Page 234 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“He’s perfect, according to Cienna,” Kat said with another tired smile. “Do you want to hold him?”
And the next thing he knew,hewas the one holding that little bundle close. He adjusted the blanket to see his face more, and they were right. He was absolutely perfect. Sleeping and healthy and whole. He’d made it.
He turned to find Tessa still by the door, but Luka was striding closer, coming to a stop to peer at the babe.
“Did you settle on a name yet?” Luka asked, glancing up at Axel.
“Maddox,” Axel answered. “Maddox St. Orcas.”
A small bark of laughter came from Tessa, and they all turned to her. She was watching Axel in amusement. “You really named him after the lead singer of your favorite music group?”
“Who said that?” Axel asked, trying and failing to look innocent.
“Axel, is she serious?” Kat demanded.
“Of course not, kitten,” he said, throwing a wink at Tessa. “Besides, it’s too late now. We already named him.”
Kat tipped her head back, her eyes falling closed. “I swear to Anala, Axel. First, I get kidnapped, then you name our child after a singer.”
“Kidnapped?” Theon demanded, his head snapping up. “What is she talking about?”
Axel sighed before launching into the story of Maddox’s birth. Waking up from being drugged. A bloody rampage through the House of Four. Delivering the babe himself.
The more Axel spoke, the closer Theon pulled Maddox to his chest. It shouldn’t have surprised him that his father was involved in this, but to learn how close he and Bree had come to succeeding?
“Easy, Theon,” Luka said, reaching to take the babe. It was only then Theon realized some of his darkness had appeared, creeping along the floor.
Luka turned, and Theon followed his gaze, finding Tessa leaning against the wall. Corbin and Lange had drifted in and were chatting with Kat now, but Tessa stayed back, listening to everything from afar.
“You can come closer, beautiful,” Theon said with an encouraging smile.
But she just shook her head, glancing at Axel. “I’m fine.”
Focusing on the bond, he tried to feel out her emotions, but whatever she was feeling, she had it blocked from them. Which was worrisome. They all blocked their thoughts from the bond most of the time, but she hadn’t blocked her emotions since the bond had been repaired.
Tessa? Are you all right?he asked, Luka watching her now too.
I said I’m fine,she answered.
“You’re really not going to come and see your nephew?” Axel asked, sauntering over to her.
She gave him a weak smile. “I figured I’d keep my distance. After everything.”
Axel frowned. “We’re past that, Tessa. I’m sorry if you thought otherwise.” Tessa gave him another weak smile but didn’t reply. “Wait, did you think I was still holding that against you?”
“No,” she answered quickly. “I was just…giving you space.”
“Well, stop,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her across the room in excitement.
“Axel, really I—” She snapped her mouth shut as Luka shifted a little so she could see Maddox. Her violet eyes slid over the babe, and she curled her fingers into her palms. “He’s beautiful, Axel,” she said softly, staring at Maddox a few moments longer. “I’m going to say hi to Kat.”
She slipped away, crawling onto the bed to join her friends. Theon immediately felt some of the tension lift down the bond, her shoulders relaxing as she fell into conversation with them. He could hear bits and pieces while they filled Kat in on what they’d learned of Lange and Corbin’s lineages.
“That was weird, right?” Axel asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, a little,” Theon agreed. “There’s been a lot going on though. Speaking of, we have some good news.”
“That’s a nice change from the fuckery we’ve been experiencing lately,” Axel grumbled. “What is it?”
