Page 37 of Warrior

It took another hour, which felt like ten.

“The head’s out,” Axel finally shouted, his voice entirely too loud for a baby’s new ears and for my very sensitive ones.

Maylin groaned deeply, her body straining one last time as the rest of the baby slid into Axel’s waiting hands.A few seconds later, a loud, healthy cry brought tears to my eyes.Axel didn’t announce if it was a boy or girl, it wasn’t necessary.Every Shadow Warrior child born in the last two hundred years had been male.

“He’s beautiful,” I said as Axel cleaned the wrinkled body, then wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him on Maylin’s chest.

She looked down at the tiny bundle, love and exhaustion radiating from her tear-streaked face.“You shall be Boot,” she said quietly, her tears falling onto the baby’s blanket.

I realized I was crying too and wiped my eyes.Boot Junior would be a handful and undoubtedly the best brother Che could ever ask for.

About ten minutes later, Axel covered Maylin’s lower half and began tidying up his workspace.Seizing the opportunity, I slipped out of the room and found King and Che standing just outside the door.

“He’s gonna be big like me and strong too!We’ll kill hellhounds together and make their guts bleed—” Che said in the middle of an enthusiastic declaration when they both turned to look at me.

“Your brother might need a little time to grow before he’s your size,” I said with a huge grin I couldn’t hold back.“Would you like to meet him?”

Che bolted past me into the room, his excitement on high.I stayed where I was, looking up at King.

He stepped forward, wrapping me in his strong arms.It was the perfect time to cry for Boot, who would never see his son, and for the overwhelming mix of happiness and sadness swirling inside me.

“He’s beautiful,” I said, my voice breaking.“And she named him Boot.This is so unfair.”

King slid his fingers over my new braids, a soothing gesture that made the tears flow more freely.

Baby,Ms.Beast whispered softly.

I let out a laugh through my tears, causing King to pull back and look down at me, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

“Ms.Beast likes babies,” I explained, still smiling despite the ache in my chest.

His eyes darkened, and I felt a lump form in my throat.I swallowed hard.“I take it Mr.Beast likes babies too?”I asked cautiously.

King’s laugh echoed loudly in the cavernous hallway, rich and unapologetic.“All beasts like babies,” he replied.

That didn’t exactly comfort me.Since the war began, I’d never seriously considered the possibility of bringing a child into this chaotic, dangerous world.The idea had always seemed reckless.

But a baby with King?That would be something good in this completely fucked up world.

Baby,Ms.Beast whispered again, her tone filled with quiet longing.

Chapter Twelve

King

We’d had too many meetings over the past three days, and it was driving me insane.Marinah had been bombarded with entirely too much information, piled on top of the stress of returning to the Federation.She was on edge, and that was never a good thing for a new Warrior.

“That’s it,” I said to the men sitting around the table.Taking Marinah’s hand, I kissed the backs of her fingers.“We’re done.”

“But we need more preparation for when they interrogate her,” Beck argued as Marinah and I turned to leave.

I glanced over my shoulder.“If worse comes to worst, her beast will eat them.Enough!”With that, I led Marinah out of the room.

She laughed, and it made me smile.

“It must be nice to be king,” she teased.

I cocked an eyebrow as I glanced at her smiling face.“Says my queen.”

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