Page 68 of Owned By Shadows

I keep my gaze on his as they hook me up to a monitor that will measure the contractions and baby’s heartbeat. The door opens again, the rest of my guys striding in, and before Dr Shelia can protest, I open my mouth.

“Please let them stay.”

Her eyes soften. “As long as they keep out of the way, just until we’ve established what’s going on, okay?”

“Thank you, doctor,” Nik says, his brown eyes locked on mine. “It’ll be okay,Malyshka.”

The waves of pain keep coming, though not at any kind of regular intervals, and soon they are just a dull ache.

“It’s as we suspected, Iris. Just some Braxton Hicks, the body’s way of preparing for labour,” Shelia tells me, and I can feel the remaining tension leave me and the guys around me. “We’ll keep you on the monitor for longer, but there’s nothing to worry about right now. However, we need to keep you calm, otherwise real labour could begin as baby isn’t quite cooked yet, and stress can make the Braxton Hicks more frequent, so please try to keep as calm as possible. For now, your son is fine, not distressed, so try to get some rest.”

She leaves with the others who came in with her, the only sound the sea from the open window.

“Slava Bogu bliad,” Nik breathes out, finally coming up to the bed and bending down, pressing his lips against my forehead. “Our son likes to keep us on our toes.”

“We’ll all be grey before he’s even born,” Hunt muses, and a small laugh escapes me. His face lights up with a smile, his hand squeezing mine, which he’s held the entire time.

“Speak for yourself, Daddy,” Roman teases, standing next to Nik and leaning down to press a kiss over my rounded stomach. The baby gives a kick, which almost hits Roman, who laughs and kisses the spot again.

“That’s what you get for being bratty, Baby Boy,” Hunt states, and I giggle again just as Rowan comes up next to Hunter.

“You really need to stop scaring us,” he whispers, taking my face in his palms and staring deep into my eyes. “My heart can’t take it, Lamb.”

He doesn’t let me respond, just leans down and places his lips on mine, searing me with a kiss that tells me just how worried my dark twin was. I kiss him back just as fiercely, my free hand coming up to rest over one of his, holding him to me.

We part slowly, reluctantly, his forehead resting against mine.

“I love you, Roo.”

“I love you too, Lamb, so fucking much,” he replies in a sighs, and warmth fills my chest at being surrounded by my guys and so much love. I’m drowning in it, and I never want to come up for air.

My jaw cracks as a yawn overtakes me, my eyelids so damn heavy I suddenly can’t keep them open.

“Rest now, Peaches,” Hunt commands, Rowan pulling away and tucking me in.

“Will you stay? All of you?” I ask, my eyes already closing as my body gives in to the exhaustion that comes from the massive rush of adrenaline I just had.

“Of course,Solnishko,” Nik assures me, sitting down on the bed as the darkness surrounds me and I drift into sleep.

“EYES ON YOU” BY SWIM

NIKOLAI

There’s an ache inside my chest, my hands clammy as I watch Iris’s body fall asleep. She’s having to deal with so much of the complications of her pregnancy that our current situation is just making it worse.

“Time is working against us,” I murmur, my hands flexing as if I can somehow hold on to the ticking clock and stop it from moving.

“I know.” Hunt sighs, sitting on the other side of Iris, his hand reaching out and brushing some hair off her face. She stirs but doesn’t wake, settling back down. PoorSolnishko.

“We’re going to have to move up the timeline for Alexei too,” I state, my eyes locked on Iris’s rising and falling chest. I feel the others freeze, gazes fixed on me, but I don’t look up, just forge ahead with the idea that’s been screaming at me for the past couple of weeks. “And I will go alone to deal with Sergi directly.”

“Like fuck you will!” Roman hisses from next to me, grabbing my face and turning it to him. His brown eyes are full of fiery rage, his nostrils flared as he stares me down. “What kind of bullshit is that, Love?”

I heave a sigh, my palm coming up to cup his cheek. “The kind that keeps those I care about, those I love, alive,Lev.”

“Not fucking happening,” Hunt states darkly, his voice low so as not to wake Iris. There’s no wiggle room in his tone either, just fact.

I pull from Roman’s grip, my hand dropping from his face to stare at the leader of the Shadowmen, the man who’s been stealing my heart and making me desperate for his touch.

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