<b>Envy </b>


    :


    68


    The world opened up as I stepped out of the tree line, and for a moment, I couldn’t


    breathe. The path before me glowed like something out of a dream. Small candles floated in ss jars, leading the way up the hill in a soft, golden line. Fairy lights spilled from the trees below, strung high but low enough that their twinkle brushed across the grass, each one catching on petals of the wildflowers still blooming from the night I’d first imed this ce as ours. It felt enchanted, yes, but not in the dangerous way magic so often feels. This was love–made. Hands and hearts had shaped every detail, and I could feel it as sure as the ground under my feet. My eyes moved first to them, my mates. They were waiting for me at the base of the hill, lined up in a way that made meugh quietly under my breath because, of course, they had positioned themselves like guards. My guards. My kings. My men.


    Xavier stood tall in the center, steady and strong, Maddox pacing under his skin, his


    gaze steady on me like I was the only thing in the world. Haiden had his hands in his


    pockets, pretending at casual, but I could see Talen pressing forward in the set of his jaw


    and the way his eyes sparked when I caught them. Levi was calm, always calm, but his


    lips tipped at the edges, proud and quiet, like he’d been holding this moment close in his chest for weeks. I’m sure Flint had a hand in preparing the ideas. And Noah… gods, Noah. Hawk stretched in the way his eyes tracked me, every muscle tuned, ready to anchor me before I even thought I needed it. I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t help it.


    Each of them, looking at me like that, lit me up from the inside out. For weeks it had


    been ns and battles, witches and threats, the constant ache of missing the kids. And


    here they stood, not as kings, not as warriors, but as <i>my </i><i>men</i><i>. </i>My <i>family</i>. Their gazes traced over me in the dress Aleisha had slipped me into, the soft white fabric falling over


    the curve of my belly. I knew what they were seeing, I saw it in the way their throats bobbed and the quiet reverence that lingered in their eyes.


    The bump made me feel round most days, heavy, slow. But tonight, under their stares, I felt beautiful. Powerful. Like this life inside me made me glow instead of weighing me down. I lifted my skirts slightly, taking the first step onto the candlelit path. My heart beat hard, steady and strong, in my chest and in my belly, where the little one shifted gently as though sensing it too. Each step up the hill brought me closer to them, and closer to what they’d built for me. The rugs spread across the crest of the hill looked


    68


    impossibly soft,yers uponyers, fur and woven threads that begged for bare feet. Small wooden tables were scattered across them,id with dishes and ss jars, some already glowing faintly with the reflection of candles set carefully around. In the branches of the trees, strings of lights cast a soft starlight that mingled with the real stars above, making it impossible to tell where magic ended and the sky began. And there, at the edge, a screen stretched wide, a projector already set up behind it. A movie under the stars. Our stars. My chest tightened because I remembered Levi once saying he wanted to give me all the normal things too, the small, human pieces of life that war


    and magic so often stole. And here it was. I looked back across the hill at them, my throat tight, my eyes stinging. “You did all this?” My voice carried, soft but clear.


    Xavier’s lips curved, steady and sure. “For you, my love. Always.”


    Haiden’s grin broke through his rough edges. “Think of it as a warm–up. Dinner, movie, and maybeter we’ll drag you into a dance.”


    Noah’s gaze softened as he stepped closer. “We wanted you to feel like today was about


    you. Just you.”


    And Levi, quiet but fierce in his own way, tilted his head. “You once called this spot ours.


    It still is. Always will be.”


    My hand went to my belly again, a protective instinct I couldn’t break, and I smiled through the sting of tears. I’d thought my birthday didn’t matter without the kids, that it would only ache. But standing here, surrounded by the people who had fought and


    bled and built this moment just to remind me I wasn’t alone, I knew this was more than a birthday. This was a promise.


    They guided me to the center of the rugs they’did, the air smelling of the tes of food already set out, with dishes I loved. “Sit,” Xavier said, gently but with that


    “Dinner first, movie after,” Levi said, fussing with the table until it was lined perfectly, napkins folded like he’d been born a waiter.


    18:11 Fri, Sep <b>5 </b>


    “You’re ridiculous,” I teased, but my smile gave me away.


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    “Ridiculous gets results,” he answered smoothly, setting a fork in my hand before kissing


    the back of it.


    Haiden dropped to the rug beside me, close enough that his warmth pressed against my thigh. “Eat up, pretty girl. You’ll need energy for dessert.”


    I rolled my eyes. “You mean the tarts?”


    His grin was shameless. “Sure, that too.”


    Noah passed me a te already loaded with food. “Don’t listen to him. We nned


    tonight to spoil you, not to tease you.”


    “Teasing is part of spoiling,” Haiden cut in, smirking.


    Noah ignored him and kissed my temple. “Just rx and let us love you a little extra.”


    I couldn’t help it; my throat tightened. “You already do.”


    They ate with me,ughing and tossing banter back and forth while I stole bites off their tes. At one point, Levi leaned in and brushed a smudge of cream from the corner of my mouth with his thumb, his eyes so soft it made my chest ache.


    When the tes were cleared, Haiden stretched out on his back, folding his hands under his head. “Alright, who picked the movie?”


    “Me,” Noah said, smug. “Something light. She deserves tough tonight.”


    I nced up at him. “What did you pick?”


    “You’ll see.<i>” </i>His smile curved slowly. “But fair warning, I get the first cuddle when the


    credits roll.<b>” </b>


    “You all get cuddles,” I muttered, settling back into Xavier’s chest, my belly pressed


    warm between his hands.


    “That’s the best deal we’ve ever made,” Xavier murmured against my hair.


    The lights dimmed, the projector flickered to life, and the first notes of some ridiculous. romanticedy spilled across the clearing. Iughed at the opening scene and felt each of them rx around me, like the sound itself had peeled something heavy away.


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