they wanted. "No vehicles in or out that aren't one of ours. I want to take you each around the perimeter." He made eye contact, making sure we knew he was talking to me, Hallie, and Jazz specifically.
"What about the animals?"
Faust grabbed my hand and held it in his lap. Other than to get me food, he hadn't left my side since this morning. "The explosives are Diesel's own creation. He has ways of safeguarding against that sort of thing."
Diesel nodded jerkily. "Bambi will be fine." He stomped close enough I could see the worried crease between his eyebrows. "How do you feel?" He leaned forward, scenting me before I could answer.
Scenting had the same effect on all the alphas. They did it often, with Hallie, Angus, Jazz and—more so since I'd gotten pregnant—me. When Diesel stood straight, the worry was less but not gone.
Faust had explained that scenting only ever made the connection between Alpha and pack member stronger. With enough time, an Alpha could sense minute changes in a person by their scent alone. Emotions, the presence of pain, sickness—all of it could be distinguished by smell if the connection was strong enough.
"I feel great. I didn't know I got a slumber party on my last day. I would've had Faust get the popcorn."
"We still can," Diesel mumbled seriously and not like I'd been joking.
Before I could clarify, the twins were on their feet as well. "We'll grab one of the monitors from the operations room." They disappeared out the door.
"What do you want to watch?" Faust asked with nothing but sincerity.
I caught Jazz's gaze. Our nephilim connection was growing too, though we'd achieved that without sniffing each other. He gave me a look that seemed to say there wasn't much we could do when the alphas got an idea, especially when that idea would make one of their own happier.
No one seemed in a hurry to leave this room anyway—why not make the most of it?
A few minutes later, dream became reality. Hallie had given us an option of the few DVDs she had. Dr. Tiff suggested a comedy since laughter would help relieve stress. Knox returned with buckets of popcorn, and Diesel brought pillows and blankets.
Soon enough, we were even closer together in the small space. The twins had shifted and curled up against each other, their faces toward the screen. Jazz lay on one side with Angus while Faust took the other. Dog refused to budge from the foot of the bed, growling at anyone who made it look like they wanted his spot.
The lights were off, and as the opening credits rolled, I couldn't help my smile. I'd always wanted a place to belong, to be surrounded by friends and family. My lonely life was a thing of the past now, and it had taken that exact moment for me to truly comprehend that truth. Finally, I was where I belonged, with people who considered me one of them.
The day gradually turned into night. After the first movie, Jazz had discovered none of the shifters had ever seen any of the Underworld series, which he'd deemed unacceptable. Then he'd gone on about the shifters learning their heritage but did so with a grin so cheeky, it was obvious he was joking.
That didn't stop the marathon from happening. With Faust holding me, I didn't get too scared, and I liked how the alphas laughed at all the fighting scenes. Thankfully, Jazz didn't take it personally that I napped through most of the movies.
Slowly but surely, we made it to through the night. When the screen went black, signaling the end of the movie, he stood to retrieve the DVD. At the exact same moment, several small alarms went off in the room.
Jazz snorted.
They'd all set their alarms—on their watches and phones—to go off at the same moment, and from the perplexed expressions, none of them had known what the other was doing. I looked at Faust's watch, beeping along with everyone else's. It was exactly five minutes until midnight. Faust held me even more tightly, and I rested my head against his shoulder.
"This is it, I guess." I swallowed hard. "When I wake up, I'll have four ba—"
"—bies."
I turned my head, seeing blue sky and green trees instead of the muted tones of my bedroom. I was alone, no pack, no Faust. I jumped to my feet.
I shouldn't have been able to jump to my feet. That chaotic thought had me patting my body wildly,