Page 64 of The Fated Mate Bandit

“Sweetie, I’m thrilled. Lucas is a good choice. He’s kind, and I think he’ll be a wonderful father. You have my enthusiastic approval, okay?”

Her praise fills my chest with warmth.

“Thank you,” I say.

“You are very welcome, Lucas. I meant every word. Is that potato salad you brought with you?” she asks.

“Yes. Your recipe.”

She smiles and takes the bowl from me. “Thank you. That was very considerate. Do you want to help Coin roll oreos?”

Shae wanders into the kitchen with a vacuum in hand. “It’s officially broken. I tried to fix it.” She stops when she sees me. She looks at my belly, then to Silver, who now has his hand on the small of my back.

“Silver put his paws on Lucas a few days ago,” Ruby says.

Shae’s face brightens. “Oh. Then those are our grandkits?”

“Our grandpups. They’ll be wolf shifters, but Silver is still their alpha dad.”

Shae drops the vacuum on the floor and pulls me in for a hug. I forgot how intense her hugs are. I can barely breathe.

“Sorry. I should be gentle with the kits, I mean, pups. How many?” she asks.

“Three,” I say.

She rushes toward Ruby and hugs her so hard, Ruby’s feet lift off the ground. “We’re going to be grandmas again!”

I can’t help but laugh. The relief is overwhelming. They don’t just approve, they’re excited about the pups.

“Have you two picked names yet?” Shae asks.

“Oh, um, not exactly,” I admit.

“What were you thinking? We can help you brainstorm, if you like. Quin never let us help with Chime’s name.” Shae glares at Quin playfully.

Quin laughs. “I didn’t need help. Windchime was perfect for her.”

“I’ve always liked Galaxy,” Coin says.

“Oh. They’ll be wolf pups, so… we wouldn’t name them after something shiny, right?” I ask.

Coin shrugs. “They’ll be born into a raccoon shifter family. That makes them our treasures, right? Isn’t that why we name our kids after something shiny?”

My heart is so big, I think I’m going to cry.

“I like Galaxy,” Silver says.

“What about Star?” Quin suggests. “Or Moonbeam?”

Ruby smiles. “I love Moonbeam.”

Galaxy, Star, and Moonbeam. I could name them after the night sky. I think Silver put his paws on my wolf form for the first time under the night sky.

“Thank you,” I say. “For accepting them.”

“Oh, sweetie. We won’t just accept them. We plan to spoil them shamelessly,” Ruby tells me.

Quin laughs. “Isn’t that the truth? There are no ‘accepted’ children in this family. Just loved ones. Does this mean we can introduce ourselves to the pups? We have to get them used to our voices before they’re born, so they can know we’re family.”

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