ELLIE

        “Alpha, I must apologise for interrupting you, but it’s important,” I looked up from my paperwork to see Jamie standing in the doorway to my office. She looked genuinely panicked but I had already made it clear that Jackson and Luca were to deal with everything.

        “Jamie, I told you four months’ ago that if there were any issues, you were to go to either Jackson or Luca,” I told her as I moved my hand across my stomach, rubbing it in an attempt to ease the pain which was there.

        “I know and I really am sorry, but this an issue I don’t trust either of them with,” she replied.

        “I would love to help you Jamie but I am behind my desk for a reason. I can’t afford to get stressed,” I sighed and I felt bad that I was turning her away, but I told her with the rest of the pack what was going to happen so expected my rules to be followed.

        I was glad that Blake picked that moment to walk into my office. For the last four months, he had taken care of me and done all the stressful work which I should have been doing.

        I knew he could manage though and it wasn’t going to be too much trouble. He had Alpha blood in his system so he knew what he needed to do. It made me grateful that I had Blake around, especially since he kept me off my feet and he was the one who told me that I needed to announce to the pack that  was pregnant – I explicitly told that I wasn’t going to be dealing with anything until after the twins were born.

        Jackson and Luca were more than capable of dealing with the issues and, if anything serious did happen, I was usually in my office and they would always come to find me. I was still in charge of the pack, I was simply running things from behind the scenes while Jackson and Luca ran everything out the front for me.

        “Please Alpha?” Jamie pleaded with me and I could tell that she was desperate for my help but I wasn’t going to be able to anything. If I helped her than I would have to help another because I wouldn’t be able to turn them away, so I had no choice but to refuse her pleas.

        Being seven months pregnant with twins wasn’t easy and there were times where I had complained about being the Alpha. I told Blake that I would prefer to be his Luna any day of the week over being an Alpha. But he simply thought I was being amusing and only ever laughed about it.

        “What is it Jamie?” Blake asked his sister gently as he pulled me up from the chair and sat on it for himself. He pulled me down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me, resting them on my bump which only caused the twins to go mad.

        Whenever Blake touched me, the twins seemed to know that he was there because they would play their game of football, using me as their own personal ball so that they could get somewhat closer to their father. Don’t get me wrong, I loved feeling them move and I know Blake did too, but it was a pain in the ass at times. Especially when all I wanted to do was sleep.

        “Your brother, Alpha, he’s my mate—“

        “Jamie, drop the formalities and call me Ellie,” I told her before she could say another word. I appreciate that she was here before as a member of my pack, now she’s here as Blake’s sister and she’s telling me that she’s my brother’s second chance mate.

        “Link is my mate. I didn’t want to accept that it was real so I walked away, but he came after me and we got into an argument. He told me that he didn’t want me and that I would never be able to replace his old mate. Then he disappeared into the forest and crossed the territory line. Ellie, your brother is in Moon Rise’s land,” Jamie finished and I could see the tears she was holding back as she finished speaking.

        Link had always told me that, if he was to get a second chance mate, he would reject her because his heart would always belong to Lara. But I never even thought he would end up with someone as innocent and broken as Jamie. I certainly never thought he would be so cruel to her.

        I was going to be having words with him when he finally decided he was going to come back here. I wasn’t impressed with him and I could be sure that Blake wasn’t happy either, even less so given that Jamie is his baby sister and everything.

        “It’s a good job Mason is an ally of mine. He had met Link before so he won’t harm the idiot,” I told her reassuringly as I stood up and walked over to her, pulling her into an awkward ‘I’m pregnant’ hug in which the bump gets in the way to you can barely reach each other. Being pregnant with twins only made it all the more difficult to hug.

        “I know he’s your brother and everything, but I am nineteen and have only been studying for my degree at University for four months. I wasn’t interesting in finding my mate right now so finding out that it was Link was a surprise. I never meant to upset him, I just wanted to talk and I wanted him to understand,” Jamie sighed as I directed her over to the sofa and sat her down, Blake handing her a couple of tissues so she could wipe the tears which had fallen and then he sat down beside me, one arm wrapped around me so that he could feel the twins.

        “You just need to give him space. Let him have his sulk and the time he needs to think and, when he realises what a dick he’s been, he will be back and apologising for what he said. He’s just had a bit of a shitty past so he’s not going to be the person you want him to be,” I replied.

