Page 64 of Sold Bullied Mate

A scream rips out through the space, and the midwife pokes her head out the door, glancing around the room.

“Dad?” she says, eyes landing on me, and my stomach flips in response to the new title. “You’re needed. It’s time.”

I follow her into the room, my eyes meeting Kira’s when I do. She’s slicked down with sweat, her hair pushed back from her face, and more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her.

Wordlessly, she holds her hand up to me, and I move to her side, taking it. The process is exactly as I’d heard to be, and a thousand times more impactful, the strange scent of Kira and something new, the tiny person her body has created. The midwives moved quickly, communicating under their breaths, the sudden, piercing cry throughout the room.

My son. My body sways, pulling toward him, but I hold tight to Kira’s hand as she grips onto me, crying out again. I look to the midwife between her legs, eyes widening when I hear her say, “One more, Mom. Come on, you got it.”

“One more?” I ask, uselessly, because in the next moment, there’s another set of cries, mirrored screaming filling the room. Kira is laughing and crying, her hand holding mine too tight.

“My babies,” she says, craning her neck, looking for them. “Where are my babies?”

Seconds later, our boys are returned to her, settled on her chest, cleaned and swaddled, and she cries. I take one of them, watching as his tiny eyes squeeze shut, his breathing leveling out.

Impossibly small, warm, tender.

Our child—I look to Kira, eyes skipping over the little bundle she holds.Our children. Our boys.

“Twins?”

Kira and I look up to see Emin and Ash standing in the doorway. Ash walks in slowly, her eyes filling with tears as she stares at the son in my hands.

“Can I…?”

Kira nods, and Ash reaches out for him, letting out a sad, happy little hiccup as she nuzzles him to her chest.

“Holy shit,” Emin says, standing beside her, his eyes locked on the baby. He glances at Kira, looks a bit like he might pass out, and says, “Well, that explains the bed rest.”

Kira laughs, then says weakly, “Watch your mouth around my kids, brother. Here, do you want to hold—?”

“Nah,” Emin holds his hands up, like he’s afraid we might try to put a baby in his hands anyway. “I’m all good. Happy to look. Gods, I can’t believe you had both of those inside you.”

“Alright, everyone,” one of the midwives says, holding her hands up. “Mom has to try and nurse these guys, so we’ll need a little privacy.” Then, looking at me, she says, “Have the two of you settled on names?”

I glance at Kira’s whose eyes are wide. We had just one name, weren’t expecting twins. This changes everything. As Emin and Ash file out of the room, I place my hand on Kira’s shoulder, smiling down at my miraculous wife.

“No,” I say, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

*****

THE END