Felicity looked down at the four cubs pressed against her: the purple-scaled boy with his serious eyes, the blonde wolf nuzzling her collarbone, the teleporting panther with his tail still gripped in his sister's fist, and the white-haired eagle girl who had stopped crying entirely and was now making soft, contented gurgling noises against her skin. Their heartbeats overlapped—four rapid, fluttering rhythms pressed against her own steady drum.
She was exhausted. Completely, bone-deep, utterly drained. Her body ached in places she didn't know could ache. Sweat still clung to her skin, her hair was a tangled mess, and she was fairly certain she'd never look at silk sheets the same way again.
But she had never been happier in her entire life.
"Welcome to the world, little one," Felicity whispered against her daughter's white hair, pressing another kiss to that soft, warm crown. "Welcome to your family."
looked at Victor's eyes, searching them for answers. "Where is Lucan?"
