Fair is never a word I would use to describe my life, and at this particular junction, hellish is a more appropriate term. No sooner did Kresley howl in pain than Laken doubled over—Laken who was kindly trying to offer a fellow expectant mother a comfortable seat in the house seems to have contracted the delivery disease. Scratch that. To see my child—my children, for the very first time will be a privilege. And if I might have a thought that I would rather forever leave unspoken—it’s that I wish Laken and I could have had at least a week buffer in either direction in regards to Kresley’s baby. I wanted this moment with Laken to be pure. And Kresley—not the child she’s carrying, is muddying up the waters.

Laken is in our bed in the master bedroom, and Kresley is in the guest room, a room that has never been used for anything but to hold a surplus of Tobie’s ever-expanding closet. Laken has made it a habit to fill her time by shopping online for our baby girl—Cooper’s idea, who conveniently has it all shipped to his place and uses it as an excuse to haunt us daily. And yes, Laken does consider Tobie her own. Once we’re married—after Laken recovers her figure, her thoughts, not mine—she’s already resolved to officially adopt Tobie.

Laken gives my hand a hard squeeze as she grunts her way through another contraction. A horrible scream gets locked in her throat as her head falls back against the pillow.

“Go check on Kresley,” she says breathless. “I’m fine, really.” A weak smile flails unconvincingly on her lips. “For Pete’s sake, Wes, she’s screaming her head off. She’s got to be farther along than I am and she has no one here.”

“She has Ezrina.”

“Wesley.” Laken swats me. “You imprisoned her! Don’t be a beast.” She pulls my hand forward and kisses it. “I promise, you won’t miss the birth of our child.”

“Master Wesley?” Ezrina’s other half, Heathcliff, pokes his head in. “You have guests.”

“Who is it?” I bark without meaning to. The tension of having two pregnant women both in labor, both ready to gift me a child, has my mind spinning like a demonic top.

“Your brother, Master Cooper, Master Logan, and Mistress Skyla.”

“Oh good.” Laken struggles to sit up. “Please send Cooper and Skyla right down. I’ll need all the support the universe wants to give me to get through this.”

My heart drops when she says Coop’s name. I’m paranoid beyond comprehension that she’s falling in love with him again.

“Wes, no.” She shakes her head, squeezing my hand again—this time to reassure me. Laken always knows exactly what I’m thinking. “Coop is just a good friend. And I know that he’s convinced this baby is his. I can’t deny him access to me now. I have no interest in breaking his heart further. Once the baby arrives, we’ll have Ezrina run a DNA test and he’ll know for certain that this is your child.”

My stomach cinches in a knot. We had discussed it as a plan of action in passing, but now that it’s almost upon us, it seems like a piss-poor idea. If that child belongs to Cooper, Laken might see him differently. Hell, she’ll be forced to.

She struggles to hook my gaze. “It’s not happening,” she whispers, tears glittering in her eyes. “I’m never leaving you, Wesley. You’re my first and only true love, and I can never leave you. I don’t care what anyone says. We’ve found our way back to one another, and I’m never leaving you again.”

My eyes widen with an unstoppable amount of hope that everything she says is true. I know she means it, but should she ever rouse from this stupor the government seems to have landed her in, I wonder if she’ll change her mind.

She shakes her head as if she heard me. “Never will I leave you, Wesley. Never will I forsake you.”

Someone clears their throat from behind, and we turn to find Skyla frowning and Coop white as a sheet. Good. He heard. They heard. Skyla can be just as tenacious as Coop is in this endeavor, perhaps more so.

Cooper rushes over and takes her hand from me, booting me off the bed without giving it a second thought as he leans in and lands a kiss to her cheek.

“What can I do? You need water? I’ll massage your feet. I’ll—”

“Dude”—I gift him a hard shove to the shoulder—“do not touch her feet. In fact, I don’t want you touching her at all.”

Kresley screams so loud I’d swear the stones in the walls are choking loose from their mortar.

“My God!” Skyla’s face turns a bright shade of pink. “She’s being tortured alive. From one hostile environment to the next. I feel terrible for her.” She wipes the hair from Laken’s eyes. “I’ll be right back.” She threads her arm through mine.

“I’ll be right back,” I shout to Laken as I follow Skyla to the hall.

Those luminescent eyes of hers land hard over mine. “What do you know about Tenebrous?”

“What?” I pull free from her psychotic grip on me. “Two women are having my babies and you want to talk shop?”

Her affect softens as she looks past me into that room with Laken. “Fine. Never mind.”

Kresley howls in pain once again. This time it ends in a pathetic cry, and it wrenches my soul. I can’t bear it. God knows if Laken loses it like that I will not be able to handle it. I’ll be howling right along with her.

