Ella shrieked when she heard the tap on the door. Jumping up from the bed, she dashed toward it, so excited to see her sister that she couldn't move slowly.

Behind her, she heard Sinclair stand up and give a little growl. Without looking, she knew he was standing with his arms crossed, feet wide apart, glaring at the door. But that was Roger's problem, not hers.

She flung the door open and threw herself into her sister's arms. "Cora!" she shouted, laughing. "I missed you!"

"It was only two days, Ella!" Cora laughed, shaking her head and hugging her back.

"Three!" Ella insisted, frowning.

"Whatever," Cora said, rolling her eyes. "We've been apart longer than that."

"Yes, well," Ella said, pulling back and grinning. "I missed you. Don't go away again. It was boring without you."

"I can't believe that," Cora said, frowning as they moved into the room. "Didn't you go to the camps and work? That's never—" Ella gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

Cora, surprised, turned with wide eyes and looked around for the problem as Roger entered, shutting the door. Figuring it out first, Roger started to laugh.

"What!?" Cora asked, looking between her mate and Ella.

Ella gasped, stepped forward, and grabbed the neck of Cora's shirt, yanking it back to reveal Cora's mating mark—high on her shoulder, almost on her neck!

"Oh," Cora said, laughing and blushing slightly, touching the mark and then glaring at Roger. "He decided to put it in a very noticeable place, didn't he?"

"Damn right I did," Roger murmured, kissing Ella's cheek before moving toward Sinclair.

Ella ignored them—and the impending boy fight—throwing her arms around her sister and shrieking with happiness. "Cora!" she shouted, rocking her. "I'm so happy for you! Congratulations! What happened? Tell me everything!"

"Wait," Cora said, beaming but pulling away. "You're not mad? That we eloped instead of having the wedding you planned?"

Ella's shoulders slumped. "Cora, I never cared about that—and even if I were disappointed, I'd never let it overshadow my happiness for you! This," she said, gesturing toward the mark, "is wonderful! You two waited so long and were so patient—" Overwhelmed, she hugged her sister again.

"Well, thanks, Ella," Cora said, hugging her back tightly. "We're really happy. It was a really special couple of days."

"I want to hear everything," Ella said, pulling back. She opened her mouth to ask for details, but they both turned as they heard Roger and Sinclair arguing.

"You should have been here, Roger," Sinclair said, tense and glaring at his brother.

"You didn't need me, Dom," Roger said dismissively. "Cora and I needed to do this—"

"Um," Ella said, stepping closer to Cora. "What do you say we steal the baby and go somewhere else?"

"You don't want to watch the fireworks?" Cora asked, grinning.

"I want to concentrate on you," Ella said, nudging her and grinning. "Besides, they need a minute. Come on."

Quietly, Ella crossed the room, picked up the baby from his pack-and-play, who gave a happy squeak, and nodded toward a door. Frowning, because Cora had never been through it before, Cora followed, her curiosity piqued. Ella watched her face change from curiosity to wonder as they entered a perfect little living room.

"Oh," Cora said, looking around. "Oh wow, I had no idea this was here…"

"We just had it fixed up," Ella said, closing the door. "Damon's taste was…" She grimaced. "But through here!" she continued, pointing to another door. "There are more bedrooms for the kids! So, we have our own little family suite, which I think is really nice."

"I love it!" Cora said, laughing and curling up on the sofa. Ella smiled; Cora looked so cozy, and that's precisely what she wanted. She knew they lived in a palace, but she wanted a comfortable space for her family. Cora's reaction confirmed she'd done well.

"So," Ella said, turning Rafe toward Cora as she sat down. "Tell me everything!"

Cora did, skipping over some personal details, but Ella's eyes welled up when Cora described the beach, their promises, and the meteor shower.

"Oh geeze, Ells," Cora said, laughing. "I'm going to stop telling you about my life if all it does is make you cry."

"You'd better not," Ella cried, wiping her face.

Cora sighed, took the baby, and let Ella blow her nose. Ella smiled, watching Cora coo at the baby. She leaned against the pillows, not asking for Rafe back—not yet.

"So, is that all?" Ella asked, her eyes dry. "The whole story?"

"Umm," Cora said, looking away.

"What!" Ella laughed, kicking her knee. "Tell me!"

"You're just going to go to pieces, Ells," Cora said, hugging Rafe close.

"Well, that just makes me want to know more," Ella said, leaning forward eagerly.

"Okay, well," Cora grinned. "We…kind of named the baby."

Ella gasped, sitting up straight. "You did!?"

Cora nodded, laughing. "I remembered what you said about naming Rafe? How he responded when you said 'Rafe'?"

Ella's eyes filled with tears. "He kicked," she said, biting her lip. "Again and again when we repeated it."

"Well," Cora said, shrugging. "We were playing with the bond, and the baby kept telling us he was happy, so we tried asking him names. He didn't like Matthew or Oliver—" Ella wrinkled her nose; she didn't like those names either—"But he did like…" She grinned wickedly. "…the name we picked out."

"Cora!" Ella shouted, smacking her leg, making her shriek and laugh. "You'd better tell me right now!" As she raised her hand to smack Cora again, the door opened, and Roger and Sinclair entered, eyebrows raised. They flinched as Ella's hand landed on Cora's thigh. Even Rafe laughed.

"Um, if you could please stop abusing my mate," Roger said, stepping forward.

"Dominic!" Ella protested, looking at her mate, who smiled. "They named the baby and she won't tell me!"

Sinclair laughed. "That's cold, Cora. You know baby names are her catnip. This is going to kill her."

"Yeah, well," Cora grinned as Roger sat behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I figure if I hold out, she'll give me something shiny as a bribe."

"You can have my crown!" Ella cried. "Just tell me!"

"Ella," Sinclair scolded, sitting beside Cora. "Not even yours to give."

"Which is why we can get it back," Ella hissed.

Cora and Roger laughed, keeping their lips sealed.

"We just want to keep it between the three of us, for a little bit," Roger said, looking at Cora with love.

"Actually," Cora said, glancing at Ella teasingly. "I think I'll tell Rafe. He should be the first to know his cousin's name, after all."

Ella's mouth fell open as Cora whispered something in Rafe's ear. He smiled, looking up at Cora.

"That's right!" Cora said, laughing. "That's your cousin's name!"

"Come back to Mommy, baby," Ella murmured, taking Rafe back and leaning against Sinclair. "Tell Auntie his secret, right now!"

Rafe looked up with big, innocent green eyes, a bubble on his lip. Ella laughed.