Page 51 of The Final Battle

Breaking off from the group, Pax gave us a wave before disappearing down a hall. “That man worries me sometimes.“ I commented.

“He’s just a wild spirit that hasn’t had a reason to be tamed,“ Cassarah shared, leaning into me. “Much like the warrior that’s now the noble.“

I grunted at that, seeing as she made a fairly valid point.

“Mouse, wait right here. The rest of us are going to check your rooms before you enter,“ Cole instructed, giving me a look to stay with her. I nodded, to which he returned and slipped past the door into her room.

“Is this going to be a new step in how things go?“ Cassarah asked.

“Yes, I’d get used to the fact that we are going to be highly overprotective for the rest of your life,“ I answered.

She chuckled and shoved me gently with her shoulder. “Weren’t you already doing that?“

“Not to the degree we are now, with you being pregnant,“ I pointed out. “You might not like it, but we’re their fathers and no self respecting member of the clans would allow their woman to place themselves in danger unnecessarily.“

“Yes well, we are going to have a conversation about just that once everyone gets back and settled,“ Cassarah informed me.

I tucked my free hand under her chin, lifting her face to mine. “We know you aren’t going to like it, but this is one moment where you are not allowed to be queen and just make an order for us to follow. I know we will find an agreement, but don’t think both parties won’t have to give a little.“

Cassarah didn’t answer that, but I think she heard what I was trying to say. There was no way we would let her do something drastic if there was another option. This needed to be discussed tonight, before we left for the summer home where danger would be lurking.

Becka helped Cassarah into more relaxed clothes and she laid down. She was asleep almost instantly, but that didn’t surprise me. The few hours she got before lunch wasn’t enough for her to be rested. Then, you add on all that happened in such a short amount of time, and I don’t blame her for shutting the world out and getting sleep.

The guys and I gathered in the sitting area, looking at one another in shock.

“How did this happen?“ Gavin asked, dropping his head into his hands. “She told us she didn’t want kids right now and none of us did anything to prevent it.“

“She was taking the tonic,“ Abbott pointed out. “We should have been told if we couldn’t finish inside her. Or if there were other precautions we should have been taking. Plenty of women use the tonic and stave off pregnancy.“

“How many of those women have eight men they’re fucking?“ Jade asked bluntly. “Cassarah might not have been in danger if it was only one man’s passion she was dealing with—“

“Our passion? Now I know you know that isn’t the case. That woman is more veracious than any man, she needed to have eight of us to control it,“ Zan pointed out.

To that I gave an approving grunt, as I nodded my head. “When it was my night with her, she rode me till we both passed out. There really shouldn’t be any surprise at her being with child. Plus, it sounds like it happened right away, and if I’m not mistaken, that leads me to believe you two are the true fathers to those babies,“ I said pointing at Jade and Abbott. “Not that it matters, whatever child Cassarah has is all of ours, just so we’re clear.“

“Dayson’s right, what happened, happened and now we need to ensure that Cassarah realizes what’s at stake here. It’s no longer just her life she holds in the balance, it’s those of our children as well,“ Cole commented, his face scrunched in a scowl.

Izel shot to his feet, surprising us all with this reaction. “Listen to you guys!“ he whispered harshly trying not to raise his voice. “Do you honestly think she isn’t fully aware of what’s at stake? She was going to hide away in her own mind where it was safe, instead of returning to reality because she was terrified of what this meant. Who is the one person we can always count on to think of everyone else but herself in these moments? Shame on each of you for getting blinded by your own fears and not seeing just how scared she is.“

As much as Izel’s words hit me in the gut, I knew they did because it was true. Yes, we needed to adjust to this reality as much as she did, but none of us were the ones growing life inside our bodies. Never had I met a more selfless person than my Cassy-Bear, which made me doubting her all the worse.

“So what do we do then?“ Gavin asked. “How can we still let her fight?“

“As much as I would like to say that was our call to make, it’s not,“ Izel reasoned. “Cassarah is still her own person, even if she’s carrying our children. What we need to do is support her, protect her the best we can, and let her know, as always, she’s not alone in this.“

Jade let out a groan of frustration, sagging into his chair. “I know you’re right Izel, but that doesn’t mean I like it.“

“None of us are going to like doing it, but it’s what must happen if we don’t want her to pull away from us,“ Zan added. “Now, who’s going to stand guard while the rest of us get some sleep. No one got much last night.“

I raised my hand. “I’ll stay, looks like May and Becka are too, so go. In a few hours I’ll wake one of your asses up to switch with me if Paxton doesn’t come back with the Spymaster before that.“

They all nodded in agreement and shuffled out of the room, leaving me to watch over our woman and unborn children.

Chapter twenty-eight

Cassarah

A loud knock at my door snapped me out of my sleep and had me sitting up in bed, panic squeezing my chest. Becka walked up to the door and opened it a crack, while May came to stand beside me, her blade drawn and ready to act. Abbott came over to the bed, waving for me to go to him, which I did quickly.