Victor seethes, closing the distance between us and taking me by the shoulders to give me a rough shake. “You could have done anything else, Evelyn! You were surrounded by Betas – you could have sent one of them in –““And have them risk their lives?” I say, appalled at him, though – actually – I ha
A few hours later, in the early light of dawn, Victor and I lurch back into the cottage. I consider the calm peace of this space, which is so close to Victor’s house but now feels like a separate world. It’s almost bizarrely quiet here after such commotion all morning. Victor and I stayed through i
I sit straight up in bed, my jaw going slack, staring at the closet where the phone rings again. Victor turns his head towards me. “What is that?” He asks, blinking sleepily.“Nothing,” I say hurriedly, pulling my feet out of the blankets and rushing to put them on the floor. “Go back to sleep.”Vi
“I was so sorry to hear about your little tragedy tonight,” the voice says, its tones mocking. Victor goes very still, still looking at Evelyn, wondering at the strangeness both of the call and her actions. What the hell was going on?“What do you mean?” Victor asks, wanting the voice to keep talkin
“Victor!” I cry, pounding down the stairs after him. He’s already at the back door, ready to pull it open and storm out. “Stop!”He turns on me then, and I can see that he’s working hard to keep a leash on his rage. I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes going wide, knowing very well that I should not p
“Go upstairs, boys,” I whisper to them. The room is so quiet that they have no trouble hearing me. “We’re…we’re talking.”“Mama,” Ian says, concerned, starting to take a few steps down the stairs towards me. In that moment, spurred by Ian’s tiny act of disobedience, Victor fully loses his grip.“GO
Victor flies down the highway in silence, his knuckles white as he grips the steering wheel.He can’t even engage with his emotions right now – he just feels so desperate and betrayed. So instead, he just drives. And drives. The mile markers fly by before Victor even really realizes where he’s goin
His head snaps in the direction of the word and the growl that was growing in him makes itself known. “You,” Victor snarls, glaring at Edgar, who stands with his hands out before him.“Please,” Edgar says softly, “I don’t know what it is, precisely, that you’re going through – but I come in peace.”
“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