you'll see the real joy in life."
Rory's eyes went wide. "Whoa. No offense, sir. But I think Misha and I have a lot of steps to take before we start talking about having babies."
Vasily snorted, elbowing me in the side. "Better get to stepping then. I don't know how many fated mate pairings you've met, but the first baby usually comes before you've even processed the fact that you have a mate. After that, your hormones will cool down and let you decide your family planning. But yeah, the first baby is usually as much of a shocker as finding your mate in the first place."
I scratched the back of my neck, suddenly uncomfortable when I realized that everybody was staring at me. "Shit. I hadn't even thought about pups. Now that you mention it, every one of you got preggo right off the bat. I mean, we haven't even discussed where we're gonna live yet. I guess I could bring him home with me though, right?"
Rory stiffened. "Excuse you? I’m right here and I have a name. I'm also not a child that anyone needs to bring anywhere. And furthermore, I feel like this is a discussion that we can have at another time. Privately."
His reaction confused me. Except for the privacy part, I totally got that. Especially when my mate was the quiet type who didn't necessarily want everyone knowing his business. I shrugged, hoping to lighten the mood. "What's wrong, Irish? You don't want to see how the other half lives? Our estate is so big that we could easily live in my suite and never run into anyone, unless we wanted to. Besides, my whole life is there. My job, you know?"
Rory sputtered indignantly. He looked at me as if I'd grown a second head and started waving his hands around. All mention of privacy apparently went out the window when he started going off. "Your life? Your job? Please. What are you, an enforcer? I'm the second in fucking command, or have you forgotten that? What about my life? My job? Or are those not important to you?"
Vasily whistled softly. "Listen to your mate, knucklehead. He's not wrong. Think real carefully, here."
I was still trying to figure out what was even happening right now. "I don't need to think carefully about anything. Nothing trumps my mate, Rory is my whole world now. But… that doesn't mean my family isn't also important. Novaks forever, right? Our family is everything."
Pops cleared his throat. "This is something for you boys to discuss. You're both right. Loyalty to your own families is important. But you two? Misha and Rory, your mating has created a bridge between our families. Especially if—or when—there's a baby on the way. Misha, you have the heart of a bear. You're loyal to a fault and protective of your own. But don't forget your other greatest trait, the ability to go with the flow and find humor in everything."
"Ay, sure and those are all good traits that will make you welcome here too. Especially with that big body of yours." Seamus chortled as he spread his hands wide. "We might have to broaden a few doorways around here, but you'll fit right in."
I rubbed my jaw as all of that swirled around in my head. "Wait. Are you guys suggesting that I should come work as an O'Malley now instead of a Novak? I mean, that would be fun, but that leaves my brothers a man short."
Rory held a hand up and turned for the door. "You know what? You go ahead and figure out our future with my father. Or yours. Hell, maybe Vasily has another suggestion for you to mull over." He stalked toward the door then paused long enough to look back at his father. "As for you, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Don't get out of that bed until the doctor clears you or you'll be answering to me."
My mouth hung open as I watched him leave the room without me. I was too stunned to move and still trying to wrap my brain around everything that just happened. Vasily sighed and gave me a shove. "I swear, sometimes I wish I could see inside that brain of yours, but I'm also grateful that I can't. I have a feeling it would be frightening."
Wait. What? I growled at Vasily, shoving him back. "What's your fucking problem? I've got enough going on right now, I don't need you piling on, too."
Vasily