Skyla inches toward Kresley’s room. “I’m going to see if I can convince Ezrina to give her an epidural. Ezrina’s totally against a medicated delivery, but I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the way I did.” She takes off before I can throw in my two cents. Do I want Kresley to have a natural delivery? Wouldn’t that be better for the baby? My mind swims with all the possibilities of what can go wrong with having a birth in the Transfer.

Ezrina comes barreling out of the room with a wet rag, and I catch her by the sleeve before she takes off.

“Should we ignore their requests for medication?”

Ezrina growls at me as if she were rabid, “Not your decision. Kresley has requested street drugs.”

“Absolutely not.”

Ezrina gags, the look on her face clearly insulted. “I will provide what is best. I will make sure my sweet Tobie’s siblings arrive safe and sound in this world. Heathcliff is bringing the surgical tools from the workshop should they be needed. I have this under control.” She leans in with a demented look that only Chloe Bishop’s old face can provide. “Trust me.”

She takes off, and just as I’m about to head in to check on Kres, Gage and Chloe appear striding down the hall.

My God, if the woman isn’t a demon, I don’t know who is. All I have to do is have an errant thought about her and she pops out of the woodwork.

She twitches a smile. “Don’t look so happy to see me.”

“No one is ever happy to see you.”

Chloe cranes her neck into the two rooms as Kres begins in on a crescendo, and Laken pants her way through another contraction.

“Oh my, Wesley. When you cheat on your wife, you cheat on her good.”

“You’re my ex-wife. Keep it straight. Laken and I are thinking of a winter wedding. And yes, knowing my sweet fiancée, you will most definitely score an invite.”

“Please, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. Coop’s never going to let that happen.”

“She’s in my bed, isn’t she?”

Gage twitches his head. “He’s got you there.”

Chloe pulls her lips back, her features dull on a dime. “I guess miracles happen for the wicked as well.”

I pinch my forehead as I try to stave off the burgeoning headache evolving behind my eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Honey, I’m about to get a bucket of popcorn and settle in for the show.” No sooner does she get the words out than Tobie runs from her room and straight for Chloe’s legs.

“Mama!” My precious little girl curls her body around the snake that birthed her. Tobie calls Laken Mommy now. I’m assuming this will be the norm from here on out. “Mommy, gonna hab a babies.”

“Just one,” I correct as I give her hair a tousle.

Chloe picks her up and jostles her on her hip. “That’s why I’m here, October. I’m going to watch you—and together we’re going to watch Mommy squeeze the baby out from her writhing body. Do you like popcorn?” She takes off with an exuberant Tobie as they head for the kitchen presumably.

Gage grunts, “It’s interesting to see Chloe turn on and off her maternal instincts like a faucet.”

“Make no mistake. She doesn’t have a single maternal instinct in her. What you’re seeing is smoke and mirrors, my friend.”

He nods, examining me intensely. “How are you holding up?”

“Like shit.” I rake my fingers hard through my hair as Kresley lights the place on fire with her infernal screaming.

“Logan, Coop, and Skyla went to Tenebrous. They wouldn’t tell me why, but they all looked like death warmed over once they got back. Do you know what’s up?”

“No, I don’t know what’s up,” I snap. “Skyla asked me something about Tenebrous just now. Look, I don’t even remember what that was.” Kresley wails my old name, my new name, and every nickname she’s ever gifted me followed by an entire string of expletives. “If you don’t mind, I’m a little busy here.” I start to take off and backtrack. “And really, dude? You are sleeping with her. If you can’t get it out of her, no one can.” I make a mad dash toward the guest room to find Skyla sitting dutifully by Kresley’s side. Her naked body is sprawled over the bed, deathly pale, frighteningly thin save for the basketball tucked under her flesh just below her belly. Laken’s body is lush and robust, her every curve made that much more delicious by this heavenly time in our lives. It breaks my heart that the child that Kresley is carrying has already been deprived of so much needed attention. I will never forgive myself if something has gone wrong with the baby due to the fact I personally delivered its mother to Raven’s Eye. I should probably never forgive myself regardless.

I dash over, and Kres slaps me forward, gripping my hand. Her nails pierce my flesh before hitting the bone.

“Wes!” She presses her chin to her chest and bears down. “It’s coming!”

“No, no, no!” Skyla does a little panicked hop as she jettisons off the mattress. “You may not push, Kresley. Do not push!”

Kresley tips her head back in exasperation. “I want it out!”

“I know,” I whisper as I do my best to comfort her, warming my hand over hers.

“We’re having a baby, Wes.” She looks to me with a pathetic smile, and it breaks my heart. “We made a perfect being. They let me see the ultrasound. It’s so beautiful. They wanted to take it, Wes. They were so excited to steal our baby.” She sobs out that last word.

