Mateo is sitting on the couch when we walk in. His eyes light up the instant he sees Andrei. “Finally, you are here! Maybe you can talk some sense into your sister for me,” Mateo says, and Kat growls at him.
“Why, what’s going on?” Andrei asks, walking around the couch and sitting on the one across from him.
Two babies are in his arms, snuggled up nice and warm. Both of them are wide awake and staring at their father. Mateo gets up and walks over and offers one of the babies to Andrei, who instantly snaps her up.
I assume she is a girl because she is wrapped in a pink blanket. However, I am shocked when he hands the son to me, my eyes widen as I look at Kat. I have no idea what to do. I have never held a baby, but when I glance at Kat again, she nods encouragingly to let me know I can hold him. So, I hold my arms out, and Mateo places the boy in my arms.
I support his little head, but he has good neck control as he looks around. Then, the baby peers up at me, and I bite my bottom lip to hold in the gasp of surprise.
His gold eyes are staring at me, I have never seen eyes like theirs before meeting Kat, they look otherworldly and so bright.
“Well, first, Kat hasn’t shifted in God knows how long due to the pregnancy, and she never leaves the house. Also, Ezra put Marabella in Eziah’s crib, she found out, and lost her mind. She reckons it is dangerous, yet they slept soundly, so we want to put them together to try and get some sleep. Kat says no because of the Ssss-.” Kat’s growl abruptly cuts him off.
My head snaps in her direction right when Kat folds her arms in front of her chest. “Don’t you say it, you know I hate it being mentioned.”
He throws his hands up in the air and falls back on the couch behind him. “See what I mean?” He says, waving at his mate.
“Saying the word isn’t a bad thing. There should be more awareness about it, Kat, more research,” Andrei lectures, though I am a little confused.
I am not willing to ask anything, especially seeing how upset Kat just got over whatever Mateo was about to say. If I insert myself in this discussion just to ask questions, I could become the cause of an argument blowing out of proportion. That’s the last thing I want to do.
“I am sure it is not a big deal for them to sleep together. Maybe that’s why they aren’t sleeping, Kat, they can safely co-sleep together,” Andrei points out before he looks down and coos at the baby in his arms. Her little mittened hand escapes the blanket, and Andrei shakes and rubs her covered hand.
Andrei told me some things about Marabella and Eziah. Now that we are actually here to see Kat and meet the babies, I wonder if what Andrei told me is why her hands are covered yet Eziah’s aren’t.
I don’t understand how it works, but I believe him. There is just this weird air around Kat, something that warns you she is more than an average werewolf and something dangerous. Looking at the twins, I get that same vibe.
“As for the shifting, you know you need to shift, Kat. You don’t want to risk exploding around them, do you?” Andrei adds, nodding to the babies in our arms.
“No, of course not! But I am worried my milk will dry up or something,” she protests, walking around and sitting on the couch next to Mateo.
Ezra walks out with a tray of coffee and places it on the coffee table as the front door opens. An older man comes inside, Kat sticks her arm over the back of the couch, waving at him.
“Hey, Pumpkin,” the man greets.
I look at her and the man a couple of times and then notice the resemblance between Kat and him. I should have noticed instantly, they are so damn alike, it’s clear they are father and daughter.
This is the same man who is Andrei’s father, but I suppose my mate must take after his mother. However, even though I can’t see many similarities between Andrei and his father, there are a few, like the eyes and lips.
“Hey, dad,” Kat says, smiling at the older man.
I watch how he rubs his hands together excitedly as he steps closer to the couch. The next moment, he reaches down and plucks the baby from Andrei’s arms. He cradles her and slowly turns to me.
“You must be Sage,” he says, leaning down and kissing my cheek.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Derrick, since no one decided to introduce me,” he huffs, looking at Kat and Andrei. “The rude ones, dad,” he adds, and I smile.
He sits next to Andrei on the couch. Andrei reaches for his coffee, and an unsettled feeling drifts through the bond. He takes a few mouthfuls before he places the cup back on the tray.
“How are you, son?” Derrick asks Andrei.
The tension between these two is awfully awkward, as if that isn’t enough, I can also feel strange feelings I can’t quite understand or describe. At first, I assume it’s because of me, but a moment later, I realize they are Andrei’s feelings I’m catching on through the bond we share.
“Good, Derrick,” he answers flatly before reaching over and fixing the baby’s mitten that is coming off Marabella’s hand while his father holds her. As I stare down at Eziah, Andrei leans over my way, and I can tell he is itching to hold him.
I never pictured Andrei to be a family man, more like the sort of person who would have a kid because it was expected, but seeing him with his sister and the way his eyes light up around his niece and nephew, I realize I have got it all wrong. He wants a family.
Andrei takes Eziah from my arms, rocks him back and forth and rubs his back. Andrei sniffs his little head. “I love the new baby smell,” he confesses, smiling at his nephew.
My heart twists, turns and pulls at an unfamiliar, new type of pain I didn’t know could exist. To see and feel all Andrei’s love for the little bundles of joy though our bond.