        “And how can you be so sure of that? You have Blake, you’re pregnant and everyone out there worships the ground on which you walk,” Jamie muttered and I couldn’t help but laugh because it hadn’t always been as simple as we make it seem now. I was happy and I had all the things I could possibly dream of having, but it sure as hell wasn’t an easy ride to get here.

        “Take a moment to imagine our pack captured a rogue and that rogue just happened to be my mate. Continue imagining that this rogue used sarcasm as a natural defence and had an answer for basically everything. Now imagine our father was the reason this rogue was a rogue in the first place and she had nothing left so she pretty much demanded that I earn her trust, to prove I was nothing like our father. Imagine that I did this for almost two weeks, only seeing this rogue three times in that period, during which time I killed two guards and almost killed our Alpha. Imagine that I had to wait almost three weeks for this rogue to accept me as her mate and that it took her three months to tell me that she loved me for first time. Can you imagine all of that Jamie?” Blake asked as I grabbed hold of his hand which was sitting on the sofa, interlocking our fingers as he did the usual thing of rubbing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

        “Just because something appears perfect, doesn’t mean it has always been that way,” I added with a smile as I leant back into Blake’s chest, my head falling onto his arm and he put a quick kiss on my cheek, which only made me smile.

        “You always told me that finding your mate would be exciting,” Jamie replied, her attention on her brother as she spoke.

        “I did. There is no denying how amazing it feels to find your mate but I was never told of how fate has a funny way of making things difficult for you. Sometimes you get rejected, sometimes you love each other immediately and other times you have to work at it to make the relationship work,” Blake said.

        “So, tell me brother, how did you make this rogue fall in love with you?” Jamie asked and there was now a smile on her face as she used the tissues to wipe away the last of her tears.

        “Her brother taught me all that he knew. Turns out this rogue liked the simple things in life. Watching a film, taking a walk in the park or some good old-fashioned talking,” Blake laughed.

        “You are going to have to introduce me to this girl. She sounds like she could be competition,” I joked.

        “She’s definitely some tough competition. She complains less, eats less and is just a little less pregnant than you are,” Blake said and I didn’t even need to look at him to know that he was smirking. I moved my free hand backwards so that it hit his chest before he even had the time to react and stop it from happening.

        “Ouch. That actually hurt,” he moaned, rubbing his hand over where I had caused him pain.

        “That was the general idea. I wasn’t doing it to be nice,” I chuckled and even Jamie managed to laugh as she watched our childish behaviour. We weren’t usually like this in front of people, our immature behaviour was saved for when no one else was around and we could just be ourselves without anyone making a comment about it.

        As I looked at Jamie, I would like to think that Link is going to come round and will actually speak to her. Just as he had a terrible past, she had also had a pretty crappy time growing up. It didn’t matter that she was twelve years younger than he is, the moon goddess had paired them together for a reason – I hoped that she could be the girl who put Link back together and made him whole once again.

        I know that he was still torn up about Lara and his pup, that was the one thing he would never really be able to get over, but Jamie wasn’t the one who did and it wasn’t fair for him to punish her like it she was involved in what happened to him. This was going to be the only chance he actually got at happiness for the rest of his life so I really hoped he made the right decision and didn’t fuck it up.

        “I know you two know what you’re having,” Jamie said with a smirk now on her face.

        “Don’t even bother asking because we’re not telling,” Blake told her. She had been asking for three months now if we knew what we were having and, each time she asked, we told her that we had no idea what we were having. It was a total lie but Blake wanted it to be a surprise for the people who mattered, he didn’t want to go round telling everyone what we were having.

        “Blake, I’ve had a terrible day and this would really cheer me up. I know how much you hate seeing your little sister miserable,” Jamie said as she turned her face into the scariest frown I had ever seen on a person. If she was trying to look sad, I would be the first to tell her that she had failed epically.

        “Link will be back before you know it and you two will disappear to his house for the evening where you’ll find what it’s like to be with your mate for the first time. You’ll be too busy with him to even care what we’re having,” Blake muttered but I knew she wasn’t going to give up.

        If there’s one thing Jamie is, then it’s persistent and she doesn’t give up easily. She’s been on the topic of what we’re having for three months now and I don’t think I can take another two months of questioning.