Holy hell. Laken—both of my children are in peril. I don’t know how I will ever rectify this.

“Wes!” Kresley wails my name out just as Ezrina runs back into the room with Heathcliff on her heels.

Ezrina lands at the foot of the bed and sticks her hand between Kresley’s legs. “You’re not quite there.” She nods me to the side, and both Skyla and I follow as Heathcliff does his best to land a blanket over Kres. “If we don’t administer the meds in the next few minutes, it will be too late.”

“No way.” Skyla shakes her head emphatically. “Give her the damn meds or I will myself.” She shoots me a death barb with those colorless eyes. “You have no say in this, Wes.”

Kres shrieks so loud it frightens the living shit out of me. I’m sure they can hear her in every realm of existence.

“Fine.” My gut wrenches at the thought of making a mistake, but Ezrina already has Kres sitting with her legs off the side of the bed, inserting a needle into her back, and I feel the life draining from me as my own muscles weaken.

Skyla offers me a brisk slap over the face, and I take a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Wes. It’s my pleasure.” She grips me by the shoulders and pulls me in a moment. “We may not see eye to eye on just about anything, but I know that you’re scared and confused right now. And I want you to know that it’s all going to be okay. Ezrina is the best. And you’re already a great father to Tobie. These babies are lucky to have your support.”

Something in me relaxes as if her words were just the salve I needed to heal my restless heart. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I head for Kresley and watch as she lies back down. The pain on her face steadily defuses until she gives an exasperated laugh.

“I can’t feel it anymore.” She shakes her head with a delirious grin blooming over her face. Her hair is darker again. She might have surgically reconstructed herself to look like Laken, but her mannerisms and facial expressions are still very much her own.

“I’m glad.” I land a soft kiss to her forehead. Once upon a time, I tried to convince myself that I loved Kresley. It was while we were at that haunted boarding school, but even then there was something gnawing at me, preventing me from falling fully, and that something was Laken. “I’m sorry about everything, Kresley.” Tears rain down from me without my permission. My lips twitch uncontrollably as I struggle to hold it together. “I don’t want to get into it right now. I certainly don’t want to upset you further, but I just need you to know that I have deep regret over my actions.”

Her face slicks with tears in an instant as she nods through a pained smile. “I know, Wes. I never doubted you regretted it. I just wish you had it in your heart to love me the way you love her.” She gives a little shrug and breaks my heart in the process. “I love you enough for the both of us.”

Kres cuts me to the bone with those words. That’s exactly how I felt when Laken left me for Coop.

An ear-splitting cry comes from the next room, and I bolt upright.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake”—Kres grunts—“get the little bitch some narcotics, would you?” She pulls the thin blanket Heathcliff gave her to her chin.

“Yes, ma’am.” I head out and meet up with Ezrina at the door. “Hey”—I tick my head deeper into the hall as we head out of earshot—“I need you to give Kres her face back.”

An incredulous huff comes from her. Those crazy eyes of hers get squirrely as if she were about to knife me, and knowing Ezrina, she might. “Can’t.”

“Don’t give me that. You’re the best damn plastic surgeon in the country, and you know it.”

“World,” she corrects, shaking out that shaggy red mane of hers that adds another psychotic layer to her persona. “We’ll see. It won’t be easy. Is she willing?”

“She will be.” I’m afraid she was never a fan of taking on the likeness of the woman she hated, whom she accused of stealing me. And as far as throwing her to the proverbial wolves to save Laken, I’m not sure I can consider that anymore now that she’s the mother of my child. No, I’ll have to protect Kres as fiercely as I do Laken. Chloe is on her own. “Hell, give her whatever she wants. Make her look like the Queen of England if it floats her boat. Just make sure she looks nothing like Laken.”

“Will do.” Ezrina gives a mock curtsy. “Now get in there and calm the next one.”

Laken gives a sharp cry, and I rush into the master bedroom only to find Cooper lying next to her, his arm around her chest as they breathe through the contraction together.

“Out,” I say it crisp and clear.

“Oh, thank God.” Laken reaches for me, and just like that, any insecurities Coop may have given me just went out the window. “Cooper has to stay. He’s got this magical touch that just calms me.”

And back in through the window they come.

Ezrina and Skyla are buzzing about something in the corner, and judging by the wild-eyed look Skyla is throwing this way, it’s nothing good.

“Hang on just a sec.” I head over and peg the two of them with an accusation before ever opening my mouth. “Spit it out.”

Skyla shakes her head violently at Ezrina. “I forbid you.”

“And I am Tobie’s father,” I remind Ezrina in the softest tone I can. It’s true. Anytime I utter those words, Ezrina is as good as on a leash. “What is it?”

