Page 42 of Chosen By Swift

“I’ll be at my meeting down that way.” He pointed to the room. “When I get done, I’ll come for you.”

She clutched at his hand. “Promise?”

“I promise.” He smoothed his hand over her hair and ducked down to gently kiss her forehead. “Come on. Let’s get you checked in.”

As soon as they entered the large room, the welcoming committee practically hauled Alys away from him and shooed him out of the room. He cast a lingering glance her way, but once he saw that Hallie, with her blond boy on her hip, was among those welcoming Alys, he felt better about leaving her. He slipped back through the doors and walked down the hall to the room for newly mated men.

Vicious stood in the center of the room, his twin daughter in his arms. The little girl with dark curly hair like her mother played with the many stripes and bars on her father’s uniform. It was staggering to see such a hardened warrior holding a baby, but the general’s gentle smile as his daughter touched his face made something inside Swift flare to life. It was a yearning he rarely indulged, but right now, he saw no point in denying it.

I want a family. I want children.

Just then, a wild shriek startled him. Raze raced after a young boy, probably no more than three. The little boy squealed excitedly as Raze snatched him up off the ground and swung him high and onto his shoulders.

“Zeke,” Orion said, coming to stand next to Swift. “Raze and Ella adopted him while you were away on your mission.”

“That clears things up for me,” Swift remarked. “I was trying to figure out how they had a child that old.”

“They’ve got a daughter, too. Dyanna. She’s five or six.” Orion shrugged helplessly. “There are so many kids on the ship now I can’t keep track of all the ages. I’m lucky to keep the names straight of the ones I see the most often.” He eyed Swift with some amusement. “I suppose you’ll be adding to that list of babies soon enough.”

“Probably,” Swift concurred, thinking he and Alys were definitely getting in enough practice.

“How do you like her?”

“Alys?”

Orion huffed. “Yes.”

“She’s wonderful. Sweet. Selfless. Nurturing. Beautiful.”

“I caught a glimpse of her earlier. She’s lovely.”

“She is.”

“I heard from Risk that she has one of the best medical profiles they’ve seen from any bride,” Orion continued. “Not a single vitamin deficiency. A farm girl?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think she’ll adjust well to life on a ship?”

“I honestly don’t know, sir.”

“Well,” Orion clapped him on the back, “let’s hope for the best.”

“Sir.” He nodded at the admiral who moved on to the next group of airmen. Swift wandered over to the table with informative pamphlets and looked at them. Most were about the different services offered on the ship. Some were about the warning signs that new brides might show if they weren’t adjusting properly. A few were about sexual consent and domestic abuse. There were more about ending unions and options for the bride post-Discard.

He grabbed an itinerary and pamphlets he thought would be useful for Alys and then found a seat near the front of the room. Vicious and Orion had moved to the small stage and were joined by a couple of other high-ranked mated men, both of them also holding children.

“It looks like a daycare up there,” Tirade said as he dropped onto the empty chair next to Swift. “I didn’t realize Vortex had a kid.”

“Right before I left,” Swift replied. “I was in the mess when the chime went off and we all had to stop eating to clap.”

At the time, Swift found it annoying to be interrupted by the chime that announced the arrival of a new baby, but now he was beginning to understand what a truly life-changing moment it was for the parents. Why shouldn’t it be celebrated?

Next to him, Tirade sighed and slumped down in his chair. He scrubbed his face in his hands and then confessed, “I fucked up, Swift.”

“How?” He warily eyed his friend. “Please tell me you didn’t hurt her.”

“What? No!” Tirade seemedirritated; he wouldeven insinuate that. “I haven’t even touched her.”

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