I could see the indecision in his eyes, the desire to be in two places at once.
However, Blythe had Skylar and Brooklyn. The babies didn’t have anyone.
He had to be here.
I didn’t, though.
I stood and started running down toward the stairs with my phone to my ear.
Ian caught me at one point, his heavy boot steps following closely behind me as we took the steps two and three at a time.
The phone rang and rang, and my bad feeling went from bad to terrible.
“What’s wrong?” Ian asked as we met at the top of the steps.
I pushed through the roof entrance door, tossing a veil around the both of us to fool the video cameras when they heard the roof alarm signal, and slammed it shut behind us.
“Something’s wrong with Blythe,” I said, hurrying to the roof.
Perdita met me even before I called her, and Mace, Ian’s dragon, did the same.
We both mounted and were flying away without another word.
“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” I asked Perdita.
Blythe’s bleeding, from what I can tell, she said.
Bleeding didn’t sound good. Not at all.
And when I saw the state she was in when I landed at the heart, for the second time in less than a day, I wanted to cry.
She wasn’t good.
“What’s wrong?” I asked the moment my feet met the cold earth.
“She won’t stop bleeding,” Skylar said. “I’ve given her everything that I can, but she won’t stop. Not even the heart is helping.”
We watched in horror as Blythe’s laboring breath stopped.
Nothing. Not even a breath, left any of us as we watched Blythe’s body turn cold.
Then everything around us exploded.
***
Keifer
I was standing next to my baby girl’s incubator when I felt Blythe’s life slip away from me.
One second she was a soft hum around my heart, and the next thing she was just…gone.
I didn’t really know what happened next, but power burst out of me, and every single living soul within a five-hundred-foot radius was affected.
I sent that power down my bond, straight to my mate’s heart, and forced it upon her.
She didn’t protest.
She couldn’t.
Because she was dead.
Chapter 20
Things I will not judge you on: Sexuality, religion, or race. Things I will judge you for: Not signaling while driving, how you treat others, and what direction you place the toilet paper.
-Fact of Life
Brooklyn
The room we were in was white.
White walls. White ceiling. White bed. White linens.
Where in the hell was I?
A moan from my side had me turning, painfully, to face the other occupant of my bed.
“I fan’t feel my fongue,” Nikolai said.
I giggled, then my head exploded with pain.
“Owww,” I whined. “What happened?”
The bed shifted on my other side, and I gasped, turning to see who else was in my bed.
“Blythe?” I asked. “Why are you in bed with us?”
A moan from her, and from someone across the room, had me sitting up in confusion.
Then the door opened, dragging my attention from the other bed in the room housing Skylar.
“Glad to see y’all are all awake,” Ian said with annoyance. “I can’t keep fucking doing this.”
“Doing what?” Nikolai and I asked at the same time.
“Jinx,” I whispered roughly. “You owe me a Coke.”
My mouth felt like I hadn’t partaken of a liquid in about a week.
He snorted.
“Taking care of y’all. It goes against the grain,” he grumbled. “And I’ve had to do it for everyone that’s a fucking dragon rider or somehow bonded to a dragon rider.”
“Why weren’t you affected?” Blythe moaned.
“Because someone had to take care of y’all, and I had the least to give, according to Keifer,” Ian shrugged.
Blythe gasped, standing up on the bed and staring at Ian with sudden terror.
“My babies?” she asked.
He held up his thumbs in the universal sign of ‘they’re good.’
“Thank God,” she sank to the bed. “Why am I naked?”
It was then we all looked at Blythe, who’d hastily taken the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself.
“Because it was either take it off you, or leave you in blood. So I chose to take it off of you underneath the blankets. But thanks for the show,” Ian jeered.
I tossed the pillow at him that was under my head.
“So what…happened?” I asked, checking to make sure I had clothes on.
I did.
Nikolai rolled out of the bed, coming to his feet like a panther.
“Fuck, but I have to pee. How long were we out?” he asked, walking to the bathroom.
Then he proceeded to pee for, at least, seven minutes…maybe longer.
Blythe and I looked at each other, and a grin played at our mouths.
“My head hurts,” Skylar said in protest from the other bed. “Why are we in the sun room? My hands feel like they’re nailed to the bed.”
The funny thing was, that they were above her head as she looked at them in front of her face. Opening and closing them into fists, trying to work the circulation back into them.
“It was either the sun room or straight outside,” Ian boomed. “My powers work best during the light of day,” he said. “And Keifer decided to heal every single one of the babies in the NICU as well as you.”
His eyes were pinned on Blythe.
“What?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
“From what I can gather, which isn’t much since I haven’t seen Keifer yet, nor spoken to him, is that he healed you,” he answered her. “He felt your life force slip away, and he drew almost every ounce of power from nearly every person that’s connected to him. And then he funneled that into you.”
