Touch

Zacky yawned softly and nodded. Messing with that crib really wore him out. He lifted his gaze to look at his beautiful mate as she talked. He was almost shocked when she asked if he wanted to talk about girl names. Honestly, Zacky had a full list of names that he had thought of. He was always browsing the internet. He was really happy that she wanted to talk about it, he was almost afraid that she was going to leave the decision in the air until she had the pups. “Well, I do have a few names picked out for a girl,” he said biting his lower lip. “I’ll tell you a few and maybe you can pick one?” He asked her. “I really like Serephina Grace, Luna Dove. and Zadie Rae,” he told her with a nod. He wasn’t really sue if she would really like them or not. He had let her pick out the boys’ names while he just sat back and nodding in approval if he liked it. He wished that this could be so much more simpler than what it was. “If you don’t like them you can tell me, I’ll look for others if you don’t already have something in mind.”

---

Aubree giggled softly as she listened to Matt, biting her lower lip as he touched her stomach. She groaned and shook her head, rubbing her face. “I don’t know why this has to happen to me,” she said with a heavy sigh. There was no point in complaining about it. A few minutes later the doctor came back in, sighing heavily as he leaned against the counter in the corner of the room. “Well, I have food news and I have bad news. Which would you like first?” He asked with a smirk. Aubree furrowed her brow and looked up at Matt before back at the doctor. “Bad news first,” she said with a nod.

“Well, the good news is that all of your fertility levels look amazing. The bad news is that it looks like you may be pregnant after all... oh wait, that’s good news,” the doctor said with a laugh. “Congratulations, Matt and Aubree. Your hard work has finally paid off.” Aubree just sat there in shock, her jaw dropped as she stared at the man standing across from her. Was he saying the truth? Was she seriously pregnant? That would explain the weird cravings lately. Aubree couldn’t help herself as she burst info tears, holding her head in her hands. “If you could just lay down for me for just a moment l, I’ll get you a sonogram,” the doctor said, having Aubree lay back. She grimaced af the cd gel on her stomach. Aubree looked over at Matt with a smile, taking his hand and squeezing it right. “Alright, you see right here? This single dot right here is your baby. So far it’s doing really well.” When the Doctor was done Aubree put a hand on her stomach. Everything the doctor said went through one ear and out the other as she kept staring at her stomach. She worked so hard for this. They worked so hard for this.

"I guess I sort of like Luna," Leah said. The others just sounded a little stuffy. She'd never been particularly fond of off-the-wall names but at this point as long as she halfway liked it, it would do. They didn't exactly have a lot of time to mull over ideas at this point and as terrible as it probably made her, Leah didn't care as much as she should. She knew that if Aubree were the one who was pregnant, she would have spent her pregnancy pouring over name books, trying to find the perfect names for her pups. But Leah was still focusing all of her energy on just being a mother. "So I guess we have Luna, Silas, and Jacob," Leah said. She laid her hands on her stomach. "And now all we have to do is wait."

---

"Yes, poor, poor Aubree," Matt teased. They only had to wait a few more minutes before the doctor came back into the room and Matt sat up just a bit, starting to feel a little nervous. He was hoping for good news, not just for himself, but for Aubree. His wolf was desperate to pass on his lineage and Aubree deserved to be a mother. "There's bad news?" Matt asked, but not really loud enough for anyone else to hear. Despite Aubree saying she wanted the bad news first, the doctor started with the good news, which was admittedly very good news. But Matt was caught off guard by the doctor's next words. "Wait, did you say she's pregnant?" Matt asked. The doctor nodded and a wide grin spread across Matt's face. This was the best news they could've possibly gotten today.

Matt hovered next to the table as the doctor set up for Aubree's sonogram. "So...is there only one?" he asked, looking at the screen. He would be happy with just one pup, but he definitely wanted a litter.

