Chapter 56

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

My heart caught in my throat as I watch Irina hesitate after I asked her to stay. After what happened with Fiona, I want my mate by my side every chance I can get. I am still adamant that she takes the time to heal from her past trauma. I can’t shake this feeling I have that things are going to get worse for us before they get better. Knowing that Irina is pregnant with my child is making Aries go crazy with the need to protect our mate.

Having her in my arms at night will help soothe both my mind and my beast.

“I will stay tonight but we need to talk about our living arrangements for the future,” Irina says. She turns from the door to head up to the third floor.

“Daddy, can Asha stay in my room with me?” Jace has an issue with pronouncing words with the letter Z, so Zasha’s name comes out as Asha instead.

I look down at Jace, then scoop him up to follow our girls upstairs. “I am sure that can be arranged. We can make you guys a blanket fort with pillows all over the floor. How does that sound?”

For an answer, Jace squeals then bounces around in my arms as I get to the top of the stairs. Irina turns to look back at us to see what caused him to squeal like that. I smile at her, then nudge my head toward Jace’s room.

“I suggested something that he really likes. A sleep over in a blanket fort.”

“What is a blanket fort?” Zasha asks.

“Would you like to find out?”

At her small nod, I continue into Jace’s room. As expected, the floor is littered with toys, clothes, and shoes. I tell him to get it all cleaned up while I go grab blankets and pillows from the linen closet down the hall. Irina trails behind me after she puts Zasha down so she can help Jace clean up. With our arms full of blankets and pillows, we make our way back to Jace’s room.

Both kids jump up off the floor to help us with our haul of linen goods. The joy on Zasha’s face when we complete the fort an hour later makes all the problems in my life dim down to a small flicker of light. The look in her eyes as she crawls into the fort with Jace causes me to grin. I will do anything I can to keep that light in her eyes from fading. With one night, this tiny little girl has stolen my heart.

Jace demands a story and insists that I crawl into the fort to tell it. Before I know it, the four of us are cuddled together in our large blanket fort. Jace snuggles in Irina’s lap while I have Zasha wrapped around me like a Koala Bear would a tree branch. When I finish the story, both kids have fallen asleep.

So has Irina.

Extricating myself from Zasha’s grip took some time as I tried not to wake her up. Laying her next to Jace, who had fallen off Irina’s lap, I then back out of the mass of blankets we called a fort. I struggled for a few moments on if I should wake Irina to have her join me in my room or if I should just leave her here to sleep. In the end, I decide to just leave her where she is. If she wakes, she knows where I will be and can join me if she wants.

A few hours later, I am still wide awake as I lay in bed alone. All I can think about is how to go forward with our lives. Remembering what happened last night, I bolt out of bed to go to the bathroom. I want to see this mark on my neck that Fiona forced on me. The pain had faded to a dull ache. Which means it is healing. That is a bad sign.

I don’t accept this mark or Fiona, so why would it be healing. Blinking as I turn the light on over the mirror. I pull off the bandage that Irina put over it earlier. What I see shocks me. The mark is still red, puffy, and torn, but it has shrunk in size. Irina’s mark is darker, more prominent, as it stands out proudly on my neck. This proves to me that Fiona is not my mate at all.

Now there are more questions in my head than answers. What caused the pull I have towards her? I felt the sparks when her skin touched mine. Her scent called to me like that of a mate’s. How is any of that possible if she isn’t my mate? Is this some kind of spell that was put on her to draw me in for Treadstone? Like a back-up plan in case Irina failed to do her job.

No, that doesn’t sound right. Irina told me Treadstone doesn’t believe in magic or witches. There must be some other explanation.

“Maybe there isn’t one, Sebastion.” Irina says. Her image appears in the mirror as she walks up behind me.

“What do you mean? There has to a way to explain what is happening.” I spin around to face her.

The look on her face makes me sad. It looks like she has accepted me having another mate. No way am I accepting a second mate. Irina deserves to have one mate devoted only to her. Gustav was in love with her brother, and she shared him with Pavel, even if she didn’t know it. There is no way I am going to do something like that to her, like he did.

“The Moon Goddess has a reason for everything she does, Sebastion. I think we both should see what it is she is trying to tell you by giving you another mate. I trust in our love enough to know that we will make it through this storm.”

“No, Irina, I won’t do this. I will not allow her to come between us. There has already been enough bullshit thrown at us to pull us apart. I want the four of us, no, the five of us to be a family.”

She grabs my hand, bringing it to her flat belly, then looks up into my eyes. “We are already a family, Sebastion. You, me, and our children will make it through this. I have a feeling this situation with Fiona will get worse before it gets better, but I am not going anywhere. In the morning I am having all the stuff you bought Zasha into my room here. As a family we will all live in the same house.”

Her words about Fiona echo my earlier thoughts. “What about the time I asked you to take to work on everything you have been through?”

“I am going to see a psychiatrist three times a week. I made the appointments yesterday while you slept.”

That takes me by surprise. I was going to suggest she do that while we were away from each other. This is a step in the right direction. Pulling her to me, I press a kiss to her temple. When her arms come around me my body relaxes. All I need is her to be in my arms to make me calm. Breathing in her orange blossom scent soothes my soul.

“When did you order all of that stuff for Zasha?”

