That witch had made Mikko worry. He hadn't left me alone the rest of the day. He kept a close eye on me, making sure I wasn't out of his sight for long periods of time.

Even against my protests, Mikko decided that he was staying with me in my bed.

When I woke up the next morning, he was laying there, in all his shirtless glory, playing Tetris on his phone.

"What time is it?" I groaned during a fantastic morning stretch.

"Ten," he said distracted.

I froze. "Ten?!"

He nodded, eyes still glued to the little screen. "Sure is."

I quickly shot out of bed. "You turned off my alarm!"

He smirked. "Yes I did."

"I need to go help at the alpha's house!" I nearly shouted at him. "You're breaking my tradition!"

"Calm down." He rolled his eyes and put his phone down. "They won't care if the pregnant woman is late."

"But I care." I countered. "I can help just as much as I always have."

"Whatever." He grumbled bringing his phone back up to his face to play again.

I hopped in the shower and made it the quickest shower of my life! I wrapped the towel around myself and twisted the ends together to make the towel stay. I swiveled myself into a sitting position on the counter since I couldn't just climb onto it anymore.

I was picking out my makeup when Mikko came in. He had absolutely nothing on.

"You slept in my bed naked?!" I asked in complete disbelief.

He smirked and stood in front of the mirror, showing everything off. "You act like it's something you've never seen before." He walked up behind me. I kept my eyes locked on him via the mirror until he was close enough behind me that I could feel his body warmth. "You should get used to it. I hate sleeping with clothing on. It feels unnatural."

He was using that damn seductive voice! I rolled my eyes at him. If he thought he could get something out of me this morning, he was way wrong. That was until he started rubbing my lower back. I melted like butter in the microwave when I was given massages.

"I have to get ready." I reluctantly admitted after a few minutes.

Then he completely surprised me. He leaned over me and kissed the right side of my belly before repeating the process on the left side. "Don't fall."

He turned and walked over to the shower, leaving me obviously shocked at what had just happened. That had actually been a wonderful gesture towards his children. That was a side of Mikko I wanted to see more of. That was the Mikko that I wanted to be around my kids as they grew up.

Once I had a little bit of makeup on, I walked out of the bathroom to my closet. I grabbed some of those comfortable jeans that my belly fit into and a cute shirt that Nikki had bought for me. It was light blue with snowflakes 'falling'. There was a little snow angel, signifying the baby. If the pack knew about twins, she would've found one with two snow angels, but regardless, I loved it.

Mikko was dressed and ready by the time I gathered everything I'd need for the day. I loaded my makeup bag and grabbed a nice dress before I hooked the strap of my low heels with my finger.

"Dad, you ready?" I hollered while I shut the door to my room. "We're going to be late."

"Waiting on you." He muttered from the living room. He hadn’t seemed to be in a murky mood when I had woken up this morning. Maybe it was from seeing Mikko again. Dad's last encounter with Mikko probably hadn't gone well. Not after the challenge.

I quickly made my way down the stairs, making my belly and boobs jiggle uncomfortably. My boobs had definitely acquired some extra fullness now that I was into my twenty-fourth week of pregnancy.

I slipped my feet into my expensive faux-fur boots dad had bought me last Christmas. Being part animal himself, he refused to buy real fur. It would've been weird to wear fur around werewolves anyway. Dad opened the door for me and I walked through into the cold Christmas weather.

I groaned when I took in what I saw. Mikko was waiting in his big black Denali for us. I looked back at my dad. "Do we really have to go in that?"

Dad nodded and locked the door to the house. "Suck it up buttercup."

I huffed then held my head high as I stomped towards the stupid car. Mikko hit a button as I neared the car, causing the back trunk door to slowly start opening. I set my things in the back, careful to place the dress so it wouldn't wrinkle. I was going to sit in the back seat because I didn't want to sit with him, but he leaned over and opened the door.

"It says something if you sit beside me, not behind me."

"Afraid I'll slit your throat or something?" I asked as I climbed into the car.

"No." He shook his head as he watched my father near the car. "The entire pack will be in attendance tonight. I don't want anyone thinking that I'm not going to take care of any threats towards you." Mikko took the opportunity to look me right in the eyes. "You're not beneath me Emily. Your present condition puts you right at my side."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "That's saying a lot coming from the guy who chases anything with a --" I somehow managed to stop myself from saying anything vulgar. My hormones spiked my anger, making me lash out. My logical thinking brain would've thought that what Mikko had said was a nice sentiment. He had actually been nice this morning. I should've just left it at that. Now we were both going to be irritated all day.

