Annalise’s POV
Standing in the bathroom after my long-needed shower, I look at my body, turning side to side. My arms and legs are muscular and strong from holding my pups close to my heart and learning the battle skills I need to protect them. My skin is still supple with youth but no longer smooth, motherhood having transformed me. Faint lines stretch across the lower edges of my belly and along the sides of my breasts, like tiger stripes, revealing the places where my body grew to support and nurture my twins.
Placing my hand on my lower abdomen, I close my eyes and try to sense if anything has changed. Nothing feels different, the soft flesh of my belly warm and a little squishy under my fingertips. Despite all of my efforts to exercise and eat right, it still holds the soft protecti
