DOUBE TROUBLE WITH THE TWIN WOLVES 7

C H A P T E R S E V E N - - - M A D D I S O N

The weather was, in a word, awful. The sky was dismal, the rain kept pouring down like it was never going to cease, and the entire of Laguna looked worse for wear. Or maybe that was a sense Maddison received from her perspective point, staring at the enormous metropolis lighted brightly from her suburban house.

“Shh, honey, it’s okay,” she whispered as Ryker bounced down on the ground on his butt, his mouth already wiggling in those pre-crying rituals he had perfected so well.

Maddison moved the newborn boy on her hip while brushing her hair back with the other hand, gazing at the brilliant green-eyed kid with golden specks sprinkled in. He looked just like his fathers. It pricked her every time she glanced at him.

"Where has your brother gone?  " she inquired, quirking her brow as she smirked at Ryker, who was attempting to wrap his hands around her curls. "Is he up to his old tricks again? “

Maddison walked through the small living room, peeking into the corridor in time to see Reidan half-crawling, half-walking down it, hell-bent on some mission his mind had gotten stuck on. His onesie was twisted at his knees, the sleeping bears on a blue background seeming to go off on an adventure right along with him.

Where is the rush, Reidan? While slowly following him, she questioned.  "Do you want to go to bed? Do you know what this is?"   When she cooed, the brown-haired baby gave her a look that made clear that he was not thinking about falling asleep.

Ryker appeared to be happiest when he was close to Maddison, while Reidan, as usual, refused to be laid down for a nap or to sleep at night.

Although the younger of her two twin sons appeared to enjoy her companionship for the time being, it would also be preferable to be near to Reidan. She was unable to express concern.

When he finally made it into the nursery, Reidan made a beeline for three wooden ducks on a string and sat gleefully next to them. Ryker yawned, appearing to be deeply thought-out as he stared at his brother while putting his thumb in his mouth. Maddison couldn't resist cracking a smile. Even though they were just a little more than seven months old, the lads could seem so incredibly serious. But in terms of strength, speed, and dexterity, they were both already considerably superior than human infants of the same age. The twins were advancing quickly.

In fact, they were moving so quickly that a single mother had a terrible difficulty keeping up with them. It was no joke to raise a shifter child on my alone, but two? Madness. The amount of trouble those two could cause already was just mind-boggling, and Maddison realized that the only way she was ever going to stand a chance was if she learned all she could about shifter infants from the Shiftastic in order to nurture them properly.

But she wasn't in the mood to start discussing the significant challenges of raising shifter children this evening. Getting her sons to bed was far more important to her than anything else. Ryker was comfortably tucked up when she strolled over to one of the cribs and placed him inside. The infant child returned her kiss on his forehead and grinned, his eyes already drooping. Never causing any problem, he. She was aware that was going to change for sure.

“Little guy, it’s your turn, now.” Maddison replied, squatting down to be at eye level with Reidan. "Sofia will be here soon and you're too young to be sitting around while we have girl talk," she added. "Time for bed, honey? ”

He firmly replied, "No," his words a little jumbled but his intents plain.

He gave her a short glance, already resolute and aware of his own thoughts. Maddison sighed and extended her hands to the man.

"Go ahead. Bedtime. You are familiar with the drill. You go to bed right now, and tomorrow we get to go on a stroll! ”

Reidan appeared to give this some thought for a little while, but Maddison didn't wait for a response. To her dismay, the only genuine word in his vocabulary at the time was "no," and she wasn't anticipating a lengthy discussion on the advantages of sleep. She placed him in the crib next to his brother with a pointed pout on his small lips, and she thought she saw a teeny, little scowl cross his face. Reidan, though, grinned brightly and appeared every bit the naughty angel she knew him to be as she kissed his forehead.

"That's it, sweetheart."  Maddison smiled as she tucked him up, "You be good now and go to sleep."

She locked the door behind her as she crept out of the nursery, leaving the nightlight on. She wished to avoid doing anything to jeopardize the ease with which she usually fell asleep. In order to get to the front door of her modest house in time to hear a gentle, delicate knock on it, Maddison virtually sneaked down the hallway. Sofia was standing there with her hair in its normal tangled mess and a toothy grin on her lips when she noticed her through the glass.

