by Kallie Frost
“Twins,” Cambry said again, dazed.
Our son started wiggling and nuzzling him.
“Ready for number two?” Segel asked me.
I felt a wide smile cross my face as I held out an arm for my son.
Chapter Fourteen
Cambry
I heard of the now familiar clink of the mail slot opening.
“Looks like we got some mail,” I said watching the letters fall to the ground.
“Thank you,” Louis called.
“You're welcome,” came back a muffled voice.
We had the louvers on all the windows and the door wide open, and a beautiful spring breeze was coming in. I could just smell the salty ocean air. It reminded me a lot of Half Moon. Sometimes I felt really at home here. Other times I found that I was missing the island. I smiled at my mate. He was nursing Torrin, cradling the little boy gently in his arms. The twins had already put on so much weight since being born, they were healthy and happy, in spite of the somewhat lacking prenatal checkups.
I turned my attention to our daughter, Riveria. She was nestled snugly in my arms, sound asleep. Moving slowly and carefully, I eased myself to my feet, and gently set her down in a nearby bassinet. I rocked it for a moment while she stirred, and smiled as she fell into a sound sleep. Then, I headed to the door.
“Did they really change last night?” Louis asked me, referencing the full moon.
I nodded. “They changed into cats, just like us.”
“Amazing.”
I started sorting through the mail and spotted a letter with my aunt's familiar handwriting on it. “Something from Aunt Verona,” I said, tossing it aside. I picked up another letter and swallowed nervously at another set of familiar handwriting. “And… something from the mystery benefactor.”
“You're kidding,” Louis said, turning to look at me. “What is it?”
I swallowed nervously. “I don't know, but it's strange. I usually don't get gifts so close together. He only just sent money for the café. He typically sends things a few years apart.”
“Open it,” he suggested.
I sighed, I might as well get it over with. I set down the rest of the mail, which looked like mostly bills and coffee supply catalogs, and opened up the mystery benefactor’s envelope. As always, there was a single piece of paper, with just one sentence.
“For your baby,” I read softly. I dropped the piece of paper on the table and shrugged helplessly at Louis. “He knows my mate has a coffee shop to save, and apparently knows within a couple of weeks that you gave birth. Unbelievable.”
“Did you say baby though? Singular?” Louis said.
I glanced down to letter. “Yes. Baby.”
Louis turned to me with a somewhat triumphant grin. “So, that's a clue,” he said eagerly. “The mystery benefactor doesn't know we had twins!”
“No,” I said, picking up the letter again. “For your baby. No… he doesn't know we had twins. Unfortunately, it's not much of a clue. Nobody knows we've had twins, except the doctor.”
“But,” Louis said. “That means that the mystery benefactor isn't, I don't know, watching us or anything. If he was, he'd see that we had two babies. Whoever the mystery benefactor is, he's not here, following you. He's somewhere else.”
“Yeah…” It was actually kind of a comforting thought. I was forever glancing over my shoulder, waiting for a stalker of some kind.
“What did he send?” Louis asked. He stood slowly, still cradling Torrin gently.
I pulled out the receipts and looked at them. Baby places. A couple of different ones for a grand total of… I shook my head. “Five thousand dollars worth of baby stuff.”
Louis shook his head as well. “And you got something from your aunt?”
“I did,” I answered, glad for the distraction. That was a bit unusual too. She preferred the instant gratification of knowing if I was alright and how I was doing, in calls and emails.
In fact, on the phone call with her this morning – checking in on me after the full moon – she hadn't given any indication that she sent me a letter. Then again, I was careful to keep the post-full moon conversations brief and succinct, since I didn't want anyone to know yet about Louis and the twins. I couldn't wait to see my family’s reaction. And I honestly couldn't imagine what Aunt Verona would think when she found out that Louis had suggested naming the twins after my parents. I tried to insist that we use his mother's name for our daughter instead. But he was confident we'd have another daughter to honor his mother with, so Riveria and Torrin it was.