Zacky was pretty happy that Leah wanted to go with Luna. He thought it was an adorable name for a little wolf princess. He almost was going to suggest that they could look at a few other names and come up with something else, but hearing Leah say it out loud made him want Luna even more. “It’s a beautiful name in my opinion, I’m glad you like It,” he said with a small yawn. Maybe a little five minute nap wouldn’t hurt. He was honestly exhausted. “They’re all great names baby. How we just wait for the little rascals to pop out.” Zacky grinned at the thought and burried his head some into the pillow. “Nap time?” He said softly, kind of hoping she wanted to take one with him. He could feel his wolf wanting for Leah to take a nap as well and it was taking Zacky everything not to just practically tell her to take one. His wolf had gotten a lot more possessive over his mate over the last couple of months thanks to the pregnancy. It was because he wanted to make sure everything went okay. Plus they hadn’t been able to have sex in god only knows how long thanks to Leah’s big pregnancy tummy, so that was also makingnhis wolf go insane.

---

Aubree bit down hard on her bottom lip as she stared at the screen. That tiny little blip was all she could think about right now. When she heard Matt ask if there was only one she could see a little bit of dosappointment on his face and that made Aubree’s heart sink. She knew that he wanted a litter and she couldn’t even give him that. She was hoping that he would be ecstatic about at least having one. Aubree took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking back at the screen. She wasn’t going to let that bother her.

“From the looks of it, there only seems to be one. It’s still very early on and there could be one hiding behind there somewhere,” the doctor said as he moved the wand around on her stomach. “Not to give any false hope or anything, but right about here,” he said as he stopped the want in a particular spot. “There is a small shadow that could potentially be something, but I wouldn’t bet anything on it. We’ll just wait and see.” The doctor put the want away and handed Aubree some paper towels to wipe her stomach off with. “Come back and see me in a couple of weeks for your next sonogram. This is going to go by quick.”

“Thank you,” She said softly as she watched him walk out of the room. She sat up and pulled her shirt down, smiling as she looked over at Matt. “We’re pregnant,” she said with a small laugh.

"Won't have to wait too much longer," Leah mumbled. She knew most women looked forward to the birth of their babies or pups but Leah was only looking forward to it because she wanted the pups out. She was so over being pregnant but it wasn't exactly like things would get any better once the pups arrived. Leah could only hope that she would finally start to feel like a mother once they were born. Leah huffed when Zacky mentioned a nap. She was a little tired, but not quite tired enough for a nap. But she could tell that Zacky wanted her to nap with him and she wasn't in the mood to argue. And besides, she might as well get as much sleep as she possibly could before the pups were born.

---

Matt was admittedly a bit disappointed to hear the doctor say that he could only see one. He'd definitely been hoping for a litter. But he would be happy with just one, as long it was born happy and healthy. And his wolf was just happy that he was finally going to be able to pass on his genes, something he'd been desperate to do for years. Matt nodded his head as the doctor continued to speak, waiting for Aubree to clean off her stomach before he helped her to sit up. "Yeah, we're pregnant," Matt repeated, smiling. He didn't know what else to say. He was still in a little shock. This wasn't the news he was expecting to get today but it was the best news he could have possibly imagined.

Zacky could tell that Leah most definitely didn’t want to take a nap with him, but he was exhausted and mentally wore our from trying to put those cribs together. “Gets some rest,” he murmured, yawning and rolling over. She could always lay there and watch Tv while he napped, he wasn’t really forcing her to take one with him. Although he would have liked if she had, since they haven’t really been sleeping st the same time as one another lately. Their sleep schedules were all kinds of fucked. “I think I have some sort of pack related meeting with the guys later to discuss vampires or something,” he murmured before lifting his head to see what time it was. Zacky had enough time to take an hour nap before he had to go. “I think Matt was going to drop Aubree off before we left so you two could hang out. If you don’t want that though, it’s okay, I’ll tell him not today.” Zacky rolled around a bit and got comfy before pulling the covers over his head and trying to get some sleep.

---

Aubree bit down hard on her bottom lip as she thought. There were a million things that she needed to do. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a full litter,” she said softly, looking down at her feet. She cleared her throat and slid off of the exam table. She took Matt’s hand in hers and lead him out of the room. She went over to the front desk and made her a follow up appointment for a couple of weeks, putting the appointment card in her wallet when she was done. She walked out of the council mansion with Matt, groaning and stretching. “Now what?” She asked him, furrowing her brow. Aubree wasn’t really sure what to do or where to start next. Should they go tell her dad? Should they go shopping? She had no idea. But in all honestly she felt like she could just flop down and take a nap. Although she really wanted some ice cream. “I could really go for a hot fudge sundae,” she murmured as she licked her lips, rubbing her stomach. This child was going to make her fat.