Ezrina’s jaw stiffens a moment as she glances to Laken and Coop. “Skyla doesn’t think we should give Laken any artificial relief.”

“No meds?” I look to Skyla who’s busy glowering at me.

“That’s right,” she hisses. “I want nothing but the best for Laken and her baby, and I’d hate to think of what might happen to that precious babe of yours if you poison it with toxins!”

I wince a moment. “You’re lying. You just advocated heavily for Kres to get relief. And I don’t buy for a minute that you’re that vindictive. You would never have suggested it to Kres if you thought it would hurt the baby. Ezrina, what’s really going on?”

“Pain.” Ezrina nods with a marked sadness. “It may dislodge her memories.”

“Shit,” I hiss without meaning to, shooting a quick glance back at Coop petting my very pregnant soon-to-be wife on my bed. “Get the meds in her now,” I bark, my voice shaking as if my sanity were about to derail, and it is.

“What’s this?” Laken calls over to us. “Are you thinking about medicating me? No way, no how.” She pats her stomach carefully and grimaces. “Coop here has studied up on non-transitive pain techniques, and so far they seem to be working.”

“They won’t. It’s just the beginning,” I say, stalking over. Why does it suddenly feel as if the world is ganging up on Laken and me once again? “You’ll take an epidural like Kresley. I won’t have you in that kind of agony.”

“I’ll take?” Her brows hike in a manner that assures me I’ve pissed her off.

“Laken.” I pinch my eyes shut. “Trust me. After a certain point, you’ll beg for the medicine, and we won’t be able to give it to you. That’s exactly what happened to Skyla, isn’t it?” I glare over at the blonde witch who’s busy conspiring against me at every turn.

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “But my boys are the brightest and the best, and they were so clear those first few hours. Not sluggish or drugged at all. I think a natural birth is a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to do it again.” Her lips pull back as if the thought made her sick.

“What?” Gage steps into the room, and Skyla bolts for him, presumably to keep him from spilling the truth. “Skyla.” A laugh rumbles in his chest as he walks over and gifts her a kiss. “Maybe we should get out of here and make a few babies of our own?” He winks, and she swats him.

“Maybe you should all leave.” I pull Laken’s hand up and kiss it just as she begins in on another panting spree. This time, it’s me telling her to look into my eyes and steadying her with my words. Hours drift by, and Laken’s pain hikes up markedly, but she’s stubbornly stoic about it.

“It’s time,” Ezrina calls from the door. “Kresley’s child is upon us.”

I look to Laken with my heart in my throat, my own breathing in a panic. “I’ll be right back.”

“Go.” She gives me a gentle shove. “I have Skyla and Coop.”

Gage knocks his arm against mine. “I’ll go with you.”

I take off and glance back just as Laken turns to Cooper, his hand lovingly on her cheek as he whispers something to her and she nods. No sooner do Gage and I get out the door than I shove him to the wall without meaning to.

“You’ve got to help me. Ezrina said if she doesn’t take the meds her memory might be jarred back into place.”

His eyes expand with the revelation before closing altogether. “Wes”—he shakes his head—“let this play out however Laken wants. If it’s not jarred into place now, that means it’s a time bomb waiting to go off. You said yourself you wanted her to be whole again.”

“I do.”

The sound of grunting emanates from Kresley’s room, and I speed on in to find her legs spread, leaning on her elbows, chin on chest as she pushes with all her might.

“Come,” Ezrina calls from the base of her legs. Heathcliff stands beside her and washes my hands in a basin of hot water.

“Wes!” Kresley cries as she gasps for air.

“I’m here.” I step up next to Ezrina and note the dark triangle of hair at the base of Kresley’s thighs bulging unnaturally.

Kresley lets out a wild cry once again and out pops a dark head of hair. Tears blur my vision, but I blink them away. Ezrina suctions the nose and mouth. That face. Beautiful, beautiful face. Shoulders out.

Ezrina takes my hands and places them on the baby. “Bring your child into the world.”

And just like that, I do. I latch onto the slippery flesh and pull out a seemingly lifeless infant who suddenly bursts into existence with a lusty wail. My eyes sweep over this perfect tiny being.

“It’s a boy!” I shout as I pull him to me and land a kiss to the top of his sticky head.

Ezrina does what’s necessary with the cord. “Place the boy on his mother.” I do as I’m told, and both she and Heathcliff get straight to work washing and drying as my sweet son roars to life like a fierce lion ready to claim what’s his. The tears come fast and hot. I can’t stop. Can’t help it.

“We did it, Wes.” Kresley pulls me down, and I gift her a kiss right over her lips.

“We did. He’s beautiful.”

