It just made Abigail think Wild Junction was the best place on Earth, like she had thought since the day she decided to stay.
She drove to her home, the farmhouse on the outside of town. Her husbands were already outside waiting on her, looking anxious and excited.
Husbands. The idea of being married to them still made her heart race. Her breath still caught in her chest.
They hadn’t gotten married when she’d told Antonio yes that day, but she could still remember the explosive sex they’d had. It was a year later to the day. They couldn’t pick a more perfect date than April 24th, the day she’d told them yes to begin with.
Abigail got out of her car and waited for them to come to her. Her feet were starting to hurt and she was ready for the day to wind down and enjoy her time off.
“Abby,” Antonio crooned, getting to her first. He kissed her with all that playfulness that she knew him for, a kiss that promised he was going to rock her world the moment he had the chance.
“Are you ready for this?” James asked, swooping in to kiss her next.
“I hope so!” Abigail replied. She had been ready for this for weeks, but previous appointments had proven inconclusive.
“We’ll find out,” Thomas promised. “Let’s get you off your feet and get moving.” He kissed her cheek softly. She turned her head so he could kiss her lips next. He helped her into their new SUV, making sure she was settled before getting into the driver’s side. James and Antonio piled into the back. Abigail could feel the excitement in the air. They were all so ready for this.
She slid a hand over her stomach as they drove to her OB/GYN.
They didn’t have to wait at all, immediately being ushered into a patient room. Abigail’s heart was racing.
“I can’t believe we’re over halfway there,” she whispered, looking down at her baby bump. Twenty-one weeks.
“I can’t believe this is our third ultrasound to find out if we’re having boys, girls, or both,” Antonio chuckled. “Can the little rascals just get into a position where we can see them?”
“They are not rascals.” Abigail laughed. “They aren’t even born yet!”
“They kick you all night, won’t cooperate for ultrasounds, made you sick as a dog for weeks, to the point where the doctors nearly admitted you, and have been general monsters. And they aren’t even born yet,” Thomas reminded her, grinning. She knew they weren’t being serious, but the funniest part was the truth behind Thomas’ words. These beans had been a rough first pregnancy, that was for sure.
“Help me up?” She looked at James next to her who nodded.
“I got you, baby,” he whispered, lifting her with ease to sit on the exam table, the padded blue bed thing that doctors thought was comfortable. Well, not much was comfortable for Abigail right now. She covered her bump with her hands, and James put his hand over hers. He kept his voice low, “I’m so excited about this.”
“Me too,” she whispered back. It had been a planned accident. They were willing to let it happen when it wanted to. She’d come off her birth control and a year later, she’d missed her period, then couldn’t shift for a run.
“Twins,” Thomas chuckled. “God, we’re having two at once.”
“I’m always going to have twins or triplets,” Abigail reminded him. “You know that.”
“I know. I’m just still coming to terms with it. If this happens again, we’ll have four kids. Maybe five, since triplets are common too.”
“Oh,” she laughed. “Yeah. After this, we’re waiting a long while before I do it a second time. A long time.”
“I won’t argue,” he promised. “Not for a second. We don’t even have space for more than these two and that’s with the addition to the farmhouse.”
“We could just make the farmhouse bigger,” James offered.
“And what? End up with something as big as the Kingsons’ mansion?” Antonio made a face. “Who’s going to clean it?”
“It was just a suggestion,” he replied innocently.
“Tony, love,” Abigail sighed, putting more children out of her mind for a moment. It was a topic that seemed inconceivable to her right now.
“Oh, Tony. You want something,” Antonio teased. He was right. She only called him Tony when she was going to ask him for a favor.
“Think you can rub my feet? I think they’re getting swollen and they ache.”
“I can definitely do that for you, Abby.” Antonio moved to get to her feet, using the wheeling doctor chair. She kicked her flats off and sighed happily as he took her right foot and began to rub it.
Pregnancy was hard, she was realizing. She had known it would be hard, but it was rougher in practice than in theory. Things she didn’t think would bother her definitely did, like her feet. She thought she could handle the feet swelling and aching. She couldn’t. She was weak to it. One of them rubbed her feet every night.
One real good thing was that her men would not stop touching her. They loved it. They ate it up, the fact that she was pregnant with one of their children. They even researched safe sex positions for every trimester and when she was up for it, they tried them out.
A knock announced that the door was about to be opened. Abigail just stayed where she was as her doctor, a small clouded leopard female with an infectious smile, walked in.
“I’m glad to see all of you here again!”
“It’s good to see you as well, Doctor Mincey,” Abigail greeted her. Doctor Mincey walked directly to her and held a big envelope.
“You’re not here for an ultrasound,” the doctor told her kindly. “I wanted to personally give you this.” She held out the envelope. “The blood test got back earlier today, and since you were already coming in, I figured you would like the surprise.”
“The blood test,” Abigail gasped, snatching the envelope. “I forgot about this.”
“The results came back slower than normal.” Doctor Mincey sighed. “If you still want to get more pictures, another ultrasound done, we can.”
“You know what?” Abigail held the envelope to her chest, not letting curious James take it from her. “No. Today was my last day at work. We have pictures from just three days ago when these two wouldn’t move for us to see if they were boys or girls. My feet hurt. I’m going home.”
