Page 60 of Truth or Lie

He scowled at me. “You have no appreciation for the beard, you philistine,” he complained, reaching up to flick me on the ear.

I squeaked in surprise and shoved him off my lap, which somehow devolved into a very uneven five-way wrestling match, and from there, to something much more enjoyable. I hadn’t felt so light inside in years. Too bad the Russian Embassy’s poor, innocent fur rug was never going to be the same after we were through with it.

EPILOGUE

Leona

Five years later

“AARGH! GODDAMN IT, I hate every single fucking one of you right now!” Panting rapidly through my nose, I gritted my teeth until the contraction subsided. My hand ached from gripping Kam’s so hard that his knuckles ground together. He wisely didn’t complain—or reply. I darted a glance to my other side, a bit sheepishly. “I didn’t mean you, Mom. Sorry.”

My mother let out a soft snort and gave my other hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll let it slide this once, Pumpkin,” she said. “Let’s hope your dad is still keeping the twins occupied outside.”

“It’s probably not the worst thing they’ve heard,” Kam muttered,sotto voce.

Patricia McCready, who had been going by the name Victoria Anderson for the past several years, was the source of my Irish complexion and flaming red hair. Unlike mine, her hair was bobbed short, and also shot through with gray. A patchwork of the kind of freckles that I’d largely escaped dusted her pale skin. Laugh lines and frown lines decorated her thin face in equal measure. Her eyes were a striking blue, not dissimilar to Jax’s.

I was so relieved to have her here with me that I could have wept.

“Give us another big push on the next contraction, luv,” said the midwife. “You’re starting to crown.”

“Ugh.” I tried not to focus too much on the fact that this was only the first of two deliveries. If I’d hoped that giving birth to my second set of twins in five years would be easier than the first time around, I was out of luck.

Four familiar presences crowded my mind with love and worry, but I was the only one who could squeeze these pups out. The others would simply have to deal with getting cursed at, both aloud and internally.

“Let’s get you up and squatting.” The midwife gestured to Kam and my mother. They helped me get in position, despite the fact that my thighs were already shaky from exhaustion.

“Alpha,” Kam said softly. “A bit of help over here?”

A moment later, Alex’s lean-muscled body settled behind me. Her arms came around me; warm, long-fingered hands resting over my bulge.

“Get ready, odama,” she murmured. “Our new pups are almost ready to enter this world and say hello.”

I grunted in response, feeling my internal muscles gearing up for another strong contraction. We were in the nest, with its soothing, red-tinged light and mountains of pillows. It was where these pups had been conceived, and where they would take their first breaths. The old house in the woods had been transformed over the past few years. Once a safe haven for alphas and omegas in need, it was now our home.

Our pack house.

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