"Are the Hellions down?" Sofia asked as Maddison answered the door, the woman held out a bottle of Merlot and requested.

Maddison giggled, grabbing the bottle and leading her companion inside. "They are," she said. The baby monitor is now in the kitchen, so let's head there.

Sofia was the one to quietly lock the kitchen door as they made their way down the hallway, both of them casting glances towards the nursery door. Maddison pulled out two glasses and a bottle opener before setting the bottle on the kitchen table and searching her freezer for some munchies. She just had leftovers and baby food, which is to be expected. She did discover some Brie and some carrots, perhaps leftovers from Sofia's previous visit. That would be sufficient.

"Kara, how are you doing? “ Sofia nearly emptied the entire of the bottle into two large glasses before asking, placing one of the glasses in Maddison's hands.

She took a sizable swallow before deciding how to respond to Sofia's query. She then met Sofia's gaze with a wink on her lips. Even though she had become accustomed to it, her new name, Kara, still gave her a slight wince. It would have to do because it didn't sound too distant from Maddy, Maddison reasoned.

"How do you feel? " As she sank onto the blue canvas chair at the kitchen table with a wooden back, she questioned.

Even though her kitchen was modest, it was tidy. Maddison had never been one for organization, but having two children made a big difference for a woman. Well, it appeared that that, along with having a near-death experience and beginning her life again, had a way of shaking up some preconceived assumptions.

"I suppose your under eye bags don't seem as awful now, and it's nice that I haven't had a panicked call in a week, isn't it?

Sofia said, looking through the window. “That is indisputable. How are the boys doing? ”

In a birthing class designed particularly for first-time women bearing shifter infants, Maddison had met Sofia. Sofia had her husband Cornell at her side for the most of the experience, but Maddison had to go through it alone. Through their pregnancies, delivery, and the current Shiftastic craziness that was rearing shifter twins, they quickly forged a relationship that has remained strong.

"Oh, you're aware of this already. Clay is fighting with me making hand gestures that I interpret to suggest that I am being unreasonable and only a mother, while Cory is primarily dozing off, . They differ greatly from one another. However, when you combine them to play, it appears as though they are two distinct minds cooperating, conspiring, and scheming as one. Unnerving. I have no idea how they'll be as adolescents. How about Reidan and Ryker? Does Reidan still refuse everything? ”

"Oh absolutely!"  Maddison said, beaming, "He wouldn't have it any other way. Yet they're excellent. a lot of effort. That said, I do miss sleeping. I terribly miss it. But I'm fortunate to be able to work from home for the time being and have the chance to spend time with them. It would be wonderful to have some assistance, however... ”

Sofia replied, giving Maddison a pensive look, "I still feel you really should locate those dads of theirs."

Sofia, I understand your perspective. However, it's impossible. I won't see them again, and they won't even know they're fathers. It is for everyone’s best interest. ”

"Oh, come on, in this day and age, one-night stands are common! With a carrot stick in her mouth, Sofia argued, "Nothing is private anymore. "You are aware of the significance of first borns to shifters."

Madison focused on her drink while mutely nodding. Indeed, she was aware. She wasn't going to waste any time hunting for the men who had bestowed upon her the greatest benefits in her life, in part because she knew it so well. There was no hope for them in the future, as they had made plainly obvious.

One day of high adrenaline and one hot, sleepless night did not make a happy existence. More was necessary. She would never try to seduce unprepared guys with the help of her children.

Especially if it might endanger their lives as well as hers.

She was questioned by Tom's and Tim's employers about what, if anything, she knew for a few days after Ilocos. She verified and re-checked all she remembered on the train, drawing little pictures of the two guys she had seen from memory. She then had a horrible week of confinement in a somewhat comfortable setting while wondering what would take place next.

