Your bonds, Gavriel, Fenrys, Connall, Rowan, Lorcan, and Vaughan, left you 2 years ago. They claimed it was to keep you safe from Maeve, but you knew. They wanted to be with their new central bond, Aelin. They had ignored you, insulted you, picked on your greatest insecurities and fears. And they left, unaware you were pregnant…

Gavriel spots you through the window of a small cottage, nestled in the outskirts of Perranth. The rest of the cadre hadn’t searched for you immediately after they left, but when they did, you disappeared. After 2 years apart, they finally found you. Lorcan and Rowan try to look unfazed, but they still want you like any bond wants their central. Fenrys and Connall are whispering to each other, while Vaughan is silent, waiting for the next move. They’re all taken aback by the sheer happiness exuding from the cottage. Even at a distance, the cadre can tell that you look different. Fuller breasts, curvier hips, your skin practically glowing…you look healthier than you did before they left you—happier, too. They had thought you would be struggling without them, but they were wrong. None of them had a clue that you were pregnant when they left, and they still don’t know that you have a baby, on your own. They’re about to find out.

— — — — —

There’s a knock at the door and you get up to answer it, leaving your 1 year old sleeping in his crib.