We all blinked, but Ian continued before we could ask him anything more.
“When he had the excess that he didn’t need, he gave it to all the babies that were in the NICU. They’re calling it a divine miracle,” Ian said, tossing a paper onto the bed.
On the front page headline it read: Christmas Miracle. All babies ready to go home, happy and healthy.
“Holy cow,” I said, leaning forward. “They’re all okay?!” I asked.
Ian nodded, then picked up a TV changer and pressed the big red button in the middle that turned the massive thing on.
I didn’t remember any TV or beds being in here, but that was a question to save for a later time.
“They’ve been running a continuous loop today about all the babies and their parents’ stories,” he said, stopping on Channel 3.
“How long were we out?” Nikolai asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Four days,” he said distractedly.
“Four days?” Blythe shrieked, climbing out of the bed and running away. “I need to go see my babies!”
Then she was gone, a long white sheet trailing in her wake.
“You’re taking her, right?” I asked Nikolai.
He shrugged.
“Guess I’m going to take about fifteen people. Hope Perdita’s ready to be a packhorse,” he teased.
I think not. Perdita replied primly. You’d be lucky to get me about two feet off the ground at this point. Your king zapped me just as good as he zapped you.
Nikolai smiled and he grabbed my hand to lead us into the main part of the house, then even further to the bedroom that he and I shared.
It felt like years since we’d been in the room, even though it was less than five days ago.
“You want the shower first?” he asked.
&nb
sp; I gave him a look, one that said I clearly didn’t want the shower first.
“You want me to take the shower first?” he guessed wrong again.
I shook my head, then I stripped off my clothes and walked into the bathroom, turning the shower on, then stepped back and waited for it to heat.
It didn’t take long, and by the time my feet were hitting the cool tile, I could feel Nikolai’s heated gaze on me.
“Better make this quick,” I said huskily. “She won’t wait long.”
His hands went to my hips, and he didn’t waste any time, picking me up around the waist and impaling me on his cock.
It was an impressive show of strength as he supported me with his upper body alone.
I moaned and threw my head back, my long hair tickling my ass as Nikolai pumped into me roughly.
He took me at my word, making it quick.
In the next second, when I felt his orgasm start to rise, mine followed.
The push and pull of his cock as it dragged deliciously along the walls of my sex had me bracing for my orgasm before I’d even had a chance to enjoy the feel of him inside of me.
“Hurry,” he said roughly against my neck, his tongue snaking out to run along the length of my throat.
My hands clenched in his hair and I started to squeeze my thighs around his trim waist to help slam myself even harder down.
Then, like a tsunami to my soul, my orgasm rolled over me, pulling Nikolai under with me.
He growled and latched onto my neck with his teeth, holding me in place while he pumped me so full of his release that I could already feel it leaking out of me.
Long seconds passed as we stayed tangled together, our breathing returning to normal.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said against my neck.
I clenched around him, causing a growl to erupt from his throat.
“You guys!” Blythe said from outside of our bedroom door. “I want to meet my babies! Stop fucking or I’ll chop y’alls’ privates off!”
Chuckling, he pulled out of me, and I immediately waddled to the toilet to ensure no leakage got onto the carpet.
“You’re so messy,” I muttered to myself, grabbing a wash rag from the top shelf in the closet and wetting it down.
I looked up and saw the hot pink box of my tampons directly in front of me, and I froze.
“Son. Of. A. Bitch.”
Epilogue
My life is a blonde moment.
-Nikolai’s secret thoughts
Nikolai
I looked over at my mate warily.
Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
One second she’d been happy, and when she came out of the bathroom, she was anything but.
“Can you please tell me what’s wrong?” I asked her.
She glared at me, and I sighed, turning my gaze back to the hallway we were walking down.
“Do you even know where you’re going?” Blythe asked me.
I nodded.
“I hacked into the news feed of the hospital before we left,” I said. “Checked everything out. The NICU is right off the first floor.”
And low and behold, it fucking was!
We rounded the corner just as the doors opened and a man with light brown skin, and a woman with fiery red hair came out, two car seats clutched in their arms.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” the woman said excitedly. “I just can’t believe it.”
The man nodded, his eyes wide and scared as he walked past us.
“It’s been four months, Amy. I don’t think I’ll know what to do with myself on my lunchbreaks anymore,” he said as he pressed the elevator doors.
I looked over at my mate and smiled.
“It was worth it,” she said softly.
I nodded.
It was.
If I had to do that once a week, it’d be worth it to see the excited smile on the faces of the parents that got to take their kids home when they never thought it’d be possible for them.
“I’m sorry,” a woman in pink scrubs with small feet prints all over them said. “We’re only allowed to have parents in here.”
Blythe raised her hands. “I’m a parent.”
Her eyes zeroed in on Blythe, taking in her hair and clothes, then she smiled.
