Page 93 of Rescued By Four Alphas
"He got you again," Dahlia laughs as Axl jumps back.
"Every fucking time!" Axl shakes his head. "I swear he waits for it."
"Language," Evan warns, and Axl slaps his mouth in remorse.
It gets dark fast, and we barely notice. The estate lights activate on schedule, and they illuminate the grounds where guardspatrol with trained dogs. The security system runs checks every thirty minutes, and the results display on our phones.
When the babies are asleep again, fed, changed, and content, we gather on the oversized chair.
"I want to marry you," Dahlia says.
The statement hangs in the air for a moment. We turn to look at her.
"All of you," she clarifies. "I want to marry all of you."
"I thought..." Evan starts.
"That I'd want to wait?" Dahlia shakes her head. "Life's too short for waiting. Reid taught me that, if nothing else."
"It won't be recognized legally," I point out.
"Since when do we care about legal recognition?" She takes my hand. "We know what we are to each other. That matters more than paperwork."
"We cannot do a traditional ceremony, either," Axl asks.
"I mean, there's nothing traditional about us." Dahlia smiles. "We can do a small ceremony. Take out vows, exchange rings. At least those things."
"When?" Onyx asks.
"I don't know yet. Maybe in a few months. Once I'm healed and better, I'll want to do it. The babies will be strong enough for a short event."
"You want to plan a wedding with four newborns?" Evan asks, sounding both impressed and concerned.
"We have help," she admits. "There's Emily, and all the nannies and help we have in the house. Even your assistant can join us."
"Oliver would love that," Evan says. "He's bored with running my company while I'm on leave."
"So that's a, yes?" Dahlia looks at each of us. "You'll marry me?"
"As if we'd say no," Axl says.
"You asked all of us at once," Onyx points out. "That's very efficient."
"I've learned that from necessity." She gestures to the four cribs. "Four babies demand it."
"Four babies and four husbands," I say. "You do balance a lot of things."
She laughs. "I meant what I said about the wedding. I want to make it official, whatever that means for us."
"We'll make it happen," Evan promises.
"Whatever you want," I agree.
"I want to get married in the garden," Dahlia murmurs, half-asleep. "With flowers everywhere. And music. Lots of music."
Before she can say more, Evan drops to one knee beside the bed. Axl, Onyx, and I exchange glances and immediately follow suit, all four of us kneeling around her.
"Dahlia," Evan begins as he takes her right hand and presses it to his lips, "We know we're already bonded, already committed..."
