“You said you would stay. Have your plans changed?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ives bowed to the kings and, after saying a warm farewell, took his husband by the arm. Arien looked pleased, while the alpha once again thought how unbearable his spouse could be at times. He did not even understand how, after a long argument, he himself had begun packing their things. In his thoughts, Ives lamented that Arien twisted the old man around his finger and made him do whatever he wished. 

During the entire journey Ives nearly went completely gray with worry. He flinched at every movement his husband made, while the omega only grew irritated.

“Calm down or I’ll throw you out! You can ride a horse or trail behind the wagons!” Arien snapped once, nearly tossing a pillow at him.

“Alright, alright,” the lord said peacefully, trying to hide his worry. Though he did not succeed very well.

They stopped often, which made Arien angry. Once he even refused to let Ives sleep in the same room at the inn. Still, the alpha slipped inside — and found his husband examining… a pendant. The very one Ives had bought long ago in the south. He had thought it lost forever.

“You kept it?”

“My lord, who allowed you to enter?” Arien exclaimed angrily and was about to drive him out, but the alpha was quicker.

He stepped closer and took Arien’s hands. The omega relaxed slightly and did not shout or push him away. Instead he said calmly, a little thoughtfully:

“I had forgotten about it myself. But today I was going through my things to find something to wear tomorrow and discovered the pendant.”

Arien fell silent for a moment. Ives felt that his husband wanted to say something. And he even knew what it was.

“Shall I help you put it on?”

Arien glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Without a word, he handed over the pendant and turned his back.

Ives fastened the necklace around his husband’s neck and, almost absentmindedly, brushed his fingers over the bare skin. Arien shuddered and took a sharp breath. The alpha kissed the top of his head and embraced him.

That night the omega allowed the lord to stay, claiming that Ives should help him fall asleep, since the weight of his belly had exhausted his legs and back. When the beloved north finally came into view, the alpha breathed more deeply, and it was hard to wipe the smile from his face. Their home, after such a long absence, seemed like paradise itself.

They reached the castle by noon. Vetis had prepared a large feast, and many locals came to greet them. Ives wanted to celebrate with everyone, but as soon as Arien stepped down from the carriage he declared that he wished to rest. The lord immediately agreed and asked the healer to watch over his husband, while he remained with the guests.

He did not stay long, however. Late that night he returned to their chambers, where Arien was already asleep. Ives stroked his husband’s hair, changed his clothes, and lay down beside him.

He fell asleep thinking that Alian would soon arrive and they would once again enjoy their quiet life. And soon another child would be born…

Warmth spread through his chest.

He fell asleep quickly, but peaceful rest was not meant for him.

The lord woke to Arien’s cries and groans and to the feeling of his husband shaking him. Half-asleep, Ives sat up and asked anxiously:

“What is it?”

“It’s started, my lord!” the omega hissed, crying out again.

Sleep vanished instantly. Throwing aside the blankets, Ives saw that the waters had already broken. After murmuring a few calming words, he jumped from the bed and rushed to call the servants. Despite the late hour, the entire castle was soon awake.

The healer arrived quickly, and all the terror and fear Ives had experienced many times before began again.

This time Arien did not need to hold his legs or worry about harming the child with a difficult birth, but Ives remained beside him. Instead of the servants, he wiped the sweat from his husband’s face and held his hand — though it felt as if Arien would crush every bone in his fingers with how tightly he squeezed.

This time the omega listened to the healer, yet things were not going well. The labor lasted terribly long. Arien’s voice nearly disappeared; he could only rasp and groan, and his strength was almost gone. Ives could feel it, and from worry everything inside him began to ache as well. All he could do was soothe and support his husband, stroke his damp hair, and help him drink water.

The servants had already changed countless sheets. Ives could neither sit nor stand nor even think anymore when suddenly a long, piercing cry of a newborn filled the room.

The lord let out a loud sigh of relief and rushed toward the healer to see his son. But the healer merely called his assistant and handed the crying baby to him, while he himself did not move away from Arien.

“Push again, my lord. Come on.”

“Why? The child is already born!” Ives asked, barely able to speak.

His question hung in the air as Arien cried out again with what little strength he had left. The assistant, who was calmly examining the baby, said:

“The second one wants to be born as well, Your Lordship.”

“The second?” the alpha repeated in astonishment, turning toward Arien.

Suddenly he remembered Milosh’s sly looks.

So he had known all along. Everyone had known — except him.

Ives stepped closer to the bed and, overwhelmed with mixed emotions, took his husband’s weakened hand.

“I wanted… to make a surprise,” Arien said hoarsely. His eyes were red again, but now there was less pain in them.

“You certainly did!” Ives replied, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Only a few minutes later all the suffering ended, when a second newborn cry echoed through the room. Exhausted, Arien collapsed back against the pillows, able only to breathe and stare at the ceiling with tear-filled eyes. Ives bent down, kissed his husband’s forehead and cheek, and gently stroked his face.

