Then, I lay this body down next to his, and I let our forms merge, the edges of mine passing seamlessly through the edges of his. Not all the way, but enough. Enough to share.“Take it,” I whisper – and again, it’s not words. Just…the message. I feel him respond, hearing me. “Take it,” I say again.
A few hours later, wrapped in our coziest robes, Victor and I step out of our room.As soon as we walk out, I can hear the noise of our boys downstairs, laughing and talking as they have their breakfast.I clutch my robe tightly around my neck as I hear them and look up at Victor, a huge smile break
I could go into all of the details, of course – my memories of going to that place, somewhere in my mind but also somewhere beyond it. Of what it looked like there, of what we did, of how we…made the exchange. But…I suppose that some things I want to keep secret. Just between us.So, I improvise.“I
Rafe frowns at me.“Boys,” Rafe says, not looking at them. “Go play in the living room.”Ian opens his mouth – full of pancakes – to protest, but Rafe interrupts.“Take your food,” he says, his voice low and dismissive, “try eating them off the floor like a puppy. No forks, not hands.” The boys, suf
Victor’s frown deepens. “But,” he says, turning his hand palm up on the table. “I…did background checks. Everything you told us about your identity – it checked out.”Burton just shrugs a little, still not meeting our eyes. “The people for whom I work…they are powerful. They were able to ensure that
I can’t help the little giggle that comes out of me then. Honestly, it’s all so strange and ridiculous - and, really, really frightening – that all I can do is laugh and make a joke out of it. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, probably a poor one and a result of my exhaustion, but I’ve got nothing else.“
Fascinated, I take the note from Victor’s hands. Even Edgar knew more about this than we did. What the hell was going on in my life?I thought I was just a single mom of two really special kids, and now I’m part of some mystical secret cult, one that my ex was somehow born into? That my butler was a
Closing his eyes, Victor takes a deep breath as he settles back into the chair at the little makeshift desk in the living room – the same makeshift command room that he and Alvin had set up before going away to war on Walsh.God damnit, how long ago had that been, when his son had helped him organiz
“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