“He needs a name.” She pets his dark capful of hair as he lies over her bare chest.

Gage offers me a quick embrace, wiping his own tears away. “Good job, man. Lucky for you, he’s got my good looks.”

Kresley gives a little laugh. “I’m lucky, too.” She runs her finger over the rim of his ear. “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

And I know she means it. Deep down, Kresley has an insatiable love for me—obsessive even. I know that will carry over to her love for our child for all time.

Chloe pops into the room. “Knock, knock.” She’s still holding Tobie hostage, and I can’t help but frown. Chloe uses Tobie as a device, and I have a feeling that will carry over for all time as well. “Rumor has it, there’s another monster on the loose.”

She heads over, and I take Tobie from her. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Chloe cheered as Tobie used her new baby brother’s head like a soccer ball.

“That’s yours, Tobie.” I kiss her forehead as she struggles to reach him. “That’s your new baby brother.”

“Brother!” she squeals and claps her hands, and everyone in the room lights up with laughter. “I’m going to eat him up!” She rubs her tummy, and I can’t help but frown at Chloe. I’m sure she’s been coaching my poor child on exactly what to say.

Chloe smirks to Kres. “Don’t forget to put that in the baby book. They’ll be close, I can tell. A girl just adores her brother. I do love mine.”

I happen to know that’s true. And just the same, Brody seems to adore Chloe no matter what mischief she gets herself into. I guess, in that respect, blood really is thicker than water.

“So what’s his name?” Chloe asks just as Skyla enters the room and fawns over the precious bundle of joy. “Oh, that’s right. You let Messenger name your children. Isn’t that right?”

Skyla glowers at her nemesis. “Only because you wouldn’t take the responsibility. I’m sure Kresley has had a name picked out for months.”

Kres shakes her head. “I was afraid they were going to take him away. I was trying hard not to get attached.” She pulls him closer and lands a protective hand over his back as he burrows over her chest.

“You’ll come up with something.” Gage gives my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Take your time. Get to know him.”

“Can I hold him?” Skyla asks, her eyes wet with tears.

Ezrina bundles him in a soft white blanket and hands him to Skyla.

“Oh my, you are light as a feather.” Her lips press together as if fighting off a deluge of emotion. “Enjoy this precious stage. It goes by way too fast,” she says, rocking him in her arms, mesmerized by his tiny precious face. Those almond-shaped eyes blink up at her a murky shade of blue. His perfect lips, those divots in his cheeks are already digging in deep. “He looks exactly like our boys.” She laughs as she looks to Gage. “He could be another brother.”

Something about that warms me. I love Nathan and Barron. And I love that my own son has two built-in brothers of sorts, and an older sister who can’t wait to get her hands on him. I never had any siblings, and I always felt I was missing out. I was close to Laken’s brother, Fletcher. He was my brother for a time, but now we’re virtual strangers to one another again.

“My baby,” Tobie says, miffed, and we all share a laugh.

“What do you think, Skyla?” I ask as Tobie and I get close to her and the baby. “What does he look like to you?”

“Maybe something with an E to go with Edinger?” She pulls him in close and smells his hair, her eyes closing as if it were a divine experience. “Elias or Ezra?”

“Elias? We can call him Eli?” Kres looks up at me. “I love it. It’s beautiful like him.”

“Elias,” I try it out on my lips and my heart explodes as if I’ve just said my son’s name for the very first time, and I think I have. “Eli it is then.”

Kres nods. “Elias Wesley Edinger.”

I set Tobie down and pick up my son, bowing down so that my precious little girl can look to him in wonder right along with me.

“I love him, and I love you, Tobie. I love you both.”

“Mommy’s gonna have another baby, too,” Tobie wails as if she’s about to cry. “I’m gonna have this one. Eli’s—baby Eli’s going to be in my room.” She points hard to herself, jabbing her thumb into her chest, and we all share a laugh.

“I’m sure the baby will be in Kresley’s room at first, but I know she’ll share with you.”

“No, no! Mine!” she belts it out, hostile and angry, and as much as I want to laugh, I don’t. I can’t reward behavior like that.

“Give your brother a hug, Tobie. I need to be with Mommy now.”

Tobie gives little Eli a careful embrace before I return my son to his mother.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” I kiss the top of her head. “Ezrina.” I lead her to the hall and look sternly at her, trying my best to communicate the severity of what I’m about to say. “Laken wants a DNA test once the baby is born.” I offer a solemn nod, letting the silence eat away any comfort that might lie between us. “No matter what it says, that child is mine. Are we clear?”

Tobie runs out of the room and bolts right for us. I don’t hesitate in picking her up and making Ezrina look into her own biological child’s eyes.

