He’d gone through a lot, last few months.
With the addition of new mouths, new kids that weren’t him— meant attention was split. Meant she hadn’t gotten to know him like she wanted to, and like he deserved to be.

But as the infants started behaving a little more like toddlers and had longer periods of sleeping than crying, she knew a mother should disperse any lasting connections outside of their blood. Least, it was what she had seen often.
Nakhti never strayed the mind. And she made certain he was fed and had a place to sleep with her and her whelps. His own little high bed towards the ceiling, and one down lower with them.
He hadn’t attached to any other.

Nakhti had already lost one.
Legend didn’t want to be another.

She made her way to him. A half-smile, lopsided and sweet in that spicy candy kinda way.

Hey, kid.