[Madison] I woke up the next morning in a cocoon of blankets and bodies. Aria and Moran had joined us in bed overnight. We’d brought in a bassinette for Yvonna, so she wouldn’t miss any feedings.The room was full of love and comfort. I’d hoped for something like this. Ford hadn’t even growled when Moran’s hand touched me as he cuddled with Aria.My mates were on either side of me. Ford was sleeping so deeply he didn’t even wake when the baby started crying. I was happy that he was getting some rest.Since I was awake, I decided to get out of bed and see what was going on. Someone had to be up cooking breakfast for the household. Maybe it would be someone fun to talk to.Carefully, I climbed over Ford and out of bed. I checked on the baby, but she was sleeping as deeply as everyone else. I quickly grabbed a dress to pull on and headed out to the main kitchen in the house.Rafe and Landry were

I followed Adam to the area the fae trained in. It was a clearing in the forest. The trees rose to meet the clear blue sky and the songs of birds echoed through them.There were only about twenty fae, aside from me and Adam. Not nearly as many as I’d thought, but fae held magics that were different from those of any of the other races in the camp. They were also fierce fighters.As we entered the clearing, I let Reggie out. This was her training and I would know whatever she did. I pulled the hairtie off my wrist.“No. It’s better to let your hair go. Sometimes the magic needs you to be in things that aren’t created by humans.” Adam said.I nodded.We stopped in the center of the clearing and everyone bowed to me. I thanked them and an older looking woman came to the front of the group. She eyed me carefully.“This is Teela. She will help figure out your abilities. Magic speaks to her. She can feel the ebb

Over the next few days, I trained hard and Ford or Aria were available for feedings after lunch every day. I was so grateful to have them. We’d all slept in Ford’s bed every night because no one wanted to be without me.I figured they would feel more secure about our relationship as time went on. Once I was recharged, I was working on more glamour practice. Smaller things instead of something as big as that tree trunk. It took less work for me.Ford was starting to get a little more comfortable. He stopped panicking if I wasn’t there when he woke up or if I disappeared while we were visiting with other people. I was so happy to see him coming into himself more.More than anything, I was thrilled at how my family was coming together. I looked forward to the time when we would start building our home and growing our family even more. Everything in me was urging toward getting ready for the final fight so I could finally have the life I’d al

[Aria] When we had lunch after training, Ford started excitedly telling us about how Madison had fought. I was happy for her and proud as her mate. She was as strong as I always knew she was.She blushed and didn’t say much while he was going on and on. He didn’t seem to mind it, though. He was in his own little world.The change in Ford was amazing to see. He used to be so depressed with an underlying anger that never relented. I didn’t even realize that wasn’t who he was, since that was all I had ever seen.The last week had been like night and day. He was like a whole different person. I thought he was much better with Reggie, but I had no idea he could be like this.His soft, caring demeanor, the one I only saw with Yvonna, started spreading to other people. Ford was so sweet to my sister, I would have thought it was his child she was carrying. He wasn’t even that nice to me when I was pregnant.

[Madison] I cleaned up after training and started heading out to the main dining room to have lunch. Ford was standing in the entry with a large basket. I raised an eyebrow and wandered toward him.“What’s going on, honey?” I asked.“I’m takin’ you on a picnic, baby.” He replied with a slight smile.“A sexy picnic?”Ford laughed. “Not this time, baby. There are too many kids around here and I don’t want to go to the in-between. We’ve been spendin’ so much time workin’ on battle plans, trainin’, and keepin’ you full of energy after all the extra trainin’ you’re puttin’ yourself through. I just wanna be with you without all that junk. And without… Aria. I miss the time we were alone.”There was a strain in my eyes like I was going to cry. I’d been so obsessed with getting everything over with in the