25. Family
Family
Jasper
“C ome inside,” Dakota urged. The evening air was a touch chilly after the heat of the previous few weeks.
He took the cake box and ushered us towards the kitchen, where Chase was waiting to hug us all.
“This,” Dakota pointed to the elf. “Is Teárlach. He’s going to be staying for a little while longer to help move our patients when needed.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I said to the elf. Kade echoed me.
“Nice to see you again, Teárlach. Thank you for all the help that you and your people have given us over the past couple of weeks.” Blake stepped forward and performed a strange elven handshake thing.
I felt Dakota’s surprise over the bond. He’d opened it wide from the moment that he had seen me leave the car.
The sheer relief of being home threatened to buckle my legs.
Clinging to my mate was the only thing that kept me standing.
Not that I wanted to let him go. It would be a long time before I could grasp that this was happening, so Dakota was just going to have to get used to a shadow following him around.
Tuning out of the conversation between the elf and Blake, I asked, can we go see her? over the bond. I was sure that Blake would excuse the rudeness of not only using the bond, but leaving during their conversation, but I ached to see my daughter.
“Excuse us, alpha, I want to take Jasper upstairs.” Dakota said.
“Of course. I’m sorry, Jasper. We’ve kept you apart for too long. I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now. I’m just glad we all made it through.” He turned to the elf. “Teárlach, I’m just going to see Axel. Could we continue our conversation over dinner?”
“Yes, alpha. I’ll keep an eye on the food, Dakota.” He offered, though he looked edgy.
“Blake, Teárlach knows all about what the charts are saying and the treatment plan for Axel since he and Angelica are the worst off currently—“ he must have caught the surge of panic over the bond and how Blake’s silver-blue eyes widened. “Just in this house. It seems that the younger they are, the worse it is. We don’t know why.”
The elf jumped in to save a floundering Dakota.
“Dakota is correct. There is a correlation between age and recovery. The betas that woke two weeks ago all recovered at different rates. Largely, the younger they are, the longer they take. Chase is an example. He’s still feeling the effects.
Lethargy. Loss of muscle tone. Lack of appetite. ”
Chase intervened. “Let’s just go upstairs and see him, okay?
He’ll be fine.” He was slow as he walked to the stairs, looking thinner than he had been.
It was easy to see how the sickness affected him.
The skin under his eyes was dark, lack of sleep leaving its mark.
His normally golden tanned skin was pale from lack of daylight.
There was an air of fragility about him that the usually bouncy effervescent Chase didn’t have before.
Blake escorted Kade up the stairs after Teárlach, who raced to catch up with Chase. The beta tried to brush him off, but accepted the help before he got to the top step, exchanging a smile with the elf.
Our group separated in the upstairs hallway. Blake, Kade, Chase and Teárlach for Axel’s room, and Dakota and me for Angelica’s room.
Angel was sleeping as we eased into the room on silent feet.
Dakota found me a chair and placed it next to the bed so I could sit close comfortably.
My fox relaxed at the healthy scent of our kit.
She was breathing evenly, pale and thinner than before, but recovering.
I’d seen that vision and truly believed it would come true.
My girl was going to be fine. No, not fine.
Thrive. She had a future that was just waiting for us.
We sat in silence for a little while. I could hear the others chatting, but we had no words.
I was just so damn grateful that this ordeal was over and my family were back together.
Intact and growing so very soon. Angel had time to recover before the triplets arrived in nine weeks, though with a multiple birth it was likely to be sooner.
Then our little one just four weeks later.
As much as I wanted my daughter to get her rest, I wanted her to open her eyes, to see me there, to feel me holding her hand. I wanted to hear her dreams.
Her hand tightened around mine.
“Papa?” she whispered.
“I’m here, Angel.”
Her eyes opened, going large when they landed on me. “You’re here!” She wriggled, and I pulled her into my arms. Her hand landed on my belly and I felt the baby kick at her. She giggled. Such a pure, beautiful sound. “Hayden! He’s happy to feel me, Papa!”
“He’s not the only one baby girl. I’m so glad to be home.”
“You aren’t going away again.”
Dakota and I exchanged a look. “I’m not going away ever again. This is home. Forever.”
I stroked her hair back, and she sighed, slipping back into sleep. Holding her felt so right, but between her and the baby, my bladder couldn’t handle it.
“Come on you. Put her back into bed and let’s get some dinner in you. You can come back after you eat.” Dakota stroked my back.
“Is it bad that I want to sleep here with her? At the same time, I need you to hold me.”
“We could move her to our bed. It’s big enough for the three of us.”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“Jas, I want what makes you happy. I don’t think you’ll be able to rest with her here. Not tonight, anyway. We can try it.”
Goddess, I loved this man. How did I deserve someone willing to put the needs of everyone else above his own? “I love you, you know. I’m so glad to be home with you.”
True to his word, Dakota moved Angelica through to our room after dinner. I helped move through all the things they attached her to and Teárlach looked it all over, giving us a nod before exiting the room.
We set up a pillow barrier, so she didn’t fall off the strange bed, but she hardly moved through the night.
I lay by her side. Dakota curled up against my back, spooning himself around me.
All night I watched her breathe, hardly daring to blink.
Unable to comprehend that this was real. She was safe. She would be fine.
My eyes burned in the dark with the effort of keeping them open. I’d spent the last month useless and away from her and I could hardly manage a night watching her sleep. What kind of parent was I?
Jas, you need to sleep. You’ll make yourself sick if you keep stressing like you are. Dakota used the bond. His mental voice sounded exhausted.
But I wasn’t there . Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill over.
No, and neither was she. For a month, Angel was in a dream world. She heard your voice daily. You were here with her, in a way.
It wasn’t enough!
