Page 78 of The Magic of Eternity
Faris shrugged. “There was a mishap. Let’s just say soup is off the menu.”
Fuck. I was hungry but I couldn’t eat this. The food before me reminded me of when Miranda and I had played truth or dare as kids, usually daring someone to eat or drink some crazy concoction.
The sound of the doorbell had everyone freezing, looking at the babies to see if they’d wake, but they just kept snoozing.
“Are we expecting someone?” Guppy whispered. Cam winked at me, then pushed himself up and left the room to get the door.
“Faris! Where the hell is that soup pot? The entire thing is gone!” Kai growled from the kitchen.
Sloane sighed. “Where’s the soup, Faris?”
The mischievous mage rolled his eyes, and I felt Sloane stiffen next to me. He hated when anyone rolled their eyes at him, but I suspected it probably really got him going when Faris did it.
Cam came back into the room carrying bags of Chinese food, and I groaned. A full-on, ‘there’s a wild beast within me who needs that food immediately’ kind of groan. “You are a god. Someone grab plates and shit. I’m about to devour this.”
And I did. I ate more than I had in two weeks and felt as though I would burst. Afterward, I fed the babies before crawling into the huge bed, loving the nest feel. It was beyond cozy and warm, the blankets smelled of my mates, and I felt safe and loved.
Bram climbed in next to me, with Faris on my other side. “Sleep, Goldie. We’ll wake you when you’re needed.”
I nodded, my eyes too heavy to remain open. As sleep rushed in, I relaxed against the softness of the bed. Soft touches and quiet murmurs were my lullaby.
“I love you all,” I whispered, unsure if anyone heard it. But as I fell into the open arms of slumber, the feel of soft lips against my forehead soothed me, and the many declarations of love swirled around me just like the embrace of their arms.
“We love you so much, Goldie. Rest now, my queen.”
And I did.
Four Weeks Later
Istretched like a cat as I came to, nestled deep within my blankets. Damn, that had been a good sleep. I wiggled down into the nest, my eyes still shut.
The girls were six weeks old today. How was that even possible? Time was moving faster now than it ever had before and I was scared to blink.
I suddenly realized that it was quiet. Too quiet. My eyes flew open and I pushed myself up, looking around the room and finding it empty.Strange.The smell of bacon drifted in, so I listened closer and heard faint movement from the kitchen. Okay, bathroom first, then delicious bacon.
A few minutes later, I padded into the kitchen, finding Gran dancing around as she fried up bacon and pancakes. “Oh good! You’re up. I can put on my jams now.” She shouted at Alexa to “Play my fuck around and find out playlist,” and I gasped.
“Yourwhatplaylist?”
She tossed her head back and cackled like the lunatic she was. “Here, have some coffee.”
I sighed deeply as she handed me a large mug with stupid snail peens all over it. Bram and his creations… “Where is everyone? It’s too quiet.”
“Your men took the girlies to the park for a walk. They wanted to let you sleep in. How are you feeling?” Gran glanced at me, attempting to be casual, but I knew she was still worried about me.
My index finger followed the rim of the mug. “I’m feeling a lot better, Gran. Really. The therapy is helping and the medication is really kicking in now. I still get overwhelmed, but I think that’s just a normal part of motherhood.”
After my breakdown last month, I’d decided to seek treatment. It wasn’t an immediate cure, and I wasn’t crazy about taking antidepressants, but my brain wasn’t working like it should have been. I didn’t want to miss moments with my family just because I was terrified of bad things happening, nor did I want to live in my room for the rest of my life. That wasn’t fair to my mates or my daughters.
My therapist had actually been recommended by Balor. He’d found me a female demon who was able to shed some light on things I’d been experiencing, explaining how they were caused by my demon side. Like the urge to keep everyone close, to nest, to feel secure, especially after birth. That first night I’d slept in the nest, I was out cold for ten hours. Nobody woke me, instead using the little bit of breastmilk I’d pumped to feed the girls during the night.
While I’d felt like a whole new woman when I woke up, my tits were as big and hard as bowling balls. I’d leaked through my nursing pads, bra, and nightgown, and the moment I got those wet clothes off, milk had started spraying like a freaking sprinkler. I had to pump and nurse to get all of it out. The look of horror on Sloane’s face as I sat there like a human fountain would live in my head for the rest of my life.
Thankfully, everyone understood that in the future if I needed to catch up on sleep, that I’d make sure I was well and truly empty beforehand, and someone would wake me just to check on the boob situation after four or five hours. Of course, my kinky little Viper offered to ‘take the edge off’ without waking me. I thought Sloane was going to throw up.
We hadn’t had sex yet. I was slowly coming around to the idea of it. I’d started noticing again the way Cam’s shirts stretched across his wide shoulders, and how his tattoos flexed with his arm muscles. The other morning, I’d seen Kai—shirtless and wearing a tiny, tight ass pair of shorts—doing yoga in the garden. I’d definitely been noticing them.
“You seem more like yourself,” Gran commented, interrupting my thoughts.