“I see.” Ezrina lifts her chin in defiance before looking to Tobie, and her affect weakens to something just shy of sobering honesty. “Let thy will be done. Let all curses fall upon you, Wesley Edinger, if need be.” She leaves, and I stand there a moment until Chloe, Skyla, and Gage emerge.

Chloe takes Tobie from me and sets her on the floor. “Let’s get some dinner, kid. All that blood and gore got my appetite going.” I watch as they take off down the hall.

Skyla ticks her head toward Laken’s room. “I’d better head in. Congratulations, Wes.” She offers a quick hug. “August twenty-fourth is turning out to be a really big day for you. Let’s see if Laken makes the deadline.” She gives a cheeky wink before disappearing.

Gage starts to follow her in, and I pull him back. “Laken wants a DNA test.” I shrug as if it were no big deal. “I just told Ezrina to run it. I’m not afraid. That baby is mine, and I know it.”

“Good. No fear, man. That’s how you gotta live. At some point, you have to realize not everything is in your hands. You just got to have faith it will all work out in the end the way it was meant to. It’s fate.”

And that right there is the difference between my brother and me. He believes in fate. I believe in making my own version of it.

“What about the war?” I ask, breaking my own code of conduct for a moment. I’ll talk shop on my own terms.

Gage glances to the room with Skyla in it. “I overheard Dudley and Lizbeth talking about some Halloween party at his place.”

I stare at him a long while. That’s a few weeks before the prospective wedding he’s to have with Skyla. We both know Demetri suggested they bond in union before he fires off the first shot. I guess this is where Gage goes off the script. In truth, I didn’t think he could do it to Skyla. Enter into a binding covenant and then stabbing her in the back. No, Skyla believes she’s about to get seven years of peace. I actually feel sorry for the both of them.

“Gage”—his name hisses from me with despair—“think about this.” I know that Gage loves Skyla as much as I love Laken. “There’s no going back, man. She’s going to hate you.”

His gaze bolts to the wall as if I struck him. “That’s not my chief concern, and you know it.”

I do know it. His chief concern is spending eternity with the woman he loves. My chief concern is the same.

“She’ll forgive you. Her love for you is strong.” It’s true. Skyla could forgive Gage of just about anything. “If you tell her about—”

Gage slams his hand to my chest. “I’m not telling her a damn thing,” he grits it through his teeth. “And if you do, I swear on all that is holy I will destroy you right along with her people. She can never know, Wes.” Tears swell up in his eyes. The pain, the ripe anger on his face is palpable. “I need her to fight.” His voice breaks. “Skyla is a warrior. I couldn’t live with myself for eternity knowing I led her to lay down her arms. And that’s exactly what she would do for me. She loves me just as fiercely as I love her.”

Gage and I stare one another down for a few good minutes. Skyla is his war. Celestra is mine. They’ll have to settle this among themselves. I’m sure they will. Or, at least for my brother’s sake, I hope so.

“Halloween,” I say, removing his hand from me. “That’s Tobie’s birthday. It’s perfect. What better gift to give my daughter than a war and a win to follow.”

His dimples depress with a wry smile. “The win will come. I can guarantee it.” He thinks on it a moment. “I want boots on the ground. Picking them off slowly isn’t scaring anyone.”

“A massacre.” I examine this new and improved version of my brother, and for a moment I wonder if I’m the one being played. He’s either fooling me or Skyla. I don’t like the math. “I like how you think. We’ll need a cover.”

“Logan gifted us one tonight when he rescued Kres. The Spectators have been bastardized. They’re trouble, but we need them now more than ever. You and I will do the transports.”

“I don’t have the power.” I hated every syllable that just left my mouth. “I won’t until Christmas.”

He closes his eyes a moment. “I’ll pull together a few of the Levatio converts.”

A dry laugh bumps from me. “Trust me, by Halloween night, the Steel Barricade will be brimming with them. There’s not a soul in their right mind that will stay away.” I clasp my hand over his and shake it. “We win, brother.”

His features darken. Gage may not want to win, but he must. There is a very fine line there. “We win.”

Laken labors through unimaginable agony. The cords in her neck distend to ropes as she tries to power through the heaviest of contractions, all the while stubbornly refusing any medical aid.

Hours bleed by, and it’s apparent the pain has only magnified. In the middle of a tense contraction, Laken’s death grip on my hand loosens a moment, her face bleeds out all color, and her body sits motionless as she gazes vacantly ahead. And just like that, before I could ask a single question, a roar evicts from her lungs so powerful she shakes the roof on this dusty castle.

“Ezrina!” I riot. “Give her something, right now.”

“No!” Skyla shrieks, landing by Laken’s side. “Look at me, girl. You can do this. You’re almost there. You’ve already done the hard part.”

