryn looked at Cooper. “I thought Shaun said neither of you—”

Cooper snorted. “Even I can read a formula can.”

Shaun came in with a couple of little towels and placed them over Nicole and Jaryn’s shoulders. “Yes, he’ll make some lucky wolf a great wife someday.”

Cooper shoved Shaun. “I don’t want to hear it. You were the one who said to test the formula to make sure it wasn’t too hot.”

There was a knock at the front door, and Nicole watched Shaun cross over to the security panel. He must have approved of who stood outside, because he opened the door with a flourish.

“Welcome to casa de la baby!”

Jaryn’s parents and brother poured in, all talking at once. Above the din, Nicole heard Roberta, Jaryn’s mom, say, “Let me see my grandchildren!”

Roberta headed for Jaryn and started cooing over Gavin, and Charlie came quietly up to Nicole. He peered down at the baby bundled in her arms, contentedly sucking on his bottle.

“Huh, somehow I thought they’d be cooler looking. I mean, they’re supposed to be super-shifters. Shouldn’t they have like wings or something?”

Chris, Jaryn’s dad, cuffed his son upside the back of his head gently. “You behave. They’re adorable. Damn sight better looking than you were at their age,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Hey, I heard that!”

Nicole laughed. “Sorry, Charlie.”

Jaryn walked over, patting Gavin’s back as he rested against his shoulder. “I imagine they’ll come into their powers when they get older. Probably around puberty. Think about it—you’re fifteen and you only started shifting last year, till then you were a normal little snot.”

Gavin let out a loud belch, and the entire room started laughing. Nicole lifted Kaden to her shoulder and in quick order, he also burped.

Roberta came over with her arms held out. “Let me take them. I’ll change them, then they can settle down for a nap.” She looked around the living room. “Where are they going to sleep, Jaryn?”

“For now in their carriers, but we should have the back bedroom set up as a nursery in the next day or so.”

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