Page 29 of Owned By Shadows

“Me too,” I whisper, my eyes burning again as he places a reverent kiss on the top of my head. Roman is on my other side, his hands cupping my cheeks as he presses our foreheads together.

“Love you, so fucking much,” he murmurs, and my chest heats with the emotion that I feel for him, for all of them.

“Love you too, Ro,” I reply, closing my eyes and just breathing him, all of them in for a moment.

“Fuck, babies are stressful,” Bubby says on a long exhale as he waits at the foot of my bed, and it eases some of the lingering tension as we all chuckle. He’s not wrong though, and this little one isn’t even here yet.

Andrei walks towards us, stopping next to Rowan, and Ro lets go of my face so I can give him my attention.

“Thank you, Andrei,” I say, my voice scratchy with everything that I’ve felt in the past hour or so, but gratitude is up there, for this man who is a friend of Nik’s yet took such good care of me. The skin around his eyes crinkles as he gives me a smile.

“Of course, Iris. I got them to print out the scan for you,” Andrei says, reaching over and handing me the square piece of paper. “Also, I wasn’t sure, but do you want to know the sex of the baby?”

I pause, looking up from the grainy image of my child as I think about his question. I don’t really care, it doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s a healthy baby, but I am curious now, whereas before I wanted a surprise.

“Yes, I’d like to know.” I nibble my lip, waiting for him to tell me.

“You’re having a boy, Iris. Congratulations,” Andrei informs me, his smile wide.

“A boy,” I repeat, turning to look at Rowan, then Roman, and finally settling on Hunt who is at the foot of the bed. His arm is slug over Bubby’s shoulders, holding him close, and I can see the reassurance it gives the teenager. “We’re having a baby boy, Daddy.”

“Yes we are, baby,” he replies, a wide grin splitting his face. “And he’ll be loved so fucking hard.”

Before anyone can say anything else, the door flies open, my heart jumping as a dark-clad figure storms into the room.

“Dorogaia,” Nik’s voice rasps as his stormy eyes connect with mine. The skin of his face is tight, his jaw fixed as he rushes to the bed, practically pushing Andrei and Rowan out of the way. “What happened? Are you okay?”

The whites of his eyes are showing as he takes my face in his hands, studying me for any sign of injury.

“I’m okay, just a little scared. Our boy likes to keep us on our toes,” I tell him, my hand reaching out to stroke his face.

“Boy,Dorogaia?” He blinks, his eyes less panicked, his body still.

“Yes, we’re having a boy. Look.” I lift the scan, and his hands remain on my face even as his eyes dart to the picture of our baby.

“I get a brother and son, all in one day,” he whispers, his lips lifting into a smile, and my chest fills with warmth again, at the sheer wonder on his face. “You are such a clever girl,Moye Solntse.”

I know that this is a little...unconventional. The fact that I’m in love with the son of my baby’s biological father, plus threeothers. But this is our family, our chosen family, and biology has nothing to do with it.

“We will teach him how to love, how beautiful he is, how wanted he has always been,” Nik declares, leaning in and placing a kiss on my forehead. “He will never feel the cold, never know what pain is, never doubt his parents adore him.”

Tears sting my eyes, knowing that what Nik is saying is something that not only he has felt and experienced, but all of us have at some point. All of our parents have let us down, have wounded us in ways that no child should ever be hurt.

But we will break that chain. We will not let it continue with our child. The pain stops here.

“He’ll be loved for who he is, and he will never be left alone and afraid,” Roman adds on my other side, Hunt coming up next to him.

“He won’t be afraid to show his feelings, because we will always be there to catch him, to hold his hand, and show him that he is okay,” Hunt says softly, one hand taking hold of Roman’s, the other coming to rest on my leg and squeezing.

“He won’t have to defend himself, because we will be there to protect him, and I will personally rip apart anyone who ever dares to even think about hurting my boy,” Rowan vows in only the way Rowan can, as he stands beside Nik, his hand on my other leg.

“He’ll never know what it’s like to be hungry, or feel the fist of his father in anger,” Bubby says, his voice soft, a world of pain in his eyes that shouldn’t be there. Rowan pulls him against his side, laying a light kiss on the boy’s temple, and Bubby’s eyes widen, but he rests his head on Rowan’s shoulder, accepting the comfort that my dark Shadow is offering.

We listen to the heartbeat of our child, our baby boy, all connected and with the promises that we made, and I know thatthis is what I want for the rest of my life. My men beside me, our family growing and so full of love it shines like stardust.

And woe betide anyone who tries to threaten that.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

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