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One day, they would tell the twins and their future children. They would be sure to find a lot of amusement in the situation, he was sure.

Evander let out a laugh, the kind that hurt somewhere under his breastbone, and rolled her beneath him to kiss her. She was smiling against his mouth, and he was smiling against hers, and he thought, absurdly, that he’d never once kissed anyone while smiling, and that he meant to do it a great deal more.

A knock sounded at the door, and they both froze.

Evander cursed under his breath, annoyed.

“Me Lady?” Brigid’s voice came through the wood, thin and apologetic. “Me Laird? I’m so sorry. Truly, I am. But the bairns willnae settle. Nae without ye, me Lady. They’ve been crying for an hour, and Amelia’s started biting.”

Freya made a small, strangled sound against his shoulder. Evander dropped his forehead onto hers and groaned.

“Biting,” he repeated. “Is she biting people now?”

He knew nothing about children. He was almost ashamed to admit it, but the twins were still so young. What was he supposed to do with them? He would have to learn from Freya.

“She’s teething.” Freya laughed. “Get up, husband. Yer niece is a wolf too. I suspect that yer nephew is going to follow in yer footsteps soon.”

They dressed in a scramble, bumping elbows in the dark, Freya lacing her bodice crooked and Evander pulling his shirt on backward. Neither of them bothered to fix it.

When they opened the door, Brigid took one look at them both and very carefully examined the ceiling.

“I do apologize,” she said, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

Evander shook his head. “No need, Brigid.”

There really wasn’t.

A week later, Evander looked for Jack. The two were long overdue for a conversation. He found him in the armory, oiling straps as if the task required his whole soul.

Jack had always been intense. Evander didn’t realize how much, but he was here for a reason. He needed to apologize and thank him at the same time for the warning. He hadn’t been willing to listen. His mistake had nearly cost him his wife and family, something he would never have been able to move past.

“Jack.”

Jack looked up. “Me Laird, if ye’ve come about the broken door, the carpenter says he needs three days to fix it. I can talk with him and try to get him to fix it sooner if ye want.”

Evander sighed. “Jack, I havenae come about the door. The door is the furthest thing from me mind.”

Jack blinked. “Is it about the post in the yard, then? He says he’s nae making ye another one until ye learn some restraint.”

Evander chuckled at that. “I havenae come about the post either, Jack, but I’ll keep that warning in mind.”

“Ah.”

Jack looked tempted to ask him why he was even here, but he continued the task he had been attempting to finish before Evander entered the room.

The silence stretched long enough that a sparrow hopped in through the opened door, looked at them both, and then flew away.

It was just a few words. Evander just had to open his mouth and apologize. Nothing difficult about that. But he had never found it easy to apologize.

Freya had been the one to insist he talk to Jack in the first place. And Jack, despite his feelings towards Evander, had still approached him and tried to warn him about Callum. He had no idea how Evander was going to react. He could’ve banished him or done worse.

And yet, he still came to Evander to tell him what he believed was the truth. Evander respected him for that. To be able to make a tough call and tell the truth when the time called for it.

It had saved Freya’s life. If Evander had acted a bit sooner, she never would’ve come so close to losing it, but there was nothing else he could do about that now. This was a regret he was going to have to deal with.

“Ye tried to tell me,” Evander said finally. “That morning in the yard. Ye said Callum had been odd. Ye said it more than once, and I didnae listen.”

“Ye were busy.”