Forever Luna

Exhaustion

noun ~ a state of extreme physical or mental fatigue

PHOENIX

My mate had been gone a while, but the bond reassured me she was fine. When my beta came down the stairs, he seemed better. He had disappeared with sunken eyes and a soft demeanour, but the moment he bounced down the bottom step, I knew Charlie was back.

I raised my eyebrows at him as he walked across the room. My arms were slung across the back of the sofa, my leg crossed over my knee as I relaxed into the cushions. Pollux was still beside me, the side of his knee brushing mine.

"Everything okay up there?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie caught my gaze, his jaw ticking as he nodded. "Yep. All good."

I hummed, watching him as he lowered himself into the same seat as before. Pollux shifted up, his shoulder bumping my arm. I moved it automatically, patting his shoulder before letting it fall back into my lap.

"You really let him go in with her alone." Leo mused.

I chuckled, eyeing the sour face of my beta. "She would bite his head off."

"I dunno, she is a lot more mellow." Charlie shrugged.

"Oh, you just wait." I muttered. "The pregnant hormones have gone and left a wake of post-natal ones. She's either crying, snappy or tired."

"So both of you are affected, then?" Charlie teased.

I scowled at him, a growl rumbling in my chest. "Har-har."

"Just saying, I told Nova she needed to wash her hair. You need to shave."

My fingers ghosted over my beard, and I frowned. "What's wrong with the fluff?"

"You haven't shaved and cut your hair since, like... last month." He cocked his head.

I shrugged. "I barely have time. This is the first time I've sat and had a conversation with someone."

I noticed the way Leo nodded from across the room and how Molly's lips down-turned. They got it; they knew what I meant.

"You have Nova. Sometimes Pollux."

"I love Nova dearly; I love the twins dearly." Muttering, I pursed my lips. "I could not be without them... But it has cooped us up in this house for weeks since she was on bedrest, and... we are clashing. It has been a breeze, but the exhaustion is kicking in now."

"Yet you said you wanted eight." Charlie mused, trying to diffuse the tension.

I smiled softly. "I still would. We just need a break from each other now and then, and we are fine."

"Maybe you need to get back to work." Leo suggested.

I shook my head, despite Charlie's enthusiastic nod of agreement. "I am not leaving them. It's not even been a week."

"We can take them off your hands for a while," Molly piped up, bouncing the baby on her knee.

Unease settled in my stomach. I didn't want someone else to have my pups. I felt my eyes narrow and Molly shifted under my gaze, dropping her eyes. Leo's hand rested on her shoulder, a warning growl in his throat. I levelled my gaze with him, my wolf bristling.

It was two fathers, two mates, against each other.

"Okay, enough braying." Pollux interrupted and Leo dropped his gaze. "I think Molly was merely suggesting to help watch the twins whilst you at least shower and shave. Maybe go for a walk."