“Well, then, let’s expedite this process,” my doctor said with a chuckle as she unhooked me from the machines. “I’ll have you out of here soon.”
My hands rubbed my stomach where the monitors were. It was no longer as flat as it once was, just barely a bump, but my heart swelled knowing that my baby was so strong.
“We’ll have to postpone those dates a little bit or have them at home,” Ezra said.
“You know our girl is going to be demanding that she get to stay home, too,” Apollo joked.
“We’ll have plenty of stuff to do once she gets home from school,” Corvin said. “You know she was talking about colleges the other day.”
My eyes lit up at the news. “I’m so excited to hear that. I’ll have to start a savings account for her.”
The way Corvin shuffled had me narrowing my eyes. “You already did, didn’t you?” I demanded, not even pretending that I was upset.
“I may have made two of them,” he agreed. “One for her and one for the baby.”
“She’s going to be the best big sister, and you’re the best dads,” I said, blinking as tears started to form. I wiped my face as they spilled over. “I swear these hormones are the worst. I never cry this much.”
“After your day, I’m pretty sure you earned it,” Apollo said.
Ezra nodded in agreement. “I think these next few days are exactly what we need. I can’t promise that all of us will be there all the time, but at least one of us will.”
“That means lots of lazy afternoons in your nest,” Apollo said, wiggling his eyebrows at me and making me laugh.
They easily chased away all the shadows that used to take hold. It was a whole lot easier to face the world when you had an army at your back.
THREE MONTHS LATER
Cameron hadn't shown his face in months, but we were still on high alert. It would be this way until he was caught, but life didn't stop. I’d given him enough power over me for years, I couldn’t do it anymore.
I had a life here. One I loved. Phoenix was thriving at school and summer break was almost upon us. There was too much going on to let him get in the way.
"Hey, little momma, why don't you let me do that?" Corvin asked from behind me.
"I'm just making an egg, but if you want to make it into a burrito, I wouldn't say no," I smiled at him as I stepped aside, relinquishing the spatula.
"Anything for you and the bean," he said, placing his hand on my baby bump. They were obsessed with it now, touching it as much as they did me.
"Are you excited for the anatomy scan?" I questioned as he took over the cooking.
"I am, but I think we need to let Phoenix come with us. I'm not normally one that would like for a kid to miss school, but she's gonna be a big sister," he said as the others joined us.
"Are you trying to guilt me into letting her go?" I questioned him. "Is that why you took over breakfast?"
"I can't do something nice?" Corvin countered, trying to look innocent and failing. He was saved by the others walking in.
My alpha was usually stoic and a little grumpy, Phoenix and our baby both had him wrapped around their fingers already.
“Go get comfortable,” he ordered. Phoenix and I hid a smile and moved to the table to wait for breakfast.
“He’s bossy in the mornings,” she teased as she pulled her legs up and got comfortable.
"Do you want to go with us to the scan today?" I asked her.
"Yes and no," she admitted. "I do, but I don't want to be in the way, either."
"Oh sweet girl, we might be a little crowded in there, but what's one more person? I didn't want you to miss school but I also want you to be involved if you want to be," I reassured her. She studied me, as if sizing up if I was telling the truth.
"I can go to school after the appointment?" she offered, perking up now.
