I heard Ben gasp, and through our bond I felt Maks’s dragon’s surprise, too. He pulled out the baby, so small and perfect that my heart squeezed, and laid the child on my chest. I was instantly in love. The little one—a boy—was a miracle. He was the most perfectly beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Until a moment later, when my mate’s otherself touched my belly again, and pulled out his twin.
27
~ Maksim ~
Finding Devin had been the first time I’d ever felt the kind of love where another person became more important than breath, where someone else’s happiness mattered more than my own, and the idea of laying down my life to protect that person suddenly made perfect sense. I’d thought it would be the only time, because he was my forever. But then our sons were born.
It was hard to believe that I hadn’t somehow known there would be two. Not just because Devin had been so big, or because there was any way I could have predicted it, really, but simply because, now that they were here, the idea of either of them not being was… inconceivable.
I loved them. Instantly, fiercely, and with an overwhelming intensity that would have scared me if it hadn’t felt so perfectly right.
My family… my family… my family… They were cuddled together on our bed, Devin holding the two boys in his arms as he leaned back against the headboard, propped up with pillows, and positively glowing. He was amazing.
“They’re amazing,” he insisted, reading my thoughts as he looked down at the two most beautiful faces ever made.
“They are,” I agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him and trailing a finger down the impossibly-soft cheek of the oldest-by-one-minute boy. “But you are, too. You… did this. It’s incredible.”
“Hold one?” he offered.
I had, earlier, in my other form, but looking down at the tiny little bundle in his arms I suddenly felt too big, too awkward. Ironically, I hadn’t worried at all when I had held them in my other form, but the calm confidence of my otherself deserted me in this human body. The babies were so… small.
Devin laughed, sensing my nervousness. “Maks, take him. You’ll be fine. I promise.”
I plucked the child from my mate’s arms and pulled him against my chest. He didn’t weigh any more than a feather, and he smelled like heaven. Something instantly familiar, even though it was new… like a little piece of the love that was brimming over in my heart. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at me like a calm little buddha. Ben had told us that the dark blue color was common to all babies and that it would change in time—I secretly hoped they would lighten to match Devin’s. They already had his dark hair and cute little chin, and I would like nothing better than to see them both look exactly like my mate. He was so fucking beautiful.
I looked over at our younger son, snuggled against Devin, and frowned. “How are we supposed to tell them apart?” I asked.
“You’re kidding, right?” he asked, laughing at me again. “Look at them.”
“They both look like you,” I said, smiling. “But… they also both look like each other.”
“No, look. Michael has—”
“Michael?”
Devin blushed. “Well, I know we probably need to talk about it. I just… I started thinking of him that way in my head. Obviously, you should have a say, too.”
He was getting flustered, and it was adorable. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t given their names any thought before now. Names would definitely help me start thinking of them as unique individuals, and Dev had obviously given it some thought. The way he was looking down at them made my heart ache. I could tell that whatever he’d come up with was important to him, and I was more than happy to go along with it.
“I like Michael,” I said, kissing the top of our son’s sweet-smelling head. Michael. It fit.
“I had a brother once,” Devin said. “I mean… not really. My mother, she was pregnant when I was in high school. It was a boy, and I was really excited about it—I think I wanted him more than she did. I know it’s probably not the typical reaction for a teenage boy, but I loved him from the moment I found out she was expecting. I had all these plans for him…”
He glanced away, his eyes growing damp. He had told me some of this before, but not all of it. I shifted little Michael onto my other shoulder and pulled Devin against me, kissing the top of his head. “What happened, love?”
“She died,” he said on a soft sigh. “From complications to do with the pregnancy. It was… hard. The baby didn’t make it, either.”