I snorted. "What, are you afraid of them?"
"N-no!" Mistral squawked. "It's just... strange."
"We're not strange, you're strange 'cause you got blue feathers, and that's weird," Azure argued.
Mistral looked flustered. "I-I am not weird! I'm an air spirit!"
Azure and Celeste both giggled, then chanted together, "Weird, weird!"
"Guys, it's not nice to call someone weird," Leveret chided them gently. "I'm different, but you wouldn't call me weird, right?"
"You're right. Sorry, Uncle Lev," they both murmured.
"Don't apologize to me. Say it to Mistral."
Leave it to Leveret to stand up for my asshole brother who tried to kill him ten minutes ago,I thought. But unlike me, Leveret didn't keep grudges or hold onto hard feelings. It was one of the many things I loved about him. Maybe in time, I'd learn to do that, too.
Azure and Celeste looked at the haggard air spirit. "Sorry, Uncle Mistral!"
Mistral's eyes nearly popped out of his head. His feathers frazzled as he squeaked, "U-uncle? I'm not your uncle! I'm not even related to you!"
"Technically, that's not true," Leveret said. "You're kin to both Nautilus and Animus, who are now officially members of the family. So by extension, youareblood-related to multiple people, including Azure, Jace, Annabelle..." Leveret hooked his arm around my waist. "And our unborn child."
I watched in amusement as realization spread across Mistral's expression. The old me would've laughed in his face, but unfortunately, I tried to be a better person lately.
Oblivious to Mistral's shock, Leveret went on. "Of course, that doesn't even take into account the members of the family of whom you aren't blood-related, which is a factor we don't believe takes priority, and—"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Mistral said wearily. He sighed in defeat as the children continued to poke and prod at him and bombard him with innocently curious questions, like why his feathers were blue and why his hair stuck up in so many directions.
"You win, Animus," Mistral mumbled, looking up at me.
I grinned with satisfaction. "Oh? Do tell."
"Maybe... mortals aren't that bad after all," Mistral admitted a second before Jace stuck a tiny finger up his nose.
Twenty
Leveret
As Animus's belly grew, so did his magic reservoir. I'd heard people say pregnant omegas glowed, but I never understood it until I saw Animusliterallyglowing. His skin radiated light like a lit candle. As if I wasn't already obsessed with him, every new detail drove me deeper in love.
Animus laid back in my bed back at the cabin. We wanted to live together, so I suggested Animus move into the cabin I used to share with my cousins, which was now all but empty except for me and Starry—and now Animus, too. After finding their fated mates, my cousins cultivated homes of their own nearby. Even Lupa took a leap of faith and moved in with her human mate, Hazel, just to see how humans lived. It didn't surprise me, since she loved spontaneous adventure, but personally, I wouldn't enjoy such a big change. I liked the familiarity of the cabin, and I was happy Animus wanted to share it with me.
"Leveret," Animus said, raising a brow. "You've been staring at my arm for the past five minutes."
"It's interesting," I said. I ran my finger along his soft skin, marvelling how the light disappeared under my digit only to reappear when I removed it. "You're the most special omega ever."
He grinned. "You must say that toallthe pretty omegas you meet."
I knew he was only teasing, but I shut it down regardless. "You are the only omega I want," I promised.
"I know, silly hare."
Animus cupped the back of my head and pulled me into a kiss. Pleasure trickled down my spine and awakened my cock. That happened more and more lately. Once Animus was visibly pregnant, I had trouble keeping my hands to myself. All I wanted to do was pleasure him. It didn't help that pregnancy heightened his pheromones. His delicious campfire scent wafted off his body like a cloud of perfume I couldn't get enough of.
I hummed against his lips. Their wet softness felt amazing. Each time we kissed it felt like sparks of electricity crackled along my skin.
"I love you," I murmured into the kiss.