        “I won’t tell anyone. And besides they’re my family too so it’s only fair that you tell me,” Jamie grinned and I could feel Blake sigh in defeat, realising that she wasn’t about to let this drop in a hurry and he was just as tired of questioning as I was. Even if he never said anything about it.

        “You’ve got a niece and a nephew,” I smiled at and she was genuinely excited about this. When she realised I was looking at her though, she quickly stopped jumping around on the sofa and went back to sitting properly.

        “Sorry. I never thought I would be an Aunt. I mean, with Lex rejecting his mate and Blake pretty much accepting that he was never going to meet his mate, I didn’t ever thing there would be any more children in the Jackson line,” Jamie said. I could hear the sadness when she mentioned Lex because it still hurt both her and Blake that he wasn’t around.

        Blake was finding it especially tough with Lex not being here to witness him becoming a father for the first time. When he found out that I was pregnant, he travelled all the way back to Moon Shadow, just to tell his brother that he was going to be an Uncle.

        The pregnancy wasn’t planned and it was very unexpected. We had talked about having children at some point in our relationship but we didn’t plan for them as quickly as they happened, not that either of us complained when we found out because we were totally in love with the twins already.

        “Do you want to know their names too?” Blake asked his sister.

        “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just wanted to know what you were having. You know me, I’ve always been a little more curious than normal,” Jamie replied shyly. I made a mental note that I would be kicking Link’s ass if he rejected her and didn’t even give her a chance to prove herself.

        “Just take the offer Jamie. You know how secretive he’s been about both the sex and names of these twins,” I chuckled.

        “If you tell a single person, I swear I am going to disown you as my sister,” Blake told her.

        “Don’t worry brother. I promise not to tell anyone outside these four walls what has been said,” Jamie smiled and she had such a lovely smile. I didn’t want her to be sad, I knew Link would come to his senses, and I didn’t want to see the pain behind her eyes either as she continued to look between Blake and myself.

        “Your nephew is going to be called Maxwell David Lex Jackson and your niece is going to be called Nicole Janette Jayne Jackson,” Blake told her proudly. He was the one who had picked their names and he told me that they were the important people from our lives, naming our children after them was the right thing to do and we would be able to tell them stories of each person as they grew up.

        “My poor nephew. He’s going to be bullied for the rest of his life with a name like Maxwell,” I looked over to see Link leaning on the doorframe for my office.

        “We could always call him Kyros. But then I know how much you dislike that name,” I chuckled.

        “Anything is better than Kyros. I don’t even know what sort of name that is but it’s not a name I would use for my son,” Link complained as he moved his arms so that they were folded across his chest, his eyes moving over to where Jamie was sitting.

        “No name was good enough for you. Even when I wanted to call him Alexander, you told me that was a terrible name,” I muttered.

        “I suppose I can’t really say much though, I am going to be Uncle Link. I will never forgive our parents for giving me such a stupid name,” Link continued to complain as he walked into the office and pulled the chair from the front of my desk over to where the three of us were sitting. “You turn up and get a normal name, I am their son and I get a ridiculous name.”

        “It must have been the face. I can’t help how cute I was as a child,” I laughed.

        “Yeah. You could turn on that adorable smile and you got anything you wanted. Pretty you used it on me more than once,” Link mused and I could see the faint smile on his face.

        “Worked a charm. I used it once I spilt paint all over the carpet and blamed you. Got you grounded for two weeks and you weren’t allowed to leave the house other than to go to school,” I said, causing both Blake and Jamie to start laughing. I was trouble when I was younger and I had way of either getting what I wanted or just getting away with things I had done.

        “I was stuck looking after you for the entire time,” Link said.

        “I was ten. You were thirteen, going on fourteen. It was easy to blame you for it,” I laughed and moved his arm to punch me, like he always would when I said something he didn’t like, but he stopped himself before he even touched me.

        “Just you wait until you’ve given birth and you’re back to your Alpha duties. I’m going to kick your ass,” Link stated.

        “I look forward to it. But are you sure you want to embarrass yourself again?” I asked with a raised eyebrow and I could feel the rumble of Blake’s chest as he tried to hold back his laughter.

        The last time Link had tried to take me on, he ended up in the pack hospital and he wasn’t allowed to leave for a week. I obviously apologised to him but he was the one who thought he could take me on and was even brave enough to tell me not to go easy on him. So I didn’t and he lost.