I opened the envelope and was surprised to see a card, rather than a letter. I opened it up, wondering in alarm if she somehow knew about the twins.
“What is it?” Louis asked, noting my curious frown.
“It's… an invitation,” I said, as I slowly studied it. I read over it a couple times, to be sure. “It looks like it's sort of a double-wedding reception for Carrick and Brooks, Rion and his mate Elliott, and an almost-first birthday party for their daughter.”
An event this big, especially considering half of the family wasn't allowed to come for Christmas because of the hunter, was sure to be huge. I had a feeling the whole extended family would turn out for this one, as well as half of the shifters on the peninsula that Half Moon was situated off.
There was a little handwritten note at the bottom. ‘PS.” I read softly. “Nobody knows I've sent this. It would be a wonderful surprise for everyone if you could come. We miss you. All my love, Aunt Verona.” My lips tightened as I closed the card and set it back down.
“You should go,” Louis said.
“I want to,” I admitted. “But it's my year away.”
“The only issue is if people see you, right? We could rent a car with tinted windows or something. Go straight to your aunt and uncle's place. And as long as there aren't any humans at the party, it'll be okay. Right?”
“Yeah,” I said. It would work as long as no humans saw me. I drummed my fingers against the table. I did kind of want to go. And I knew that if I took too much longer the surprise of seeing my true mate and our twins would be overshadowed by how concerned everyone was about me. I couldn't stay away without telling them the good news for much longer.
And of course, it was a celebration for Carrick. Out of all my cousins, he was the one who felt most like my brother. He was my best friend. Practically my twin; which is what we thought we were for years. I knew he was hurt that I left Half Moon so soon after Wane was born. Even if he didn't know I was invited, there was no way I could miss this party. It was in two weeks, which considering the café was closed anyway, was more than enough time.
“Let’s do it,” I said. surprised by how excited I felt about the idea. “Let's do it!”
Riveria started fussing, and my mate looked over in her direction. “Someone's hungry,” he said.
I started to put down the invitation to go help, but Louis was quickly becoming adept at swapping the twins. He gently put Torrin down, with a little bit of a protest, and scooped up Riveria from the same bassinet. By the time he was back in his chair and comfortable, she was already latched on and happily nursing. I smiled as I watched him. I felt like I was positively bursting with joy. My wonderful mate, my twins, and now the whole family was going to know. And somehow, I felt like with every passing moment, I was even more excited to get back to Half Moon to see everyone.
~~~***~~~
As we drove across the long bridge that led from the mainland to Half Moon Island, I felt a strange sense of coming home that I wasn't sure I had ever felt before. Maybe it was something about returning to the place I had always known with my true mate. Maybe being with him just made anywhere feel like home.
“Here we are,” I said. I realized there was a little bit of pride in my voice and smiled.
We reached the island and turned down Main Street, heading to my aunt and uncle's private island. Even though I was carefully watching the road for pedestrians and crossing ducks, I knew e
ach and every shop as we drove by it.
“That’s Tessa’s bakery,” I said as we drove by, narrating as we went. “My aunt and uncle's restaurant, Rion tends the bar there.” I slowed down, since there was no one behind us. “And right here…”
Louis just happened to be looking out the wrong window at the gazebo and beautiful water beyond it. “Wow, what a great view.”
I chuckled. “Especially when you look to the other way.”
He turned and gasped as he saw my café. “There it is,” he breathed.
“That's it.”
“I love it already.”
“I’m glad. Unfortunately…” I eased my foot back down on the gas pedal and slowly kept going. “I can't risk any of my human employees seeing me.”
“I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have urged you to come back early, I didn’t think about you having to see your café from a distance.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t have to convince me, I wanted to. And I haven't seen anyone I recognize yet, so I think we're okay.”
We turned on to a couple of back roads and then drove up another bridge. I pulled up to the gate across the middle as Louis looked around curiously. I punched in the code on the keypad and the gates slid open.
