by Charlie Hart
The Wife Pact
Six Men of Alaska
Charlie Hart
Chantel Seabrook
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Continue the Journey
About the Author
Also by Chantel Seabrook
About the Author
Also by Charlie Hart
Blurb
The Wife Pact
Emerson
Six Men of Alaska
By Charlie Hart and Chantel Seabrook
When an ultrasound reveals the truth about Tia’s pregnancy, the compound is riddled with fear. They know that it means one thing -- death. Unless Banks can find a cure.
Stress weaves its way into Tia’s heart and a break from the harsh reality is just what the doctor ordered. But a trip to Emerson’s family home reveals yet another hidden secret and Tia is confronted with a shocking reality. The man she thought she knew so well has been keeping the truth of who he is from everyone.
Emerson has his own demons. Can he finally prove himself to the woman he loves? And will she learn to trust him before it’s too late?
The Wife Pact is book five in a six-book dystopian romance series, which must be read in order. The passion is high but the stakes are even higher. Tia and her rugged husbands are in the wilds of Alaska fighting for their lives - and for their love.
Chapter 1
Tia
My husbands clap and cheer as our unborn baby’s heartbeat sounds throughout the room. Despite the gravity of the situation, the danger of me carrying a child, smiles surround me, because my pregnancy means one thing -- freedom.
Fallon leans over and kisses my cheek. Emerson grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly. Salinger and Huxley beam down at me, and my sweet Giles looks like he might just cry.
But then I catch Banks’ expression, his brows are drawn together, a frown tugging at his lips as he studies the patchy screen of the ultrasound machine. My chest constricts with the same apprehension I see in his dark eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask softly.
He gives a small shake of his head, not looking at me, but his normally olive complexion has gone pale, and beads of sweat begin to dot his brow.
Fear grips me because I know my husband, and I can tell by his expression that something is seriously troubling him.
“Banks,” I say, this time louder, forcing him to look at me. “What do you see?”
His nostrils flare and emotion pulls at his handsome features. He glances around the room, meeting each of the men’s gazes before looking back at me. There is so much in his dark eyes, but the overriding emotion is pure dread.
The room is silent now, and I know I’m not the only one who feels Banks’ tension, it’s wrapped around us like a suffocating blanket.
“Is something wrong with the baby?” My words come out shakily.
Banks takes a deep breath, before finally saying, “There’s more than one.”
“One what?” Salinger asks, dark blond hair flopping over his forehead.
“Baby,” I whisper, understanding the fear I see in Banks eyes. “I’m having twins?”
Oh, God.
It’s a death sentence, especially if either of the babies is a girl.
“Twins?” Fallon barks out, dragging a hand through his short cropped hair, blue eyes filling with the same anxiety that’s starting to strangle me.
“No.” Banks coughs, clearly shaking as he puts the machine to the side and stands, starting to pace. “Not twins.”
“Banks you’re scaring me. If it’s not twins then...” I didn’t think it was possible to be more afraid than I already am, but...“There’s more than two?” The words choke out of me.
He roughs his palms over his face before finally saying, “I can’t be sure until I do a few more tests, but it looks like...” It’s like the weight of the world presses down on his shoulders and the hope he’d had only moments before is gone.
“Just spit it out,” Fallon demands, standing straight, jaw clenching, his large hand reaching for mine and holding it in a vice-like grip.
“How many?” I ask, holding Emerson’s other hand.
Surrounded by my husbands I feel like I can take on anything the world throws at me. But I’m not prepared for Banks’ next word.
“Six.” It’s barely audible, more of a desperate whisper like he can’t believe it himself.
“Six?” Multiple voices flood the room, but I can’t see, can’t hear any of them.
Everything goes fuzzy. And I’m glad I’m sitting because I’d probably lose my footing if I wasn’t.
Six babies.
Even in the past when pregnancy wasn’t a high risk, carrying sextuplets was dangerous. But now... now it’s an impossibility. One that will only end one way... with death.
Mine and my unborn babies’.
The men argue around me, their words filled with panic.
“This is your fault...”
“If you hadn’t given her the fertility treatment...”
“It’s a death sentence...”
“She’ll never survive...”
“The babies won’t live...”
“We have to do something...”
Tears blur my vision, but I blink them away. I drop Fallon’s hand and stand, my legs tingling.
Emerson doesn’t let go of my hand, even when I try to pull away. Instead, he pulls me back against his chest and wraps a massive arm around me protectively. It takes all my self-control not to just melt into him, take his strength, and let the others figure out my fate. But I need to be an advocate for the children I’m carrying because I know the first and probably wisest decision at this point would be to terminate the pregnancy.
