Chapter 1

Cyrano

The first call comes at nine in the morning. Not to my phone, but Axe's. We're all in bed wearing nothing but our underwear, with the children sleeping in a playpen next to us. Ben's tracing the scars along my abdomen because he knows damn well it will make me hard.

Axe puts his phone to his ear. "Do I need to come into work?"

It must be Tana--the adult one.

He listens for a moment then passes the phone over to me.

"Hello?"

"I got you in," Tana's voice says.

"You got me in where?"

"The Guild. Your first meeting is on Monday. Wear a suit. Don't let Joseph give you shit. And bring little Tana. It's been too long since I've seen her, and she'll make the meeting bearable."

It has been exactly one week since the two Tanas have seen each other. How often does she expect to see her? Ben is still tracing lines along my scars. He pulls my underwear down and looks up at me with a flirty smile.

Axe grins and crawls forward until his mouth is less than an inch from my exposed cock.

The two of them are always getting up to mischief together.

"Wait… I'm a member of the Guild now? And you are too? How did that happen? I thought they said I was ineligible because my connection to the Ivanov line is illegitimate."

Axe exhales hot breath onto my shaft. Ben gets in right beside him and licks around my tip.

"The Guild is supposed to have a representative from each of the founding families. So I told them I'd join, if they let you join."

Why does she want me on the Guild so badly? It seems like a lot of bureaucracy to me.

Ben takes the head of my cock in his mouth and sucks. I squeeze my eyes shut. How am I supposed to have a productive conversation with Tana while he does that?

Axe's tongue runs down my length to my balls. Fuck. He knows I love that. I give them both a stern look, but they're not even paying attention.

"Thank you, but is this in exchange for some kind of vote?"

"No, I'm not trying to buy your vote. Give me a little more credit. You sound distracted," she says.

I'm sure I do. Ben is bobbing up and down on my cock while Axe takes one of my balls into his mouth. I'd be mad if it didn't feel so good.

Of course, I'll punish Ben for it anyway. It's always nice to have an excuse.

"I apologize. You have my undivided attention."

Axe laughs.

"I didn't see the point of joining the Guild before, because Silvia is the only one who sees reason. But if there are enough of us who are forward thinking, we could make a difference."

So, she is trying to buy my vote. I wish I could care, but Axe's fingers are wandering down my taint and pressing along my entrance. Fuck, he's good at that.

"Forward thinking about what specifically?" I ask.

Axe pushes a finger inside me. Damn it, his fingers are thick.

"About a lot of things. It isn't just about one issue. And think of the children, Cy. They'll get to see a man serving on the Guild who grew up on the Slope--who isn't some cisgender alpha from a rich family."

Great. She's using me as some kind of diversity recruitment.

Axe pushes in a second finger far before I'm ready. The burn makes me wince. But Ben's swallowing me down deep enough, it's tolerable.

"You don't know anything about how I'd vote. I don't want there to be any expec--" I stop mid-sentence when Axe finds my prostate "--tations."

"Of course there are expectations. This is the Guild. Are you honestly telling me that you'd give up a chance to give the hired hearts and people at the Slope a representative who actually understands them? What would your mother think?"

For fuck's sake. I wish Tana had never started talking with my mother. The two of them together are going to ride my ass. Which is now being finger-fucked by Axe with earnest. Ben and Axe have this potent synchronicity that makes it impossible to focus. There's no use in arguing with her now. I won't win.

"Fine. Monday. I'll see you then."

"Okay. Bring Tana."

I hang up, and Ben takes me farther down his throat, while Axe's fingers go into overdrive, drilling into my prostate with a force that leaves me rocking my hips, chasing my orgasm. I come hard in Ben's mouth, my ass pulsing around Axe's fingers.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Ben pulls off of me and wipes his face.

"What the hell was that?" I say.

He gives me the same flirty smile that makes it clear he knows how much trouble he's in.

Then a distinctive braying sound comes from the playpen. Polar bear shifter cubs sound a lot like donkeys when they cry.

I guess they're awake. It's no wonder, after that conversation with Tana.

Ben pulls up my underwear and kisses my hip. "I'll go get them."

Axe plants a quick kiss on my ass before slowly sliding his fingers out. He brings the covers over both our bodies before Ben plops little Tana between us. The twins come up next. They're in their bear forms too. Instead of giving them to us, Ben holds one in each arm, and begins to hum.

It's the basic bonding song. Ben remembers all the songs I sang to him while we were pregnant together, and he sings them to our children. The two cubs close their eyes and burrow their noses into Ben's chest.

Little Tana is beyond lullabies. She swats at Axe's face with her paw, and he chuckles. "Well, aren't you vicious? Come here, you." Axe scoops her into his big arms, squeezing her tight. She tries desperately to wriggle free and lets out another loud bray.

"Shhhhhh," Ben whispers.

The task of trying to keep three children asleep at the same time is a lot harder than I ever would have imagined.

Axe releases little Tana, and she makes an awkward bound toward me. I run my fingers through her soft fur, brushing my thumb along the insignia on her forehead. "Life is too exciting to sleep, isn't it?"

She swats at my nose. I guess it's time to get up.

Ben's punishment will have to wait until later.

Another phone rings. It's mine this time. I reach behind me to the nightstand and pick it up. The screen says Hiland Correctional Facility .

Over the last year, I've considered picking up multiple times.

Will my alpha mother call little Tana someday instead? Will our children want to go see her?

I turn off my phone without answering it. And not because I'm angry or bitter, but because I don't trust my alpha mother with our children. She isn't a safe person, and I don't want our kids to grow up being confused about that. I'd rather little Tana grow up trying to emulate the woman who just roped me into serving on the Guild. We chose our namesake for little Tana carefully. If our children need an alpha grandparent, they have her.

"Do you want some breakfast?" I say to little Tana.

Ben glares at me. He's still trying to get the twins to sleep.

I pick up little Tana and stand up. "We'll be in the kitchen. But don't think this gets you off the hook. You'll pay later for that little stunt."

Axe and Ben look at each other in amusement.

What they did to me this morning would have given me a lot of anxiety just a year ago. Although I could have stopped it at any time if I really wanted to, I wasn't in control. Not really. I let them have the control for just a few minutes.

I trust them.

But the thing about trust is you have to earn it. It isn't wise to give it away to everyone you meet--especially those who have proven they're not worthy of it.

I carry little Tana out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. She cuddles into me as I walk.

There will never come a day when she won't be able to trust me. I'm going to make certain of it. I'm sure I won't be a perfect parent, but all three of our children will know that I love them and I'll always be there for them.

Starting with today.