<b>Chapter </b><b>165 </b>
A sound broke through. Fast. Strong. Rhythmic. <i>Thump</i>–thump<i>–</i>thump–thump. A heartbeat.
Sharlene’s lips curved into the first smile we’d seen from her all night. “There she is,” she said softly, angling the monitor so we all could see. “Strong heartbeat. Your pup’s holding on just fine.”
The room exhaled at once. Noah bowed his head like he’d been punched in the chest with relief. Xavier squeezed my hand so hard it almost hurt. Haiden muttered something under his breath that sounded like a prayer. Levi scrubbed his face with both hands, the sharp line of his shoulders loosening for the first time in hours.
I pressed my hand over my mouth as tears spilled free. On the screen, she moved, a tiny flutter, a little kick like she knew we were all watching.
“There,” Sharlene said, her voice warm now. “That’s a fighter if I’ve ever seen one.”
I couldn’t stop smiling through the tears. “That’s my girl,” I whispered. “That’s our girl.”
Felix, pale and weak in the corner bed, let out a shakyugh that turned into a cough. “Told you,” he rasped, voice thin but sure. “Little warrior.”
Sharlene’s brows pinched in concentration. She angled the wand again, lips pressing together. “Actually…” She paused just long enough for everyone to still. “…that, right there, is a boy.”
The room froze.
“What?” My voice cracked, and I whipped my head toward her.
“A boy,” she confirmed, her smile quirking like she’d been waiting for us to notice. She tapped the screen gently, pointing out the proof.
Xavier swore under his breath. Haiden sat up straighter. Noah barked augh that sounded half like disbelief. Levi blinked so hard I thought he might faint.
Mum pped her hands together, tears springing back into her eyes. “A grandson!” she squealed. “Oh, Envy, a grandson!”
From beside me, Aleisha let out a chokedugh. “Elliot is going to be so mad he was wrong.”
Iughed too, shaky and wet. My son had sworn to anyone who would listen that he had a little sister growing in me.
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<b>Chapter </b><b>165 </b>
Sharlene kept moving the wand, her eyes flicking over the monitor with the steady calm of someone who’d done this a thousand times. “He’s healthy,” she said, her tone professional again. “Heartbeat strong, measuring right where he should be. No signs of distress.”
Relief shivered through me, but itsted only a heartbeat before her expression shifted again. She tilted the wand. Paused. Tilted again.
“Wait…”
The whole room stilled.
20 25 50
“Oh my god,” Sharlene whispered. “There’s another one.”
The room erupted.
“What?!” Xavier and Levi shouted together.
Sharlene adjusted the image, zooming slightly, and sure enough, another tiny form flickered to life on the screen.
紅綠递
“Another boy,” she said, her voice firm, her finger circling the image for us. “Heartbeat steady. Strong. Perfectly healthy.”
Haiden’s jaw dropped. He dropped back into the nearest chair as if his legs had given out. “No
way.”
Noah dragged his hand down his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Two?”
Iughed again, stunned, pressing my hand over my mouth. “Two. We’re having two.”
“Twins!” Mum cried, bouncing like a girl. Dad groaned, but his eyes glistened, his hand mping over hers.
The wand moved again, slow, careful. Sharlene’s lips parted and her eyes widened.
“You’re joking,” I whispered, my stomach dropping.
She shook her head. “I’m not. A third.” She angled the monitor and tapped the screen. “Another boy.”
Silence. Absolute silence. My mates all looked pale, four sets of stunned eyes flicking from me to the monitor and back again.
I pressed both hands to my face, halfughing, half sobbing. “Three? Three boys? Are you
Chapter <b>165 </b>
serious<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Sharlene nodded, firm. “Yes. Three. And all of them are strong, healthy, and have noplications. Measuring beautifully.”
“Three,” Noah muttered under his breath like he was keeping count in battle. “Three sons.”
Haiden swore, a low, muttered curse that sounded like he was already imagining chasing three tiny terrors around the Underworld. Levi looked like his mind had skipped straight to logistics, lips moving silently as if calcting how much gear we’d need. And then…Sharlene gasped.
Her tone softened. “And… one more.”
My heart mmed into my ribs. She angled the monitor again, her movements tender. There, tucked against the others, was another shape. Smaller, but strong. A rhythmic flicker. A steady
beat.
Sharlene smiled. “This one’s a girl.”
The room exploded.
Mum shot to her feet with a squeal. “Three grandsons and a granddaughter! Oh, Charles, do you hear that? A granddaughter! You’re going to get so big, Envy! Oh, I can give you all my old maternity dresses!”
Dad groaned again, though he pulled her into a hug, his lips trembling against her hair. And my mates… gods. My mates. Xavier was pale, but his lips broke into a grin. Haiden’s head was in his hands as he muttered something I couldn’t catch. Noah froze, eyes wide. Levi whispered, “Four,” under his breath, as though saying it out loud might make it more real.
Iughed through the tears streaming down my cheeks. “Four. There are four. Three boys… and
a girl.”
Then I wiped my face, half giddy, half terrified, and turned to Sharlene. “Can you double- check? Triple check? Because I swear to the gods, if there’s a fifth in there, I’m walking straight back into the battlefield.”
The whole roomughed, loud, shaky, hysterical. And through it all, my heart swelled until I thought it might burst.
Xavier ran a hand down his face, muttering, “Four? Four infants at once? How the hell are we supposed to keep track of that many?”
“Forget keeping track,” Noah said, wide–eyed. “What about sleep? Do you know how often one
baby wakes up in the night? Four of them, all with different schedules? We’re screwed.”
Haiden groaned, tipping his head back toward the ceiling. “We’ll have to build a bigger house. Or at least a wing dedicated to cribs. And soundproof the walls.”
Levi, ever the nner, was already calcting. “We’ll need quadruple the bottles, quadruple the nkets, quadruple the…” He froze. “We don’t even own one crib yet. We’re behind before
we’ve even started.”
Their voices ovepped, building into a chorus of nerves and disbelief until Mum finally pped her hands, loud and sharp, like she was silencing a room full of squabbling pups.
“Enough.” She looked at each of them. “You’ll be fine. More than fine. I did just fine raising four of you, and I didn’t have a quarter of the help you lot have. One mate. One set of hands. That was it. You?” She jabbed a finger at them. “You’ve got a whole army of people who’d die for those babies. You’ll manage.‘
And then Aleisha, bless her blunt little heart, leaned forward in her chair with a sly grin. “But your tits are probably never going to look the same afterwards.”
I blinked at her, mouth falling open. “Excuse me?”
She shrugged innocently. “Just saying. Four kids. That’s… a lot of mileage.”
Before I could even respond, Mum nced down at her own chest, then back up at me with a deadpan expression. “She’s right. They won’t.”
<b>Chapter </b><b>Comments </b>
Visitor
I love this book omg I need at least 2 chapters at a time
Visitor
I wish Elliot was there to hear the news…this book is one of my favorites.
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Goddess Of The Underworld.
<b>Chapter </b>166