Chapter 214 - Mate Night Madness

Chapter 214 - Mate Night Madness
Mo POV

I had absolutely no intention of sleeping. None. Zero. My mate was pregnant. Mela was fucking pregnant.

There was a tiny person growing inside her who might have Riven's face, Mela's attitude, my tail, somebody's magic, and absolutely no chance whatsoever of being normal. I was ecstatic. Terrified. Horny. Mostly ecstatic. Mela giggled into my neck while Riven stretched across the bed beside us. “Do we really need sleep tonight?”

Mela lifted her head. “Sleep is for people without tongues.”

I gasped. “That's my baby mama.”

Riven groaned. “We're never calling her that again.”

“Too late.”

I wrapped myself around both of them. My family. Fuck. I had a family. The realization hit harder than any joke I could make. So I kissed Mela. Then Riven. Then buried myself between them and decided tomorrow could wait.

Tonight belonged to us.
~

Mela POV

Mo couldn't stop smiling. That was my favorite part. Not the screaming. Not the twenty-seven names he'd already suggested for the baby. Not even Riven crying so hard earlier that he'd accidentally drank from a flower vase instead of his wineglass. Their faces. That was what I wanted to remember.

I pulled Riven toward me and kissed him. Mo immediately complained. “Excuse me? I'm also here.”

“You're always here.”

“Correct.” His arms wrapped around me from behind.Riven's forehead rested against mine. For one tiny moment, the jokes disappeared. “We're having a baby,” Riven whispered.

My eyes filled again. “Yeah.” Mo kissed my shoulder. “A really fucking weird one.” I laughed through my tears. “Our really fucking weird one.”

And when they pulled me closer, I let myself believe everything would be okay.
~

Riven POV

I was not crying.

My eyes were aggressively leaking. Different thing. Mela curled against me while Mo talked enough for six people, his excitement vibrating through the mattress.

I watched them. My people. My whole fucking world. I'd spent years believing happiness was something temporary. Something you enjoyed carefully because eventually someone would take it. But nobody was taking this. I kissed Mela's forehead. Then Mo's.

Mo blinked. “That was suspiciously tender.”

“Shut up.”

“Do it again.”

I did.
~

ZAIYA POV

Thalor had me against the wall before the door finished closing.

Excellent. Kael stood behind him looking entirely too pleased with himself. “You're loud,” Thalor murmured against my neck. I smiled. “Then make me louder.”

Someone immediately pounded on the other side of the door. “FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODDESS, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!”

I laughed. “Tell them to get better lovers.”

Kael's expression darkened. “Oh, you're going to regret saying that.” I grabbed his shirt. “Promise?”
~

THALOR POV

Zaiya was going to get us murdered by our neighbors. Worth it. She laughed when someone shouted through the door. Kael looked ready to accept her challenge personally. I leaned closer. “You enjoy causing problems.”

Zaiya smiled. “No.”

Liar.

“I enjoy watching you two solve them.”

Gods help me. I loved this woman.
~

KAEL POV

“We'll shake the whole damn wing.”

Zaiya laughed. Thalor groaned. Someone outside screamed something about filing a complaint with Sasha. I shut the door harder. Let them complain. Tomorrow we could return to being respectable members of the kingdom. Tonight? Absolutely fucking not.
~

VEENA POV

Phoenix light filled our bedroom. Warm. Golden. Alive. Caelira's hair sparked softly while Kyren somehow managed to scoop both of us into his arms.

I shrieked. “We're glowing already.”

Caelira laughed. “What happens if we get excited?”

Kyren stared at the bed. “We burn it down.”

I considered that. “We like this bed.”

“Fine. Controlled enthusiasm.”
~

CAELIRA POV

Controlled enthusiasm lasted approximately twelve seconds.Veena laughed against my shoulder while Kyren dragged blankets over all three of us.The world outside disappeared.

No council. No prophecy. No responsibility. Just warmth. Magic. Them.

I reached for Veena's hand beneath the blankets.She squeezed mine. Home. That was what this was.
~

KYREN POV

Two glowing women. One flammable bed. Terrible odds.

I couldn't have been happier.

“If anything catches fire,” I warned, “I'm blaming both of you.”

Veena kissed my cheek. Caelira kissed the other. I immediately forgot what I was saying.

Fair enough.
~

BARRICK POV

I was tired.

Not battle tired. Soul tired. The kind accumulated over decades. Auralyn noticed. She always noticed.

“Long day?”

“Long life.”

Nimya settled beside me while Thess quietly locked the door. I exhaled. “But worth it.”

