Ellie POV


    I had thought I was prepared for this.


    I had imagined Nn being present, attentive, perhaps even affectionate in a careful, measured way. I had expected him to be protective, serious, focused on logistics and security and the weight of everything waiting outside the packhouse walls.


    I had not expected him to be... this.


    Maybe I should have. From the first moment he met the twins, he''d been gentle and affectionate with them. It was a side of him I had never seen before that moment.


    It was hard for me to understand Nn''s behavior sometimes, and I had to wonder how much of that came down to his wolf. In many ways, he was a man of instinct. His connection to his wolf was one of the strongest I''d ever seen and he rarely hesitated to act on his instincts.


    I don''t have a wolf, so it was hard for me to understand how that worked.


    But that had to be a factor with the boys. He knew who they were immediately, and they seemed to instinctively recognize him as well.


    That bond was growing rapidly now that they were together every day.


    From the moment the twins woke that first morning in Silver Fang, Nn was everywhere. He was there when August fussed and refused his bottle until Nn took it and murmured something soft under his breath. He was there whenn cried in that sharp, offended way that mean he wanted to be held now, not in a moment, not by someone else.


    Nn didn''t hesitate.


    He simply scooped them up, one on each hip, moving through the packhouse with an ease that startled me every time I saw it.


    "You don''t have to do everything,” I told him gently at breakfast, watching as he bncedn against his chest while cutting fruit with one hand.


    Nn nced up, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. "I know."


    "You''re still recovering," I insisted, putting my hands on my hips.


    Nn had smiled, a soft, warm smile that reached his eyes


    It was enough to leave me speechless. I''d known him for years, and I had never seen anything like it from him. His eyes were fixed onn, who was babbling excitedly at the sight of the strawberries on the counter.


    Nn chuckled and held a small slide up ton. The baby took it eagerly and mashed the little red fruit into his mouth. He made a happy sound at the vor, and Nn bened at him with obvious pride.


    "Good boy," he said softly. "Eat up so you can grow strong


    All I could do was stand there and watch the scene unfold. I was so paternal, so domestic. It was hard to believe this man was the alpha of Silver Fang. It was like Nn had been possessed by the spirit of some soft-hearted old


    man.


    August made a sound of protest from his high chair. Before could move, Nn had swept across the room with a slice of strawberry for him.


    +25 Bonus


    "You too, little one," he said as he put the fruit into Augusts chubby little hand. “I could never forget you."


    I found myself covering my mouth as I watched August happily munch on the fruit and smile up at Nn. I wasn''t sure if I was trying to cover my smile or hold back tears.


    He didn''t slow down.


    I watched him feed them, rocking gently when they grew restless, humming tunelessly when words seemed unnecessary. He carried them through the halls, introduced them to staff members by name, pointed out windows and banners and the distant tree line as if the boys could understand every word.


    Maybe they could.


    They watched him withplete focus, their tiny hands gripping his shirt, their expressions calm in a way that made my chest ache.


    I had raised them mostly alone for nearly a year. I knew every sound they made, every shift in mood, every way they liked to be held. And yet, seeing them with Nn felt like witnessing something click into ce.


    As if they had been waiting.


    It twisted in my gut like a knife. I had kept them apart for so long, out of my own fear and bitterness.


    But there was an almost painful affection that I felt when I saw them like that. Like the warmth it brought me was almost too much to contain. I wasn''t sure what to do with that other than hold it and keep watching.


    Nn was still recovering. I was worried that he would overdo it and injure himself, but he wouldn''t slow down. I


    knew that.