And the winning cover is... FangsAndKisses.
I absolutely loved all of the submissions for the cover of this book. Thank you to everyone who took the time to send me one!
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Two days until the triplet's first birthday
It was safe to say that nothing was going anyone's way.
Finn was having problems negotiating with JJ's alpha. Finn was trying to be civil about it, but I could tell he was a hop, skip, and a jump away from challenging the alpha for his pack. There would be no surprise of who would win that fight.
Mikko and I weren't really getting along. Mikko was given until after the triplet's birthday to enjoy time with them until he had to get back to work. Finn had expected the negotiations to blow by like the rest of them, but they hadn't. Finn wasn't supposed to bother Mikko about pack business.
Even though Mikko was around all the time, we avoided each other as much as we could. Avoidance was the easiest way to live with one another. Nikki hadn't been hiding her disdain for him either.
Having Mikko and Nikki made taking care of the triplets a breeze. When I was exhausted, I could sleep in. When the kids needed anything, one of the two would hop to it.
I was even allowed the luxury of sleeping in an extra hour or two. I couldn't imagine my life going back to how it had been. When baby number four finally arrives, my life would get even more hectic.
This time when I woke up I heard harsh whispering, which meant my door was cracked open and that it was probably Nikki and Mikko having it out again.
I quietly got out of bed and walked very softly towards the whispering. Usually they were very good at hiding their arguments from me, since neither wanted to stress me out, but Nikki probably managed to corner him.
"Nikki, you don't understand half of what's going on. I can't make your friend happy right now," Mikko stated.
"Bullshit. You just don't want to give up your bachelor ways. You're going to have four kids Mikko. You need to step up."
"I need to step up?" he said in disbelief. "She lives in my house; she lives off of my money. The only thing I don't do is help with the kids because I'm not here."
"You don't support her emotionally." He huffed, irritated with the same complaint being said over and over. "You were so close to losing your fourth child. She was leaning towards abortion when she found out. If you were there for her she wouldn't have even considered it. All you do is knock her up and leave her again."
"I was gone," he snapped, the understanding tone in his voice was gone, replaced by his pissed off temper. "She didn't even tell me that she's pregnant again until yesterday!"
"She told me about the night you guys conceived that baby. You kicked her out of your bed as soon as you were finished with her."
Mikko was silent for a moment. "That's none of your business." He sounded on edge. Nikki should have been careful to speak to a wolf like Mikko the way she was, but she was too pissed off at him to see that.
"You're killing my friend!" She was very close to yelling. "She used to be so happy all the time. Now she's always depressed, and it's your fault."
I quietly walked away from them. I didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. I went to the living room where the kids were running free. Ben was playing with blocks. Angelina was ripping up a newspaper. I couldn't find Cassandra.
"Cassie?" I said. She usually perked up when anyone called her name. When I didn't hear anything I got very worried. "Cassandra?" I checked the nursery, it was empty.
"Mikko! Nikki!" I hollered. They both came out. "Do you have Cassandra?"
He shook his head. "I left her with Ben." He came closer to look in the living room. Then everyone left in a different direction to look for her.
I found her in the kitchen when I heard pots and pans hitting each other. When I opened the cupboard, there she was smiling. "No hide and seek!" I quickly snatched her up and hugged her tightly.
"I found her!" I hollered. Mikko made it to me before Nikki. "Why would you leave them alone? This is why I have the play pin!"
He nodded. "I wasn't gone long. I thought she'd be fine."
I shook my head. "What if she went outside and got hit by a car or something?"
"This house is on 2 acres," he responded.
"That's not the point!" I yelled hysterically. "What if something happened to her? If she fell down the porch stairs?"
"She's fine."
I held my baby tighter as my mind wondered towards situations that could've happened, but didn't. "But she could've been hurt."
"Where was she?" Nikki asked.
"In the cupboard," I said motioning to it.
"How'd she get in there?" she wondered aloud.
I just shrugged; I didn't care how she got there. I was just glad she was okay.
"Put her down for a second," Mikko said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because," he said, "just do it."
I complied and put Cassandra on the ground.
Mikko crouched down and looked at his daughter with a smile.