I rested my hands on the protruding belly and stared out the window. Dad hopped in the back seat seconds later. I was already thinking about going to bed again. My mood swings were exhausting!

It was a good thing that we didn't speak to each other until we pulled up to the house.

"Go inside. I'll gather your things," Mikko said as he got out.

I was glad I didn't have to carry anything in. It was cold and I just wanted to get into the warm house. I was already late!

Dad followed me until I was in the house. Heaven forbid I slip on a patch of ice or something!

I fell into the routine a few minutes after I walked into the kitchen. I had to do rounds of hugging and feeling belly touches from the random women I hadn't seen since thanksgiving. Mikko stayed close. If he said he didn't trust me, I could only imagine what he thought of everyone else. He watched every hand that came close to my stomach. He kept an eye on everyone that had the potential to get close to me.

It was annoying…but endearing. At least he was showing some outward signal that he cared for the children that he was going to be meeting in a few months.

"We need to change," Nikki said as she poked at my elbow. Nikki had been pestering me for the last thirty minutes to go change.

"I know," I said as I finished setting up the table with the desserts on it.

"Which room did you put your things in?"

I wiped my hands on my pants. "Mikko brought them in."

She groaned. "Well let's go get your things."

I nodded. "Where is he?"

The sliding glass door opened and Jason walked in. "Why aren't you guys dressed yet? We're hungry."

Now Jason was bothering me about getting ready too. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Where's Mikko?"

Jason motioned outside. "He's out back."

"I'll get the stuff and meet you in the bathroom," I said to Nikki.

She hesitated and gave me a careful look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "What's he going to do with a bunch of witnesses?"

She reluctantly agreed. "Alright. I'll meet you upstairs."

Jason held the door open for me. Mikko was actually smiling when I spotted him. He was talking to another man who looked a little like him. The similarities forced me to believe that the guy was related to Mikko somehow.

Both of the men spotted me coming towards them. The man I didn't know yet looked down at my bump with glee in his eyes.

"You must be Emily." I confirmed with a real smile and a nod. He was charming. "I am Philip, Mikko's younger brother."

"Well it's nice to meet the uncle of my baby." I barely caught myself before I said babies. In this huge crowd of werewolves, I knew I had to keep the twins a secret, even if Philip already knew.

Philip gave his brother a sly smile as he wrapped a big arm around my shoulder. "She's prettier than you let on." I recognized the mild challenge the younger brother was giving. Mikko gave his brother a low growl. "And young." That tease made Mikko roll his eyes.

The fact that someone could challenge and tease the mighty Mikko made me really smile as I looked at the victim of the teasing. "I need my things."

"I'll show you where they are." Mikko held out his hand for me to take.

In front of the pack I knew that the simple act would show that I was willingly Mikko's. I was reluctant to do it, but I couldn't disrespect him by not taking his offer. That would only make things worse between us. My reluctance would have shown through to the pack.

So I put on my big girl panties and took Mikko's hand without complaining about it. I needed to be in a decent relationship with this man. If this was going to be the proverbial olive branch, I had to take it and not mess this up.

Mikko led me into the house and up to the guest bedrooms. When we passed the bathroom Nikki was in, she poked her head out as we passed. "Where are you going?" She asked with suspicion in her voice.

"We're getting my things."

Her hand went to her hip. "We're, huh?" I recognized the tone of her disapproval.

"Oh shush." I stuck my tongue out at her as Mikko kept pulling me along. He hadn't even stopped to acknowledge that Nikki had spoken to me.

Mikko opened the door to the guest room that was at the end of the hall, closest to the huge window which showed a beautiful view of the snow covered trees that engrossed the pack lands.

"You can get ready in here." He muttered as he let my hand go. "It'll give you more privacy to change."

I nodded. "Alright. Can you send Nikki in here when you pass her on your way down?"

He clenched his jaw for a second but he agreed to it. "Alright."

He turned and left without saying anything else. Nikki walked into the room with all of her things a minute later. By then, I had my hair in a bun, starting on my makeup. The room Mikko had chosen had a nice full-length mirror, but no connected bathroom. I sat on the floor, surrounded by makeup.

"I'm going to have to help you up, aren't I?" Nikki said as she took in my situation.

I nodded with a smile. "Yep."

It was nice having a private space to get ready with Nikki. When it came time to get off the floor, Nikki laughed at my inability to just stand up. I had to roll onto my hands and knees, push myself up into a squatting position, then push my big belly off the floor. It was quite the process and required a lot more balancing than she thought.

Nikki helped me put on my shoes at least. It was hard to bend down to reach my feet.

"Just think," she mused "next Christmas we'll be frantically trying to get ready with two little babies screaming in the background."

