I woke up wrapped in warmth.
Not just blankets (though there were plenty of those), but arms. Thick, muscled arms banded around my waist like steel covered in velvet. A heavy leg thrown over both of mine. A face buried in the crook of my neck, breath warm against my skin.
Noctis.
He'd crawled into my bed sometime before dawn, still fully clothed except for shoes, and held me like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.
I should have kicked him out.
I didn't.
Instead I lay there listening to the steady thunder of his heartbeat and the soft, contented rumble that vibrated through his chest every time I shifted closer.
The pup gave a lazy kick, as if saying good morning to Daddy.
Noctis stirred instantly.
Golden eyes blinked open, sleepy and soft in a way I'd never seen them.
"Morning," he rasped, voice rough from crying or growling (maybe both).
"Morning," I whispered back.
For a long moment we just looked at each other.
Then he did the last thing I expected.
He smiled.
Not the sharp, dangerous smile he wore for the world. A real one. Small, crooked, and so beautiful it hurt.
"Hi," he said again, like he was seeing me for the first time.
"Hi yourself."
His hand slid to my stomach, slow enough that I could stop him.
I didn't.
The pup kicked right under his palm, harder this time.
His whole face went soft. Wonder, terror, joy (all of it at once).
"She knows me," he breathed.
"Or he," I corrected automatically.
"She," he said with absolute certainty. "I can smell it."
I rolled my eyes. "You can not smell gender."
"Watch me." He leaned down and pressed his nose to my belly, inhaling deeply. "Definitely a little princess. Going to have her mother's temper and my terrible taste in men."
I swatted his head. He laughed (actually laughed) and the sound went straight between my legs.
Dangerous.
He noticed. Of course he did.
The laughter faded into something darker, hungrier.
His hand slid higher, thumb brushing just under my breast.
"Tanya," he said, my name a warning and a question.
I knew what he was asking.
Last night had been grief and comfort. This morning was something else.
I was still scared. Still angry. Still overwhelmed.
But I was also tired of pretending I didn't want him.
I answered by arching into his touch.
The growl that tore out of him was pure animal.
He rolled us so fast the room spun, pinning me gently beneath six feet of desperate werewolf king.
Clothes disappeared in a frenzy of hands and teeth and whispered curses.
When he finally sank into me, slow and reverent, we both groaned like we'd been waiting centuries.
Maybe he had.
He moved like he was trying to memorize every inch, every sigh, every flutter of the life between us.
After, he stayed inside me, forehead pressed to mine, shaking.
"I heard it," he whispered against my lips. "Both heartbeats. Yours and hers. Perfect sync."
Tears pricked my eyes.
He kissed them away before they could fall.
Then his phone started buzzing on the nightstand (angry, insistent).
He ignored it.
It kept going.
With a furious snarl he reached over and answered without looking.
"What?" he barked.
A pause.
Then every muscle in his body went rigid.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes," he said, voice suddenly ice.
He hung up and looked at me with apology already bleeding from his eyes.
"Selene," he said. "She's at the company. Making a scene. Claims she has proof the child isn't mine."
My stomach dropped.
He cupped my face. "Stay here. Lock the doors. I'll handle it."
I grabbed his wrist. "No."
He blinked.
"I'm coming with you," I said, already climbing out of bed. "If that she-wolf wants to play, she's going to learn exactly who she's messing with."
Noctis stared at me for a long beat.
Then the proudest, most terrifying smile spread across his face.
"There's my Luna," he murmured.
Ten minutes later I was dressed in the fiercest maternity dress the closet had to offer (black, wrap style, lethal heels), hair twisted up, war paint on.
Noctis watched me like I was the most beautiful weapon he'd ever seen.
As we stepped into the elevator, his hand settled possessively on my lower back.
"Try not to kill her," he said mildly. "I still need to do it legally."
I smiled sweetly. "No promises."
The elevator doors closed on the most dangerous pair in the city.
Let the games begin.