Epilogue
Lilah
“I hate that color.” I wrinkled my nose, and Killian chuckled softly, tossing the navy paint sample away and picking another from the pile.
“What about this one, baby girl?”
I hummed, one of my hands resting on the enormous swell of my belly as I looked around the nursery, which was in fucking shambles.
It was stressing me out. I was pregnant—with twins . The babies could be here any day. They could have already been here, and we would have had nowhere to put them! This should have been done months ago!
Oliver’s scent filled my nose for only a second before he wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled down into my hair, humming softly. “Relax, princess. It’s fine. We’re fine. Remember?”
I took a deep breath and relaxed into his grip. “I know,” I grumbled. “I just—”
“Want everything to be perfect,” he finished, smiling down at me when I peeked over my shoulder at him. “I know.” He looked around and then took my hand, leading me to a pile of pictures we had yet to hang. “How about you let Killian pick the colors, and you and I can figure out where these will go? Where do you want the picture of your mom?”
I swallowed hard, sorrow filling me as he handed me the photo of my mom when she was young, healthy, and vibrant.
The cancer had taken her from me not three weeks after the entire debacle with Hunter Randall, just long enough for the police to declare the case closed. More than forty murders had been solved that day, and I think it was the closure that my mother needed to be able to finally let go.
Another factor was probably the fact that I was happily bonded to my pack and had Eddie and my alphas to fall back on in my grief. My mom knew she didn’t need to worry about me—I was taken care of and loved.
Still, I missed her. She was a throbbing ache in my chest that never quite went away, no matter how much I tried to ignore it. Some days were worse than others, especially when we found out that we were pregnant not even a month after that.
Apparently fucking without protection during heat is basically a guarantee that you’ll get pregnant. Who knew?
And now...now the babies were almost here, my mom wasn’t around, I was hormonal and huge, and nothing was fucking done!
I turned to Ollie and buried my face in his chest, wrapping my arms around him as best I could with my enormous belly in the way. I let out a little sob, and immediately, his arms came around me as he made soft, soothing sounds low in his chest.
“It’s okay, princess. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He reached down and scooped me up into his arms as easily now as he had before I was pregnant. He carried me out of the nursery, walking me down the stairs and settling down into one of the armchairs in the front sitting room without releasing me or letting me slip even a little bit.
“Fucking alpha,” I mumbled, poking at him.
He rumbled a laugh, and one of the babies twisted at the sound of their daddy. They kicked me, making me let out a low sound of discomfort, and Oliver rubbed my belly with one hand, continuing to purr and make soft sounds to keep me calm.
I loved it. I loved him .
“Have you thought any more about what names you like?” I asked, after several minutes of calming silence.
“Nope.” Oliver’s lips curved up in a smile where they were pressed against the top of my head, his breath ruffling my hair. “I think we’ll know when they get here.” He chuckled. “It’s a shame you aren’t having three, so we could all name one.”
I slapped him with one hand, growling. “Don’t fucking wish that one me,” I grouched.
He tossed back his head and laughed, the sound echoing from wall to wall. It was joyous and happy and everything I’d already known Oliver could be...
God, I just loved my alphas so much.
My stomach pulsed again, the babies moving around, and I sighed, trying to sit up so I could be a little bit more comfortable.
Just as I was getting into position, though, one of the babies kicked sharply, and then there was a sudden gush of fluid between my legs, soaking through my leggings and Oliver’s pants, and getting all the fuck over the chair we were sitting in and the floor underneath.
“Fuck!” The word burst from my mouth quickly, and I heard the thundering of Killian’s footsteps overhead.
A second later, he stuttered to a halt in front of us, his eyes wide behind his glasses, his curls askew as he looked at me and Oliver. “What’s wrong?”
Ollie looked at me, and a grin spread across his face. “Lilah’s water just broke.”
Nobody did anything for a moment, and then Killian let out a whoop before he crossed over to me and carefully helped me stand.
“I got you all messy,” I said, my voice a little dazed as Oliver stood up. His grin was so wide that it practically split his face in half, and he laughed again, leaning down to press a kiss against my forehead.
“Not the first time, princess. I’m going to change my pants, get you some new clothes, and we can call Emmett on the way to the hospital.”
He disappeared, and then I looked at Killian, who took my hands between his, pure joy written all over his face.
“It’s happening,” I whispered. “The nursery isn’t ready.”
“It’s happening,” Killian agreed, grinning. “And we’ll be ready for anything that comes our way. Nobody can stop us, baby girl. I love you.”
A slow smile spread across my face as the shock of the moment started to wear off. “I love you, too.” I paused for a moment and then exclaimed, “Fuck! We’re having a baby!”
Killian laughed. “We’re having babies !”
Oliver reappeared, his pants changed and the hospital bag slung over his shoulder, keys in his hand. His blue eyes twinkled as he looked at me, making my stomach flutter, and he said, “Emmett is on his way. Let’s go!”
I grinned and followed my alphas to the car.
We were happy. We were healthy. And we were going to be parents.
Life, for all its challenges, was...perfect.
THE END