Leah didn't really understand why it was so important to Zacky that they slept at the same time. She was sure it was some weird pack thing. And she she was sure that if she laid here long enough and closed her eyes, she would eventually fall asleep. Being pregnant was exhausting. "That's fine," Leah mumbled, hearing Zacky say something about Matt dropping off Aubree. It would be nice to see her sister and she was sure Aubree might want to see their finished nursery. Leah probably needed to take a look at it, too. She hadn't really been in there. It wasn't long before Leah realized that Zacky was asleep and she sighed, turning onto her side to snuggle up to his back. It was so hard for her to get comfortable but eventually, with a pillow underneath her belly, she was able to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

---

"Hey, don't be sorry," Matt said. "Of course I would prefer a litter. But it's not like this is going to be our only pregnancy and besides, one pup just means we don't have to divide our attention or our love." Matt followed Aubree out of the exam room and to the front desk so she could make her follow-up appointment. He hoped they might be able to see the pup a little better next time. "Uh well, I think we should definitely tell your dad," Matt said. "Not today, because we have pack things to talk about. But maybe you could do up something cute as a way to tell him." When Aubree said something about wanting a hot fudge sundae, Matt couldn't help but laugh. "Well you'll have to see if you can drag your sister out," he said. "I've got to meet the others at your dad's for a pack meeting and I can't be late."

Zacky woke up a little later with a groan, stretching. He felt a bit refreshed at least. He lifted his head and looked over at Leah who was still sound asleep next to him. He smiled, reaching over and brushing some hair away from her face. While she was sleeping, she looked like that precious little girl that he watched grow up into a beautiful young woman. Zacky sighed and shook his head. It was so fucked thinking about that. He sighed and got up, making his way to the bathroom and taking a quick shower before Matt got here. Zacky was disgusting and sweaty from messing around in the nursery all day. When he was finished getting dressed, he slapped some cologne on and combed his hair. He wasn’t really trying to impress anyone, but he still liked to look presentable. He walked around the room and picked up any dirty clothes that were lying around, stuffing them in the hamper to be washed later. It was exhausting taking care of him and Leah, he was honestly a bit scared for when the triplets arrived.

---

Aubree grinned and nodded her head. He always knew the right things to say to make her feel better. When Matt said that she would probably have to convince her sister for ice cream, she groaned and stomped away. “That’s almost impossible unless I get someone to drive them to us,” she said with a sigh. She really wanted her ice cream. Aubree took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, calming herself. She was seriously getting a bit worked up over ice cream and her sister. This was going to be an interesting pregnancy with her hormones already. She cleared her throat and looked at Matt with a smile before changing into her wolf form and heading for Zacky and Leah’s. Aubree was thinking about what kind of cute baby announcement ideas she could do. She remembered seeing something on Pinterest of a dog wearing a shirt that said ‘I’m going to be a big sister’. Aubree thought that was super cute but she needed to look up more ideas. She changed back into her human form once they were st the house, walking up and going straight in. “Honey, I’m home!” She called out with a smirk.

Once Leah was asleep, she was out pretty soundly. Being pregnant, especially as far along as she was, was just completely exhausting. She couldn't wait for it to be over. She was so tired that she barely stirred when Zacky reached over to brush the hair away from her face. Her body was just trying to soak up as much rest as it could. In fact, Leah didn't wake up until Aubree came into the house, shouting up the stairs. "Come up here," Leah called back. "I don't feel like getting up." She could hear her sister's footsteps pounding up the stairs and seconds later Aubree appeared in the doorway. Leah looked at her over the mound of her huge belly. "I'm so tired of being pregnant," she groaned. "Tired of not being able to see my own fucking feet."