“I thought you would say that.” Doctor Mincey laughed.
“Thank you for letting this be a surprise. It’s really made my day.” Abigail looked at the envelope again, smiling.
“Go home and find out what babies you’re having. Celebrate…or be dismayed. Your choice.” Doctor Mincey gave a shrug. Abigail loved her doctor’s sense of humor.
“Do you know?” Thomas asked, his eyes narrowing on her.
“Of course I do. There were things we tested for. Nothing is wrong, by the way. You’re looking to have a completely normal pregnancy now that you’re over the morning sickness. Call me if anything happens. I’ll let you all get going.” Doctor Mincey stopped before leaving the room. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Thomas got the door for her to leave. When she was gone, James helped Abigail back off the bed, and they hurried home to discover their babies in private.
Once inside the farmhouse, Abigail dropped herself onto the couch, laying her head on James’ lap, with her feet on Antonio’s. Thomas collapsed into his recliner and she held the envelope up.
“What are you waiting on?” James asked softly, running his hands through her hair.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. She was suddenly nervous. She tore it open and slowly pulled out the sheet with the results. There were two.
She read them over quickly, pulling them close to her face, so none of the guys could see.
She wanted to cry. In joy, in elation. It hadn’t mattered, but now she knew.
“Boys,” she sobbed out, unable to control herself. “We’re having baby boys.”
“Boys?” Antonio stopped rubbing her feet and looked up. She nodded mutely, tea
rs falling down the side of her face. It felt like an eternity before she spoke again.
“Boys,” she whispered. She had no idea why she was crying.
“Oh, dear lord,” James chuckled. “Two boys.”
“I think we might have found the thing that makes her run. Five males in the house and just her,” Thomas murmured, leaving the recliner to go to his knees next to her. “Abigail, are you okay?”
“I would never run,” she sobbed. “I’m just so happy. We’re having baby boys! My baby boys.” She sat up and ran her hands over her stomach, her bump that contained her precious cargo, her tiny beans of boys. Fenrir nosed her stomach as well and she sobbed harder.
“Do we have names chosen? We do, right?” James whispered in her ear. She nodded more.
“Jude and Luther,” she choked out. “Our babies, Jude and Luther.”
“Do you think they will be bucks or wolves?” Antonio asked softly, scooting closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. James was leaning next to her on the side, kissing her neck softly. She could smell more tears than her own. She looked down at Thomas and saw the red around his eyes.
“They will be brothers,” she murmured, sniffling.
“They will be,” he said, kissing her stomach. “They will be.”
“Did you want girls?” Antonio asked her. They had never told each other if they preferred boys or girls, all keeping their own private council on it. She shook her head.
“I never wanted one or the other,” she admitted.
“Me neither,” he chuckled.
“I love them already,” she cried. “Luther and Jude. They will have such good fathers to teach them to be good men.” That made her the happiest: the three beautiful men who had captured her heart and soul who would be their fathers. Her beans would never want for a positive male role model, never want for a man to talk to about things she couldn’t offer them.
“We do too,” James told her. “We do too. And they will have a wonderful mother who will make sure we stay good men for them.”
That broke her. She turned and kissed him hard. He growled into her mouth, one of his hands wrapping into her hair.
“Our pretty doe,” Antonio chuckled. She turned and kissed him next.
“I love you,” she told them airily after the kiss.
“Our heart,” Thomas whispered. “We love you more than life itself.”
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Heart of the Pack!
There you have it. A loving wolf pack and the doe who loves them back. I hope you enjoyed their sweet love story of every day life and just trying to be adults through it all.
To those who wonder if I’m going to do any more like this, I don’t know. This was what I needed when I wrote it and I love it for what it is. I love my wolves, and I love their doe, but I also love action and adventure. We’ll see. Wild Junction isn’t over, because I have more stories for these characters, but I might be taking a break from it.
Whether you loved or hated the book, please consider leaving a review. Every review, even just a few words, is appreciated.
About the Author
KristenBanetAuthor.com
Kristen Banet has a Diet Coke problem and smokes too much. She curses like a sailor (though, she used to be one, so she uses that as an excuse) and finds that many people don’t know how to handle that. She loves to read, and before finally sitting to try her hand at writing, she had your normal kind of work history. From tattoo parlors, to the U.S. Navy, and freelance illustration, she’s stumbled through her adult years and somehow, is still kicking.
She loves to read books that make people cry. She likes to write books that make people cry (and she wants to hear about it). She’s a firm believer that nothing and no one in this world is perfect, and she enjoys exploring those imperfections—trying to make the characters seem real on the page and not just in her head.
She might be crazy, though. Her characters think so, but this can’t be confirmed.
You can join her in being a little bit crazy in The Banet Pride, her facebook reader’s group.
Also by Kristen Banet
The Kingson Pride Series
Wild Pride
Wild Fire
Wild Souls
The Redemption Saga
A Life of Shadows
A Heart of Shame
A Nature of Conflict
The Wolves of Wild Junction
Prey to the Heart
Heart of the Pack
Heart of the Pack Page 24