The Firm helped her get a new identity as Kara Montecarlo, a pleasant scientist who is originally from Cebu, as well as a little house in a Laguna neighborhood and a low-level tech position at Ellia Technologies Limited. She was sincerely appreciative of all of that, if a little resentful that things had ever progressed to that point in the first place.

Particularly appreciated was the job. Though she had planned to stay in academics, it was obvious that there was too much risk of exposure there. She had already been close to earning her PhD in the discipline. She thereby obtained a respectable desk position at Ellia, one of the largest privately funded research organizations, where she could do biochemical research and accomplish any assignments given to her by her superiors. Her immediate boss, Charlie, was a decent person and a great scientist who devoted all of his time and energy to creating more precise, targeted explosives.

Although Maddison had assumed she would one day work in medical research, it wasn't exactly what she had envisioned for herself, but it did pay the bills and keep her children safe. These days, she valued that greatly and did not take it for granted at all.

"I do. But it won't take place. Never, ever, never, as in never. In addition, things are going well with my boys. We have one another. That's all that matters," Maddison said as she swirled the wine in the glass.

"Kara, I have full confidence in your independence. Superwoman you are. While you were already leaving the hospital and called your job to inform him that you would be returning to work in a few days, I was still sobbing into a pillow because both of my tiny angels had enormous  heads. Insane. It doesn't have to be this difficult, though, I'm saying," Sofia added wisely.

As shifter babies tended to go for solid meals considerably sooner, they both ceased nursing around a month ago. Their little wine gatherings began at that point. Sofia would dash over to Maddison's house once or twice a week, where they would speak, drink, and talk about how terrifying it was to have twin boys. Maddison valued such nights much because she never longer visited Laguna and knew very few people there other those she worked with.

In the wake of that train ride, everything had altered. Maddison learned that the fact that so few people perished was a marvel considering that the train had only been halted thanks to some good fortune involving an incline and someone managing to activate the emergency brakes. The person in question was unquestionably Tim, but he was never acknowledged. Maddison reasoned that she could be the only genuine citizen who was aware of the events that had actually taken place on that train.

It was something she had anticipated would trouble her. It did, in a sense, but not nearly to the extent of her fears. Of course, there were moments when she would awaken in a cold sweat, convinced that the guy who tried to murder her was there beside her bed or that something equally insane had happened, but those nightmares were rare and became even more so when her boys entered her life. Even yet, she had enough of daydreams to keep her attention since there was another, far more common fantasy.

Since she had left Tom and Tim in the Ilocos safe house, she had been thinking about them constantly. The three of them had had the most exquisite time Maddison had ever had as they had fucked the night away. She had them in every manner she could imagine, and they had her. It had been incredible, and although though she hoped she could bottle up all those memories and hold onto them forever, she reasoned that it wouldn't be too horrible if she could simply keep in mind those two strong, remarkable guys from that night and their bravery on the train.

Even though she was on birth control when they first met that evening, she became pregnant. She had attributed the problem to the strength of her two boyfriends, which sounded like a reasonable explanation. She knew she would keep the children as soon as she found out she was pregnant. She had told Tim and Tom the truth—she wanted to have children and raise them in a loving home—but she knew that if fate had it her way, she should have made sure she would provide all the love they required. She would manage. She has always done. She would make it work no matter what.

She took a large swallow of her wine and thought, Anything for my babies. "Earth to Kara! Do you still exist? Is the wine I gave you that too much?"  Sofia laughed and waved her palm in front of Maddison's face, saying, "I'm happy to keep it all."

“Oh! I am sorry"  With a shock, Maddison apologized, pushing the image of her hot wolf from her mind. "What did you just say? ”

"I was wondering if you'd want to join us tomorrow for a tour around town. We could squeeze the kids and the strollers in the van and go for a walk around the neighborhood because Cornell is leaving me in charge of it. Remember, the kind of individuals not of the suburban variety? ”

Swiftly nodding, Madison reached for the wine bottle to refill her glass.

I'll do whatever to temporarily remove Tom and Tim from my thoughts.

"That is a really good idea. When is it? ”

Nothing in Madison's life, however, was going to be simple as usual. A easy stroll with luck like Maddison's did not exist!