---

"Oh come on, I'm sure you'll be able to tempt your sister out of the house with ice cream," Matt said. "Pregnant women love sweets." He could tell that Aubree was a little irritated that he couldn't take her to get her hot fudge sundae but he couldn't help it that he had important pack work to do. It was especially important now that Aubree was carrying his pup. He had to do everything in his power to keep her and their pup safe. "Uh, bye," Matt called after Aubree as she left the house. He assumed she was heading to her sister's house so he decided he might as well head over to Brian's. The sooner they all go there the sooner they could start the meeting. It would likely be a long meeting and now that Aubree was pregnant, Matt wouldn't want to leave her alone for very long. His wolf wanted to be at his mate's side, protecting her and their pup.

Zacky raised a brow when the front door opened and Aubree came bounding into the house. He shook his head and sighed, putting on his shoes and taking one last look in the mirror before walking into the bedroom where Leah and Aubree were. “I’m gonna get going, hopefully I won’t be gone too long,” he said, walking over and giving Leah a kiss goodbye. “Take good care of your sister while I’m gone,” he told Aubree, giving her a pointed look. “If anything happens, call me.” Zacky as kind of nervous to be leaving Leah alone so close to her having the pups, but he had to go to this meeting. He waved goodbye to the two before he walked out of the house, turning into his wolf form and heading for Brian’s. When he got there he changed back, groaning and stretching. He really needed to start going for more runs. Brian was slacking on the pack runs. “What’s up, Baker,” Jimmy greeted as Zacky walked into the house. “How’s Leah?” Zacky grabbed a beer and sighed heavily, flopping down in a chair. “She looks like she’s literally about ready to pop. It’s scary but exciting,” he said with a small laugh.

---

Aubree hurried up the stairs, her eyes widening as she turned the corner and saw how huge her sister was. “Jesus Christ, are you housing an army? Youre huge!” She exclaimed, walking over and poking her stomach. She chuckled as Leah complained, shaking her head. “Just think, you’ll be popping those babies out at any time now and then you’ll be able to see your feet again and sleep on your stomach and actually bend over.” Aubree looked up when Zacky came in the room, nodding at him and waving him off. “I know how to deliver a baby if I have to,” she told him with a smirk. “And give my mate a kiss and tell him I love him for me. I stormed off and forgot to do that when I left,” she told him with an innocent look on her face. When Zacky left Aubree plopped down into the bed next to Leah, sighing and putting her hands behind her head. She wanted to tell her sister so bad about the pregnancy but she was honestly afraid to. She was never one for getting pregnant at the same time as anyone because she felt like that would be taking attention away from someone. “Do you want ice cream? I could really go for some ice cream. Like pickle flavored or something.”

Leah huffed at her sister's comment about her being huge. She didn't really need to be reminded. "Just you wait," Leah said. "When you finally get pregnant you'll know what's it like to be this fucking huge. It's very uncomfortable." Leah leaned up slightly to return Zacky's kiss as he left, feeling a little nervous as she watched him leave. She knew her sister would take good care of her if something happened, but she liked to have her mate nearby when she was so close to giving birth. Leah perked up a little bit when Aubree mentioned ice cream, however, that quickly changed to a look of disgust when she said pickle-flavored. "Pickle?" Leah asked. "Aubree, I'm pregnant and that still sounds disgusting." It took a few seconds, but suddenly Leah realized exactly what she'd said. "Uh, Aubree, is there something you need to tell me?" she asked, looking over at her sister. She knew Aubree had a doctor's appointment today and now she was starting to wonder if she'd gotten some really good news.

---

The only other person there besides Brian when Matt arrived was Jimmy. The other man was lounging on Brian's couch, sipping on a beer. Matt grabbed one for himself and went over to drop down onto the couch next to Jimmy. He was absolutely dying to tell everyone that Aubree was pregnant but he was sure this was something she would want to tell everyone together. And hell, she might want to do up some cute little announcement. He didn't want to ruin things for her. It wasn't long before Johnny burst through the door and Zacky followed not long after, likely the last one here because he was reluctant to leave Leah. Matt understood how he felt and they'd only just found out Aubree was pregnant. He couldn't imagine how awful he would be when she was as far along as Leah was. He'd never leave her.