But it was my choice to get pregnant. And even if it means sacrificing my own life, I will make sure each little heartbeat has the best chance of survival.
“Enough,” I say, and when they keep arguing, I raise my voice, “I said, ‘enough.’”
Everyone stops and looks at me.
“We can’t start placing blame.” I take a deep steadying breath, searching for the courage to face the truth of my predicament. “We all knew the risks--”
Fallon gives a hard shake of his head. “If I’d known there was a chance of you conceiving multiple, I never would have--”
“It’s rare,” I interrupt, knowing the fertility drugs Banks administered most likely played a part, but not wanting to give the men any reason to blame him. I close my eyes briefly, then say, “But it changes nothing.”
“It changes everything,” Huxley mutters. “You’ll die, Tia.”
“Maybe.” A shiver races through me, because it’s more than a maybe, it’s almost a certainty. I glance at Banks who now leans against the far wall, looking like he might be sick.
I can see the guilt in his eyes.
He blames himself.
I can’t let him lose faith now.
“But I have the best doctor in the world living right under my roof.”
“You said yourself that I’m an anomaly. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I can survive this.” I place my hand on my stomach. “Maybe...”
Emerson’s arms tighten around me when my words catch on a sob.
“The chances of you surviving, or of any of the fetuses living, are...” Banks looks away, not meeting my gaze.
“Your research, the drugs you’ve been studying...” I pull away from Emerson and place a hand on Banks’ arm. “I trust you.”
“It’s not about trust, Tia. It’s about statistics.” His eyes tell a story written in fear, but I can’t let myself get pulled into his doubts.
“Then change the stats.” I smile up at him, giving what little strength I have left, and praying that it’ll be enough. “I won’t abort these babies.”
“You might not have a choice.” With a rare show of affection, Banks steps towards me and drags his knuckles across my cheek. “Depending on how many female fetuses you’re carrying, your body will most likely dispel them.”
I want to cry at his words, pull into myself, but that won’t help. I need to be strong. Have hope. Even if he doesn’t.
“If that happens, then I’ll accept it. But I won’t give up as long as their hearts beat inside of me.” My eyes blur with tears at the idea of losing what I’ve only just been given.
How have the women who came before me dealt with this?
My shoulders shake as I consider the truth, surviving with all of my babies would be a miracle, and I don’t think there are any miracles left in this barren world.
Giles, who’s been relatively quiet about the whole pregnancy comes up beside me, and says to Banks, “You’ve been working your ass off night and day, and I know you had a breakthrough recently. I believe in you to keep Tia safe.”
I give Giles a small, grateful smile because I know his words are meant to give Banks the motivation and strength he’ll need in the coming months. He’s a good man. And he always seems to know exactly what everyone needs.
There’s a small murmur around the room, each man coming to terms with the dire situation.
“We’ve survived so many adversities already.” Giles arms slings around my waist and his other hand rests on Banks’ shoulder. “We can survive this. Together.”
Banks inhales a long, deep breath. “This is what you want?” he asks me. “To try and carry them to term? Even knowing that you probably won’t survive? Because if this is about Lawson coming for you, we can find another way to stave him off.”
I close my eyes briefly, not allowing the fear that swirls around us to consume me, then nod. “Yes.”
There’s no grumbling, no mutters, just dead silence. Because of all the challenges we’ve faced as a family, this is the gravest.
Chapter 2
Emerson
Since the day my name was drawn from the lottery, every time I look at Tia all I see is a future. So, when the ultrasound monitor reveals that she is carrying six babies, it’s as if the life I’ve dreamed of sharing with her vanishes before my very eyes.
Hope flickers then fades. And all I see is the darkness and despair that the days ahead will bring. Because this isn’t an enemy I can fight. It isn’t a foe I can protect her from.
In the end, it will be the future we all prayed for that will eventually take our wife from us.
Six babies.
Despair beats wildly against my chest.
All my life, I’ve tried my best to be an optimist, refusing to let anger override my emotions -- but right now, for the first time in a long ass time, it’s hard to remain calm.
I want to scream at the scientists who created this epidemic in the first place. I want to push Lawson against the wall and let him know what I think about his ethics because if he hadn’t shown up here demanding her, she wouldn’t have felt the pressure to get pregnant. The pressure to take the fertility drugs Banks offered.
