Bonus | Aine: Epilogue 3

Aine & Damien with children

"Oh, that's enough of that, Ethan." I groan, my back aching as I bend to pick him up out of the crib.

He's grown quite heavy recently, his weight and constant irritability a sign that he's carrying more of his father's Beast genes than my human ones. The same thing happened when we had our twins. Clara was a handful, while Liam acted more like the children I grew up with in my village.

Ethan's wails do nothing but increase now that he knows he has my attention, his tiny hands clenching into fists as his face reddens at the exertion. I hold back a sigh as I shove my finger in his mouth, giving him something to gnaw on and help relieve the pain from his growing teeth.

I wince as the sharp corner of his tooth digs into the fleshy pad of my finger, but would rather have it ripped to shreds than listen to the screaming for one second longer. Damien is usually the one who handles the teething, his body better able to take the attack of Ethan's strong jaws, but as I listen to Clara downstairs screaming at him I know that he's a bit too busy for that right now.

Ethan's tears quiet and settle into soft whimpers as I carry him downstairs. He's a fussy baby but sure loves to be held.

I can't hold back the proud smile on my face as I round the bottom stop and catch sight of Damien. He stands in the kitchen with his back to me, his hair a tangled mess as Clara climbs up his waist, her tiny hands grabbing at whatever she can reach as she tries to scurry up his body like a tree.

He laughs before pushing her off, her tiny body flying through the air before landing cleanly on her feet on the other side of the kitchen. The slight growl she lets out makes me laugh, the young Beast challenging her father before lunging at him again.

Damien gasps and pretends like she's bested him as she barrels once more into his side, his footsteps loud and uncoordinated as he pretends to fall back on the ground.

His smile grows as his back hits the ground and Clara sits on his stomach in triumph. He tussles her hair until she grows annoyed and slides off of him, his eyes landing on me as he gets back up on his feet.

"You're so ferocious." He chuckles, patting her butt and gesturing to me.

Clara grins and sprints over to me the second I'm spotted, her body slowing just seconds before she makes contact with my legs. I appreciate her taking care to be gentle, the realization that if she's not careful that she could hurt me finally taking root in her head.

"Morning, Sweets." I greet them both before bending and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Damien takes a moment to flip the pancakes in the pan before turning and pulling me into a warm hug. He laughs as Clara groans and pushes her way out from between us, her complaints loud as she turns and runs up to her bedroom.

"Where's Liam?" I question, wincing as Damien pulls back and gently takes my aching finger out of Ethan's mouth.

He's quick to pop his own in before Ethan starts to cry again, his arm moving to take our baby out of my arms and into his own.

"Not sure. Sam came and ripped him out of bed in the middle of the night." He murmurs, laughing at the memory. "From what I gathered, it sounded like Sam concocted some grand scheme to sleep in the treehouse that Alex built."

I'm sure that my eyes are comically wide as I pull back and glare up at Damien. Alex's son is much more reckless than ours, and I worry for Liam's safety. He wasn't born with a Beast like his twin sister, making me fear that he will get hurt when playing with the other children.

"You shouldn't have let him do that." I snap.

Damien tuts at my line of thinking, his disapproval clear as his eyes turn cold.

"I'm not going to keep him from having fun just because he doesn't have a Beast. Sam is young, but he knows to keep Liam safe." Damien argues.

"Alex and I used to sneak out to camp out in the woods thousands of times when I was a child, and those nights are some of my fondest memories." He continues, pulling me into his side and pressing a reassuring kiss to my forehead. "What happened last summer was a genuine mistake, and Liam is okay."

My throat runs dry at the mention of the incident, my guilt overwhelming as I can't stop my mind from flashing back to the image of Liam's blood-covered body.

The kids all thought it would be fun to climb down the short cliff in the woods, their worries nonexistent since they are excellent climbers and, even if they did fall, the drop wouldn't harm them. They weren't thinking of Liam, and their frantic cries as they barrelled into our office screaming that Liam was hurt are ones that I'll never forget.

Damien was gone before I could even get myself out of my chair, my quickness hindered by the giant baby resting in my belly. By the time I made it to the cliff, Damien had already given Liam his blood and soothed his cries, but the knowledge of what happened was enough to terrify me.

I sigh, knowing that Damien is right. Sam was genuinely apologetic and has been noticeably more careful around Liam.

"I know, I just," I murmur, momentarily distracted as Clara runs screeching out of the back door towards the swings. "I just worry." I eventually settle on.

Ethan interrupts us with a scream, his tongue dislodging Damien's finger as he once more begins his morning vocal lessons. Damien's smile grows as he stares down at him, his own reverberations emerging from his chest as he holds Ethan to him.

I resist the urge to laugh at their bonding, a joke on the tip of my tongue when he turns and shoots me a sharp glare. I shrug, smirking.

You can't go around purring every time one of your children does something cute and not expect me to make a couple of cat jokes.

"What're your plans today?" I question, changing the subject.

Damien turns back towards the pancakes and turns off the heat. He moves effortlessly with the one arm as he stacks them on the plate and carries it over to the center island.

"I've got a pretty light day. I'll hunt down Liam and Sam after breakfast and bring them to school with Clara. I've got a couple of meetings this afternoon, but most of my day will be in the fighting fields." He answers.

I nod, grateful that he's going to be the one finding Liam and Sam. They love to hide from us, and Damien is much better at capturing them than I am. He turns to the fridge to heat a bottle for Ethan as I move forward and start to dish up the food.

We work in relative silence as we prepare breakfast, contentment heavy through our bond as we move around one another in sync.

Clara comes wandering in before we have to call her, and to my complete relief, Liam and Sam come trotting in seconds later. Damien laughs as he picks a leaf out of Sam's hair, his love for his nephew evident by his soft grin.

My lips curl into a smile as we all settle down at the dining table, and I let out a loud squeak as Damien pulls me onto his lap. I can feel his adoration for me as his arm wraps around my middle and he pushes my back against his chest.

I chuckle and move to get up, my hunger beating out my want for Damien's affection. He groans and refuses to release me, his arm tightening as he reaches forward and pulls my plate of food in front of us.

"You're not escaping me that easy. My mate is hot, and I should be allowed to want to sit with her." He whispers into my ear.

Clara gags, her reaction to Damien's words quickly repeated by Sam. Liam turns and looks at them in question, a frown settling over his face as he realizes that they heard something that he couldn't.

"Dad told mom that she's hot." She informs him, her nose turned upwards at the thought.

Liam turns to look at us with betrayal, his eyes narrowing as he looks between us.

"That's gross." He states.

Damien hums, shrugging as his chest starts up its vibrations again. The children all hold back laughs at his reaction to them, their faces turning red as they hide their smiles behind their hands. My cheeks warm at the overwhelming pride from him floods our bond, the feeling growing as he watches them laughing at him.

Such a fucking cat.