“You weren't kidding when you said they have a private island,” he said.
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Where else are you going to have a bunch of wolves running around every month?”
He laughed. “Don't the Half Moon residents suspect anything?”
“Luckily, the same shifter magic that wipes me from their memories after a year away works for that too. Supposedly, they forget any howling they may hear pretty quickly. And just in case they don’t, we spread the word that the island is a nature preserve. There are a bunch of endangered birds and things that breed here. And everyone's under the impression we have a pack of dogs to guard the island and chase away geese and stuff.”
“Clever.”
As I nodded, we pulled up into a familiar driveway, absolutely packed with cars.
“Damn, there sure are a lot of people here,” I said. “Not that I’m surprised.” I spotted a Louisiana plate and grinned. “Oh great, Lysee is here.” No sooner had I said it, when I saw two cars with New York plates. “Looks like Uncle Gavil, cousin Dovar, and my grandfathers are here too.”
“So, I'm about to meet your entire family,” Louis said, with a disbelieving laugh. “I feel like I should be more nervous than I am. But really, I'm just kind of excited.”
“I am too,” I said, realizing that I meant it. “I am too.”
~~~***~~~
We parked and I grabbed Riveria, while Louis grabbed Torrin. They were both sleeping but transferred easily to us. I shuffled her onto my shoulder, while he cradled our son in his arms. We smiled at each other and walked into the house together.
“Wow,” Louis gasped, as he took in the ground foyer.
“Aunt Verona doesn’t do anything halfway,” I chuckled. “I'll give you the grand tour later, they're probably all out back.”
He nodded and followed me through the house into the great room and adjoining kitchen.
“This is amazing. I guess you weren't kidding about the whole you have money thing.”
I laughed. “Nope, not exaggerating.”
It felt good to be here, I realized.
Louis sniffed. “Something smells great.”
I nodded toward the array of pastries on the table. “Tessa's work. Probably Ford’s as well. They typically go overboard for, well, everything.”
We crossed the great room toward the porch door, and were nearly there, when the door opened. Brooks stopped in his tracks, staring.
“Hey,” I said, grinning like a cat with a canary.
He blinked at me, slack-jawed for a moment. I spotted a familiar silhouette through the door and moved forward, still grinning. Shaking his head, Brooks took a step back onto the porch and moved so I could join him.
“Uh, Carrick?” he called.
Carrick turned, and whatever he was about to say to his mate died in his throat as his eyes landed on me.
“Hey, twin-cousin,” I said casually. My chest rumbled and I realized I was purring with joy.
Carrick stammered something unintelligible and then took a couple of steps toward me.
“Wow,” I said, as I caught sight of Wane in his arms. “He's getting big.”
“Yeah…” Carrick glanced at his son, and then back to me. “Yeah, he is.”
I tightened my grip on Riveria a little, and then reached out my other arm. “Here, let me say hello to him.”
Carrick started to hand Wane to me and then hesitated. “You might want to put down… that uh… baby,” he said, obviously afraid to ask if she was mine.
I couldn't resist a smirk as I kept my arm extended. “Actually, I'm quite adept at holding two at the same time.” His eyes started to narrow in confusion, so I turned my head slightly to indicate Louis. At last, Carrick noticed the man in the doorway behind me. He gasped as he took in Louis and the second baby in my mate’s arms.
“Cambry… who?” he stammered.
“Surprise,” I laughed.
His nostrils flared, and I knew he could tell that the man behind me was an omega.
“This is Louis,” I said, proudly. “Louis, this is Carrick and his true mate, Brooks. And their little Wane.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Louis said. “I've heard a lot about you.”
Brooks was the first one to take his hand. “Welcome to the family,” he said with a grin. “Brace yourself, it’s a little chaotic.”
Louis chuckled. “So, I've heard.”
Still grinning like a fool, I patted my daughter. “This is Riveria. And that’s Torrin.”
