verb ~ to make something become larger or more extensive

NOVA

Pollux was uneasy.

I moved from around Phoenix to peer at him from the other side. The moment Molly questioned his future relationship, Pollux shut down. He was at ease, comforting me and enjoying the moment of bliss with the twins, but as soon as that question came, so did his discomfort.

"No, there's nobody." Pollux shrugged, trying to play it off.

Even Phoenix could tell he was uneasy, because my mate pivoted, so he was facing forward. I remained glued to his side, watching the exchange with concern.

"He has plenty of time." Phoenix interrupted.

I saw how Pollux looked at him with barely concealed surprise, his posture tense. Phoenix shifted his weight, his arm falling to the back of the sofa as he faced the others head on. I grinned as the mate bond tightened; Phoenix was feeling protective.

"He spent a lot of time travelling. If he was to have someone, he would by now." He continued.

"You did?" Molly wondered, dropping her eyes.

"I travelled for years." Pollux nodded. "I left home at seventeen."

"Did you have a wolf? Where did you go without crossing borders?" She probed, genuinely curious.

Pollux shifted his weight, his demeanour changing now he was no longer under scrutiny. "I shifted as a teenager, yeah. As for borders, I avoided wolf territory."

"But you came with the mate scouts, right?" Molly cast a look at her mate. "You came here with Leo."

Pollux nodded. "Nova had shifted, and I felt it. After asking Gaia what it was, I went looking for her and the only way to travel packs without causing trouble was part of the scouting group."

Molly's lips parted with understanding, looking at me with curious eyes. My chest felt warm knowing Pollux had immediately come looking for me. My shift must've awoken something within him, something related to Gaia's curse.

"But wait, how did you shift before Nova? Weren't you cursed as well?"

"The curse prohibited us from shifting until we were safe." I told her. "Mine lifted when I met Phoenix; it knew that my fate was safe with him."

Leo's nose scrunched up. "That is overly adorable..."

I laughed at my brother's expression. "I can't help being adorable."

Rolling his eyes, he smirked at me as Molly continued to ask questions.

"So, when did you shift, Pollux?"

"I was seventeen." He pursed his lips. "I shifted one afternoon whilst I was out for a walk."

"But wait... wasn't Gaia... You know..."

We both cocked our heads, sharing a look before my eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"What about Gaia?" I wondered.

"She was the bad guy." Molly's eyes widened. "How did he shift around her when the curse keeps you safe? Gaia raised Pollux because Angela told her to, right?"

My lips pursed with understanding. Molly had a point. Gaia had been working for Angela the entire time, so what changed that allowed his wolf to surface? What point in their lives did Gaia not become the bad guy?

"I'm not sure." Pollux frowned. "She could not have lifted it without lifting Nova's, so I... I'm afraid I don't know."

"Maybe she just had a change of heart." Charlie interrupted.

All eyes flickered to him, my attention grabbed by my now sleeping daughter on his lap. He was semi-laid on the arm of the sofa, Annabelle on his lap. Her hand remained wrapped around one of his fingers and a small smile lifted my face at the sight.

"Maybe." Pollux agreed. "I shifted at seventeen and then I went on my way. It protected me and I wanted to see the world. There has always been this... itch in my brain that wanted me to keep going. I travelled until I felt Nova shift last year, and that's when I came back."

"And you didn't find anyone during that time?" Molly wondered.

"Molly..." I cautioned her.

Pollux's defences went up again, and I noticed it more clearly. Did he have someone? He said he travelled but all of that time away from home, surely he met somebody? Maybe not his mate, but...

Molly frowned but backed down and I kept my eye on Pollux. Conversation picked back up again, mainly revolving around babies, and I noticed how he leaned further into the sofa. He was upset, and I didn't need some empathetic power to understand that.

"How many do you want, Rose?" Calida asked her.

I grinned at the way Sean stiffened, his hand wrapped around her shoulder growing tense. Rose blushed, dropping her eyes.

"They have to have sex first." Molly snorted, lightening the mood.

Sean glared at her, but Rose merely blushed, her voice soft as she spoke.

"I always wanted two."

"Just two?" Molly wondered.

"Two means equal workload." Rose shrugged.

My grip tightened on Phoenix's thigh and he chuckled softly in my ear. Rose's eyes flickered over to us, a small smile on her lips.

"Not my fault you jumped the gun and had two at the same time." She teased.

I laughed at her light-heartedness, happy to see Rose coming out of her shell more. Sean had mentioned how they go for runs and I could see how close it was making them become.

"That wasn't planned." I scoffed. "I didn't choose to make two."

"Well, planned or not, you're ahead of the game." Molly giggled. "How many do you guys want?"

"I'm happy with whatever I get." I shrugged.

Molly groaned, rolling her eyes. "That's a rubbish answer."

Scowling, I narrowed my eyes. "Well, how many do you want?"

"Five!" She grinned.

"Five?" Leo choked.

Molly laughed, beaming up at her mate. "Yep! Five!"

"Odd numbers are awkward." Rose muttered.

Molly shrugged. "I like the idea of having five."

"Five is literally a handful." I pointed out. "Imagine having them close together."

"Even better!" She grinned. "They can grow up besties!"

I looked to Leo, and then Sean, the three of us all knowing that close in age didn't mean close in a relationship. There were times Leo drove me so insane I could've slammed his head in a door and I am not an aggressive person!