“I’ll bet you’re the one with the hunk-a-licious man, aren’t you?” she asked.
Blythe nodded, her face blushing slightly.
“Yes,” she said. “Keifer is definitely that.”
The woman nodded and took her hand.
“You can all come,” she said. “Normally, we’d never be able to do this. The NICU is a very special place where the littlest of our people come to get better. Any germs could be fatal to our babies.” She took a breath. “But today, every one of them is going home. On Christmas, at that.”
Blythe slowly started to cry, and I reached for her shoulders, looping my arm around her on one side, and pulling Brooklyn in on the other.
“He looks good like that, doesn’t he?” Blythe whispered.
I looked at my brother.
He was sitting in a rocking chair, shirtless, with both of the babies on his chest.
His eyes were closed, but the instant the words left Blythe’s lips, his eyes snapped open, and locked on Blythe’s.
“Shit,” Brooklyn said. “I always feel like I’m intruding on them when they get like this.”
I laughed and walked forward, pulling Blythe who couldn’t seem to make her feet work.
Blythe’s watery smile took over her face once we were close enough to touch.
“Oh,” she breathed, bringing her hand up, but stopping just short of touching either baby. “Shoot,” she said, pulling her hand back and turning to find the anti-bacterial dispenser on the wall.
Once she was lathered up to her arm pits, she shot both of us a glare, then went back to her babies.
Brooklyn laughed, and I took the chance to pin her to the wall as we both sanitized our hands.
“You’re not telling me something,” I said softly, eyes inches from hers.
She bit her lip.
“I’m…” she whispered. “Late.”
“Late?” I asked. “Late for what?”
She just kept staring, and it was then that the realization suddenly dawned.
“You’re on birth control,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
She nodded.
“I am,” she confirmed.
“Well, stop taking it!” I ordered her.
“I can’t exactly just ‘stop’ taking a shot,” she informed me. “But I don’t have to get it again.”
I nodded firmly, leaning in until my forehead touched hers.
“I’m going to be a shitty father,” I said. “I like quiet and order.”
She snorted.
“You can kiss that goodbye,” she informed me. “You already have two babies about to be in the house with you. Now you’ll have one more.”
“How late is ‘late?’” I asked her.
She shook her head.
“I don’t know. A long time,” she said. “I haven’t had a period since the first week I was with you.”
I pursed my lips.
“Make an appointment with my sister,” I ordered.
“We can do it when we get home,” Skylar said excitedly from beside me.
I turned my glare on my sister.
“Don’t you know the meaning of privacy?” I asked her.
She nodded.
“Sure do,” she said. “But you didn’t ask for privacy. In fact, I only followed you to the germ shit,” she said, pointing to the wall behind me.
I sighed, long and loud.
“You’re pregnant?” Blythe asked from behind us.
I looked over my shoulder to see not just Blythe, but Keifer as well, staring at us with excitement.
“Seriously,” I said. “This hasn’t even b
een confirmed yet!”
“But you think it’s true, so it is,” the nurse offered her two cents.
I turned my eyes back to my mate.
“Seriously?” I asked her.
She patted me on the arm, then went to Keifer, expertly picking up the baby from his chest and cradling the little life to her heart.
“So, is this the girl or the boy?” Brooklyn asked.
“That’s the girl,” Keifer told her.
“How do you know?” Blythe asked.
“Because she’s wearing a pink hospital bracelet,” he said, indicating the smallest bracelet I’d ever seen. “And the boy is wearing a blue one.”
“Oh,” Blythe said, relieved. “They look exactly the same.”
“Except for this one is two times smaller than yours,” Brooklyn said teasingly.
I nodded.
“Your boy is a porker,” I agreed.
Blythe shot a glare in my direction.
“Where’s Farrow?” Keifer asked, looking around the room.
My brows furrowed.
“He left with you, Keifer,” I told him.
Keifer’s eyebrows bunched up. “No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Boys,” Brooklyn sighed. “He can’t be far.”
“He’s not at home. I haven’t seen him since he left with Keifer,” Skylar said. “I saw him mount his dragon and leave with you, Keifer.”
“Well then, where the fuck is he?” Keifer growled.
“Language,” Blythe snapped at her husband.
***
Ian
“Listen to me, and listen to me good, you little piece of shit,” I said through clenched teeth. “You’re going to go home. You’re going to clean up your act. And you’re going to fucking stop acting like a spoiled brat. You’re going to get your brothers and sister killed. Is that what you want?” I asked Farrow.
Farrow didn’t speak, his throat working but the words not coming out.
Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that my forearm, corded with muscle, was pressed against his windpipe.
Or it could be because I’d beaten the absolute shit out of him.
Either way, he had a good reason not to be speaking.
Did that help his cause, though?
Dragons Need Love, Too (I Like Big Dragons Series Book 2) Page 17