She stood, holding onto my pants as she looked at him with a smile. Standing was something Cass had done a lot, so I wasn't surprised. But when she started walking towards Mikko, my jaw dropped.
"Cassie can walk!" I picked her up and started kissing her cheek while Nikki cheered.
Mikko took her from me and started tossing her in the air while he walked into the living room towards the other two.
"I was thinking we go have lunch, then we start getting ready for pictures."
I nodded. "Sounds good. I'm starving."
Then I left to get dressed. When I looked out the window I saw rain. Maybe we wouldn't be taking pictures today.
I dressed warmly before walking out to the living room. Mikko and Nikki were playing with the babies. At least they could get along when the babies are in the room.
"Can you watch them for a few hours Mikko?"
"Of course." He looked away from Ben, to me. "I'll probably end up taking them to Finn's. We have negotiations scheduled for today."
"I thought you had time away from that stuff?"
He shrugged, handing blocks to Ben to stack. "The alpha isn't being cooperative. I'm there for intimidation, mostly."
With a sigh, I nodded. "What time?"
"We'll start after lunch."
I nodded and kissed the babies one by one.
By the time we actually got to the place to eat, it was time for lunch.
After ordering, Nikki gave me one of the smiles that told me she was suspicious about something. I didn't really like those smiles because they usually ended up with my embarrassment.
"So, with JJ around are you going to hang out with him?"
I shrugged as I sipped my water. Maybe I could just avoid the whole thing by not talking about it.
Nikki scoffed. "That's not going to work. You're used to being around a bunch of wolves that don't care what's bothering you. Too bad for you, I will pester you until you talk to me."
I sighed and threw a conceding glare at her. "I don't know Nikki. Abigail's always saying that Mikko has eyes on me anywhere I go."
Nikki rolled her eyes. "That's because he's a controlling dominant, Em. The fact that you were able to hide that baby for so long confirms to me that Mikko sees you as just another thing he has." She paused when the waitress brought a jug of water to fill up my half full glass. "When I'm not around Mike, I constantly feel him checking the bond between us."
"Mine's one sided," I reminded her, before drinking water again. This whole conversation was giving me dry mouth.
She shrugged. "All that means is you can't access him. You should be able to feel a tingling when he's using the bond. Sometimes it feels like a light touch."
I sighed and looked down at the table. I knew what it felt like when Mikko used the bond, which he forced on me. I felt light, like I had nervous butterflies where the mark was. There was no confusing it with anything else.
"You should have asked Finn to break it," she casually commented as she leaned back against her booth.
There was a part of me that was immediately offended by Nikki's uncaring view on the matter, but I knew she was right.
Mikko had been a jerk to me since he found out about our triplets. This whole situation was just not fair to me.
Like she saw my inner anguish, she leaned across the table and took my hands in hers. She gave me a sympathetic smile when I looked up at her.
"Mikko is broken, Em," she said softly.
"His wife died, of course he's not the same," I said defensively, and instantly regretted it. I didn't want to be defensive of Mikko. It wasn't my job to make people like him. Hell, I didn't even really like him.
"You have given so much to him and in return he's been a jackass. Any other being in his situation would be rubbing your feet and would be taking such good care of you that you'd probably complain about being smothered."
"And what if I find someone? Mikko would never let me take my kids away from his house."
"What does Mikko know about his kids?" She pointed out. "He had to leave them just after they were born, then again not too long later. He's been around his kids for maybe six months. That's half of their lives. They're turning one in a couple days. He doesn't know them like you do."
I nodded just to appease her. I knew her point was a valid one, but I couldn't bring myself to rip my kids away from their father. Family had always been so important to me, now that the kids were starting to grow like weeds; I couldn't just put them on the back burner so that I could go on a date.
It just wasn't fair, but I was used to that.
Nikki glanced behind me, then sat up straight with a big smile. I did what I could to tuck everything away. I didn't want anyone to know what we had been talking about.
JJ sat beside me; well, practically on my lap. With a smile, I scooted over.
Maybe JJ was the distraction that I needed. He wouldn't be here long, so there was no chance of being stuck with him.
JJ had been wonderful, when I was a teenager. I wasn't the person he remembered and vice versa. I didn't want a relationship with someone because it would be too complicated.
