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“Sounds like a party in here.” My heart flutters at the sound of Julian’s deep voice. A smile spreads across my face as I turn to watch him come toward me, his hair tied back. It has grown so much in the last few months, and I can’t help but find my mate looking sexier than ever.

“Nah, that party will be tomorrow,” Claira states, releasing Saben, who runs to his father. I watch Julian bend down and pick our son up, tossing Saben into the air.

“Yes, tomorrow Hannah will be crowned luna queen, and Saben here will be crowned the crown prince,” Julian states, tickling our son, who squirms out of his father’s arms and into mine, trying to hide from him.

“Papa is torturing me,” Saben whispers in mock sadness, making me chuckle.

“Well, then maybe Mama should torture him,” I say, poking his little nose. Claira makes a fake gagging sound, and I have to stifle my laughter.

“Well, it is getting late, and we all have a big day tomorrow,” Aidan cuts in, standing from his chair and giving Julian a ‘man hug’ before taking Claira and leaving my small family of four in my office.

“You’re home earlier than expected,” I say, trying to stand from the sofa and failing. Julian rushes to my side, helping me off the sofa. “Goddess, I can’t wait to be able to stand without help,” I grumble, Julian chuckling as he places a kiss on my lips.

“Three more months, and then you can slowly start healing, baby,” he whispers, rubbing our noses together. “And I came home early so that I could have dinner with my family. Being away from you three…” He pauses, placing a hand on my baby bump, his eyes softening as he bends down to kiss my lips. “Sorry,four.Being away from you four is torture for me. I want nothing more than to have you, Savannah, Saben, and our baby in my arms.”

I blush at his words, looking down at my bump and placing my hand on top of his. “Well, I am starving, and I bet Savannah and Saben are, too,” I state, turning to look at Saben, who is currently cooing at his sister. “What do you want for dinner tonight, baby?” I ask my son, watching him perk up with a grin.

“Chicken nuggets and French fries,” he answers, with Savannah chiming in with a little giggle.

I chuckle, holding my hand out for my son while Julian goes to carry our daughter before we make our way out of my office and toward the royal wing where our rooms are, including a small kitchen that Julian had built, knowing how much I loved cooking. Tonight, we will cook dinner and spend a quiet evening as a family before dealing with the hectic day that will be mycoronation, followed by a ball that ends the royal tour and Julian’s hunt for me, his mate.

77

Julian

Watching Hannah sleep curled into my pillow, I run my fingers through her soft hair and take in her scent. The palace around us is silent, everyone either asleep or avoiding our wing, knowing that Hannah has a hard time sleeping with her pregnancy so advanced. Yet, I know I will need to wake her up in a few minutes so that Claira, Jiya, and Aileen can come in and help her get ready for the coronation later today.

I never thought that I would be lucky enough to find my mate when I chose to do the royal tour. I was prepared to hate Hannah for the rest of my life, ready to blame her for chasing my mate away. Now, I realize that it was my own incompetence as an alpha and as a man that nearly ruined my life by not listening to the she-wolf I grew up with—the she-wolf who turned out to be everything I always wanted.

“Julian?” Hannah’s sleepy voice calls out, and I chuckle, finding her blue eyes staring up at me, still hazy with sleep.

“Good morning, baby,” I whisper, bending down and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. I feel her smile as she kisses me back, her scent wrapping around me.

“What time is it?” Hannah asks as soon as we pull away.

“Too damned early to be up,” I answer with a groan, resting my head on top of hers.

She giggles, shuffling closer to snuggle up to me, and I instinctively wrap my arms around her. Goddess, I love this woman.

“We do have an hour before we need to get ready for the coronation, so we can just cuddle for now until Jiya or Aileen decide to barge into our room and kidnap you and Savannah for the morning,” I add, settling in beside Hannah. She sighs, nuzzling into my neck. I hear her take a deep breath, inhaling my scent, and my grin grows. It makes me happy knowing she is addicted to my scent the same way I am addicted to hers.

“After today, I hope you know I plan to change the royal pack and create better training facilities,” Hannah says after a moment. I burst out laughing, leaning back into the pillows behind me while feeling Hannah’s amusement through the mate bond.

“I have no doubt you will change everything about the royal pack,” I say dotingly, pressing a kiss to her temple and breathing in her scent. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. The royalpack needs an overhaul in training and management, and I will gladly follow your lead in anything you want to do.”

Happiness radiates from Hannah as she snuggles closer to me as best as she can with her pregnant belly. I know she is already over being pregnant, tired of not being able to do much because her belly gets in the way, but I can’t help but feel sad that her body will go back to normal after the birth of our pup. I wonder if Hannah would be up for trying for another pup soon, to grow our family as big as we possibly can. I have a feeling the answer will be no, not unless Hannah is in heat or I have gotten my rut, but a man can dream of a large family, can’t he?

“So, have you thought of baby names for our next pup?” Hannah asks, drawing small circles along my chest with her index finger.

“No, I haven’t,” I answer honestly, closing my eyes. “I was hoping we could go through the royal library and find a name or two together,” I add, feeling Hannah’s hand slowly move down from my chest, going lower and lower along my body. I take a deep, unsteady breath, sensing her arousal, and chuckle. It seems the pregnancy hormones are getting to my poor little mate.

“Maybe we can do that tomorrow afternoon,” she whispers, her hand disappearing under the blanket covering my lap. Her hand finds what she was looking for. Warm fingers wrap around my semi-hard cock, and I groan, bucking my hips gently into her grip.

“If you keep toying with me like that, Hannah, I can’t promise you will have time to get ready for the coronation,” I warn lowly, feeling her hand slowly bob up and down my shaft, making me harder.

“Is that a threat?” she taunts back, her gaze meeting mine.

“No,” I answer, a growl of possessiveness seeping into my voice. “It’s a promise.”