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“How is she doing?”

“That’s a great question,” I say, practically running through the general store, heart thudding in my chest. Products zip past me in a blur of colors, and the other shoppers stare, move out of my way, all of them surely vaguely aware of what’s going on today. “I have to get back, but I’ll be sure to update you when I know.”

Brock, the general store owner, crosses his hairy arms in front of his chest, and his petite wife, Alecia, smiles at me from her place at his side.

“Here,” she says, pushing a small package over the counter to me. “I put these together for her. You can tell her it will help her to care for the perinea—”

“Thank you,” I say, loading my things into a bag. “I have to go. Add this to my account?”

“Already done,” Brock says, grinning. “Best not keep her waiting.”

I’m running out to my car when a woman appears on the other side, nearly giving me a heart attack.

“Is it time?” Ash practically shouts, bouncing on her heels. “Tell me it’s time! The look on your face is like the sky is falling!”

“It’s time,” I tell her, the certainty of that statement settling in my gut. I hold the bag up before I throw it in the backseat. “Midwives sent me out for this stuff. I have to get back, they need it—”

Ash lets out a sharp laugh as she falls into the passenger seat. She’s pulling her seatbelt on as I drop into the driver’s seat, starting it, yanking on my own belt, and throwing it into reverse all in the same motion.

“What?” I ask, annoyed at her laughter, when I feel a fizzy sense of panic building in my stomach. “What’s so funny?”

“Take your time, Dor,” she laughs, leaning back in the chair. “Those midwives don’t need this stuff—I’m sure they all came prepared. They probably just needed to get your annoying ass out of the house.”

I roll my eyes at her, jamming my foot against the gas pedal as we fly out of town, but realize she’s probably right. They probably didn’t actually need the stuff. That doesn’t stop me from feeling like I need to get back there as soon as possible.

Emin is the first to greet us as we walk into the house. He’s been spending a lot of time with Aidan lately, helping him to train. When he’s not doing that, we’re working together, trying to track down Jerrod Blacklock and Mhairi Argent. So far, both have been evading us, but we know we’ll have to take out the alpha leader of the Grayhides.

It can’t come soon enough for me, as I haven’t forgotten his obsession with my mate.

Kira wasn’t okay with the idea of her father being present, as he’s still facing punishment from the council for harboring the Amanzite, and generally being unaware of his wife’s dealings, but she told me to call Emin as soon as we realized today would be the day.

I’m glad to see that he came right away.

“Hey,” Ash says, eyes skipping from Emin and to the back room, where the midwives are set up with Kira. “How is she doing?”

“Uh, lots of screaming and cursing,” Emin says, leaning on the counter. “Told them I’d be here if they need anything. They haven’t.”

Ash nods. “Well, they are professionals. Boy, I bet she’s ready to be off bed rest.”

Of course, Kira’s pregnancy was a little more complicated than we thought. The midwife instructed her to go on bed rest for around six months, and she’s been trapped in that back room ever since.

“Yeah, thank the gods,” Emin says, rolling his eyes. “I don’t need any more scarves.”

I stifle a laugh—the last thing I’m going to do is poke fun at my mate on the day she’s giving birth. But Emin has a point—getting out of bed will hopefully slow Kira down on the knitting. Between what she was able to sew before the bed rest and all the cute knitted onesies, our child won’t need any clothes for a year.

A scream rips out through the space, and the midwife pokes her head out the door, glancing around the room.

“Dad?” she says, eyes landing on me, and my stomach flips in response to the new title. “You’re needed. It’s time.”

I follow her into the room, my eyes meeting Kira’s when I do. She’s slicked down with sweat, her hair pushed back from her face, and more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her.

Wordlessly, she holds her hand up to me, and I move to her side, taking it. The process is exactly as I’d heard to be, and a thousand times more impactful, the strange scent of Kira and something new, the tiny person her body has created. The midwives moved quickly, communicating under their breaths, the sudden, piercing cry throughout the room.

My son . My body sways, pulling toward him, but I hold tight to Kira’s hand as she grips onto me, crying out again. I look to the midwife between her legs, eyes widening when I hear her say, “One more, Mom. Come on, you got it.”

“One more?” I ask, uselessly, because in the next moment, there’s another set of cries, mirrored screaming filling the room. Kira is laughing and crying, her hand holding mine too tight.

“My babies,” she says, craning her neck, looking for them. “Where are my babies?”

Seconds later, our boys are returned to her, settled on her chest, cleaned and swaddled, and she cries. I take one of them, watching as his tiny eyes squeeze shut, his breathing leveling out.

Impossibly small, warm, tender.

Our child—I look to Kira, eyes skipping over the little bundle she holds. Our children . Our boys.

“ Twins ?”

Kira and I look up to see Emin and Ash standing in the doorway. Ash walks in slowly, her eyes filling with tears as she stares at the son in my hands.

“Can I…?”

Kira nods, and Ash reaches out for him, letting out a sad, happy little hiccup as she nuzzles him to her chest.

“Holy shit,” Emin says, standing beside her, his eyes locked on the baby. He glances at Kira, looks a bit like he might pass out, and says, “Well, that explains the bed rest.”

Kira laughs, then says weakly, “Watch your mouth around my kids, brother. Here, do you want to hold—?”

“Nah,” Emin holds his hands up, like he’s afraid we might try to put a baby in his hands anyway. “I’m all good. Happy to look. Gods, I can’t believe you had both of those inside you.”

“Alright, everyone,” one of the midwives says, holding her hands up. “Mom has to try and nurse these guys, so we’ll need a little privacy.” Then, looking at me, she says, “Have the two of you settled on names?”

I glance at Kira’s whose eyes are wide. We had just one name, weren’t expecting twins. This changes everything. As Emin and Ash file out of the room, I place my hand on Kira’s shoulder, smiling down at my miraculous wife.

“No,” I say, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

*****

THE END