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Aunt Nat came out a few moments later. She didn’t say anything. She placed her hands over my sister’s abdomen and shook her head lightly at Dad after a moment. Bells’ cries increased at the confirmation, and I couldn’t help the sob that left me at seeing her so heartbroken. Mom ran out and fell on top of us, sharing her pain.
Eventually, Bells fell asleep, and Dad picked her up and put her in bed. Areli had just arrived with some additional warriors and Zi and curled up with Bells to keep her company.
Dad’s rage was uncontrollable, and he hacked trees with so much force and carelessness that I mind-linked Mom to come calm him down before something happened to him. They shifted and ran into the forest, and I could hear his roar of pain and anger as they ran off his feelings.
So much tragedy had befallen our family in the last few months. How much more would we have to endure? Nickolas was dead now, and I hoped by the time I got back home, we could confirm the casino in Vegas was shut down. With the amount of soldiers we took down tonight from Tezcatlipoca, I hope we set them back long enough to give us some peace.
I didn’t know how many trees I brought down before Evie came to get me at almost eight in the morning. Most of the work inside was done, and we would rest in shifts in case more rogues attacked. I still felt Nickolas’ last words were referring to Bells, but these were rogues that attacked, not his warriors, and I couldn’t be sure. None of the rogues had survived for us to ask.
I let Evie lead me to one of the guest bedrooms after I checked in on Bells and Violet. Both were currently sleeping, and I profusely thanked Christopher for his understanding and care of Violet. He grunted and closed his eyes as I left to let them get some rest.
Evie and I took a hot shower, too tired to do anything other than remove the dirt, blood and stress away from our bodies. We fell to the bed, and all I could do to keep myself from breaking down was to hold my mate in my arms and reassure myself that she was fine.
“Why did you say I was pregnant, Cory?” she asked when she noticed my hands splayed over her tummy. I debated lying to her but chose to tell her the truth instead.
“I can’t tell you. I was sworn to secrecy.”
“By whom?” she asked.
“If I told you, I wouldn’t be keeping it a secret now, would I?” I said, kissing her temple.
“You’re sure, though?” she asked.
“I am, Evie. You’re pregnant with my pups.”
“Pups? Plural?” she asked, her tone calm but I could feel the spike of fear and excitement through the bond.
“That’s right,” I answered, massaging her flat tummy.
“How many?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I didn’t think to ask. “We’ll have you checked out later.”
Evie was quiet for a few minutes as she processed the information. I wondered if she was going to keep asking me about who told me, but I was grateful when she didn’t.
“We shouldn’t tell anyone,” she finally whispered. “After what happened to Bells, Violet and Tori. I think we should keep it to ourselves for a bit. Let things... settle.”
“We’ll wait a little while, but I need to be able to scream it out to the world, Little Pokémon. The love and joy you’ve brought to my life needs to be shared. Now more than ever. After all the loss, we need a few wins.”
Evie cuddled closer to me and I inhaled her warm smell of cinnamon and caramel, falling asleep in minutes. Tenoch was still unconscious in my head, but I could feel he was resting now, and I hoped he was back to his full strength when I woke up.
It was close to noon when we woke up, and Bells was already up and working. I tsked, but she gave me a pleading look to not argue about it that I could never say no to. I brought her in for a hug and was thankful when she didn’t push me away. Bells was a woman that did fine until you showed too much emotion. It eroded on her ability to cope.
“Did Aunt Nat check you?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m fine, Cory. I just need to keep busy, okay?”
“And Coyo?” I asked. I was sure Tenoch would check on her once he was awake, but I wanted to know how she was doing after the loss of her mate and pup.
“She’s sad, but she’s strong. We’ll be okay. I promise,” she assured me, tightening the hug slightly to reassure me.
I kissed her forehead and pulled back so Evie could hug her before we walked over to check on Violet. Both she and Christopher were still asleep, so I closed the door as quietly as possible and took my mate down for food.
Mom had cooked up a storm while we slept. There were platters of baking and pots full of food everywhere. I knew this was her way of coping, and I watched her zipping around the kitchen while Dad sat quietly at the counter and chopped whatever she lay in front of him. When she dumped a few things into the oven and set the timers, I went and pulled her away from the oven.
“I’ll finish this, Mom. Go get some rest,” I said, kissing her forehead.
“But, I—” she tried to argue, but I interrupted her.