Carrick’s expression of surprise softened at their names. He exchanged a quick glance with Brooks and blinked rapidly, as if fighting tears. I could tell from the way Brooks bit his lip for a moment that he was familiar with my parents’ names.
“They're precious,” Carrick said. “How old?”
“Just a bit over a month,” I said.
Carrick shook his head. “You asshole. That’s four, if not five full moons! I’ve called you after every one, and you didn’t breathe a word of this?!”
I shrugged and laughed. “I figured I'd take a page out of Rion's book and surprise everyone.”
“You sure did.” Carrick thumped me on the back. “Holy shit, man.”
“Excuse me,” Tessa said, slipped by us and into the house. “I'm just coming in to get – Cambry! You’re back! Oh my god,” she gasped. Her eyes darted between me, my mate, and our babies. “You… Are those twins? Are you kidding me?!”
She whirled on Carrick. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't know!” he said holding, up his free hand innocently.
“Oh my god,” Tessa repeated. She darted between Carrick and Brooks, and threw her arms around me. “Oh, Cambry. I'm so happy for you.”
Apparently, her shriek hadn't gone unnoticed. And in just a few moments we were surrounded by my cousins, my Aunt Verona and Uncle Jacob, and several other family members. Louis was obviously overwhelmed, but doing his best.
I was swamped with hugs, congratulations, and everyone told me how relieved they were that I had a true mate. I felt a warmth and affection from them that I never felt before. Or maybe it was always there, and I just hadn't wanted to see it. After everyone had met my new family and fawned over the twins, Louis and I snuck upstirs and set up a couple of portable cribs in my room.
I gave him a brief tour to get away from the chaos and eventually we found ourselves back in the great room. The kitchen was quiet again, as everyone was back outside enjoying the nice weather.
“This is amazing,” Louis said.
“Yeah. How do you feel? It’s a bit much sometimes.”
“It's going take a little while to get all the names and faces straight,” he said. “But seems like one big happy f
amily.”
I chuckled and started dusting off one of my fancier coffee makers. I doubted anyone would actually expect me to provide drinks, given that I had just come back. But after a few months with the limited equipment at the Caffeinated Cat, I found that I was actually excited to get back into it. For longer than I cared to admit now, I had been making coffee at the family gatherings more because I knew it was expected than anything else.
I never resented or hated it, but I would have been just as happy if I offered someone coffee and they declined it. Now however, I felt like I was positively itching to whip up a few big batches of drinks.
“They all really seem to love you, you know,” Louis said softly.
“I know,” I said.
He watched me as I stated to set up.
“How much coffee are you making?” he asked when I pulled out a huge tray of mugs.
“Well, it looks like a lot of people out there,” I laughed.
“You're making some for everyone?”
I shrugged. “It's kind of my thing.” And it was my thing, I thought as I smelled the first drips of fresh coffee. My grin widened. And I liked it.
“Did I hear Cambry is back?” asked a voice.
Louis and I both turned, and I saw that Kessel the warden was here.
“Kessel,” I said in surprise. “I thought the hunter was taken care of. What are you doing here?” I asked in concern.
“Not to worry,” he said brightly. “I was just invited because after a few months on lockdown, I'm practically family now,” he said with a laugh.
I joined him, laughing in relief. “Kessel, this is my mate, Louis. Our twins are upstairs.”
“I'm sure I'll meet them sometime,” said Kessel. “Congratulations. It’s nice to meet you.” He shook Louis's hand, thumped me on the back, and then started to head out of the kitchen. “I'm afraid I am in a bit of a hurry though. A warden’s work is never done,” he lamented.
“Another hunter?” I asked. If I had been in cat from my fur would have puffed up at the thought.
“No, nothing to worry about. Well,” He clacked his teeth once in annoyance and narrowed his eyes. “Nothing a shifter needs to worry about. We’ve got some rumors of a feral bear. So, I'm going to go check it out.”