Zacky gasped when he realized that he had almost forgotten something. He got up, setting his beer down and going over to Matt. He kissed the other man on the cheek. “That’s from Aubree, she told me to give you a kiss on the cheek and to tell you she loves you,” he said with a laugh. Zacky grabbed his beer and sat back down on the couch, taking a sip of it. “So when is this thing gonna start?” He asked curiously. He really wanted to get it done and over with so that he could get back home to his mate. They really weren’t sure when she was going to have the pups, the doctor said that it would be any day now. “If it weren’t something super important I wouldn’t be here right now. Just so y’all know.” Zacky was pretty sure that everyone in here knew that already. He just liked to remind them over and over again. Really he shouldn’t have to be here, Brian should have let him off the hook for once considering the situation. Whatever it is that the meeting was about must be real important.

“Settle down,” Brian said with a roll of his eyes as he stood in front of everyone. “We’re going to get started in just a minute.”

---

Aubree frowned when Leah said pickle flavored ice cream was gross. Her eyes widened when her sister asked her if there was anything to tell her, biting her lower lip hard. Did she really want to tell Leah now about her pregnancy? What if it didn’t carry through? She was sure that if it were going to fall through it would have happened by now. Aubree took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m pregnant,” she said, puffing her cheeks out as she looked over at Leah. “I’m only having one though, as far as they know.” Aubree sat up and ran a hand through her hair. “Dad doesn’t know yet. No one does. Just you and Matt.” She frowned and messed with a loose string on the blanket. “I’m kind of scared to tell anyone honestly. What if I lose it again?”

Leah wasn't surprised that Aubree was pregnant, but eyes still widened a little when her sister actually said it out loud. "Don't be scared," Leah said. "Just because you lost one doesn't mean the same thing is going to happen to this one. I think your chances of successfully carrying a pregnancy to term after a miscarriage are still like ninety-something percent. And your doctor will take good care of you. But if you're still worried about telling anybody, just wait a little while. Once you're past a certain point, your chances of miscarriage drop quite a bit. But I think you should at least tell Dad. He'll be excited and he won't tell anyone else. Plus, he's the alpha. He needs to know what's going on in the pack." Leah realized she was rambling but she was just trying to make Aubree feel better. She knew her sister was actually excited about having pups and being a mother and she deserved it.

---

Matt wasn't really paying attention to the other guys, his mind somewhere else as he sipped on his beer. So he was a little caught off guard when Zacky came over and kissed him on the cheek. He made a noise of disgust, rubbing the saliva off of his cheek. "What the hell, Zack?" he asked. "Aubree could've told me that when I got home." He glared at Zacky as the other man started to ask about when the meeting was going to start. He knew Zacky was nervous about being away from Leah but it wasn't like they were very far away. Even if Leah went into labor, it wasn't like the pups would be born before he got there. But Matt supposed he could understand because even now, at the beginning of her pregnancy, his wolf didn't really like being away from Aubree.

"Alright, I guess we'll get started now, since Zacky's so impatient," Brian said, shooting a sideways glance at Zacky.

Zacky snickered as he watched Matt. He really loved making him uncomfortable sometimes. Zacky sighed heavily and quickly got himself another beer before sitting back down. He had no plans of actually getting drunk tonight, but he did want to feel relaxed. Being so close to the pups getting here made him so anxious. Zacky popped the top to his beer as he looked up at Brian, smiling innocently and shrugging. “If your mate was pregnant you’d want to be there instead of here, too,” Zacky pointed out before taking a sip of his beer.

“Alright, alright. Enough playing around. I brought you all here today to talk about the vampires,” Brian started off, sighing heavily. “We’ve had suspicious activity in the forest lately. Definitely signs of Dracula’s presence, so I want you all to be on high alert at all times. We need to come up with a plan of action and soon, especially since there are going to be new pups to protect soon. The last thing I want is for our pups to get hurt.”

