The sky bled orange and gold across the ruins of the town as Exile carried Felicity through the broken street, her small body tucked against his massive chest like something precious and stolen. She could feel the steady thud of his heart beneath her palm, a drumbeat that had kept time with her own since they’d left the clinic.

They rounded the corner of a collapsed office building, and there they were, her husbands, her pack, her everything, spread across the cracked pavement of what might have once been a parking lot.

Victor stood tallest among them, his silver hair catching the dying light like polished metal, those red eyes lifting the moment she came into view.

Voss sat cross-legged on an overturned crate, a map spread across his knees, while Damien leaned against a rusted car frame with that predatory stillness that still made her stomach flip. Ivan was tending to the fire, his scarred hands methodical and calm, and Lucan, bless him, was already on his feet, that mischievous grin splitting his face.

Felicity’s heart swelled until she thought it might crack her ribs.

"Put me down," she whispered to Exile, already wriggling.

He hissed low in his throat a warning, a plea, but loosened his grip enough for her to slide free. Her bare feet hit the pavement, and she was running before she’d even fully found her balance, her dress billowing behind her, her blonde hair whipping across her face.

"Guess what!" she called, skidding to a stop in front of them, breathless and beaming so hard her cheeks ached. "Guess how many cubs we’re having and what gender they are!"

The reactions were perfect. Victor’s brow furrowed, those red eyes widening a fraction. Voss’s pen froze mid-stroke on the map. Damien straightened from the car frame, his scarred face going utterly still. Even Ivan paused with a log halfway to the fire.

Lucan recovered first. "You know that already? How the hell...."

"The doctor had a ultra sound machine!" Felicity bounced on her toes, unable to contain the energy buzzing through her veins.

Victor stepped forward, closing the distance between them in two long strides. His hands came up to cup her face, those calloused palms warm and impossibly gentle against her skin. The look in his eyes that rare, unguarded softness made her breath catch.

"It doesn’t matter how many cubs there are or what sex they are," he said, his voice a low rumble that she felt in her chest. "As long as you’re happy, little fox."

Voss cleared his throat from behind them. "Though a mini Felicity would be nice."

Felicity laughed, the sound bright and clear in the dusty air. "Well, no mini foxes, because you guys aren’t foxes!" She reached up and poked Victor’s chest. "You’re all big, scary, overprotective not-foxes."

Damien moved then, closing in from the side. His hand settled on the small of her back, a claim, a comfort, and she leaned into it instinctively.

Ivan appeared on her other side, his massive frame radiating warmth.

Lucan ducked under Victor’s arm to press a quick kiss to her temple, and she could hear Exile’s heavy footsteps as he rejoined the circle, completing the ring of them around her.

She was surrounded, and she was home.

"So," Lucan said, his blue eyes bright with excitement, "how many, then? Don’t keep us in suspense."

Felicity opened her mouth, but Voss cut her off. "Wait. Before that, what did the doctor say about your health? About the pregnancy itself?"

Right. Of course, Voss would think of that first. She smiled at him, touched by the concern beneath his analytical tone.

"She said everything looks good. Strong heartbeats, good growth for how far along I am." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "She wants to see me again in two weeks, but..."

"But you don’t want to stay in this town," Victor finished for her, reading her expression the way he always did.

Felicity nodded. "Bowral is still the plan, right? The settlement there is supposed to have proper infrastructure, medicine, other women..." She trailed off, glancing between them. "I don’t want to get stuck here for two weeks when we could be moving."

Lucan straightened, his expression shifting into something more focused. "I’ll ask around tonight. See if anyone knows what medical facilities Bowral has. If they’ve got doctors who can handle a pregnancy, then we push on." He squeezed her shoulder. "We’ll figure it out, Fel."

The relief that washed through her was immediate and sweet. She leaned into Damien’s hand at her back, closing her eyes for just a moment, breathing in the mingled scents of her mates’ pine, smoke, musk and something uniquely theirs.

The moment shattered.

"Felicity?"

The voice came from the edge of the camp, tentative and thin. Felicity’s eyes snapped open to find Alice standing about fifteen feet away, her petite frame silhouetted against the sunset. The girl looked like she’d been running, her chest heaving, her dark hair was wild, and her eyes darted between the circle of beastmen surrounding Felicity with visible unease.

Dimitri materialised from the shadows behind Alice, his massive wolf form radiating warning. The Snow Team members, who’d been lingering at the perimeter of camp, shifted subtly, their postures tightening.

Felicity felt the change in her own husband’s like a ripple through water.

Victor’s hands dropped from her face to her shoulders, pulling her fractionally closer.

Damien’s fingers pressed harder against her spine.

Ivan stepped half a pace in front of her.

The possessiveness was instinctive, primal. Now that her pregnancy was confirmed, now that the scent of new life clung to her skin, they’d become a fortress with teeth.

Alice seemed to sense the shift. She froze mid-step, her hands rising slightly in a gesture that was almost a surrender.

"Have you seen Tim?" she asked, and the desperation in her voice was sharp enough to cut. "He’s not—I can’t find him anywhere. He’s not with you, or the camp, or..." She swallowed hard. "He’s just gone."