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"We need to keep Danny safe during the Gathering," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “I originally thought he should be there, but it would be too stressful. I have to be there, and I’m going to need someone with him to stop him from trying to join us."

“I can do that,” Kaylan said. “Ben and the kids will keep us company.” Because Emery would have to be with his Alpha.

Phoenix shook his head. "You're still an alpha heir, so you need to be there. We'll ask Ben. Let’s get some lunch because I have a feeling they’ll all start arriving soon, and we need to sort out accommodations.”

I followed Phoenix and Kaylan back to the house, my mind racing with everything the doctor had told me. Three cubs. The words kept echoing in my head, filling me with equal parts terror and wonder.

Inside, I jogged upstairs and carried Danny down to settle on the couch, and I got a kiss for my efforts. Emery sat beside him, showing him something on a tablet.

"So," Danny said, his voice full of wonder, "apparently I'm growing a baseball team in here."

I sat on the other side of him, taking his hand in mine. "How are you feeling about that?"

"Oh, you know, just the usual existential crisis," he replied with forced lightness. "Three bear cubs. Three. That's a whole litter, Bayer."

"I know," I murmured, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead.

"Dr. Coughran emailed the ultrasound pictures," Emery said, turning the tablet toward me. "Look."

My breath caught as I stared at the grainy image. Three tiny bean-shaped figures huddled together in a single sac, their hearts visible as flickering points of light. My cubs. Our cubs.

"They're beautiful," I whispered.

"They’d better be," Danny muttered.

I met his eyes, seeing past the sarcasm to the genuine fear beneath. "You're going to be amazing," I said quietly. "And I'll be right beside you every step of the way."

Something in my tone must have alerted him. "What did the doctor tell you outside?"

I hesitated, not wanting to add to his stress but knowing he deserved honesty. "He said we need to be careful. That this situation is...unique."

"Unique as in special or unique as in potentially catastrophic?" Danny's voice was sharp.

"Both, apparently," I admitted. "But he also said your body is adapting remarkably well."

Danny studied my face, clearly reading between the lines. "There's something you're not telling me."

Before I could respond, Phoenix cleared his throat. "We should eat. Simeon's preparing lunch, and we need to discuss the Gathering. Shifters will start arriving this evening."

Danny narrowed his eyes at the obvious deflection but allowed the subject change. "Fine, but this conversation isn't over," he warned me quietly.

Lunch was a subdued affair. Despite Simeon's excellent cooking, I could barely taste the food, my mind preoccupied with everything that had happened. Danny picked at his meal, occasionally rubbing his lower back with a grimace that sent alarm bells ringing through me.

"Are you in pain?" I asked quietly.

"Just sore," he assured me. "Growing new anatomy is apparently an uncomfortable process."

Phoenix spread a map of the pack grounds across the table, pointing to the large clearing where the Gathering would take place. "We'll set up here. Refreshments and shade will be provided."

"What about security?" I asked, still hyperaware of Danny's discomfort beside me.

"Triple patrols on the perimeter," Phoenix replied. "We'll have watchers in the trees, and every entrance point will be monitored. No one gets in without being vetted."

"And the barrier?" Kaylan asked.

"Rhys and Esther have been reinforcing it all morning," Simeon said as he cleared plates. "It's stronger than it's been in years."

Danny shifted beside me, wincing again. I placed my hand on his lower back, gently rubbing the spot he'd been favoring.