Epilogue

My life is a blonde moment.

-Nikolai’s secret thoughts

Nikolai

I looked over at my mate warily.

Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

One second she’d been happy, and when she came out of the bathroom, she was anything but.

“Can you please tell me what’s wrong?” I asked her.

She glared at me, and I sighed, turning my gaze back to the hallway we were walking down.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Blythe asked me.

I nodded.

“I hacked into the news feed of the hospital before we left,” I said. “Checked everything out. The NICU is right off the first floor.”

And low and behold, it fucking was!

We rounded the corner just as the doors opened and a man with light brown skin, and a woman with fiery red hair came out, two car seats clutched in their arms.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” the woman said excitedly. “I just can’t believe it.”

The man nodded, his eyes wide and scared as he walked past us.

“It’s been four months, Amy. I don’t think I’ll know what to do with myself on my lunchbreaks anymore,” he said as he pressed the elevator doors.

I looked over at my mate and smiled.

“It was worth it,” she said softly.

I nodded.

It was.

If I had to do that once a week, it’d be worth it to see the excited smile on the faces of the parents that got to take their kids home when they never thought it’d be possible for them.

“I’m sorry,” a woman in pink scrubs with small feet prints all over them said. “We’re only allowed to have parents in here.”

Blythe raised her hands. “I’m a parent.”

Her eyes zeroed in on Blythe, taking in her hair and clothes, then she smiled.

“I’ll bet you’re the one with the hunk-a-licious man, aren’t you?” she asked.

Blythe nodded, her face blushing slightly.

“Yes,” she said. “Keifer is definitely that.”

The woman nodded and took her hand.

“You can all come,” she said. “Normally, we’d never be able to do this. The NICU is a very special place where the littlest of our people come to get better. Any germs could be fatal to our babies.” She took a breath. “But today, every one of them is going home. On Christmas, at that.”

Blythe slowly started to cry, and I reached for her shoulders, looping my arm around her on one side, and pulling Brooklyn in on the other.

“He looks good like that, doesn’t he?” Blythe whispered.

I looked at my brother.

He was sitting in a rocking chair, shirtless, with both of the babies on his chest.

His eyes were closed, but the instant the words left Blythe’s lips, his eyes snapped open, and locked on Blythe’s.

“Shit,” Brooklyn said. “I always feel like I’m intruding on them when they get like this.”

I laughed and walked forward, pulling Blythe who couldn’t seem to make her feet work.

Blythe’s watery smile took over her face once we were close enough to touch.

“Oh,” she breathed, bringing her hand up, but stopping just short of touching either baby. “Shoot,” she said, pulling her hand back and turning to find the anti-bacterial dispenser on the wall.

Once she was lathered up to her arm pits, she shot both of us a glare, then went back to her babies.

Brooklyn laughed, and I took the chance to pin her to the wall as we both sanitized our hands.

“You’re not telling me something,” I said softly, eyes inches from hers.

She bit her lip.

“I’m…” she whispered. “Late.”

“Late?” I asked. “Late for what?”

She just kept staring, and it was then that the realization suddenly dawned.

“You’re on birth control,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

She nodded.

“I am,” she confirmed.

“Well, stop taking it!” I ordered her.

“I can’t exactly just ‘stop’ taking a shot,” she informed me. “But I don’t have to get it again.”

I nodded firmly, leaning in until my forehead touched hers.

“I’m going to be a shitty father,” I said. “I like quiet and order.”

She snorted.

“You can kiss that goodbye,” she informed me. “You already have two babies about to be in the house with you. Now you’ll have one more.”

“How late is ‘late?’” I asked her.

She shook her head.

“I don’t know. A long time,” she said. “I haven’t had a period since the first week I was with you.”

I pursed my lips.

“Make an appointment with my sister,” I ordered.

“We can do it when we get home,” Skylar said excitedly from beside me.

I turned my glare on my sister.

“Don’t you know the meaning of privacy?” I asked her.

She nodded.

“Sure do,” she said. “But you didn’t ask for privacy. In fact, I only followed you to the germ shit,” she said, pointing to the wall behind me.

I sighed, long and loud.

“You’re pregnant?” Blythe asked from behind us.

I looked over my shoulder to see not just Blythe, but Keifer as well, staring at us with excitement.

“Seriously,” I said. “This hasn’t even been confirmed yet!”

“But you think it’s true, so it is,” the nurse offered her two cents.

I turned my eyes back to my mate.

“Seriously?” I asked her.

She patted me on the arm, then went to Keifer, expertly picking up the baby from his chest and cradling the little life to her heart.

“So, is this the girl or the boy?” Brooklyn asked.

“That’s the girl,” Keifer told her.

“How do you know?” Blythe asked.

“Because she’s wearing a pink hospital bracelet,” he said, indicating the smallest bracelet I’d ever seen. “And the boy is wearing a blue one.”

“Oh,” Blythe said, relieved. “They look exactly the same.”

“Except for this one is two times smaller than yours,” Brooklyn said teasingly.

I nodded.

“Your boy is a porker,” I agreed.

Blythe shot a glare in my direction.

“Where’s Farrow?” Keifer asked, looking around the room.

My brows furrowed.

“He left with you, Keifer,” I told him.

Keifer’s eyebrows bunched up. “No, he didn’t.”

“Yes, he did.”

“Boys,” Brooklyn sighed. “He can’t be far.”

“He’s not at home. I haven’t seen him since he left with Keifer,” Skylar said. “I saw him mount his dragon and leave with you, Keifer.”

“Well then, where the fuck is he?” Keifer growled.

“Language,” Blythe snapped at her husband.