---

Aubree sighed softly and smiled at her sister. She always felt better after talking with her. “You’re right. As soon as Matt is free,” she said as she stood up off the bed. She winced and groaned, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “I swear to god, now that I’m pregnant, I’m never having sex again. Matt’s has been going full on wolf with me for like two week straight.” Aubree wasn’t really mad about the sex, because it was amazing. She was just so tired of being sore. “If you seriously don’t want ice cream, it’s fine. We can hangout here,” she told her sister with a big yawn. “We probably shouldn’t go anywhere anyways, don’t want Zacky to freak out on me for taking you some where.” Aubree rolled her eyes and flopped back down on the bed beside her sister. She reached over and rubbed Leah’s tummy. “I’m going to spoil you guys rotten!” She said with excitement, giggling. “Just remember, whenever mommy and daddy say no, Auntie Aubree and Uncle Matt will always say yes.”

"Gross Aubree, I definitely didn't need to hear that," Leah said, making a face when her sister said something about Matt going full-on wolf with her. But she understood. Before she'd gotten pregnant, Zacky had been all over her, especially when she was in heat. She knew he was probably irritated that he'd gotten pretty much no action since she'd gotten pregnant but Leah couldn't help it. Towards the beginning, she was sick all the time and now she was so fat and miserable that all she had the energy to do was sit around. "No, we can go get some ice cream if you really want to," Leah said. "But we'll have to drive. I'm too pregnant to transform." Leah pushed herself off the bed, slowly making her way towards the bathroom. If they were going anywhere, she would have to pee first. "And screw Zacky. He's annoying me, always hovering around. I want to get out of the house one last time before I have to drag pups around with me."

---

"I've had pups, remember?" Brian asked, glaring at Zacky. "You should, considering you've gotten one of them pregnant."

Matt knew Brian wasn't really irritated with Zacky, just stressed from the vampire activity lately. And the subject of mates was probably still a little bit of a touchy one for the alpha since he hadn't been able to mate with Leah and Aubree's mother. Matt settled back in his seat as Brian finally started the meeting, his attention fully captured by what he was saying. Brian was right, they needed to come up with a plan. Vampires, in general, were dangerous but Dracula was an entirely different story. It was stressful enough on a pack when there weren't pups to protect. Pups meant the pack was growing and thriving, which was the opposite of what Dracula and the vampires wanted. And the easiest way to ensure a pack failed was to get rid of the pups. And even though Aubree had only just been told that she was pregnant, Matt already knew he would rip apart whatever vampire tried to lay a single finger on his pup.

Zacky smirked a bit at Brian before putting his beer to his lips and tipping it back. He was going to keep his mouth shut. The last thing he needed to do was fight with his alpha.

“I think we should get a couple of powerful witches and put a sheild over our houses,” Jimmy said. Zacky had to admit, that wasn’t a bad idea. It was a good temporary fix to buy them some time.

“I agree with you, Jimbo. I also think we should round up wolves from other packs to build an army and take Dracula out once and for all,” Zacky said, setting his beer down. “If we just keep trying to come up with quick fixes to buy us time it’ll never get solved. We need more wolves to end this, it’s the only way.” Zacky knew what he was saying was dangerous and life threatening, but he would rather lose his life to make sure his pups were safe than for them to be in anymore danger. It needed to end and it needed to end soon.

---

Aubree smirked at her sister, wiggling her brows. The only thing she wasn’t looking forward to about her pregnancy besides giving birth was the fact that eventually she was going to be way to big to have sex. With how high hers and Matt’s sex drive were that was going to be a problem. They’d find a way, though. They always did. “Well come on then, make that bladder gladden and lets get this show on the road!” She exclaimed, waiting for Leah to get done in the bathroom before helping her downstairs. Aubree made sure all of the doors were locked before grabbing Zacky’s keys off the hook by the door. She helped Leah outside and to the car, opening the door and helping her in. Aubree went around the front of the car and got in, starting the engine and blasting the air. “Fuck, it’s so hot,” she groaned. “Ice cream will surely cool ya down.” She sent a quick text to Matt, telling him that they were going out for ice cream in case they weren there when he got back. The last thing she wanted was to freak him out. She put the car in drive and pulled out of the driveway, heading to the ice cream parlor.

