Page 66 of Loving Nightmares
And it was an amazing future that I was beyond eager for.
Despite being almost eight months pregnant, I felt really good, and the dress I’d chosen, a black tulle empire with a low back and jeweled neckline, was extremely comfortable, showcasing my bump without being restrictive. My feet, on the other hand, were not happy, and I had long ago kicked off my low kitten heels.
I had no idea how I would survive without wearing heels, but I would have to make do. I really didn’t know how long this pregnancy would be. I was happy no matter the length, but not knowing was hard. The only guidance I had was in the form of othersis metas, but I hadn’t been able to ask them a lot of my questions. From the short conversation Jalissa and I had, I’d learned that usually each pregnancy was very different, especially with having multiple mates.
The unknowns were also stressing my mates. Despite me assuring them that I was rather comfortable, I think I had been carried almost everywhere recently. Luckily I’d been able to talk them out of beingtoocareful with me, but it had taken a month or two until a few of my nightmares were willing to take me the way I loved. Which is why I was somewhat sore right now, because following the ceremony, I had taken a moment to be alone with Cy and Zain, my entire body still lit up from it.
They totally knew it too, because while we were all sitting at a long table at the front of the room, both of their gazes continued to move to mine, Zain offering me a knowing smile and Cy a heated expression. I had no doubt they would move over here soon—all of my mates had progressively moved closer and closer to me so that we were in more of a circle, still allowing me to watch the room.
Everyone I loved in one place—that was just one more reason why this wedding was so important to me. Between Eros and Drive, who were talking with Eve’s mates…yes, Eve’smates. Three other men outside of Slater had shown up after War’sdeath. All of them seemed wonderful, but convincing Eve to let them back into her life… Well, let’s just say they had their work cut out for them.
Now, though, was a different story. Eve spun on the dance floor with Slater, and children darted past them, two little wolves followed by their ever-present guardian, Mykia. Nia was extremely excited to meet the others, and tomorrow my father had arranged a lunch with them. Something I wished to be part of…
But we were going on our honeymoon to the Oceanic Forest.
Apparently, with the help of my father, Ashur and the others had arranged for the cabin tree house to be expanded so that it was large enough for all of us to visit for family vacations. I was super excited to see it, and the boys had even promised we could visit Frostford on the way through. I couldn’t wait to see how it was doing, especially with all the new policy changes.
It wasn’t just political shifts occurring, either. No, our team was making some big changes of our own now that I was pregnant. While they still planned on going on missions if necessary, much like Isla’s men, they were going into ‘retirement’ and were now training younger teams that were about to go into the field. I’d worried they would be bored, but each day they came home thoroughly amused by one thing or another.
Plus, it meant I still got to do the logistic planning for many of the missions, a low-stress job that kept my brain moving. Honestly, I was way worse at being idle than most of my men were, so I was glad I still had that opportunity. I think if I didn’t, I would also miss working with my dad.
My dad, who was beyond happy—emotional also. Way more emotional than I was used to, having walked me down the aisle and even shed a tear. Which of course had caused me to tear up… It had been a total mess, and I loved it. I smiled as I watched himspin Irina around the dance floor, laughing about something. She was so good for him, the polar opposite of him in some ways—the best ways. She’d managed to convince him to relax more than I think he ever had in his life.
So much so that when we came back from our honeymoon, they were going to go on a trip to the Caribbean. I was shocked when they said that. A trip maybe wasn’t that surprising, but call me crazy, I couldn’t imagine my dad on a beach with a tropical drink. I was totally going to have Irina take pictures of that.
“Should we go dance again?” I broke out of my train of thoughts, noticing that everyone was dancing, even Keres. I had been surprised by her choice to stick around, but I was also happy about it. She seemed to have somewhat repaired her relationship with her brother, but even more so, Irina. The two of them had become best friends in a very short amount of time.
“You danced for two hours and nine minutes today. Your feet need a break,” Amun rumbled, Razar letting out a grunt of agreement.
“Plus we have cake,” Saint added, pushing another plate towards me. Taking a bite, I made a pleased noise.
The entire wedding had been pink and black, so the interior of the cake was red velvet cake but dyed pink, and the frosting was black cream cheese. It was absolutely delicious and matched the rest of the decor, which was elegant, gothic, and fit our team perfectly. Saint had even been able to put some of his collected skulls on display without them looking too out of place…mostly.
The man was far too proud of them.
“This is a damn good cake,” Zain said as he took another bite. The food at the institute was normally good, but they had really stepped it up for this.
“I heard Drive was helping them in the kitchen,” Cy stated, my eyes widening at that piece of information. I didn’t realizethe man cooked! That totally made me glad, even more so now, that he’d decided to stick around.
“Still don’t like him,” Blackwell grumbled, appearing next to me and crouching down, his eyes filled with a relaxed warmth. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” I smiled as his eyes moved down to my stomach, then he nodded sharply and stood, undoubtedly to get me something he deemed necessary. All of my mates had been intense following the news of my pregnancy, but he was superextraintense.
“If you like his cooking,” Damian said, “I like him slightly more than before. But I still don’t fully like him.”
“Who don’t we like?” Ashur asked, walking from the direction of the kitchen. I nearly melted as I realized he’d made me a sparkling lavender and lemon soda drink. Obviously I couldn’t drink wine like everyone else, but I also felt lame with just water, so I totally appreciated it. I thanked him and took a sip, letting out a happy sigh. This was perfection.
“Happy?” Razar asked against my ear.
“More than ever.” It was the truth, and it was all because of them.
EPILOGUE 2
SAINT
10 years later…
“Daddy,why is the garden so big?”