"Reya is barely two months old!" Leo tutted at her. "And you want another?"

Molly nodded, turning to gargle at her daughter on Sean's lap. "Yes, I do! Yes, I do!"

"Uh... I think Leo needs to be involved in this as much as you." I laughed.

Molly rolled her eyes, looking back at her mate. My son lay in his arms, fast asleep, and Molly's eyes only seemed to soften. She truly loved babies, and I knew Leo did, too. Despite all the teasing, I knew another baby would be here in the next two years.

"How can you resist that face?" Molly cooed, squeezing Leo's cheeks.

Leo grumbled at her, sliding a hand out from Freddy to push her fingers away. "Man-handling me."

Molly giggled, squeezing his bicep before sitting back normally. "Someone give me a baby. I'm craving baby scents."

She looked at the two men beside her before her eyes flickered to Charlie. I followed her gaze, finding Charlie's eyes narrowed.

"Gimme!"

"No way, I just got her to sleep." He complained.

"She'll stay asleep!" Molly urged, standing.

To my surprise, Charlie growled. "I'm not giving her up."

My beta surprised me. His wolf was being rather dominant as he curled himself around Annabelle. He had never been so quiet otherwise, and it made me curious. My wolf, however, was unsure of his sudden attachment to her pup.

"Aw." Molly pouted before looking at Reya. "Come to Mummy then!"

Sean huffed, passing the quickly growing child to her mother. Reya's time in this life had gone so quickly. It was so surprising to me how she was already so alert. It made me worry about the twins, about how little time I truly had with them whilst they were tiny.

Phoenix's grip tightened on my shoulders, and I looked up at him expectantly. He smiled softly, bending down to kiss my forehead. I smiled back, snuggling my head into his chest to inhale his scent.

"What about you, Alpha?" Charlie probed, directing the attention to someone else.

"What about me?" Phoenix's chest rumbled against my ear.

"How many do you want?" Charlie asked.

My mate's chest rose as he inhaled deeply, a hum of thought escaping him on the way down.

"As many as we create."

Charlie scoffed. "Rubbish answer, just like Nova."

"Hey!" I complained.

Charlie snickered. "I want a number."

"I don't know..." Phoenix drawled, and I looked up at his jaw.

"Come on... There has to be a number in that robot head of yours." Charlie grinned.

Phoenix narrowed his eye, jaw tightening. "Okay, fine. Eight."

"Eight!" Charlie and I squeaked in unison.

"Yes, eight. Maybe ten."

"Ten!" I gasped. "Have you seen the size of you? Imagine ten babies of your size!"

"You already had two." He shrugged.

"Twins! Twins are small!" I laughed. "Ten is maddening!"

He chuckled, bending to kiss me. "I would love an entire pack of pups."

"You'd be popping out pups for the next twenty years, Nova." Charlie taunted.

I scowled, but Phoenix interrupted before I could snap at him.

"No, we'd have them one after another." He grinned. "Then it'll only be eight years."

I spluttered a complaint, but his chest just shook with laughter. He was getting a kick out of giving me palpitations; he loved it.

I shook my head in disbelief. "You're crazy."

"Only for you." Phoenix mused.

I heard a faux-barf come from somewhere in the room, but my mate's lips distracted me as they descended on mine. My body warmed with his touch, melting into his embrace as his mouth moulded into mine.

He pulled away at the shouts of complaint, Charlie muttering about innocent eyes being present. I knew he wasn't on about himself, and ignored him. He fell silent soon enough, no doubt from the lack of attention.

You'd really have ten? I mused.

'I want a big family.' Phoenix nodded. 'Maybe over ten.'

I know you do... but ten? You realise I have twin potential. That's a lot of babies! I teased.

He smirked playfully. 'I love seeing you pregnant. I love filling you with pups.'

I blushed, a sudden blush sneaking up on me. Phoenix...

He chuckled out loud, kissing my forehead. 'We have our entire lives, Nova. We don't need to rush into it all so soon. The twins are enough.'

I agreed, snuggling back into him. The twins were enough. The tiresome nights, lack of nutrition and hygiene were a larger let down than my milk.

A soft cry came from Freddy, and my eyes slithered over to him on instinct. He had ended up in Calida's arms at some point and, sneaking a glance at Charlie, I saw why he backed down from our teasing so easily. Eyes wide, he stared at Calida, holding baby Freddy with something akin to longing.

My heart ached, and when my eyes met Calida's dark ones, I knew she noticed the shift in her mate.

I wonder if she will ever take me up on my offer of turning her. She and Charlie deserve happiness in every way.

"I think he wants his Mummy..." Calida grinned guiltily.

I eyed the time on Phoenix's watch, sighing as I noticed it had already been ninety minutes. It was feed time, and with a begrudging groan, I pulled myself from his embrace and held out my hands for Freddy. Calida stood, Freddy in her arms, as she walked around the coffee table.

She passed Freddy to me, gently laying him in my arms. I smiled down at my baby with a cheerful smile, but then the worst happened. Suddenly, my world fell away when Calida's fingers graced the back of my hand.

Question of the Day:
Do you have a pet? What's their name and why did you call them that? 😅 I have Pepsi cause she's the same colour & Murphy because he is a potato lol jk he came with it