Clay’s POV A tenuous peace settled over us for the next few weeks. Cary and I went to work during the day, though less of our time was spent on actual pack duties in favor of discussing our future and how to move forward without Colton. Our parents thought he was away gathering intel on Alpha Quade and none of us disabused them of that notion. Mallory spent most of her days with our mother, determined to perfect her future role as Luna by absorbing every detail the current Black Moon Luna had to impart. The three of us spent our nights together, Cary and I wrapped around our mate. And from the outside, it would appear that we’d never been happier. But despite her best efforts to hide it, and our best efforts to reassure her, a tinge of self-loathing permeated Mallory's otherwise vibrant scent. Others might miss it, but as her mates who lived just to breathe her in, it was unmistakable. “It’s killing me to watch her beat herself up this way.” Cary mentioned for the hundredth

Mallory’s POV “Oh, and never seat Alpha Craig near Alpha Layton at dinner parties. Craig used to date Layton’s Luna and now they hate each other.” Luna Erika instructed. We were in the ballroom reviewing the intricacies of hosting successful inter-pack gatherings, one of my duties as future Luna. But I couldn’t focus on the lesson. I was too busy trying to keep my breakfast in my stomach where it belonged. For the past couple of weeks, I’d been exhausted, even sneaking away in the middle of the day to take a much needed cat nap. Then, for the past three days in a row, my stomach felt like it was doing cartwheels most of the time. I could barely look at food, and days like today when my mates practically force fed me, it refused to stay down. But I absolutely could not be coming down with something! We’d worked so hard to perfect our strategy for deposing Alpha Quade and we were about to act on it. My mates would never let me go if they thought I was ill and I wouldn’t want to j

Clay’s POV I was so excited to be home! When we realized that one of us needed to scout the Hazelwood pack borders for ourselves, we knew it was going to take at least a week. We needed to study their defenses, determine where their sentries were stationed and how often they changed shifts. Patrol patterns weren’t that easy to decipher in less than a few days' time. Unfortunately, I’d lost the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who would go and who would stay with our mate. Leaving Mallory home alone was never an option. Not with Colton lurking around every corner, just waiting for a chance to catch her on her own. I wasn’t too proud to admit I was a little bit jealous of all the one-on-one time Cary had with her while I was away. All I wanted was to bury myself deep inside her, feel her wrapped around me and lose myself in her for hours on end. My little brother could fuck right off too. He’d had his turn. Now it was mine. “Fuck! I knew I missed her scent but I never

Mallory’s POV Per my usual routine of late, I woke up nauseated, rushing to the bathroom to empty my stomach. Today though, there was more than one reason for my abdominal gymnastics. Today, I was leaving Black Moon territory for the first time since my attempted abduction. Today, I would find out if my pup had only two or all three of the Alpha triplets as potential dads. “Feeling better?” Clay asked, coming into the bathroom just as I was brushing my teeth. I gave him a wilting look before spitting into the sink. “I usually get a reprieve around mid-morning but given the events of the day, I’m not sure the butterflies are likely to settle down at all. Do I have time for a shower before we go?” “Of course, love. Take your time.” Clay answered, kissing my temple then bending over to address my belly. “Be nice to your mom, little one. She could use a break.” He kissed my belly and left me to my shower. I let the warm water ease the tension in my muscles. Logically, I knew

A few hours earlier Clay’s POV Cary and I were buzzing with excitement. Not only were we going to be fathers but we were going to have triplets! My little wolf was carrying three little wolves. “No wonder she’s been so sick.” Cary observed. “Growing three pups has to be a lot for her body to handle.” “We’re going to have to make sure she takes it easy, gets plenty of rest and always has healthy food on hand.” I was already making a shopping list in my head. “In other words, we’re going to spoil her rotten!” Cary rubbed his palms together excitedly. “Exactly!” I grinned at the idea. A quick tap on the door was followed by Dr. Diaz slipping back into the room. She hadn’t so much as glanced at Cary or addressed him as anything other than Mallory’s mate which I appreciated. And Mallory seemed comfortable with her. That was a good sign, “And where is our little mama wolf?” She asked. Immediately my hackles were up and my wolf, Gunner, was standing at attention, demanding we put