Says who? His mental voice sounded irritated. I suppose even his patience wasn’t unlimited at two AM. You did what was hardest but safest. Would you rather Angel grow up knowing you lost the baby because you were caring for her?
I might not have.
True, but we don’t know what problems it could have caused. We were just lucky that it wasn’t already too late by the time we got you out of the house.
Kade had insisted we wash all of our clothes when we got to his house after fleeing the compound.
We all showered, and I didn’t blame him for the caution.
He had three reasons to be extra careful.
When Blake had visited his brothers, he’d returned to the house in fur.
He left his clothing at the heat house after a decontamination shower.
Try to sleep. She’ll be so happy when she wakes, and she’s sleeping in here . He urged, holding me that little bit tighter to show he wasn’t annoyed with me.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. Behind me, Dakota filled the air with soft snores. His breath in time with Angelica’s. Eventually, I fell asleep, only to be woken a few hours later by my insistent bladder.
I’m downstairs , Dakota said, as I exited the bathroom into our room and found him absent. Grab a shower and I’ll make you breakfast.
How about a shower together?
Be right there.
I giggled, and Angelica’s eyelids fluttered open. “Papa?”
“I’m here, sweetheart.” I moved to her side so she could see me more easily.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“I’m here, little kit. How are you feeling?”
“I’m thirsty.”
Dakota left the room and returned with a cup. Together, we moved Angel until she was in a sitting position and helped her drink. “Better?” he asked.
She nodded. “Your bed is weird. Can I go back to my bed, please?”
“Weird?” I asked. “How is it weird?”
Her laugh was pure sunshine, and it warmed my insides. “It’s too hard. I want my squishy bed.”
“Well, Papa wanted to watch over you now that he’s home, but he and the baby —“
“Hayden,” she interrupted.
“Papa and Hayden need their sleep.”
“I’m okay, Papa. Just tired.” She yawned. All her energy gone.
“Do you want to have a nap?” I was happy to let her rest if we were going to get little snatches of chatter from her. She seemed fine, just utterly exhausted.
“My bed.” Her eyes closed with her final demand.
Dakota chuckled. “You heard the little lady. Let’s move her.” He scooped her up, and I maneuvered around him with the I.V and catheter tubing. Our movements were easier this time with the practice run the night before.
“Still want that shower?” Dakota asked once we had her safely tucked up.
“Absolutely.”
We needed a bigger shower if this was going to be a regular thing, and I really wanted this more.
It wasn’t the easiest to fit us both in there with my rounded stomach.
Our son was wriggling away, buoyed by my good mood.
Bit of a passion killer, but I was soon distracted by how fine my mate looked with water sluicing down his amazing body.
Dakota was huge. Everywhere. Or at least compared to me, he was. I adored the dusting of hair over his chest and sculpted abs. His thick hairy thighs were mouth watering at the best of times, but with water running over him? I was about to combust with how much I wanted him.
“Like what you see?” He smirked as he ran a large hand through his hair, scraping it off his face.
“You know I do.”
“So gorgeous. I could look at you all day.” I scoffed.
“You’re stunning. You know that, right?” He wound an arm around me, bringing us together.
I came to his shoulder, and I rested my head in the hollow there.
“I’m so awed that you’re mine.” He cupped my chin, his dark eyes lit with a preternatural light that gave him away as a shifter, just the same as my amber eyes did for me.
I would never tire of looking at that face and seeing so much warmth and love there.
Our lips met in a tender kiss, and I luxuriated in the feeling of it.
Opening up to let his tongue inside, the kiss went deeper, fast. Dakota pulled me tighter against him.
I couldn’t hide a twinge of discomfort at my stomach being squashed against him.
He eased me away from him and turned me so my back was against him.
“This okay?” He shifted, knees slightly bent, so that his hard cock slid along my crack, down and over my taint, the tip hitting my balls.
He used the water and some soap to ease the way as he pumped his hips in time to the strokes of his hand on my length.
His lips found my neck. Nips and licks sent my arousal spiraling higher.
I moved against him, the feel of his cock over my hole and taint driving me wild. I wanted him inside me, but we were hungry for more than just sex. This was about reconnecting and showing our love for each other, as well as getting off.
It didn’t take long for both of us to reach our peak. The feel of Dakota’s release against my hole running down to my balls had me coming over his hand. I heard him grunt at the effort of pushing back his knot over the ringing in my ears.
Dakota washed us quickly and turned the water off. My legs were wet noodles from how hard I’d orgasmed. Dakota supported me as I wrapped myself in a massive, fluffy towel.
“Do you want to sleep it off while I make breakfast?” Dakota grinned at me.
“Yes, please.” I yawned.
He kissed the tip of my nose as I lay down on the bed.
“Be back soon.”
The heavenly scent of eggs and bacon woke me some time later. Dakota entered the room with a tray laden with food. There was orange juice, green tea, toast and a plate loaded with crispy bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. “If I didn’t already love you, this would have sealed the deal.”
“So all I should have done was to appear at your door and feed you when we first met?”
My smile slipped off my face. “Kota—“
“We need to learn to joke about it, Jas.” He adjusted the tray and sat on the bed next to me. “We ended up here. It’s perfect now. Angel is fine. We’re together. We have a baby on the way. I think I actually appreciate what we have more because of it.”
I took a minute to think about what he said. “You’re right.”
“I’m what?” He grinned.
“You’re right.”
“I thought that’s what you said. I need to store this in my memory because I’m damn sure I won’t hear that often!” His laugh was loud in the quiet room.
“Papa! Daddy! I’m hungry.” Angelica called from her room.
“I’ll go.” I tried to move.
Dakota jumped up. “I’ll go. I made extra eggs just in case.”
“You’re amazing.”
“Right and amazing! Best day ever.”
His laugh followed him out of the room.