Page 96 of Within the Veil

"It was only primrose root, to help you sleep and calm down," she marvels as she stares at the battle currently being had in my uterus.

Half expecting Gerald Butler to declare my vagina as 'Sparta' and kick all four of them out before any of us are ready, I frown at my belly and let my displeasure leak through our mommy/baby bound. "The four of you better stop fighting before I switch to a no pizza and pickles diet and put you all in time out," I growl at them, and their unintelligible grumbles of protest shine blatantly clear through my head while they remind me they are hungry.Ah fuck, in-utero talk back. All the fucking nopes.

I quickly soap and rinse, then stomp out of the shower, using magic to dry myself off and fix my hair. Hair, mind you, which also grew overnight, and throw my hands up with a growl when I catch my reflection in the mirror.I'm fucking done.With the mate marks covering my entire body, and my ridiculously extended belly, I look as though I'm about to start the 'Seelie MC'. Except in my case, I'm hoarding the motorcyclesandthe entire club in my uterus for safekeeping while we escape from the rival Unseelie Club.

"I'm the fucking MC President of the Seelie. It's happened--the Fae of Un-Anarchy. I am Hudson, Bringer of Light, Destroyer of Evil, Cruncher of Unseelie Bones, and PTA President of Leather Jacket Wearing, Hoodlum Baby Fae," I groan as I turn to my side and try to figure out how to add a postal code to a person.

Remi laughs, and I glare at her.Some fucking mate she is."You think this is so funny, don't you? You don't get eggplant juice in your tight little pink pussy, ma'am. Just a lot of tongue. So you don't get to laugh at me. I love you dearly. Now, get the measuring tape because there is no way any mortal can possibly hide a car in their belly and survive."

She grabs the measuring tape and wraps it around my belly, "Babe, you're not exactly mortal and uh...." She trails off, looking at the measuring tape as if it offered to be her pleasure toy or confusion; either way, it isn't a good look.

"What?" I ask cautiously as she starts to measure me again.

"Hmm, well. You're measuring past nine months for sure, but if the same math tracks, you'll be around eleven months...." She trails off, and my jaw drops. Yesterday, I measured at eight months. EIGHT. How the...then something tingles in the back of my Google brain.

I glare at her, "Remi, you said primrose. As in, themaincomponent ofallthe potions and healing salves used toenhancemagical powers after a damn injury? That primrose?"

I put my hands on my hips and realize I'm still butt-ass naked. To be fair, unless Ryder ordered dragon maternity clothes, I don't see how the fuck I'm going to fit in anything. Leggings and dress it is, I sigh. I skip the extra shit and magic on lotion, deodorant, and clothes.

Her eyes widen, and she smacks herself on the head, "fuck yes. It's also used to heal and help sleep."

I move past her with another pointed glare, "And the original calming teabeforeyou added the primrose? What was it?" I ask with a sweetly sick saccharine voice.

She pauses to think, "Valerian root tea it's used for anxiety." Understanding dawns in her eyes, and she cringes.

I stare at her and blink. How can I have such an amazing, beautiful mate with a herbologist at her disposal, aka King, access to my brain Google and 300 years older than me, and she hasn't made the connection yet? To be fair, the way I was yesterday had her and everyone else panicking. So instead of thinking of the chemical reaction of what she was adding to the cup she tossed in healing, calming, and relaxation. But when mixing valerian root, a powerful sleep drought, and primrose, a magic amplifier with healing components, she unknowingly made me an enhanced regenerative potion. Now for me, it wouldn't have done much, but for the babies...yeah...stronger, bigger, and enhanced growth... for a quad of iced-coffee GMO babies.

I groan. Fuck me, I wonder how much this speeds up my timeline. My belly starts to glow, and I get a cramp as one of them kicks the fuck out of my rib cage. Ah fuck. The men, sentinels included, flash into the room, their faces twisted into a grimace, hands all laden with food. Zane is holding a pizza, Ryder has burgers, Grayson has a chocolate cake, Hunter is holding a jar of peanut butter and a bag of Oreos, King is clutching what looks like a giant vat of clover juice, and Jensi and Luca both have a mix of cupcakes and sandwiches. The only thing that confuses me, I mean other than the sheer variety of food, is that Oberon looks slightly harassed as he holds a wild fluffy bunny in his arms.

"What the fuck?" I mutter, moving to grab the burgers first, the smell making my mouth water.

"They kept asking for different shit from each one of us. Did you not hear their demands for food?" Hunter scowled as if I was purposefully keeping food away from his offspring.

I glare at him right back from the bed as I sit down and take a bite of my burger.

Remi answers for me, looking as confused as I felt, "Yeah, the giant glowing belly and hunger were clear. But the requests for different foods, yeah, well, that clearly went straight to all of you. They know that I was with Hudson and dealing with the fact that she grew overnight." At her words, they all fixate their stare on my belly.

Hunter looks on with glee, and his pride resonates so strongly through our connection that it makes me roll my eyes. While his happiness is fucking adorable, all that is going through his mind is...

"My children are going to be the strongest Fae that will ever be born. Can you imagine them in school? Kicking everyone's ass during training?" His face lights up and he kneels at the edge of the bed and cuddles my belly.

"So, is no one going to mention the fucking bunny in the room?" Jensi asks, looking a little green around the edges. I look at him closer, and I sigh. Oberon.

I look at the torturous mother-fae-ker in question, "You're going to kill my sentinels, you bedazzled asshole."

He scoffs, "If they die. They die. I am here to love you, help you run a Kingdom, and be a father to four amazing children who make demands for a pet bunny, all the while demanding to be fed cake. I am not here to coddle grown men."

My heart melts at 'Be a father,' and then gets stabby as he finishes. Then I go back to melting as I stare at the ridiculously tall and muscular, murderous asshole with eyes that can make grown Fae piss glitter. He is just so damn beautiful and charming, and even though his voice is flat and cold, edged with fire, he is absolutely adorable. Also, it's hard to look like the Fae Terminator or try to be intimidating when he is holding a giant fluffy bunny just because the babies asked for one.

Speaking of the damn bunny, I get the overwhelming urge to cuddle it. I scowl at my belly; how the hell do they even know about bunnies? I refuse to get a bunny, they have an entire magical forest and kingdom to frolic in, full of bunnies they can chase around with their pet dragons.

I groan at the thoughts. Oh, how the 'changed have tides.'

Ryder laughs, having deposited his order onto the bed next to me and sitting down. "Its tides have changed. They also know all about bunnies from all the movies you watch. They are absorbing more than just all the food you are eating, apparently."Ah, well, that makes sense.

I say as much before I shake my head, disagreeing with the first part of his statement. "Nope. That's how much shit has turned upside down. Even the saying has changed. Before I forget," I look at King and smile softly at the thoughts going through his head because while I sit here pregnant, feasting, he is thinking how beautiful and strong I am.Swoon.

"Squishy, Sweetie, can you use all of your alchemy skills to make me a few herbal teas that aren't a cluster fuck of miracle grow for the babies?" I bat my eyes, but the effect is probably lost, considering I moved on to inhaling pizza. The gnawing hunger is freaking insane and nonsensical. It's not like pregnant women grow an extra stomach per child. I definitely shouldn't be able to eat this much but tell that to the mystical powers that be, because I not only get it all down, I want more.

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