Page 34 of Rescued by Four Alphas (Claimed by the Four Alphas #2)

I stand in the doorway of the nursery, watching Dahlia with our daughter. The sight pulls at something deep in my chest. Three weeks ago, I thought I might lose them all. When she opened her eyes, I could barely believe the ancient ritual had worked.

"That's impossible," Evan says from his position by the temperature controls. "Babies don't smile responsively until six weeks. Knox is only fourteen days old."

"Tell that to Knox." Dahlia lifts our son from the bassinet. "He knows his mama."

The nursery glows with soft light from the custom fixtures Evan insisted on installing. The four cribs form a semicircle in the center of the room, and each is equipped with monitoring systems. They are out of the incubators, but they still need to be monitored twenty-four seven.

Axl sits cross-legged on the carpet, and Zane is balanced on his lap. He bounces him gently while humming a melody. Zane stares up at him with his tiny hand wrapped around Axl's finger.

"Jaxon just burped so loud I think he woke himself up," Onyx says from by the windows. He holds our youngest son against his chest, patting his back with a gentleness that contradicts his massive frame.

I move to sit on the arm of Dahlia's chair, and she leans into me, her body solid, warm, and alive. The memory of her on that table in Reid's facility threatens to surface, but I push it down.

"Nova wants her dad," Dahlia says, passing our daughter to me.

Nova weighs almost nothing in my arms. She arrived first and remains the smallest of our four, but Dr. Marianna assures us she's right on track for a baby born eight weeks early. Her eyes fix on mine with an intensity that seems impossible for someone so new to the world.

"Hello, little star," I say to her. The name suits her. It means bright, beautiful, and extraordinary.

Dahlia reaches for Zane, who Axl hands over with exaggerated care.

"I swear he doubled in size overnight," Axl says. "That's your influence, Onyx. I think you're going to turn my son into a giant."

"Our son," Onyx corrects. "And it's good he's strong."

"They're all strong," Evan says, eyes still on the monitors. "Their vitals improve every day."

"And yet you check those screens every five minutes," Dahlia teases. "They won't disappear if you look away, you know."

"I like to know the data," Evan says with no apology. "It helps me sleep."

"Nothing helps me sleep," Axl groans. "I forgot what sleep feels like."

"You slept six hours yesterday," I remind him.

"In fifteen-minute increments."

Dahlia shifts Zane to her shoulder. "Welcome to parenthood. Though I still think we have it easy. Most parents of newborns don't have a staff of twenty-four dads to share the load."

"Most parents don't have quadruplets," Onyx points out.

We've quickly established a routine with surprising speed.

They often sleep throughout the night, but Knox almost always wakes up, hungry and very vocal about it, at five.

The others follow within minutes, as if they communicate on some frequency only they understand.

Dahlia sleeps in the nursery with either one or two of us.

By afternoon, we all get a precious two hours when they all nap at once. The house staff move like ghosts during this time, their footsteps muffled by the plush carpets Evan installed throughout the house.

"We can't know for sure," I tell Dahlia, studying our daughter's features.

"Why are you being modest? I'm sure you'll throw a fit if none of them looks like you."

"Well, yes, I definitely would. I probably should hold it against all of you for the rest of our lives. But they all have each of your DNA in them. I am fighting a losing battle."

We all laugh, and the sound startles Nova, who starts bawling her eyes out. As if on cue, the others join her.

"There go our moments of peace," Evan mumbles.

These moments matter more than I can express. I've never felt complete and fulfilled, but in this room with five of us together, and our children safe and whole, I can say for a fact that I have never been happier.

Dahlia passes Zane to Evan and stretches her arms above her head. Her body recovers more every day, though I notice how she favors her left side when she walks or does anything.

"Dr. Marianna says I can start light exercise next week," she tells us. "I want to work in the garden."

"Not alone," Evan says immediately.

"Of course, I would be alone. Not with these four." She gestures to the babies. "But I need fresh air."

"The terrace garden has the best security coverage," I say before Evan can argue. "And direct access to the house."

Evan nods, accepting the compromise. His protectiveness has increased tenfold after Reid, not that any of us blame him. We all feel the need to keep our family close and to build walls around what matters most. Especially now that we are waiting and preparing for a retaliation.

Nova falls asleep in my arms, her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath. I stand up and gently place her in her crib. She turns and lets a small whine, but she settles again as I lightly tap her back.

"Did the samples arrive for Marianna?" Dahlia asks Evan.

"It'll arrive this morning. She should be able to start the analysis tomorrow."