“No way.” Laken shakes her head defiantly, and a flood of relief surges through me. “I can’t take another one like that. Ezrina, please, help before it hits again.”

Coop and Skyla exchange tense glances. Fuck them both. They only think they have Laken’s best interests in mind.

Ezrina pulls on a fresh pair of gloves as Heathcliff arranges a blanket to act as a tent around Laken’s legs protecting her modesty, which I appreciate and I know she does, too.

Ezrina digs around, her eyes set to a corner in the ceiling. “I apologize.” She looks to Laken, slipping off her gloves and tossing them into the receptacle next to her. “The child is coming. You’ll be required to push in just a few minutes.”

“No!” Laken explodes in an agonizing wail. “I don’t care about pushing. I need something, anything to take the edge off!” she pleads, sobbing through every other word.

Ezrina doesn’t say a thing—simply helps Heathcliff in preparing for an imminent birth.

“Wesley.” Laken’s head lashes from side to side as if delirium were kicking in. Another contraction grips her, and her howls singe the hair off my brows. Everyone in the room freezes, paralyzed with fear due to the misery she’s embroiled in. If I could trade places with her, I’d do so in a heartbeat. But the baby doesn’t come in the next few minutes like Ezrina had promised. Instead, Laken is left to wallow in horrifying physical distress for the better part of an hour.

“Ezrina!” I bark as Laken’s latest contraction subsides momentarily. I head over and yank the witch aside by force. “You’ve purposely denied her medication. You did this. You lied, and I know why.”

She yanks her arm free and growls at me, “I cannot control the human body. Just the way you apparently cannot control your temper.” She storms off just as Laken extends her hand for me. She still wants me. She’s been through hell, and nothing has changed. I force myself to find comfort in that.

Ezrina checks her again and offers the hint of a smile my way. “It’s time.” She looks to Laken. “You’ll push with the next one.”

My heart soars right through my chest. My adrenaline surges to unsafe levels as I take up her hand, Coop takes up her other, but I don’t say a word. He’s been here the entire time, and if he brings her an ounce of comfort, it was worth it.

Laken pushes for an hour. Nothing easy. Nothing at all like Kresley.

“Crowning,” Ezrina announces, and I take my position. The shoulders bulge out, and this time I know exactly what to do. I pull out the precious being and cast my eyes over this little one who holds a very special place in my heart.

“It’s a girl!” I shout, and the room erupts with cheers. “My girl.” I pull her in and kiss her before laying her over Laken’s chest. We cry tears of joy as Ezrina works to clean her up, and even though it’s a repeat for me today, it feels new in every single way. Just as if it were the first time.

She’s beautiful, just like her mother. A touch of blonde peach fuzz covers her pink head. Her cry is quieter than Eli’s, the soft bleating of a lamb, her eyes a light shade of what seems to be murky green. But those bowtie ruby lips, they slay me. I’m all hers. She already has me wrapped securely around her little finger, just like her sister. She’s so small and fragile, so much more feminine even at this early stage in the game than the little boy in the next room.

Ezrina takes a swab of the inside of her cheek. “Paternity to be determined.” She nods to me as she exits the room.

I have no fear over what the results will be because I know them. I know that Laken and I are meant to be together, and I know that this is the child we were destined to have.

Laken looks to Cooper. “Isn’t she precious? I guess you were right. I was too sweet to have boys.” She gives a little chuckle and winks at Skyla.

Coop looks to Skyla a moment. “Laken”—he touches her cheek softly—“do you remember where we were when we said that?”

“Sure,” she says, nestling our beautiful daughter over her flesh. “We were at that ridiculously small apartment at Host. The one Skyla and Gage crashed that one time.” She wrinkles her nose at Skyla before her mouth falls open. “Oh my God. I remember.” A laugh bubbles in her chest. “Cooper.” She looks to him with her head tilted in adoration. “Oh my goodness. I remember you—my friend, my husband.” She shakes her head as if relishing the thought and then, just like that, her features darken. “Oh my God…I’m so sorry about all the pain I’ve caused you.”

My heart stops. The world around me crashes to a grinding halt, and it feels as if all of the joy, the blessings that this day has brought forth have been yanked from underneath me.

Shit. Here it is. The moment of reckoning.

Laken gasps as she looks to me, horror filling her eyes.

You could shoot me with a nail gun to the eye, set my balls on fire, and I wouldn’t feel a thing.

“Wes”—she whispers, cradling the baby closer to her neck as if pulling it as far away from me as possible—“I remember. I remember getting into the car. They told me you sent it.” She shakes her head. “I remember the terror I felt when they said I was headed to Raven’s Eye.” A horrible groan comes from her. “You rescued me. You put Kresley in my place.” You can feel the regret, the disappointment emanating from her like vibrations before a very powerful quake. Laken reaches her hand my way, and I’m stunned to see it. I take it and offer up a kiss to the back.

