Envy
If someone had told me even a year ago that this would be my life, I never would’ve believed them. Peace. Laughter. Family. A belly so round I could barely see my toes, carrying life that refused to stop kicking at the most inconvenient times. Yet here I was, hand resting over the swell, heart so full it threatened to burst. Everything had shifted these last few months, in ways that felt permanent and steady. Elliot and Elias’s parents had moved into the old orphanage house on the pack lands, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smoother fit. The pack had welcomed them without hesitation, and they’d returned that love tenfold. Elliot’s mum had practically taken over the kitchen there, keeping every pup fed and fussed over. At the same time, his dad had become the kind of steady presence the orphanage always needed, mending shoes, fixing toys, and teaching the little ones how to plant things that would grow. I couldn’t have asked for better people to be folded into this family.
We’d been making the trip to visit my mum and brothers often, too. Every time we arrived, they had arms full of gifts, clothes, trinkets and sweets that made the kids‘ eyes light up. It felt like healing, like stitching together years we thought we’d lost. And with Aleisha and Tommy recently announcing they were expecting, the house was buzzing with the kind of anticipation that reminded me of nesting wolves. Mum and Dad had that look in their eyes too, the look of people quietly preparing for a flood of little feet and laughter that was on the horizon. But the ones who’d settled in best of all were the children. Elliot, Macey, and Elias had bloomed like wildflowers in spring, bending every room to their will the moment they stepped inside. The pack adored them, and they loved the pack right back. Games broke out wherever they went, chasing through halls, dramatic battles in the training field, or scavenger hunts that somehow roped half the omegas into helping. And Macey… I smiled from my spot on the garden bench, one hand on my belly, the other shading my eyes. The boys had hung a tyre swing from one of the Underworld’s blackwood trees earlier this morning, their laughter echoing between the garden walls. Now Elliot stood behind it, pushing gently, his grin just as bright as the squeals coming from Macey as she soared forward and back.
“Higher, Elliot!” she shrieked, kicking her legs out.
“Not too high,” Noah warned from where he was raking along the garden beds, though his lips twitched with a
smile.
Elliot just laughed, giving her another push. Elias was perched in the grass nearby, pretending to sulk but watching closely all the same, ready to leap if she slipped. They were inseparable, those two, Elliot and Macey: a shadow and its light. Even now, with everything official and secure, they clung to each other as if the world might still try to take it away. And maybe it would. Maybe shadows would always linger, waiting for their chance. But for now? For now, they were children, free and safe and loud, and I’d do everything in my power to keep it that way. I breathed deep, the scent of the gardens and the Underworld earth grounding me. My future stretched out ahead, crowded with family, with love, with more pups on the way. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid of it. Because we weren’t walking into it alone.
My hand drifted over the curve of my belly, tracing the shape of the little life that refused to stop stretching against my ribs. It was heavy now, heavier than I’d expected, and every step left my feet throbbing. Still, I wouldn’t trade this weight for anything. The familiar sound of Haiden’s boots against the stone made me smile before I even turned. A moment later, his arms slipped around me, warm and sure, his chest pressed firm against my back. He kissed my cheek, his breath stirring loose strands of hair.
“How are you feeling, love? Your feet sore?” His voice was low, threaded with that softness he only ever gave to me.
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Chapter 183
I huffed a laugh, leaning back into him. “Like I’ve been carrying the whole Underworld around with me.”
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He chuckled, then shifted, his big hands sliding under the swell of my stomach. Carefully, he lifted, bearing the weight for me. The relief was immediate, a sigh tumbling from my lips as my body relaxed against him.
“Oh gods,” I breathed, letting my head fall back against his shoulder. “Don’t ever stop doing that.”
His lips brushed my temple, smiling against my skin. “Noted.”
I let my eyes flutter shut, basking in the moment, the laughter outside, the weightlessness he gave me, the steady rise and fall of his chest behind me. For someone who had once carried so much darkness, Haiden had become my
anchor of light.
“Better?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Mmhmm,” I murmured, threading my fingers through his where they rested against my belly. “Much better. I think you’ve just discovered my new favourite thing.”
“Good,” he said, his tone fierce and tender all at once. “Because I’d carry all of it for you, if I could.”
The kitchen door creaked, and I opened my eyes to see Xavier stepping in. His usual smirk was softer tonight, his sharpness dulled by something warmer as his gaze landed on me and then on the swell of my stomach.
“Well, isn’t this a sight,” he murmured, brushing past Haiden to kneel in front of me.
I smiled down at him as he settled on one knee, his hands braced gently against my hips. Without hesitation, he pressed his lips to the curve of my belly, the kiss so tender it nearly unravelled me.
“Hello, little ones,” he whispered against my skin, his voice so low and sweet it made my throat ache. “It’s your papa. I hope you’re being kind to your mum in there, not kicking too hard.” His hand smoothed over the side, tracing the spot where one of them had been jabbing at me all afternoon. “You’ve got the strongest, bravest mother in the world, and we can’t wait to meet you.”
The words sank into me like sunlight. My chest tightened, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes as Xavier kissed me there again, reverent, like the babies were already listening.
Haiden bent his head, murmuring into my ear, “Careful, love. He’s going to make you cry.”
“I already am,” I whispered back, voice thick but smiling anyway.
Xavier glanced up, catching my expression, and gave me that rare, gentle grin that was just for us. Then he pressed another kiss to the swell of my stomach, softer this time. “We’ll keep you safe,” he promised them. “All of us. Always.”
