The next evening, Evelyn laughs as she sees a limousine pull into her driveway. “Wowww!” Ian says, wrapping his fingers into the fabric of her black beaded dress. “Mom, can we please come?” “Please please pleeeease,” Alvin begs, turning puppy dog eyes at her. It breaks her heart a little bit and
“Oh my god,” I say, spinning to look up at the incredible ceiling with its eight crystal chandeliers. “Victor, this is too nice.” He frowns at me, but I can tell he’s not actually displeased with me as he pulls me close. “Too nice?” He asks. “What does that even mean?” I laugh up at him, letting h
Victor’s brows knit together as he frowns at Evelyn. He’s disappointed, of course – he had hoped to surprise her with the proposal, thought he was doing a good job keeping the secret, even – but he’s also a little disturbed by what looks like anger in her eyes. “Um,” he says, “is that…a bad thing?
She moves to step around him but he gets in her way. “You’re going to tear your feet to shreds, he says, “I’ll call the car, take you home.” He looks down at her as the rain begins to paste her curls to her beautiful face. “We can figure it out from there.” Victor turns and raises his hand to the
Victor holds Evelyn the whole way home, but they don’t say a word. Instead, she leans against him, her back against his chest, his chin resting on her head as he holds her tight with an arm around her. When they arrive, Evelyn makes no move to get up until the driver comes awkwardly around the car
And Evelyn had never been mated, so she couldn’t know, but Victor knows how it feels. So he tells her. “Evelyn, every bit of this,” he says, gesturing between them, “is more intense than anything that I felt for Amelia. And it’s not just that she wasn’t a good person,” he says, shaking his head. “
The next morning, I wake up to the feeling of little fingers pressing at the skin around my eyes, prying my lids open. “Mama,” Ian whispers as I blink and flinch out of his grasp. “Wake up. We want to tell you congratulations.” “What?” I ask, still bleary with sleep, realizing suddenly that he’s s
“Delia, I’m not engaged,” I hiss into the phone. “WHAT??” I wince as she shouts into my ear. “Evelyn, it’s on every network – there are pictures –“ “Pictures of what?” I ask, glancing in towards the living room. “Of you and Victor at what is clearly an engagement dinner – there’s none of him on o
“Me me me,” he says, hardly able to contain his excitement. “My turn, mama. Please.” And he looks down, again, at his little girl. “Well,” I say, shifting her in my arms and leaning forward so Ian can better see her face. She frowns in her sleep, squirming a little and making me smile. “I was think
Several hours later, I’m changed and curled up more comfortably in my bed with Victor by my side, a baby in each of our arms, and our boys curled up like puppies at the end of the bed. Archie is on the bed too, cuddled between them. We sit quietly together, all still focused on the two little babie
“It’s all right, doctor,” I say, giving her a little smile and nodding towards the boys. “We found them.” “Oh my god,” she says, shaking her head and placing a hand over her heart. Then she frowns at them. “How did they…” “Window,” Victor says, gesturing towards it and sighing. “It’s all right. Th
“Come on, Evelyn,” the doctor says confidently as Victor squeezes my hand, his eyes darting between my face and the first baby, which the doula is now wrapping in her first swaddle. “One more push, and then you’ll be done, and you can hold your little girls.” “Okay,” I huff, sitting up and shifting
Slumped on the couch, Ian heaves a gigantic sigh. “What is taking so long,” he mutters, glaring angrily at the steps as if they’ve personally offended him. “You knew it would take a while,” Bridgette murmurs, running a hand over Ian’s soft brown hair and smiling fondly at her nephew. She sighs and
“Oh my god,” Victor gasps, instantly wide awake. “Oh my god,” he says again, grabbing my face and searching it like it has answers. “Are you – are you okay?” “Yes,” I say, nodding but then belying my answer with an immediate moan. I grit my teeth, my hand going to my stomach as I weather the contra
And between them, my three Alphas have kept me sane. Even though every other part of the end of this pregnancy has worked hard against that sanity. Very, very hard. Even though the TV is on, capturing both of our attention, Ian very suddenly turns his head towards my stomach, like a dog hearing a w
As it turns out…I cannot. I cannot spend 3 months in bed, waiting for my babies to be born. Two and a half months later, I’m basically climbing the walls, I’m going so crazy sitting here in this bedroom, waiting for my little girls to be born. I’ve done it this long, though. I’ve stayed in my bedr
“Why?” Victor asks, suddenly serious in the sea of merriment. “Evelyn, why aren’t you here? What’s wrong?” “Um…” she says, her eyes glancing away awkwardly. “Because…I went into early labor…and I’ve been put on bedrest…” The tablet cracks as it falls to the floor. Rafe gasps, reaching down for it