My life was complicated enough.
"So, what are you girls up to?"
Our waitress showed up with a tray of food and smiled when she saw JJ's face.
"We're eating," Nikki responded matter-of-factly.
"Oh, really," he sarcastically replied back.
The waitress placed the plates on the table and looked at JJ with a flirtatious smile. I couldn't help but be a little amused. I didn't care that someone was flirting with JJ because I didn't have any romantic feelings towards him. The bonus was that I would be able to make fun of him because our waitress was a girl no older than seventeen.
When she left I pinched his side. "Look at you, attracting young girls."
He flushed. "No way in hell. She's a baby."
"Please," I said in mock disbelief as I rolled my eyes. "A lot of guys don't care much about age."
An offended look crossed his features for a fraction of a second before he smiled at me. "Men like Mikko don't care about age." He looked down at my belly. "Obviously."
He thought he was making a point and again, I felt defensive. I didn't say anything even though I wanted to.
"Is there a reason you're here?" I snapped a bit harsher than I had meant to. I grabbed the bottle of ketchup, feeling tempted to squirt it at him instead of onto my plate.
"I wanted to catch up with the two of you," he said charmingly, as if he hadn't heard my tone. "It's been years since I've talked to either of you."
"Well, whose fault was that? You could've called or kept in touch," I muttered, irritated.
And here I thought having JJ here would be fun. I was so grumpy that I couldn't understand it. I decided to write it off as pregnancy hormones.
It was very different this time around.
JJ nodded with a sigh. "I know I should've kept in contact, but I knew I was going back to that pack. The alpha and I disagreed on my change, so I had to leave. I didn't expect you to wait for me, or to leave your family so you could run off with me."
"That's not the point." I bit off a fry. I ate super healthy often enough that a chicken burger with fries wouldn't mess with the baby. "We were both kids when you made your decision. I wouldn't have stopped my plans because you would've wanted me to run away with you. I wasn't an idiot."
He smirked at me. "I know you weren't. The clean break just made it easier."
Thinking of the breakup I had with Eddy, my other werewolf ex, made me realize that JJ had left on good terms. I hadn't pined over him like I had with Eddy. At least JJ had been thoughtful about breaking up with me.
I nodded and looked up at him. "It was easier, but don't expect to pick up as friends again. As you've said, it's been years JJ."
He ran his finger lightly down my arm. "I wouldn't expect anything from you. Not while you're under Mikko's protection."
I narrowed my eyes on my food. I hated it when people brought that up. I hadn't asked for it. I didn't even want it. I had been forced into the situation that I was in.
I should've run away and had the babies in secret. Then, that way no one would've known they existed. Too bad I had to do the right thing and tell Mikko he was going to be a dad. If only I knew he was a werewolf back then.
"So, JJ, how long is your pack going to be here?" Nikki asked, giving us all a reprieve from arguing.
He shrugged and relaxed into the booth. "As long as it takes I suppose. Finn is a ruthless negotiator."
I scoffed. "What did you think? That he's taking over packs with his good looks?"
JJ shrugged. "I've only ever heard the rumors about Finn."
That caught my interest. "And what have you heard?"
He was smirking at me when I looked over. "I wouldn't dare spread rumors about your father-in-law. That would be uncivilized of me."
I rolled my eyes. "Says a werewolf."
Nikki laughed. "She does have a point."
JJ sent a smile to Nikki. "How about we all hang out for a day? I've heard that you're planning a birthday bash for your triplets."
"I am," I admitted. "It's a lot more work than I thought it would be."
Nikki nodded in agreement. "Especially with some of the pack getting here tomorrow to celebrate," she added.
"We should get the rest of the decorations I wanted to get today."
Nikki nodded and looked at JJ. "You up for some shopping?"
He shrugged and gave a smile that I couldn't help but think was fake. "I guess it won't kill me."
---
Hours later we were walking into Finn's with arms full of bags of decorations. Immediately I was relieved of bags because of werewolf overprotection.
"You shouldn't be carrying so many bags, Emily. No one wants to see your straining yourself." Abigail chastised, making Nikki growl in return.
Nikki hated Abigail and Abigail returned the sentiment.