        “I am sure God hates me. I mean, of all the people he could give me as a sister, he had to give me you.”

        “Aw. I love you too Link. I love you too,” I chimed as I stood up from the sofa and pulled Blake up with me. Link and Jamie had some talking to do which is the reason he was here so we needed to give them the space they needed to be able to do that.

        “Fuck this up Pierce and I will come after you with a silver bullet,” Blake said and I could tell that he was being serious, but I decided I was going to ignore the comment as I dragged him out of the room and closed the door behind the both of us.

        As we walked into the living room Jackson and Luca were having the same argument they had every single week. They were trying to decide which film they were going to watch this afternoon.

        I was sure there was some sort of underlying bromance there though between the both of them which they had decided not to tell anyone about. Even Elliot had told me that she thought there was something going on between Jackson and Luca behind her back – to this day I still don’t know if she was joking or being serious.

        “You picked last time though,” Luca moaned.

        “No. You picked last time. We ended up watching Skyfall,” Jackson replied as he snatched the remote from Luca’s hand and started playing with the TV.

        “Actually, I picked last time because you two have the same argument every single week,” I interrupted their petty argument. They both turned and looked at me, the expressions on their faces making it seem like they had seen a ghost or something.

        “Then solve the argument and pick for us again,” Luca said, holding up the DVDs they had been arguing over. It was a choice between Thor or The Avengers. I had never seen either film but had always wanted to so I knew the perfect way to settle the argument which would make the both of them happy.

        “Let’s watch them both. We can spend the rest of the day watching them and pigging out,” I grinned because I hadn’t done this with them in a while. I had always solved the argument for them of which film to watch but that’s all I had done.

        I spent my time sleeping whenever I could and, when I wasn’t sleeping, I was attempting to finish up with the paperwork which neither Jackson nor Luca could do.

        “Jackson, go and get Elliot. Luca, mind link Charlotte and tell her to come round here. I think we should finally see what all the fuss is about with you three and your movie days,” Blake laughed as he walked round to the sofa and pulled me down into his lap, his hands coming round so that they were on stomach and the twins began moving once more.

        “Yes Boss,” Jackson mocked a salute and then walked out of the room to fetch Elliot from their bedroom while Luca walked towards the kitchen, looking like he was in deep thought, but I knew that only meant he was mind linking with Charlotte.

        “They definitely love you. Daddy’s little girl who is going to be spoilt rotten and could probably get away with murder because she’ll have you wrapped around her finger from a young age. Then there will be daddy’s little Alpha, you will do the whole ‘father and son day’ thing where you’ll teach him everything he needs to know about being a man. I won’t have to do a thing,” I chuckled, my head falling back onto his shoulder as he moved so that he was more comfortable.

        “It’s not like I’ll have anything else to do. I’ll be a stay-at-home father while their mother is busy being a kid with her Beta and Third in Command,” Blake joked because we both knew that was never going to happen.

        I might have a pack to run but these twins were going to be my priority. I wasn’t going to neglect my family and I wasn’t going to leave Blake to do everything on his own, I would never be able to do that to the twins because I want them to know what it is to have two parents who love them both.

        I don’t want them to grow up knowing their mother would rather work than spend time with them while their father did everything to them. I would deal with pack business between ten in the morning and six in the evening, then I would spend time between that with my family.

        “Thank you,” I whispered.

        “For what?” Blake asked.

        “Being there for me. Showing me what love is and loving me in return. Never leaving my side. Not being jealous or possessive. Being amazing. For making me a mother. For being Blake,” I found myself smiling. I knew life was far from perfect but that didn’t bother me, I didn’t want it any other way because I had finally found my life again, I had found my own family.

        “There’s no need to thank me. You’re stuck with me for life now. I love you Ellie Pierce.”

        “I love you too Blake Jackson.”

        I am sure the moment would have been perfect for the two of us had the front door of the pack house not been forced open with a brutal amount of force. Instinctively Blake wrapped his arms protectively around me and the twins while I found my hands tightened around his shirt.

        We both looked over at the figure who was standing there. His hair all over the place, his facial features totally changed and his body covered in blood. As he walked further into the house, Blake and I both realised who it was and released our hold on each other.

        “Jayson?"