Auralyn's fingers moved through my hair. Nimya smiled. “Let us love the hard out of you.”

My eyes closed. For once, I let someone else carry the weight.

AURALYN POV

Barrick pretended he didn't need softness.

He was terrible at pretending. I whispered an old nymph lullaby while his shoulders slowly relaxed. There. That was the man beneath all the armor. I kissed his temple. “Rest.”

For once, he listened.
~

NIMYA POV

Auralyn sang. Thess dimmed the lights. And I watched Barrick finally stop carrying the entire world on his shoulders. I kissed his cheek. He smiled without opening his eyes. Victory.
~

THESS POV

I locked the door.

Someone else could save the kingdom tonight. Barrick needed us. And we needed him. Simple.
~

REYNA POV

Vaerix looked like dessert.

There.I said it. Not aloud. Yet. Torvax was already shirtless because apparently fabric offended him after sunset. Nahlia braided my hair beside the fireplace. Veydran sat across the room staring at us like violence had developed cheekbones.

Vaerix raised an eyebrow. “You planning to pounce or just stare, my Oracle?”

I drained my wine. “Oh, I'm pouncing.”

Torvax laughed. Nahlia immediately abandoned my braid. Veydran stood. Vaerix's smile vanished. “Oh.”

I grinned. “Now you're nervous.”

Someone knocked later. Torvax threw a pillow at the door. Royal diplomacy.
~

BRUXXA POV

Grogg stood in my doorway. Waiting. That mattered.

He didn't enter until I nodded. Didn't touch until I stepped closer. “You sure about this?”

My voice sounded rough. I hated that. Grogg didn't laugh. “You scare me.”

I blinked. Well. That was fucking honest. His hand slowly lifted to my jaw. “But I'd rather spend the rest of my life earning your trust than one day pretending I don't want you.”

Something inside me cracked. Not painfully. Like a door finally opening. I kissed him. Hard. He growled. I growled louder.

For once, I didn't feel like something people needed to survive. I felt wanted.
~

GROGG POV

She could have bitten my face off.

I was fairly certain Bruxxa knew that too. I kept my hands where she could see them. Waited. Then she kissed me. Fuck. Every thought vanished.

When she pulled back, her eyes searched mine. I touched my forehead to hers. “No rushing.”

Her expression softened. “Good answer.”

I smiled. I intended to keep giving those.
~

SORIS POV

Neressa was watching me. “You're nervous.”

“No.”

Her tail flicked lazily through the bathwater. “You're a terrible liar.”

I stared out the window. “I don't want to hurt you.”

Silence. Then warm fingers wrapped around mine. “You won't.”

I turned and she pulled me toward her. For once, I stopped worrying about every possible disaster.
~

NERESSA POV

Soris carried fear like armor. He thought nobody noticed. Everyone noticed.

I drew him into the warm water. “Trust me.”

His wings slowly relaxed. “I do.”

That mattered more than anything else he could have said. So I kissed him. Slowly. And when he finally smiled against my lips, I knew I'd won.
~

THORNE POV

I was fucking exhausted. General. Ancient vampire. Terrifying creature of darkness. Currently flat on my back while Lerenya traced the tattoos across my chest and Masaila braided my hair. What had happened to me?

“You're brooding,” Lerenya whispered.

“I am resting.”

Masaila snorted. “You brood horizontally.”

“I hate both of you.”

“No, you don't.”

No. I really fucking didn't.
~

LERENYA POV

Our terrifying new General was pouting. Adorable. I traced another tattoo.

“Y'all are going to kill me,” Thorne muttered. I laughed. “You're immortal.”

“Unfortunately.”

Masaila tugged his braid. He glared. I kissed his cheek. His glare disappeared. Even better.
~

MASAILA POV

Thorne thought becoming General made him intimidating. Cute.

I finished his braid and leaned over him. “We're not going to kill you.”

His eyebrow lifted. Lerenya giggled.

I smiled. “We're simply going to make immortality significantly more interesting.”

For once, the ancient bastard had no response. Perfect. Eventually, Dragon Castle became quiet. Mostly. Mo stopped yelling. Someone convinced Zaiya to respect structural integrity. No phoenixes burned down any furniture. Bruxxa didn't murder Grogg. Thorne's headboard survived. Barely. And for a few precious hours, the rulers, warriors, monsters, lovers, mates, and assorted lunatics responsible for the future of the kingdom simply existed together.

They laughed. They loved. They slept. Eventually. The cleaning crew? Those poor bastards deserved hazard pay.