Lake snorted.
“No magical bone in my body, I promise.” My voice shook. “Okay. So. Telling you about my dad took priority, and I knew it was a lot to process, so I’ve been waiting to tell you this teeny tiny thing. But I think it’s time. Unless you’re all too tired. It can wait until the morning. Maybe after we’ve—”
“Sweetheart?” Maddox scrubbed his hands over his face. “You know how much I adore your rambles, but this isn’t the time for them.”
Just say it.
“Muffin Lord and the Seven Alphas,” I said in a rush.
Lake cocked his head. “Seven… alphas?”
“Yep. As in, I have four of you now. Three more men are on the way. Supposedly.”
Rowan had taken a drink and almost spewed it.
“Come again?” Maddox gaped. “Did you sayseven?”
“Um.” Guilt gnawed at my chest. “Y-Yeah. That’s what Lupin said, but he could be wrong.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised.” Briar grabbed his glasses from the nightstand. “Our Evan is irresistible to all who meet him.”
“Too irresistible for his own good,” Maddox muttered. “I blame the muffins.”
“I’m sorry.” That guilt deepened. “I love all of you so damn much. Upsetting you is the last thing I want.”
“Don’t be sorry, love.” Briar offered me a kind smile. “With each addition to our family, our bonds only strengthen. As does our love. I’m confident that will never change. Whether it be three more men or twenty.”
“Twenty is pushing it.” I exhaled a shaky laugh. “My back would give out after ten, I think.”
Rowan laughed.
“My only concern is them treating you well,” Lake said. “Trust will need to be earned.”
“Our little treasure sure needs the extra protection.” Rowan took another swig from his flask. “Always stumbling.”
“Our?” I smiled at that. “What happened to me just being yours?”
He shrugged. “You’re too much trouble for one man to handle. A harem is necessary to keep you safe.”
Lake gruffly laughed.
“So Lupin said there’d be seven of us?” Maddox’s expression remained unreadable. He’d been my first love in this fantasy world—my first love period. His opinion held a bit more weight because of it.
“Y-Yeah.” I hugged my sweater closer to my body. “He said I’d need all of you by my side in the battles to come. That each of you will play an important role in my destiny.”
“Battles to come?”
“Because of who I am.” I dropped my gaze to the floor. “Futures can never be predicted, only estimated. And according to Lupin, not all of my possible futures are happy. Some are dark. Really dark.”
“Dark how?” Lake asked.
“He couldn’t tell me much without upsetting the balance of the universe or whatever. But I’m captured by Haran in one future. Killed by demons in another. Killed in several futures, actually. He said the bad far outweighs the good.”
Maddox shoved off the blanket and got out of bed. He went over to the hearth and stoked the logs. Firelight accentuated his scars. The body of a warrior who’d seen the horrors of the world and still chose to risk his life for others. Someone courageous and strong… but who lowered his head right then, silent and unmoving.
“Maddox?” I stepped toward him, then stopped in the middle of the room. My feet wouldn’t budge another inch. “Are you mad at me?”
He stood from the rug and reached me in three strides, taking hold of my chin and forcing our gazes to meet. An ocean of blue with dark depths I couldn’t always see. “I could never be mad at you.”
