Page 52 of Frederick
“How?” Was all that I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Benjamin responded. “I’ve seen some pretty fucked up things in my lifetime, but what he did was more than any I had ever seen.”
“I know this is what we signed up for, to rid the world of people like him, but this one is hitting me hard,” I told them. I rubbed the center of my chest where the ache had grown slightly.
Benjamin looked at me and when he placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, I felt the love and acceptance that was normal for my family. I knew that that I was incredibly fortunately to have grown up with the family I did.
“I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that Dominic is currently pregnant. Trust me, it’s hitting me as well.” Benjamin smiled. “We haven’t shared it yet, but Eli caught during his lastheat. We’re going to be daddies again, and yeah, I can’t imagine hurting him. Pregnant or not, I would never do anything to hurt him.”
Sebastian and I shared a quick glance before we both patted Benjamin on the back. Together, we all turned around and walked down the hallway and back out into the main foyer. From there we entered the hallway that would take us to the cafeteria.
It was the middle of the night, and when I reached out to Dominic through our bond, he was fast asleep in our bed. I had no doubt that Eli was as well, as was Drew. All of our Ones were safe and secure in their beds at home. But we hadn’t yet been released, and I had no idea when that was going to happen, so I had to be content with knowing he was safe at home.
“Congratulations,” I said to Benjamin. He looked over at me and smiled.
“Thank you. Eli has always wanted more children, but I was able to talk him into waiting until the twins were two before trying for a third. I don’t know how everything will work, with them being so rambunctious, but we’re lucky that we have help from my fathers.”
“I don’t know,” Sebastian said. “I can see Drew possibly wanting one or two more, but having two at the same time?” Sebastian looked at Benjamin. “I don’t know how you do it. I love the little guys, but every time we’ve been around them, they’re always so full of energy. How does Eli manage to spend all day chasing after them?”
Benjamin chuckled. “Luckily, he is just as full of energy. He absolutely adores the boys and although they are a lot of work, I couldn’t tell him no when he wanted a third.”
We made it to the cafeteria and the three of us walked directly to the back wall where the drink station was. Sebastian and I opted for coffee while Benjamin poured a mug of hot water for tea.
“What about you?” Benjamin asked. “Are you and Dominic going to have more than one?”
“Yes. I’m not sure that we will end up with as many as everyone else in our family seems to have, but Dominic very much wants to have at least two. He’s the only child of only children, and it had a big impact on him growing up. He didn’t know if he would be able to have children at all because of his age, and then to find out that he can, he very much wants to have at least two.” I shrugged and shook my head. “I don’t care how many we have. If he wants to have seven, I will be more than happy to help him with that.” It was so fun. Before Dominic, I enjoyed sex. With Dominic? I loved it. Craved it even. He brought out a side of me that I didn’t know I had, but I certainly wasn’t complaining.
Benjamin and Sebastian both chuckled as we moved away from the drink station and went to sit at a nearby table. We were the only ones in the cafeteria, but like the council, it never completely closed. It wasn’t full-service in the middle of the night, but you could get drinks around the clock, and there were always prepackaged sandwiches, bags of chips, desserts, and snacks available in the middle of the night.
“Do you think that they will get the information they need?” Sebastian asked.
Benjamin was quiet for a moment before he nodded slowly. “I have no doubt. Marco undoubtably murdered Malorie and their child because he knew in the end that would cause the end of him. I don’t think he was anticipating just how the hellhounds would go about getting information from him. They’re good at their jobs, but there’s no way I would want to be in the room with them while they were doing what they’re doing.”
I fully agreed with that. We sat there for a little longer before the others returned from the park off the mountain. After we were all quickly briefed, we were sent home. When I arrived,I couldn’t quite bring myself to crawl into bed with Dominic right away. Instead, I sat in a chair beside the bed and watched the beautiful man who is carrying our son sleeping. He was my entire world. Like Benjamin and Sebastian, there wasn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for him. I couldn’t imagine hurting him the way Marco so thoughtlessly did Malorie and their child.
I don’t know how long I sat there staring, but I must have done something to wake Dominic because he rolled over onto his side and then opened his eyes and looked directly at me. A sleepy smiled filled his face, and I felt a sense of love and warmth suddenly surround me.
“Did you get him?” He asked.
I stared at my love for a moment before nodding subtly. “Yeah. We got him,” I said. My voice was thick with emotion and barely audible, but Dominic had heard me.
Dominic picked up on the fact that something wasn’t quite right, and being the perfect One that he was, he pushed up onto his elbow and looked at me. “Come to bed. Let me hold you and you can feel our baby kick. He’s been very active tonight. I think he’s missing his Papa being next to him.” That had me smiling and was exactly what I needed. I was naked as I stood, my clothes gone with magic, and when I crawled into bed with Dominic, the pain in my chest finally subsided.
As I curled up behind him and placed my hand on his baby bump, I felt a gentle kick against it and sighed. Our son knew I was there and was saying hello. I sighed, kissed Dominic’s shoulder, and closed my eyes. This definitely was what I needed.
Chapter 22
Dominic
From day one to the present, my pregnancy had been nothing but a breeze. My due date was two days from now, but the contractions that I had started to feel were telling me that I was not going to make it until then. Not that our son couldn’t come at any point and it not be a concern. But I had experienced nothing and now all of a sudden, I had sharp, painful contractions that started on the side of my stomach before moving to the center.
Five weeks ago, Marco had finally been caught and had been served punishment. Frederick had changed five weeks ago. He still smiled, and when he cradled my stomach in his hands, I felt nothing but love from him. But I knew that the fact that Marco had killed his own One had deeply affected him. It was something that he had talked to Dr. Bennett about several times since then. It truly was tragic, and unfortunately, we could not bring her or their child back. I just hoped that it did not negatively affect Frederick’s love for our child.
It had been revealed that Malorie was just barely pregnant, and the only way anyone knew was because Master Edison had revealed it to the council members. I wasn’t sure why, except that he wanted to share the depravity level of Marco. But shehad only been days pregnant, and it was too early for either her or Marco to know. If he had known, would he have reacted differently? I honestly didn’t think so. No matter, that didn’t change the fact that unfortunately she the baby were gone.
I felt another sharp pain on the side of my stomach, and this one had me taking a deep breath. I breathed through the contraction, but I realized that one had been sharper than all of the previous ones. It was time to call my One and get him and the doctor here. I was a bit surprised that Frederick hadn’t felt that one through our bond.
“Was that what I thought it was?”He asked through our bond.
