Cassie POV

Upon setting eyes upon the twins for the first time, Cassie couldn’t keep from announcing, “You just had to outdo us, didn’t you? Two? You’ve got two babies? I want two! Karliah! Give me another one!”

“Give me some time to warm up first, love!” Karliah chuckled, shifting Caia to her hip, where their curly-haired one-year-old began pulling at the breast pocket of her t-shirt and sucking on the material.

“A couple of lunges and you’ll be ready to rumble,” Cassie added with a wink.

She turned back to Sam and Markus with her arms outstretched and cooed, “Now give me a chunky baby to squish!”

“Seth is the squishiest.” Markus replied with complete certainty and seriousness, holding out his hunk of a son by the armpits.

Cassie held him close, sniffing his head and kissing his fluffy hair and cuddling him.

Seth was rather unimpressed by her doting, refusing to smile even when she tickled his chubby cheeks. Markus leant in to kiss his nose, and his mouth instantly cracked into a gummy grin.

“No fair! Why doesn’t he like me?”

“It took me seventeen years to like you; give the kid some time,” Markus teased.

“That was a ‘you’ problem, not a ‘me’ problem!”

Markus laughed good-naturedly and stuffed his hands in his pockets, he seemed at a loss with what to do with his body now that he had handed over his son.

With a dip to the side, Karliah held Caia over Seth to get a peek, while giving her a running commentary on her new cousin. “Look, Caia, that’s Seth! Isn’t he cute and chubby? He’s your uncle Sammy’s baby boy!”

They had made the decision during Cassie’s pregnancy to tell their children that Cassie and Sam were siblings (Sam adopted, of course). He was adopted by the pack as a group, not an actual pair of caregivers, but her parents had the biggest hand in raising and moulding him. Cassie’s parents were thrilled to hear this, having always considered Sam theirs anyway. They had even gotten to meet the boys before she did. Not that they had been in their new home for long, barely a week. Cassie had been chomping at the bit to visit sooner, but Caia had come down with a sniffle for a few days, and they feared passing it on to the boys by bringing her to the Scarlett Moon pack house.

Cassie joined in. “He’s the same size you were when you were his age! What do you think, Caia?”

Caia blinked at him. Seth blinked back, both expressing very little interest in the introduction taking place. That was okay; they would be seeing a lot of each other as they grew up. Cassie was sure of it.

Sam was smiling serenely in the corner, observing them through half-lidded eyes. He was clutching little Mason to his chest and bobbing softly on the spot. Mason snoozed against his fluffy jumper, soothed by his father’s touch.

“Mason isn’t much bigger than Caia was at birth, and he’s three months old,” Sam added quietly.

“I’m so glad you guys got a sub pup, too; there are too many alphas in this room right now!”

Seth began to fuss in Cassie’s arms, whining and reaching his fat fists towards Markus.

Karliah laughed. “I’m pretty sure the only times I’ve seen this many alphas in one room are bonding ceremonies and alliance meetings.”

“I hope Seth looks out for his little brother,” Cassie wished aloud.

“Seth is the younger brother,” Markus informed her with a humour-filled smile as he reached out to soothe his son, swooping him up against his wide chest and ruffling his tiny splotch of hair.

“That’s adorable.”

“I bet that’s going to cause some friction.” Karliah chuckled.

“I hope not. I hope they grow up to be best friends.” Sam whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Mason’s head.

Cassie could already feel her ovaries squeezing at the sight of the boys, so small and precious and perfect. She wanted Caia to have a sibling, too. Maybe not as many as the number Karliah had in her head (Seven. Seriously, seven!) but at least one more… maybe two or three…

Markus sat on the carpet with Seth between his legs, and Karliah did the same with Caia opposite. She had been walking for over a month already and as soon as she was plopped to the ground she sprang up, bouncy as her curls, and toddled forward to inspect Seth again. He watched her blankly as she reached out a plump finger and poked his nose; then he smiled and so did she. A pair of alpha best friends would bring a hell of a lot of ruckus to their houses over the next couple of decades. Maybe Cassie was high on the smell of fresh babies, but she actually found the thought exciting. There would be a whole new generation of crazy dashing around her home as soon as Seth and Mason learned to walk.

Markus and Karliah grinned at each other with the same flash-of-canine mouths and bright eyes. Cassie and Sam smiled softly at them and then at each other. Silently acknowledging how far they had come since they were a pair of puny sixteen-year-olds simply trying to get through their first days at the academy.

When she and Karliah had been driving in the car on their way to meet the boys, Cassie had texted her mother to find out how Sam and Markus were doing.

Her mother had replied: You won’t believe how naturally they’ve fallen into fatherhood, Cassie! X

Having seen it with her own eyes now, she believed it.