by Shea Balik
But the man shook his head with a gleam in his eye. “She won’t cause anyone trouble ever again.”
Soren wasn’t sure if it was because he’d hit her with his truck, or something Gal did, but he honestly didn’t care. “Let’s get them loaded up. Shale needs the hospital.”
Gal and Jamal stayed behind to deal with the crime scene and the firefighters when they arrived. The rest managed to squeeze into his truck. Cillian and Ronan were in the back working to keep Shale alive, while Alaric and Case were in front with Alaric keeping pressure on Case’s leg wound to staunch the flow of blood.
He was probably going to need a new truck after this, but Soren would buy a thousand trucks, just so long as the love of his life was safe.
***
At the hospital, Cillian watched as they took both Shale and Case into the ER. There was no way he would be able to work on either one of them, especially after the ordeal he’d been through, so he stayed with Soren.
No. He stayed in Soren’s arms, right where he belonged.
Tilting his head back a bit, he kissed Soren and asked him, “Soren Larsen, will you marry me?”
The smile he got in return was the best gift he could have gotten.
Without any fuss, Soren said, “Yes.” Then he kissed Cillian, reminding them both how good it was to be alive.
EPILOGUE
“I can’t believe you did this.” Cillian stood inside the hospital’s main entrance and stared in awe. “How did you even manage it when you were shot just two weeks ago?”
Before Shale could answer, the other Omegas who had been stalked came rushing up and surrounded him.
“Do you like it?” Case asked, walking up a little behind the others as he still had a slight limp. Overall, he’d been fine, but until the wound was completely healed, it would still hurt enough to cause him to walk gingerly.
“Yeah, we stayed up all night to get it done,” Anson told him.
Jamal let out a disgruntled snort. “You mean Shale forced us to stay up, claiming he would start teaching all our kids swear words if we didn’t.”
Doss chuckled. “That wasn’t much of a threat since most of them already know swear words from their parents.”
“Regardless,” Oslo interjected before an argument could break out. “We wanted to do this right for you and Soren.”
Tears sprang to Cillian’s eyes, which he totally blamed on the baby. He’d never been this emotional in the past, so it had to be the hormones. “You all did this for us?”
“Of course,” Shale said as if it was a given fact. “You’re one of us and we all need to stick together.”
Cillian once more looked around, stunned by all the detail Shale had thought of. The man may not have been able to do the decorating himself, but Cillian knew he’d been the one to make it happen.
When Shale had woken up after surgery to repair his bladder as well as a few veins that had been damaged by the bullet, he’d heard that Cillian and Soren were getting married. He insisted on throwing the wedding even though both Cillian and Soren weren’t willing to wait more than two weeks to tie the knot.
Cillian had always wanted to get married at the beach near a lighthouse at sunset. Sure enough, the entire entry was filled with sand. A blue and white striped lighthouse had been erected off to one side and the sounds of the ocean, complete with whale calls, dolphin clicks, and seagulls crying filled the space as the sun set to fill the walls with oranges, yellows, and even some purple where clouds had been painted.
It was stunning.
Pilar almost took this away from him. The chance for love. To belong to Soren.
Cillian hadn’t mourned her death in the least. He was glad she was gone for it meant she could never torment them again. Marley was currently in jail awaiting a trial, but even if he didn’t get charged with murder or attempted murder, he was still going to be locked away for a very long time.
It was weird being stalked by some crazy person bent on retribution for something none of the Omegas she had set her sights on had done. What was even stranger was that he might not have met Soren if it hadn’t been for Pilar threatening him.
He would never be grateful for what happened to him, or in some way thank Pilar for stalking him. That didn’t mean he couldn’t find the good in what had been a terrible situation. Not only was he about to marry Soren, but he gained seven really good friends. Well, fourteen if he counted their husbands, which he did.
“Okay, mister, no crying until the ceremony,” Shale chastised. “Now, let’s go get you dressed.”
An hour later Cillian walked over the sand along a shell lined path to an alter that had been erected out of palm leaves. Shale, who also demanded to perform the ceremony, stood in the center but Cillian hardly noticed, for there, slightly to the side of Shale, was the man he loved.
Soren wore the same type of khaki pants with a Hawaiian shirt. The only difference between them was that Soren wore red, while Cillian wore blue. Unable to take his eyes off Soren, Cillian made his way to the man who had managed to win his heart.
When Cillian was steps away, Soren held out his hand for him to take. Warmth filled him the moment Cillian placed his hand in Soren’s. The connection between them was felt by both.
“Since I can only be on my feet for another few minutes,” Shale started. “Cillian and Soren agreed to make this an abbreviated ceremony.” Shale turned to Soren. “Would you like to say your vows first?”
