I just didn’t actually think it would take so soon.
Correction, I didn’t think it would take so long.
We had been fucking like rabbits.
"Oh," I breathe, the simple word carrying the weight of sudden realization. "You're pregnant."
"Yeah, withyourbaby," Luca confirms, his face glowing with joy and pride. "I went to the clinic with you and Grayson twoweeks ago for the procedure," Luca continues, his voice growing more excited with each word. "I just got the results today. I'm pregnant and it's a baby girl."
The information takes a moment to fully process. "Wait, you're pregnant with my baby girl?"
"Yes," Luca says, tears of happiness starting to gather in his eyes. "She's yours biologically, Luther's going to be her other daddy and I'm going to carry her and love her just like I did with the boys."
I drop to my knees without thinking, my hands reaching out to touch the small swell of Luca's belly that I now realize I've been too busy and distracted to notice. Beneath my palms, I can feel the subtle changes that indicate new life growing inside the person I love most in the world.
"That's my baby girl in there," I whisper, my voice thick with emotion.
"Yeah, it is," Luca confirms, his own voice breaking slightly with tears. "You're going to be a daddy again, and I'm going to carry her for you, and we're going to have a complete family with children who share all of our genetics in different combinations."
That's when I hear footsteps on the stairs, the rest of our mates filing into the nursery, their faces just as excited about the information.
"I guess Luca told you the good news," Luther says with a knowing smile.
"How did you guys all know?" I ask, wiping tears from my cheeks as I look up at them from my position on the floor.
Luca's cheeks flush with embarrassment and amusement. "Because they've all been having sex with me regularly and paying attention to my body changes, while someone has been such a workaholic that he hasn't been in the nest with me enough to notice that I've got a little belly again."
The gentle accusation hits me with a wave of guilt. It's true that I've been throwing myself into work since Ward's arrest, using the company restructuring and creative projects as a way to channel my energy and ensure our financial security. But in doing so, I've missed important moments with my pack and failed to notice the subtle signs that should have been obvious to someone who loves Luca as much as I do.
"I'm so sorry," I say, pushing to my feet and reaching for both Samuel and Luca. "Let's rectify that right now."
Luca squeals with surprise as I gather Samuel and bring him over to his crib before settling him down for his nap alongside his brother. Both boys are getting drowsy anyway, their afternoon routine disrupted but not destroyed by this momentous news.
"Hey, be quiet," I tell the boys in a whisper. "I need to go fuck your other daddy to show him how much I love him."
"Blake," Luca protests with a laugh, "let's not use words like that around them. They're going to start speaking soon, and I don't want their first words to be curse words."
"Yeah, like that's going to happen anytime soon," I dismiss with a wave. "They're babies, Luca. We have months before we need to worry about vocabulary. Now, let's go," I continue, my voice dropping to a more intimate register. "I've got someone very important to thank properly."
Luther's deep chuckle fills the room. "You keep talking like that, and you're going to be the one getting thoroughly appreciated," he warns with obvious amusement.
31
Epilogue 3
Luca
It’s perfect.
Everythingis perfect.
If someone told me that I would be folding some of the babies' clothes in the nursery in neat little piles on the changing table while my baby boys were sleeping a few feet away curled up against their Gamma father’s chest, I would have never believed them.
But here we are and everything is perfect.
Maceo was working on something earlier but he came in here needing a distraction, falling asleep while rocking the twins to sleep after they ate. I’m more than grateful, considering I’m getting round all over again and even the small things are becoming a chore.
I’m already halfway into this pregnancy, Blake's baby girl causing me more trouble than the twins did. In just a month or two, James and Samuel will have a little sister who shares their other father's genetics, creating a family tree that represents the complex beauty of our pack bonds.
