Page 22 of Whole in His Arms

He then walked into the living room, leaving the seats and bag behind. He sat down on the couch and situated himself so he could cradle them both in his arms. He then started to rock them from side to side. Amelia was still crying, so he jostled her a bit in his arms. He looked down at Matthew and Matthew smiled. “Uncle River has you both.” Goddess, he missed his mate. “Please don’t cry, Amelia.”

Her crying started to slow considerably until she was sighing but no longer crying. He kept them both cradled in his arms and moved back and forth in a rocking motion. “That’s right. You’re both alright,” he cooed. He breathed a sigh of relief at getting over this first hurdle and then relaxed. He was going to do just fine. He was sure of that.

Besides, with these two, he had a feeling he’d be too worn out to worry about Nix.

The sound of crying jarred River out of a deep sleep. He sat up, and that’s when he realized the twins were still in his arms. Matthew was squirming, and River tried to let his mind catch up to where he was. “It’s okay. I’m awake now.”

He yawned, trying to think of the last thing he remembered. The babies had fallen asleep, and he’d been enjoying their weight against him, and it’d had him drifting off to sleep himself. He situated so he was balanced against the couch, tucked into the corner, then picked Amelia up. River pushed himself up to his feet, humming the only lullaby he knew and pacing all the while jiggling to soothe his niece. And of course, Matthew began to cry, so he hurried over to where the carriers were and put Amelia into one of them with her binkie and went to work on getting Matthew calmed down too.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he cooed between the melody of his humming. After several minutes, Matthew quieted down, and River moved him back so that he could look up at him. Matthew was moving his lips in a gnawing motion. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “Silly Uncle River should have known.”

He grabbed Amelia’s carrier and then walked to the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles. He looked at the instructions Ronin must have stuck to the refrigerator door and put the bottle in the warmer, grabbed the water. Damn, doing things one-handed was hard.

For a second, an image of him doing this by himself because his mate never came home flashed in his head, and his heart caught. If River hadn’t been holding his niece, he would have sunk to the ground. But with the kids, he couldn’t lose it. So he focused on getting them fed. He waited for the warmer to go off, then grabbed it out and tested the milk to check how warm it was.I got this.He was pleased with how he was coping thus far.

He then put the bottle to Matthew’s lips and slowly allowed him to acclimate to it. Matthew gnawed on the nipple so hard you would think he hadn’t eaten in a year. River smiled.

“There you go.” he smiled down at the little guy. River pulled the bottle out quickly so he could grab the carrier with Amelia. He said a prayer Matthew didn’t start bawling as he walked over to the living room couch. When he went to sit down, he felt a knot tighten in his stomach.Nix?His heart started to race, and he looked over at the clock on the wall. He hadn’t heard from him all day, but once Ronin and Ollie had gotten there, he hadn’t given it much thought.You mean you forcibly shoved it to the back of your mind, while simultaneously hoping and praying he was okay.

Almost like his nephew knew he was panicking, he didn’t cry, but he mewled, and River looked down at Matthew, who stared back up at him. The baby made sucking movements with his mouth, so he slipped the bottle back in.

“Nix is okay, right?” River asked Matthew. Matthew pulled back from the bottle, and River gave it a quick look. He’d polished off nearly half in barely more than a couple of minutes. He slipped the teat back in. “He’s my love,” River whispered, his throat tight, still speaking to the baby. “He can’t be hurt. What do you think? He’s okay, right? He promised he’ll come home to us.” Matthew smiled and cooed at him, and River’s lips curved. “I’ll take that as a good sign,” River murmured. He lifted him up into his arms and held him so Matthew could burp. He patted him on the back, and he did exactly that. “Good boy,” he cooed.

He pulled Matthew back, and he smiled. Both babies were precious. He laid Matthew back on his back and put the bottle back into his mouth. He continued to slurp away, and River tried not to look over at the clock, despite the gnawing in his chest and stomach.He is going to be okay!He looked down at Matthew, whose eyes were starting to close as the bottle laid between his lips. Matthew snuggled in River’s arms, obviously feeling comfortable and peaceful there. River pulled the bottle out of his mouth and put it down on the table, then cradled him closer to him.

With Matthew drifting off and Amelia already asleep, he closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch when his phone started to ring. River jerked up and reached for his phone. Nix’s number was on the caller ID.Thank you, Goddess!“Hello?” he whispered out his greeting, so he didn’t wake up either baby, the one asleep in his arms or the one asleep in the carrier.

“River? What’s wrong?” Nix asked.

River wanted to laugh. He should have been asking that question. “Nothing is wrong here. What’s wrong over there?”

“You are talking so quietly.” He could imagine that little furrow in his mate’s brow as he worried.

River leaned back on the couch and looked down at Matthew. “Well, that’s because I have a sweet baby in my arms right now, and he’s sound asleep.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Then Nix spoke. “There’s no way you had the baby yet. What’s going on?”

River rolled his eyes and laughed. “Oh, yeah … I’m babysitting Amelia and Matthew. Ro and Ollie wanted to have a night out together … and a night in.” He chuckled and blew out a breath as relief filled him. “They asked me to babysit, and I’m totaling rocking it if I do say so myself. They’re loving their Uncle River.”

He heard a snicker on the other end of the line. “Don’t go thinking you’re going to be their favorite, now. Their Uncle Nix will be back soon to take that crown.”I’ll happily hand it overwas all he could think, especially if it meant his mate was home. “You watching them alone?” Nix asked.

“Oh well, that’s pretty much decided already that I’m the favorite, but I’m willing to share. And yeah, I am. No idea what Ollie and Ro were thinking, but so far, it’s not been too bad. I keep praying to the Goddess that there are no explosive diapers in my future.” River said, laughing. “Anyway … what’s going on over there? It’s quite late, and I must admit I’ve been pretty antsy to hear from you. I hope everything is okay.”

“Everything is great.” Then his mate sighed, “I feel like an ass saying that because those omegas…” Nix sighed again. “All I could think was what if it was you.”

“I’m fine, my love,” River soothed his mate. “Share the good parts.”

“ I found out I have two siblings.” Nix’s voice was a whisper.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Tell me about them!”

“Well, there’s Calliou. He’s probably about eighteen or nineteen years old. And he’s pregnant.” River could hear the pain in Nix’s voice. “The situation over here is terrible. At first glance, it looks like they can come and go as they please. If you miss the collars around their necks. Shock collars.” Nix spat. “I don’t want any omega having to deal with the conditions they’re dealing with. They have guards with guns around twenty-four seven. I know that bastard has some sort of way he punishes them.” Nix’s voice was practically a growl.

“Tell me the good parts, baby.” He needed to distract his mate. His tiger was close to the surface.

“He’s smart, and even with everything I know he’s been through, there’s this light in his eyes,” Nix whispered. “I want to get them out of there. I want to charge in and grab each and every one of them, but I know I can’t.” He knew that hurt his mate, and River pressed the heel of his hand to his heart. His mate cleared his throat and added, “He looks like me, his eyes, his cheekbones …”

“And he’s pregnant?” River asked to distract his mate.