The joy was obvious on my best friend's face. "Will you come and visit on Christmas if Mikko makes me take the babies to his house?"

She scoffed. "You think that a little distance is going to stop me from being there for the babies' first Christmas? 'Cause you're crazy if you do."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around my friend. Hugs felt funny because of the baby bump, but I couldn't fight the compulsion.

"I guess this pregnancy hasn't changed just my life." I said in reflection of this entire situation.

She nodded her head eagerly. "Of course it hasn't. You're my sister. Whatever happens to you happens to me."

"Ditto," I said with a crackle in my voice, making the both of us laugh.

We were downstairs, dressed and pretty ten minutes later. It was just in time too, we hadn't missed the blessing the alpha gave every major holiday.

Even though I was human, and not bonded to the pack like werewolves, I could feel the love and sense of family that came with a pack.

-----

The kitchen was clean and both of the dishwashers were busy cleaning the dishes that we could squeeze in. Everyone else was outside, enjoying company and the fire pits that were spread around the backyard. Nikki shoved a blanket in my hands. "It's cold out."

I nodded. "Hence the fires."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Just take it out there. It is cold and you're in a dress."

I followed Nikki outside. Mike was sitting next to a few guys from the pack, smiling and chatting about something. We made our way over there. Nikki sat next to her mate of course, while I took the other side of Nikki. I wrapped the blanket around me since it was very cold outside. We had a snow covered Christmas, so it was a given that it was cold.

The guys were talking about some sports team that had played over the weekend. I really didn't care about the conversation and now that everything was over, I felt tired. I smiled when I glanced at Nikki. She was snuggled up against her mate and staring at the fire in obvious deep thought.

I wanted that. I needed that kind of love. But I needed to just accept what I had. It was time to start acting like the woman I was so I could be responsible for my children. It wasn't their fault that I had slept with Mikko. It wasn't their fault that Mikko was a jerk most of the time. I just needed to learn how to cope with my situation.

Someone sat next to me. I automatically assumed that it would've been my father since he would have been the only one who wanted to be around me. Drama seemed to have a thing for following me around.

But I was pulled into someone's lap. I looked over to see Mikko's expression blank. Like he halfway expected me to say something to get him to let me go, but he was warm. His warmth soaked through the blanket quickly, taking away any of the chills that remained.

So I didn't say anything. I relaxed into him, since he probably hadn't been expecting it.
Nikki sent me a look to check that I was okay. With a little nod, she turned back to her mate. She didn't go off into la-la land this time.

"So," Mike's best friend Tye started, "are you excited to be a father in a few months?"

I felt Mikko tense up a bit at the question, but soon relax. He probably wasn't used to the idea of someone asking him a personal question. "As excited as any wolf expecting a child I suppose." He replied without any of the hesitation I felt in his body.

Tye smirked. "Most wolves in your predicament would've stolen her away and locked her in their fortress already."

Mikko's grip on me momentarily tightened before he decided to respond. "Most wolves will never be in my predicament."

Tye glanced at Mike, probably taking in a silent warning before looking back towards Mikko. Of course he kept his eyes away from Mikko's to avoid any kind of challenge. "The wolves that I know would've taken your predicament and done right by it."

I couldn't help but give him a little smile. This pack was big on family, even if the members were acquired by untraditional means. It took a lot of courage to say something like that to a dominate like Mikko.

"You're angry." The humor was obvious in Mikko's voice. "The idea of doing right by someone is subjective. I will keep her alive and free to raise my child the way she sees fit without having to worry about danger or finances. That's more than some can offer."

"And less." Nikki interjected. "That doesn't give her the family she deserves."

"I don't make promises I don't intend on keeping." He made it sound like a threat.

"Enough." I said tiredly. "I don't need anyone else's opinion on what's happened or what's going to."

I didn't want to stick around for more remarks. It would end up ruining my Christmas Eve.
So I got off of Mikko's lap and went into the house. Mikko wasn't far behind. He probably threw a threat or evil-eye at Tye.

"Don't let what he said get to you," he said after he shut the door behind himself.

"It's not about what Tye said. I'm just tired. I want to go home."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's go to the car."

"What about dad?"

He shrugged. "He'll meet us at the car."

I just nodded. If I fought Mikko on this, it would only make me feel even more exhausted.

I didn't have a Christmas Day to wake up early for. Nikki and Mike would come over in the morning to open some gifts with us. But I knew they were coming over mostly for breakfast. I made breakfast every Christmas Day.

Mikko led me to the car. We didn't wait long until dad showed up and we went home. By the time we made it to the house, I had already fallen asleep.