Being as pregnant as she was, it took Leah a few minutes to finish up in the bathroom. After she washed her hands, she headed downstairs with Aubree, very thankful when her sister immediately cranked the AC in the car. It was ridiculously hot outside but at least it would start cooling off soon with fall just around the corner. As Aubrey drove to the ice cream parlor, Leah sent a quick text to Zacky, letting him know they'd taken his car to go get some ice cream. She knew he would freak out if he came back from her dad's and she was gone along with his car. When they arrived at the ice cream parlor, Leah unbuckled her seatbelt and heaved herself out of the car, taking a second to take a deep breath. She hated that it was so exhausting just getting out of a car and she was so over being pregnant. Like, super over it. "I think I want...shit, I don't know what I want," Leah said, looking over the menu. "Maybe chocolate. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate."

---

"Are you sure offense is a good idea so soon?" Matt asked, hearing Zacky's idea. "I mean, I know eventually that's what's going to have to happen. But I just think we should wait a little while until we know exactly what we're up against. And if we come in too hot without anything to protect us, we're fucked. We need to build up a good defense before we start anything." Matt knew Zacky just wanted to protect his pups. He did, too. But the idea of starting a fight with the vampires before they'd had a chance to really dig their trenches made him nervous. Because if they had vampires coming after them without somewhere safe to go - and somewhere safe for the pups to go - they were screwed. Matt knew he could speak for everyone when he said he would die trying to protect the girls and the pups but he hoped it didn't come down to that. Because if they were dead, who would protect Leah, Aubree, and the pups then?

“Matt’s right, we need to think rationally about this. We can’t just jump in head first without building proper defenses,” Brian said with a heavy sigh. “Right now they’re not a huge threat, but enough of one where we need to start preparing and do something. I say we work on building allies and people to help, like Zacky said, but not go through with any action until we get things secure and build our defenses. A strong defense is a good one.”

Zacky sighed softly and nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to get this done and out of the way now, he knew that this method was the best. They wouldn’t last if they didn’t have strong defenses. He needed to start thinking rationally about this too. He had pups that he had to worry about now and the last thing he wanted to do was leave them without a father, or leave his mate alone to raise 3 pups by herself. Zacky raised a brow as his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling it out and seeing that it was a text from Leah. “Seriosuly? Matt, your mate took my extremely pregnant mate out for ice cream,” he said, glaring at him. Zacky didn’t think she needed to be going anywhere or doing anything with how she was ready to pop. But it wasn’t like he could stop them, they were both grown adults and if Leah wanted to go get ice cream with her sister, who was he to stop them.

---

Aubree pulled into the ice cream parlor parking lot and parked, cutting the engine. She got out and quickly went over to the passenger side, biting her bottom lip as she tried to help Leah out. “Chocolate?” She repeated, nodding. “Alright, I’ll get you some chocolate. Why don’t you get us a table as sit down while I get the ice cream?” Aubree smiled at her sister before going up to the counter and ordering the ice cream. It was ready not to long after, thanking the lady softly before laying her and taking their ice cream over to the table. She sat the chocolate ice cream in front of Leah before sitting down with her cotton candy ice cream. Aubree licked her lips before taking a huge bite, her eyes widening at how good it was and at how cold it was. She finally managed to swallow, panting softly and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Holy fuck, that was cold,” she said a she shook her head. She shrugged a bit before taking another bite. Brain freeze wasn’t going to stop her from eating ice cream that’s for sure. “How’s your ice cream?” She asked Leah before taking a spoon full of hers. “Mmm, it’s good.”

Leah nodded when Aubree told her to go and grab a table. That involved her getting to sit down and she was all for that. This was the most active she'd been in a while and she was realizing just how close she actually was to giving birth. It definitely felt like she was carrying the pups differently than she had been before. "Thanks," Leah said, smiling as Aubree sat her ice cream down in front of her. She took a big bite, making a face at how cold it was. "Yeah, it's definitely fucking cold," Leah agreed. "But still delicious." Leah finished off her ice cream as quickly as she could without giving herself a brain freeze, pushing the empty cup away. "We should probably head home after this," she said. "I'm sure the guys are done with their meeting by now and Zacky's probably not very happy that I'm out. Plus, I'm fucking exhausted. These pups are sucking all of the energy out of me and they're not even born yet."

