Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Skyla
When I woke up this morning, Vincent was gone.
My stomach has been twisted into knots since the moment he left, and I don’t foresee that fading anytime soon.
The guys are extra doting when he’s gone—they know how much his work terrifies me.
If my stomach is in knots, though, Blake looks like hers is filled with nothing but lead.
The kids wanted to play outside, so Wesley and Ronan did a sweep through the property before letting us all go play out back.
I’m sure all of this would seem so odd to others who don’t live the lives we do.
When you’re married to the head of a powerful secret society and nearly all the Elder members in that society… this is just a typical Tuesday.
Blake is walking numbly through the snow after her boys, her eyes vacant as she no doubt thinks and overthinks.
I have a lot to be grateful for—that I have some of my husbands here with me to stay by my side.
Both of Blake’s are gone and she has to pretend to be strong for her boys’ sakes in the meantime.
Quickening my pace, I leave Asher and Liam’s side to come up beside Blake. Before she can stop me, I slip my arm through hers, looping us together as we continue walking. She looks at me in confusion, but when I smile at her, she returns a smaller one before facing forward.
“They’ll be okay,” I say.
She nods. “They always are.”
Her words agree, but there’s still something off about her tone. I watch as her other hand subconsciously touches her stomach, and before I can stop myself, my inner thoughts come blurting out.
“Do they know yet?”
“Know?” she asks.
We stop in our tracks, and I stare at her before my eyes move down to her belly.
For a moment, she looks as if she’s going to deny what I’ve known for a little while now.
It’s not like I really know this woman; maybe it’s just intuition or a lucky guess.
Regardless, the defeat that enters her eyes as she shakes her head is confirmation enough.
“No.”
I nod as we continue walking once more, watching as Liam takes off running for the kids, throwing snowballs at them like the giant child he is.
“Are you thinking about getting an abor—?”
“No,” she snaps quickly. “No.”
I should probably drop it. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about this, yet for some reason, I can’t help but pry. Maybe it’s helping keep my mind off things right now, or maybe I’m just a nosey bitch.
“I struggled,” she says first. “With the twins. The pregnancy was great, the birth was fine… as fine as birth can be.”
I laugh at that and nod as she continues.
“It was after. The days… they got so dark. So cold. I don’t know if it was sleep deprivation, stress or something wrong with me. I wasn’t… right. I don’t want to feel like that again. Ever,” she says, her eyes meeting mine, shimmering with unshed tears.
My heart aches for her as Seraphina and the twins run up to us.
“Mommy! I want to bake cookies!”
I nod and smile at her. “Later, baby.”
“Okay! Tag!” she says, tagging one of the boys before she takes off running.
I turn back to Blake to see all emotion wiped from her face, like she’s put it away into a tiny box, never to see the light of day again.
I pull off one of my snow gloves, do the same for Blake and intertwine our fingers as I speak.
“I personally haven’t suffered post birth like you have, so I won’t offer you glittering words and false promises.
What I can tell you, though, is your husbands seem to be ready to burn the world down for your family.
They clearly love you and the boys more than life itself.
I know they want to do anything to help you through anything.
Whatever you need, it seems that they’d be willing to give you anything without a second of hesitation. ”
Blake blinks at that and nods, choosing not to speak as I continue.
“I know it’s not easy to ask for help in those moments. I know sometimes you probably won’t even know what to ask for, but I can tell they’re the type of men that won’t stop until you’re taken care of the way you need to be.”
“They’ve both wanted more kids for so long now. I’ve been the one standing in the way, and when my period was late… I was terrified. I was scared. Isn’t that disgusting? That for a moment, for more than just one moment, honestly, I was upset about my growing child?” Blake asks.
“You went through the darkness and came out the other side, Blake. That was your experience. No one else’s.
If you don’t think you can do it again, then you need to express that and protect your peace and family.
If you want to try, then let your husbands sit with some of that heaviness.
Lord knows we didn’t marry multiple men for the sex; it’s guaranteed princess treatment for life. ”
Blake laughs at that as she watches the boys play.
“This all seems inconsequential with a group of mercenaries trying to kill my family. Who knows, maybe none of us will live long enough to even worry about it?”
Her dark humor is clearly a deflection tactic, but I can’t help the chuckle that rips through me.
“That’s the spirit.”