The "samples" come from Reid's facility - his notes, his compounds, everything we salvaged before Rivera's team destroyed the place. Marianna will work to understand what they did to Dahlia and to create antidotes for the drugs still lingering in her system.

"And what about the others?" she asks. "The ones Reid mentioned?"

"We found two." Onyx's voice drops. "Both are dead. The accelerants caused heart failure."

Dahlia closes her eyes. "And their families?"

"I've compensated them," Evan says. "Not that money helps, but..."

"At least it's something," she agrees. "What about the pregnant women on Reid's list?"

"My team has secured eight so far," I tell her. "We put them in safe houses with medical care. The other four remain missing."

This conversation repeats almost daily. Dahlia needs to know everything and every person. She carries the weight of surviving when others didn't.

"And Hammond?" she asks.

"He's still in custody," Evan says. "But his security classification changed yesterday. He's being transferred to a minimum-security facility next month."

None of us mentions the basement facility where Reid remains. Dahlia knows, of course. She sat with me the night I questioned whether we crossed a line by holding him there. "Some lines deserve to be crossed," she told me. "For the right reasons."

Zane starts to fuss in Evan's arms. Dahlia holds out her hands for him.

"He's hungry again," she says. "They will all be soon."

As if on cue, Knox starts crying again, and I pick him up.

"At least Nova will sleep through anything," Axl says. "She has your ability to tune out everything, Evan."

"A useful trait in this house," Evan agrees.

We settle into feeding them their bottles. Dahlia feeds Zane while Knox takes a bottle from me. Axl and Onyx change Jaxon, a task that requires two people due to his tendency to pee the moment his diaper comes off.

"He got you again," Dahlia laughs as Axl jumps back.

"Every fucking time!" Axl shakes his head. "I swear he waits for it."

"Language," Evan warns, and Axl slaps his mouth in remorse.

It gets dark fast, and we barely notice. The estate lights activate on schedule, and they illuminate the grounds where guards patrol with trained dogs. The security system runs checks every thirty minutes, and the results display on our phones.

When the babies are asleep again, fed, changed, and content, we gather on the oversized chair.

"I want to marry you," Dahlia says.

The statement hangs in the air for a moment. We turn to look at her.

"All of you," she clarifies. "I want to marry all of you."

"I thought..." Evan starts.

"That I'd want to wait?" Dahlia shakes her head. "Life's too short for waiting. Reid taught me that, if nothing else."

"It won't be recognized legally," I point out.

"Since when do we care about legal recognition?" She takes my hand. "We know what we are to each other. That matters more than paperwork."

"We cannot do a traditional ceremony, either," Axl asks.

"I mean, there's nothing traditional about us." Dahlia smiles. "We can do a small ceremony. Take out vows, exchange rings. At least those things."

"When?" Onyx asks.

"I don't know yet. Maybe in a few months. Once I'm healed and better, I'll want to do it. The babies will be strong enough for a short event."

"You want to plan a wedding with four newborns?" Evan asks, sounding both impressed and concerned.

"We have help," she admits. "There's Emily, and all the nannies and help we have in the house. Even your assistant can join us."

"Oliver would love that," Evan says. "He's bored with running my company while I'm on leave."

"So that's a, yes?" Dahlia looks at each of us. "You'll marry me?"

"As if we'd say no," Axl says.

"You asked all of us at once," Onyx points out. "That's very efficient."

"I've learned that from necessity." She gestures to the four cribs. "Four babies demand it."

"Four babies and four husbands," I say. "You do balance a lot of things."

She laughs. "I meant what I said about the wedding. I want to make it official, whatever that means for us."

"We'll make it happen," Evan promises.

"Whatever you want," I agree.

"I want to get married in the garden," Dahlia murmurs, half-asleep. "With flowers everywhere. And music. Lots of music."

Before she can say more, Evan drops to one knee beside the bed. Axl, Onyx, and I exchange glances and immediately follow suit, all four of us kneeling around her.

"Dahlia," Evan begins as he takes her right hand and presses it to his lips, "We know we're already bonded, already committed..."

"But we want to do this right," I continue, taking her left hand.

Dahlia's eyes flutter open, suddenly wide awake as she takes in the sight of all four of us kneeling around her. A giggle escapes her lips. "What are you all doing?"

Axl grins and leans forward to tickle her ribs gently. "Making this official," he says, making her squirm and laugh harder.

"Stop!" she giggles, trying to push his hands away while Onyx chuckles and captures her feet, adding his own gentle tickling assault.

"Not until you answer the question," I say, unable to keep the smile from my voice as her laughter fills the room.

"What question?" she gasps between giggles, her whole body shaking with mirth.

"Will you marry us?" Axl asks.