Part of me wants to blame Banks, even though I know he was only trying to save her. And then there’s that deeper place in my soul that condemns my own actions. My own desires. Because I wanted this. I wanted to start a family with my wife. To have children. Even though I knew the dangers.
But then I look at my wife and I know I have to push those thoughts away. Tia needs me. Now more than ever. She wipes away the tears that have fallen down her cheeks, resolve is in her words, and fire in her eyes, and I know that my anger -- however righteous it may be -- has no place here.
Tia needs me to be strong, the way she needs all of her husbands to be strong. And I sure as hell have no intention of letting her down.
“What do you need, Tia? Food, a bath, fresh air?” I ask this even though the other men are shaking their heads, upset with her decision to continue with the pregnancy.
But I am not other men. I have seen a baby come into this world, I know what is possible. And an idea comes to me.
Hope flares once again with possibilities.
“I want testing done,” she says to me, before turning to Banks. “Before anything else, we need to know everything we possibly can about these babies and my odds.”
“Okay.” Banks nods, but I can see he is still struggling.
“And we need to do it in secret.” She wrings her hands together, brows drawn, her mind clearly searching through all the scenarios that lie ahead. “If word got out about me being pregnant with six babies…” She shakes her head, flustered. “We can’t let any media become involved.”
Salinger clears his throat. “Let’s go to my mother’s facility. She’ll help us keep things private. They’re more private than the government labs.”
“Good idea,” Banks says, nodding and dragging a hand over the back of his neck. But he seems more intent to take action, rather than wallow in the doubt and despair we’re all clearly feeling. As much as I don’t like him, I give him credit for that. For how hard he’s fought to keep Tia safe. He trains his gaze on Salinger. “Give her a call and I’ll get a few things rounded up. Tia, can you leave in a half hour?”
She nods.
I glance around the room, catching Fallon’s eyes. I can tell the last thing he wants, is to watch his wife leave after such paramount news. None of us do, I feel the mood shift as Giles, Hux, Fallon, and I consider her going.
“I don’t really want you out of my sight,” I admit, feeling protective. I trust the other guys… but this is my wife. Carrying my children.
Tia looks at me with surprise. “Oh.”
Everyone turns to me, and I realize I rarely speak up like this. I don’t usually say what I need. I’ve had plenty of experience laying down my own wants for the good of the whole.
But now, looking at Tia, I wonder if I have spent too much time agreeing and not enough time making demands.
Would things have been different with Helene and Mason if I had refused what my family wanted?
Of course, they would have.
It kills me to think Helene’s life would have been better if I’d made different choices. But it’s a decade too late to reconsider our decision. We both made that bed and we have to lie in it.
But now it’s like I have a second shot. Another chance. Now I can make my wrongs right.
I only hope Mason will forgive me one day for not fighting for him.
“I’m not trying to be pushy,” I say, reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear. “I just hate the idea of not being with you through all of this.”
Tia walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. “I know. And I love that about you, Em. But this isn’t a typical marriage. As much as I want you all there, all seven of us can’t traipse into a lab and not raise flags.” She brushes her lips against mine. “And I won’t be gone long.”
I groan, knowing she’s right, but fucking hating the idea of my wife getting bad news and not having me by her side.
“Hey,” she says softly, her palm resting on my che
st, hazel eyes full of emotion when she holds my gaze. “You have next week off, right? We can spend time together then. Just you and me.”
I nod. I have leave days I’m required to take every quarter. “You’re right. It would be too much to all show up there together. But I’m going to hold you to that promise.”
She presses her cheek against my chest. “I love you,” she says, then looking back up, she adds, “But don’t worry about me. I’m stronger than I look.”
I kiss her softly, knowing she’s exactly right.
Tia is strong, a force to be reckoned with. And I count my blessings for that because I know better than anyone else here what my wife is going to be up against.
I’ve already been through it once before.
While Tia’s lab results are being processed, we all try to keep things light-hearted for her. But her stress is evident. She’s not sleeping well, dark circles are under her eyes. She has no appetite and Salinger’s mother’s initial reports said that she has low iron and high blood pressure.
Already, her body is fighting against the hope she carries inside her.
It’s not clear how many of the fetuses are girls, but Banks has already confirmed that at least one is. He’s started his treatment, which means multiple shots and pills every day for her. And I can see the strain it’s taking on her body and mind.
What my wife needs is to clear her head, get her mind off finding a cure and focus on staying healthy.
Each one of us, her husbands, the men who swore to protect her, try our best to keep her relaxed, happy, but I know she can see through the act most of the men in the house are presenting.