“When we got back from California. We had a lead on where she was, so I wanted to get everything ready for when we brought her home.”

“You ordered story books in Russian, Sebastion.”

“I thought having books in Russian would help you teach her the language.”

Irina pulls back to look up at me. The look in her proves I was right in buying those books. The tears that slip from her eyes make me frown. Why is she crying? What did I do wrong? I wipe her tears away with the pads of my thumbs, then kiss the tip of her nose. She wraps her arms around me, then breaks out in sobs.

All I can do is hold her tight to me while the storm rages through her. Lifting her up, I take her into the bedroom to lay her on the bed. Climbing in next to her, I reach for the comforter and pull it over us. Her sobs turn to watery hiccups, then as she clings to me much like her daughter had earlier, she looks up at me with a smile.

“You have made everything I dreamed of over the last five years happen in such a brief time. Thank you for getting my daughter back for me.”

“There is no need to thank me for anything I have done for you, Irina. You are my heart, and I will do everything I can to make you happy. That little girl of yours has wormed her way right in there with you. I love her already. The rest of my life will be spent wrapped around her little finger. I can tell you that much already.”

“She has had that way about her since the day she was born. That pure innocent light of her shines on everyone. The way she looked at you tonight made my heart melt. She loves you just as much as you love her.”

Morning comes all too soon. My bedroom door opening and the sound of little feet crossing the room makes me open my eyes. Zasha pauses halfway to the bed as she sees I am awake. Jace stands at the foot of the bed, staring at us. He has his stuffed wolf in his hands, and I can see the sleepy look still in his eyes. They haven’t been awake for long.

I nod my head to tell them it is ok if they come up on the bed with us. Jace instantly climbs up, then crawls between us. Irina rolls over with her eyes opening as he climbs under the covers with us. Zasha walks to my side of the bed but just stares at me with the stuffed wolf Jace gave her held tightly in her hands.

“Do you want to come up here too, Zasha?”

She nods her head but makes no move to join us. I fold the blanket down and hold my arms out to her. That was the invitation she was looking for, it seems. She closed the distance between us, and I pull her up into the bed then roll her over with me, so she is lying next to Jace. Irina looks up at me once the kids are comfortable. The look she gives me blows me away. I have never seen her this happy in the brief time we have known each other.

*When do you want to see the doctor?* I ask through our mind link.

*When does Jace go to his lessons?*

I look over at the clock to see that it is only seven in the morning. *Sarah starts her class at nine.*

*Then we can go after that. I will have my father stay with Zasha.*

I tune back into what Jace is saying when I hear the word pancakes. Zasha perks up at the idea and squirms around to face me. I can tell by her what she wants. My son now has an ally in his quest for pancakes every day for breakfast. This will not be good for my quest to have him eat healthier meals for breakfast.

“Okay, you little fiends, we can have pancakes. Tomorrow we will try something else.”

Unhappy grumbles follow my statement, but they are both too excited about pancakes now to care. Getting up out of bed, I pull Jace up and toss him over my shoulder. His squeals of laughter echo through the room as I head to the door. Zasha’s laughter makes me glance over my shoulder. Irina is tickling her belly.

This is what I want every morning to look like. My mate, our children, and morning snuggles. My version of perfection is right here in this room. Shaking my head, I head out of the room to get Jace ready for the day. He surprises me and gets dressed without a struggle today. The outfit I hand him meets his approval, along with the boots he loves to wear. They are the little carpenter boots I had made for his Halloween costume.

When he declares he is ready, we head to the kitchen. There is a note on the counter from Irina telling me she went to her father’s to get changed. She asked me if I can handle getting breakfast started until she comes back. Between the two of us, Jace and I manage not to burn the house down while making pancakes.

When I hear the front door open, the voices that follow the slam of the door surprise me. Callie’s squeal of happiness greets me as she runs into the kitchen. Jace hops down off his step stool to run to his cousin for a hug. Flynn enters hot on Callie’s heels with an annoyed expression on his face.

“Where is everyone?” Flynn asks.

“Irina is at her father’s getting stuff for Zasha. My parents are away on council business.”

“Wait, Irina’s daughter is here?” He looks shocked by this news.

“Whose daughter is here?” Arianna asks. She stands in the doorway, staring at me. Her face is calm, relaxed, and she looks happy.

Before I can answer her, Zasha streaks into the kitchen, then skids to a halt at my feet. Her eyes go round with shock before she ducks behind my legs to hide. I can feel her tiny hand grip tightly onto my pants. Bending down, I scoop her up in my arms. She buries her head in my neck to hide her face from the strangers in the room. I rub her back to soothe her, then look at Arianna.

“My daughter,” Irina says. She walks into the kitchen to stand next to me.

“You found her? When did you find her?”

“A few days ago.” I hold my breath as I wait for my sister to explode.

“I am glad you have your daughter back. A mother should never be separated from her child.” As she says the last part, she rubs her hand over her belly.

I follow the movement and realize what she is implying with the gesture. “Are you...?”

“Yes, we are going to have another baby.” Her smile lights up her face.

The tension in the kitchen evaporates almost instantly. However, I feel this peace with my sister will not last long. They came back sooner than they were supposed to, which makes me want to know why. Now is not the time to ask with all the little ears in the kitchen. I will not hesitate to send her away again if she picks fights again.

I just hope she doesn’t force my hand again.