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“I am the one who is lucky to call them mine, Elowen.”

He gathered me into his arms and held me so gently that my eyes immediately started burning. He opened the bond for a little while, just long enough for all that joy to reach me, and it felt wonderful. Then he bent and kissed my forehead.

Darius carefully folded the onesie and put it back in the drawer.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d done it wrong.

Caius stood beside the window chair as we went back into the nursery, checking whether the lamp could be reached properly from the seat. He moved aside for Darius and put the control on the little table.

Across the room, Alaric was inspecting the shelves.

“There's something I haven't shown you.”

He came over, and I took his hand and led him to the space between the cots. Then I looked up and smiled, and he followed my gaze to the ceiling.

A large five-pointed compass had been carved above us.

“That's you, my heart,” I said as his eyes settled on it.

He looked down at me, and I squeezed his hand. “Whenever I feel lost, you're always the one who helps me find my way. You're our Pack compass. You guide all of us, and now you'll guide our daughters too.”

His fingers closed around mine as I continued.

“I want the girls to know they can come to you like that, even when they've made a mess of something.”

“They may always come to me, my heart.”

“I thought we could tell them what this means when they're older.”

“We shall.”

I waited while he looked up at it again. His face stayed composed, of course it did, but the love in our bond still made my eyes sting. I put my palm against his chest and felt him take a slow breath beneath it.

“Do you like it?”

“More than I can tell you.” He bent until his forehead rested against mine. “Thank you for thinking of me this way.”

I kissed him and stayed close while he carefully drew me against him. Around us, Leon was showing Caius the changed seams on the snow leopard, while Lucien had already brought down a book and set it beside the window chair.

Alaric moved behind me and slipped his hands beneath the curve of my belly. One of the girls moved against them just as I covered his fingers with mine.

“Did you feel her?”

“Yes.”

I waited until another little movement pressed into his palm, then smiled. His chest rose slowly against my back, and I would have happily stayed there much longer, but he must have felt how suddenly tired I’d become through the bond.

“Would you like to sit, my heart?”

“I think I'd like to lie down. But I don't want everyone to leave yet.”

“They need not.” He glanced towards his brothers before looking back at me. “Would you like me to stay with you?”

“Yes, please. It's been a while since we cuddled this early.”

He took my hand as I turned towards the door. Leon put the toy back on its shelf and came over to kiss my cheek, while Caius moved the basket out of our path. Lucien settled into the other chair with the book open across his knee, and Darius took the seat by the window.

“Take your time,” I told them, already fighting sleep as Alaric led me back to the nest.