“I’m sorry, Laken.” My voice shakes. “I’m sorry for everything. All I have ever wanted to do was love you. I promise you that.”

“I know.” She looks to Cooper and winces. “I still love you, Coop.” She shakes her head. “But these last few months—I can’t deny them. I remember you, and I remember us—but…” Laken glances to Skyla. “I don’t know quite how to say this without hurting anyone—but I don’t quite feel anything. It’s as if I were watching a movie about somebody else’s life and I’m recalling scene after scene.” She shrugs over at Cooper. “I’m sorry. My feelings—they’re the same as they were yesterday.”

And just like that, I can breathe again. Laken loved me yesterday. She loves me today. And she will love me forever—with or without any memory she shared with Cooper Flanders.

“My feelings aren’t hurt,” Coop assures her, his chest panting like a baboon in heat. It’s clear his hopes have skyrocketed, and I’d love nothing more than to deflate him like a balloon, send him hurtling back to planet Earth. “This will probably take time.” My God, I hope he’s wrong. “Your memory is being restored. That’s all that matters. And you have a sweet new baby.”

“Yes, we do.” Laken smiles adoringly at the tiny angel lying quiet in her arms. My stomach soured when she said we. Sorry, Coop. There will be no we as far as Laken goes, not for you anyway.

“What’s her name?” Skyla brushes her finger over the baby’s precious scalp.

“I don’t know. I had a few names in mind if it was a girl. Wes and I have been jockeying names back and forth for months now but never really settled on anything. Our top three were Matilda, Cider—for Cider Plains, or Riley, but I don’t think any of those quite fit.”

“How about Charlotte?” Cooper touches his finger to the baby’s hand, and she wraps her tiny fingers around him so hard they press white.

Skyla and Laken break out in coos. It might be a soul-melting sight for them, but my blood is boiling, and it takes everything in me not to shove Flanders out of the room.

“Charlotte?” Laken softens as she lifts her gaze to me. She loves it, I can tell. “We can call her Charlie. How adorable is that?”

Skyla clears her throat. “It sort of goes with Tobie. You know, both of their nicknames are tomboyish. It’s really cute that way.”

“Charlie.” My heart feels full just looking at Laken with our sweet daughter lying over her chest. I want to die happy just like this, so full of love—another ounce might push my soul right out of my body. “It’s perfect.”

“Then Charlie it is.” Laken blesses the newborn with a kiss. “Charlotte Grace Edinger.”

Coop glowers at me a moment just as the baby dislodges from him and begins to stir.

I lean in and kiss both Laken and the baby. “I love you, Charlie Grace.”

Laken pulls me in and kisses me on the lips in full view of everyone in the room. “I love you, Wes.” She blinks a sad smile, and I steal all the hope it’s willing to give me.

“Ezrina’s here.” Gage taps me on the back, and I rise to greet her.

Ezrina steps in close, her crimson hair wild and frayed as if she ran all the way from the lab. Her dark, spiteful eyes bear holes into my skull as if she were trying to set me on fire by sheer will.

“Congratulations, Wesley. You have another daughter.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Coop hang his head in defeat and it knifes me, but there’s too much brand new joy in my world to deal with him now.

Skyla lets out an incredulous breath as she looks to Cooper. “Get another paternity test. She’s a liar. She can’t be trusted.”

Laken gasps. “Skyla!”

I nod to Gage to get Skyla the hell out, and he folds his arms over her body.

“If you’re not telling the truth, I want you out of Whitehorse, Ezrina.” Skyla’s voice is tight with the threat. “I saved Tobie, and this is how you repay us? I hope you’re happy.”

Gage manages to settle Skyla down, and they offer their congratulations before filing out of the room. One by one everyone leaves, with Coop being the last, his stoic yet tearful goodbye the most gut-wrenching to witness.

Ezrina brings me Eli and hands him to me as I sit down next to Laken. “His mother needs to sleep. Perhaps you can mind the little man for a while? I’ll be back in the morning. Call if I’m needed.” She touches her hand over Laken’s forehead as if reading for a fever. “You did well. Enjoy the fruit of your labor, child.”

And with that, she turns to leave. “Thank you, Ezrina,” I say as she hits the door, and she turns with a look I can’t quite read, don’t know if I want to.

“You’re welcome, Wesley.”

Laken and I fawn over our new family, our new children, our new life. Not once does she lament her past with Cooper. It all seems so normal, so very right.

Laken and I have finally come out the other side of this nightmare, together, as one, just the way it was meant to be all along.

At least I hope so.