Page 124 of Bonding the Band

He blinked at me. “Made what?”

I sat down next to him, stroking my fingers through his hair. “You’re twenty-eight today. You’ve officially declined membership to the 27 Club.”

Hendrix’s eyes widened as he sat bolt upright, gathering Forest into his arms and pulling me close. “Holy shit. I made it?”

“Youdid.” I kissed him softly, tears slipping over my cheeks. He’d been workingsohard the last few months. I wasn’t even sure he noticed the time passing with how much he filled his days, putting all of his effort into healing and being there for our family. We’d had an endless stream of family and friends visiting over the last few months, allowing my parents to meet Forest (though they hadn’t been impressed about finding outthey were grandparents after the baby was already born), and I quickly remembered why I talked to them as little as possible. Luckily, they lived way too far away for many visits, and I had zero intention of hauling my little nugget on a trip anytime soon.

The rest of the pack pushed into the room, carrying a cake with sparklers flickering atop it. Their singing of “Happy Birthday” was intentionally off-key as they presented him with the cake. The icing was divided in half, the left readingRIP Hendrix’s Youth, and the right readingHappy Birthday, Daddy Hendrix.

He was too busy crying to tell them how ridiculous they were being. My sweet alpha.

Forest grabbed a fistful of his hair, and I grappled with his freakishly strong baby grip to unravel the strands. “Nuggie, no, that’s Daddy’s moneymaker. He needs to look extra perfect for the meeting with the possible new record label next week.”

That did nothing to dissuade our son, but Phin helped me untangle Hendrix, and we all went downstairs to have the cake for breakfast.

Whywas it so fucking hot in this house? The living room felt like a sauna.

“Can we turn up the air conditioning?” I whined. I had been hotconstantlyover the last week, and when dealing with an adorable three-month-old, it was infuriating.

Phin turned from where he was sitting on the couch, feeding Forest a bottle. “It’s quite cool, sweets. How do you feel?”

“My skin is itchy,” I pouted, walking over to him and holding out my hands for Forest, who had just finished eating.

I knew why I felt that way—my post-baby heat was due soon. The guys were planning to trade off on who cared for the baby during the heat.

“Any day now.” Phin smiled.

Beckett poked his head in the room, his eyes finding me immediately. “You have a visitor,” he said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Who?” I asked, bouncing Forest as I walked toward the front door. Had I ordered a package and forgotten?

“I assumed you knew she was coming…” Becket frowned, confusing me further. “Security let her right in.”

“I’m not expecting anyone, in fact—Clover!” I cried out my friend’s name as I caught sight of her in the driveway, sitting on the hood of her stupid sparkly pink sports car.

“Meads!” she called out, beaming at the sight of me. She slid off the car and ran to hug me, wrapping her arms around both me and the baby.

“What the hell are you doing here?” We had been planning to fly her down in a couple of months’ time, but I was ecstatic she was here sooner.

“Gimme my nephew! I need some snuggles!” she said, lifting my son out of my arms and kissing his chubby cheeks. “How are you feeling?”

“Good! But why are you here?” I asked, utterly confused.

“It’s three months post-baby yeeting. You’re about to go into heat, aren’t you? Why else would I be here?” She cocked her head, never ceasing the small bouncing movements that Forest loved so much.

“Wait, what? You’re here because of my heat?”

“You’re about to have someamazingpussy time soon—I’m so proud of you, by the way—so I decided that I would stop by, so your guys could be all-hands-on-deck, if you know what I mean.” Clover giggled. “I’ve been in desperate need of nephew snuggles, and I can just stay in your guest house, nearby, but not in earshot of your S-E-X.” She spelled out the last word, pretending to cover Forest’s little ears, making me chuckle.

That baby had already heard too many swear words. I was going to be lucky if his first word wasn’t “fuck.”

Clover’s timing was impeccable. That night, as we all lounged around in the living room, watching TV and eating pizza, the first cramps hit.

Every alpha’s eyes turned to me, and Clover immediately stood, scooping up Forest. “I think that’s our cue, little man. How about we go have some auntie snuggles?” she cooed.

“I’ll make sure Clover and Forest have everything they need in the guest house for their sleepover,” Hendrix announced, following after Clover.

“Text me if you need me!” I shouted at their retreating forms.

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