---

"I guess that's what we'll do, then," Matt agreed. "Start getting the houses a little more secure. And vampire-proof." To him, building up their defenses was the most important thing. But building up their allies was important as well, especially if things escalated too far. After all, there was power in numbers. Looking up when he heard Zacky talking to him, Matt frowned. "You act like I have any control over what Aubree does," he said. "Mate or not, she still does whatever she wants whenever the hell she wants to do it. She's too much like Brian." At this, Brian only shrugged, a slight smirk on his face. "Besides, Leah's grown. She can do what she wants, too."

"Well try not to let them too much running around by themselves," Brian said. "Not with this vampire threat looming. I'd hate for something to happen to them or the pups."

Matt definitely didn't need to be told twice. He knew it would be hard to stop Aubree from going out and doing what she wanted but he hoped that now that she was pregnant, she would be able to calm down just a little. Hopefully with a pup to think about, she would want to do what she needed to do to keep him or her safe.

Zacky rolled his eyes slightly at Matt. Although the other man was certainly right, he didn’t want to hear it. Zacky was just worried about his mate and his pups. With the looming threats, he didn’t want them being out and something happen. “You’re right, but I don’t like it”, he grumbled, finishing off his beer. He needed to stop drinking because he could already begin to feel the effects from the alcohol. Zacky groaned and got up, throwing his beer bottle away. “I guess it’s time for me to head home,” he said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Are you supposed to meet Aubree at my house or am I just telling her to go home?” Zacky fidgeted with the change in his pocket, biting his lip. He couldn’t remember what exactly the plan was, just that Aubree was going to spend some quality time with Leah while they had this meeting. Zacky was really hoping that Leah perked up a little form spending time with her sister.

---

Aubree quickly finished off her ice cream, making herself get a few more brain freezes in the process. Sometimes she was just a major fat ass with her food. She nodded at Leah, getting up and throwing both of their trash away once they were finished. “You’re right, we better get going before Zacky throws a conniption fit.” Aubree helped Leah into the car before rounding the front of the vehicle and getting in herself. She started the engine, yawning softly before backing out of the parking space and heading towards Zacky and Leah’s house. The drive was rather quick since there was barely any traffic and Aubree liked to speed. That’s probably why Matt never let her drive. She pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, getting out and helping her sister out of the passenger side. She snorted as she watched Leah wobble up the path to the door, biting her lower lip. She didn’t say anything though, simply because that could be, or would be her eventually.

"I think he's probably already had a fit when I told him we were taking his car to get ice cream," Leah said, laughing. With how pregnant she was and how close she was to giving birth, Zacky was extremely protective over her. As per usual, Aubree practically flew back to Leah and Zacky's house. It made Leah a little nervous but then again, driving in general made her a little nervous. "I can hear you laughing," Leah huffed as she made her way up to her front door. "Just you wait, here very soon, this will be you and then I'll be the one laughing." Leah unlocked her front door and turned around to wave goodbye to her sister before stepping inside. She kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the couch, turning on the TV to find something to watch while she waited for Zacky to get home. She didn't think it would be much longer. And maybe she could talk him into cooking something for her for dinner tonight. She wasn't really feeling take-out tonight and Zacky was a pretty good cook.

---

"I'm sure she'll just come back to the house on her own," Matt said, shrugging at Zacky's question. "She probably ran to your house in her wolf form anyway." The distance between Zacky's house and his was short enough that Matt wasn't that worried about Aubree coming back on her own. Besides that, it was still pretty damn light outside, so the vampires wouldn't be a threat. Matt gave the other guys a short wave before he left Brian's house, transforming into his wolf once he was outside and heading in the direction of his house. From his own driveway, Matt could see Zacky's car parked in front of his house, which meant the girls were at least home from their little outing. And seconds later, Matt could hear the sounds of something approaching from that direction and then Aubree's wolf form appeared. Matt smiled as she transformed back. "Did you have fun with your sister?" he asked. "Zack about shit a brick when Leah texted him."