Soren’s fingers tightened around Cillian’s hands. “Cillian, the moment I met you, I knew we belonged to each other. Many claim that was too soon to know, but I always knew we were meant to grow old together. I promise to love and cherish you every day of our lives. To always rub your feet after a long shift and hold you in my arms as we sleep. You are my forever.”
There was no stopping the tears and Cillian didn’t even try. Nor did he blame it on the baby this time. He loved this man and was touched by his words. At the end, Soren put a ring on Cillian’s finger.
“Cillian,” Shale said.
Staring into those grey eyes that had a way of seeing right into his very soul, Cillian felt all the love they had for each other. “Soren, I love you with all of my being. You have shown me what life is supposed to be even though I fought it for so long.”
Soren chuckled lightly and Cillian’s heart raced as he heard the joyous sound.
“Life should be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. We were meant to share all of that with someone and there is no doubt that person for me is you. You have given me so much love and I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you in return.”
Then Cillian slid a ring onto Soren’s finger.
“By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband,” Shale announced. “You may kiss your groom.”
The moment Soren’s lips touched his, Cillian forgot they were surrounded by friends, staff, and patients of Hart’s. In reality, none of them mattered, just the man who was holding him like he was the most important person in the world.
***
Cillian rubbed his back as he tried to work the ache that had been there all night. Brace promised to move him to the day shift after the baby was born, but he’d needed time to hire someone to take over Cillian’s night shift first.
“You okay?” Alfred asked. Cillian had been training Alfred for the past four months to take his place. “You’ve been wincing and rubbing your back for the past couple of hours.”
“You try standing on your feet for hours on end when you’re nine months pregnant,” Cillian groused.
That had Alfred laughing softly. “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that.”
Damn the man. He was right though. Alfred was an Alpha who would never know what it was like to be as big as a beached whale. He had aches and pains everywhere in his body lately. Back pain wasn’t that uncommon, but he had to admit, this time was a bit more intense than before.
“Are you in labor?” Brace walk
ed in to start his morning shift.
Cillian had been so damn busy he hadn’t even realized what time it was. That meant he’d have to stay later to get all his charting done. Damn. He’d been so looking forward to going home and having Soren massage his back.
Wait.
He stared at Brace, his mouth moving but Cillian found it impossible to speak.
Brace snapped his fingers in front of Cillian’s face. “Earth to Cillian, you in there somewhere?”
That was enough to get Cillian’s voice working again. Well, sort of. “Labor?” he squeaked out.
Shaking his head, Brace went over to where there was an empty wheelchair and rolled it over to Cillian. “Alfred, can you finish up for Cillian?” Brace asked.
Alfred nodded.
“Rosalind,” Brace called over one of Cillian’s favorite nurses. “Can you call Soren and tell him I’m taking Cillian up to obstetrics? I think he’s in labor.”
Cillian was moving his head back and forth not sure how any of this had happened. Okay, so he knew how he got pregnant but how did he miss the signs of labor?
The baby. That had to be it. Ever since he’d gotten pregnant, he forgot more, cried more, and peed more.
***
Soren held Cillian’s hand as they watch the nurse bring over their baby girl. Those stupid baby hormones were making tears run down his face as the nurse laid their little girl in his arms. Not that Cillian cared. If there was any moment in his life when he should cry, this was it.
“I love my sweet baby,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to her tiny forehead. Then he looked up at Soren who was leaning over them both as he gently stroked her cheek.
“She’s so tiny.” There was awe in his voice. “Do you still want to name her Tabitha?”
Cillian shook his head. “No. She’s not Tabitha. I think she looks more like a Vanessa.”
Soren gasped. His eyes met Jamal’s in surprise. “After my mother? Are you sure?”
Cillian had been thinking about it for a while, but he hadn’t wanted to get Soren’s hope up if when their baby was born, he didn’t think it would fit. “Positive.”
Firm lips pressed against his in a kiss filled with so much love, Cillian was sure the whole hospital could feel it. Not that it mattered. The only ones who needed to know were right there in his arms. His family.
Stay tuned from more in the Hart Universe, Hart PD, coming 2021!
Coming Soon
Rune’s Hope
Paranormal Wars: Juarez 2
November 20, 2020
Collared Pup, expanded
Cedar Falls 2
November 27, 2020
Title to be announced
Believe 4
A Holiday MM Romance
December 2020
About the Author
Bestselling author of the Cedar Falls Series, Hart Medical Center Series, Miracle Series, and Paranormal Wars Series, Shea Balik has always had a vivid imagination with stories running around in her head.
Often her stories are taken from observations of other people with her own spin. Traveling is one of her favorite ways of fulfilling her passion of people watching. You never know, one day you may spark her imagination for her next book.
Whether at home or traveling she is usually in front of her computer writing or curled up with a good book. Find Shea at any of the links below or signup for her newsletter to stay up to date!
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