“Thank you… thank you.”

A storm of emotions burst inside him when two washed and wrapped infants were placed in his arms with the words:

“You have two healthy and wonderful alphas.”

Ives could not hold back his tears of happiness. He pressed his sons — twins, two little alphas — tightly to his chest and kissed each of them.

In that moment every hardship was forgotten.

Because in his arms was the greatest and most precious reward for all the suffering they had endured.

Ives softly rocked his little son in his arms, humming a lullaby. The baby was almost asleep, just like his brother, who already lay in the cradle beside them. The alpha couldn’t stop looking at the tiny nose — the only thing the twins had inherited from him. Their hair, though still very thin, was already red, and their eyes had been dark since the moment they were born. They had Arien’s eyes.

The alpha had kept his promise. Arien had spoken almost immediately after the birth, before they had even given him anything to drink.

“My lord… one child…”

“Will carry the Antarella name, I remember. I have no objection. One of them will be Boriel, the other Antarella. So it will be. Would you like to name them? Last time I chose the name without you. This time it should be fair.”

Arien thought for a moment — his red eyes widened in surprise — but he didn’t miss the chance. Swallowing, the omega said,

“Let one be called Kian. And the other…” His voice faltered suddenly, trembling — whether from tears or fear. “Orin.”

Silence filled the chamber. The servants, the healer, and his assistant didn’t even move. But the lord nodded.

“Of course. As you wish. Kian and Orin. I agree.”

Now Ives was holding little Orin in his arms. Unlike his brother, he carried the Antarella name, not his father’s or brothers’, and he was the only owner and heir of the rich southern lands. But he didn’t know that yet. For now, his only tasks were to sleep well, eat plenty, and delight everyone around him.

The door opened quietly, and the alpha slowly turned so he wouldn’t wake the softly snoring, drooling baby. It was Arien. This time it had taken him a whole week to recover enough to stand again. After the birth he had become so thin and small that Ives immediately wanted to wrap him in his arms and hide him from the whole world.

“May we talk?” his husband asked, his voice still hoarse.

“Of course!” Ives smiled at him. “Just a moment. I’ll put Orin next to his brother. They like sleeping together.”

He carefully laid the baby down and covered both of them. Their sleep was deep — the twins almost never cried, especially when they were together. Ives beckoned his husband closer. They stepped toward the window, away from the cradle, and the alpha nodded, ready to listen.

Arien was nervous. He kept looking away with his still-red eyes and tried not to meet Ives’s gaze. The alpha tried to take his hand, but the omega pulled it back, just like in the old days. Then he began to speak quickly.

“My lord, I have done what I was meant to do. The reason I was kept alive and kept by your side instead of being sent to some monastery. You have an heir.”

Ives tensed. Something inside him trembled. He swallowed and managed to ask,

“And now? You wish to leave?”

“I am no longer needed.”

The room was quiet except for the soft breathing of the babies — gentle and comforting. Arien still avoided looking at him and still refused his touch, but there was no longer that deep anger or grief in it. It was something else.

Clearing his throat, Ives said in a low voice,

“If you truly wish to leave, I will not force you to stay. I will not bind you against your will. But only if leaving is what you really want.” Carefully, gently, Ives touched the omega’s fingers — just the tips, as light as air. “Arien, I want you to stay. Forever — with me and the children. I need you, and not only because you can bear children. If you wish, I will never come close to you again. But I want to care for you for the rest of my life, until my last breath. I want to see you by my side.”

Arien shuddered, then froze, staring down at the floor like a statue. Those seconds felt like years to the lord. At last his husband raised his head. His eyes were full of tears.

“My lord… I loved Armand so much. Sometimes it feels like my heart tears apart just remembering him. He is everywhere — in every breath of wind, in every whisper. I miss him so much. It hurts so much.” His voice trembled, and he looked straight into the lord’s eyes. “You will never hear words of love from me.”

“You don’t have to say them. I can live without them.”

“And I will never love the children the way I loved Carlisle.”

“Love them however you can. I will make up the rest. I will love them as much as I can.”

Arien’s breathing grew quick. He stared at the alpha without looking away. Then suddenly he smiled and let out a short, quiet laugh. Tears spilled from his eyes.

“You are such a fool, Lord Boriel.”

“Not just a fool. An old fool,” the lord chuckled softly and stepped closer to his husband — so close he could feel his breath.

Smiling, Ives gently wiped the endless tears from Arien’s cheeks. Then he leaned down and kissed the corner of his lips. Arien looked at him with eyes even redder now from crying and timidly took the lord’s hand — shyly, uncertainly, like a very young omega.

And the alpha kissed him properly on the lips. He was kissing Arien, wipping away his tears, and helding him gently. Arien — his character, his pain — had always been a trial for Ives. And now he was one of the most precious things in his life.

His heart.