At Stake

Hunnie Inzotta









"Should we also get married today?"





The heavy scent of sweet red oak fans my face as my eyes flickered open, looking into those jade green eyes that no grassy fields could ever replenish this deep with our kind of love.



My lips crack when I try to smile, and Bahm caresses my face in my sleepy state. Confusion flooded me quickly once I didn't recall where I was.



"Woah, it's okay.

They're right there."

Bahm says as I sit up hastily and point to my left side.



"My mom and the girls?"



"They all met at your old house after Nyku used your phone to text them, then I teleported them while you slept. They saw that you were resting and the babies were feeding, so they're eating now and waiting for you."




A sigh of relief leaves my mouth.

Wow, I had twins! I wondered what the look on everyone's face was! No wonder I felt so heavy. Hubi's small body must've been hiding behind Bahari's!



I cover my mouth as my eyes blur with tears, watching my two children wrapped together in a black silk cloth. A red ribbon tied them together as they slept peacefully next to each other. I thought about all the boy clothing I had in Kris' room.






"You did it."






"I can't believe I carried two," a small chuckle escaped me, but I couldn't take my eyes off my precious bundles of joy until Bahm placed his hands on my shoulder.



While turning to look at him, the room was empty and dim, with much sunlight from the window illuminating one side of the room, and he hooked my chin to kiss me. His lips were hot and soft against my dry ones.






"How are you feeling?

I didn't heal you yet.

You automatically bounced back to the way you were."

Bahm says, and I look down the covers, sliding my hand along my smooth stomach. It wasn't big and complex, but back to my familiar voluptuous figure.






"I mean...I feel fine right now. Little fever, and my breasts are sore and heavy."






"Anna said you might experience that, and maybe even some bleeding. We aren't sure what to expect since you're immortal now."



Huh?



"Immortal?" I tilt my head and look back to my side at my babies.

Bahm sighs and stands straight up. He wears a stressed look before his mouth opens to speak.





"Well...Leolo had one job to do when you got hurt by me in The Dungeons.

It was to give you MY BLOOD...and I guess he gave you HIS." He spoke with a clenched jaw.





WOAH!

WHAT!





"SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" I shrieked!






"It means you're a vampire.

Tsk, that damn asshole...

No wonder you were running so fast!"





My mouth hung open as I processed his words.

It makes sense why I was so able to keep up with him and had fangs! That day was a blur, and I don't remember much.






"Now, don't get any funny ideas."





"We have to name our children," I said as he climbed onto the bed and lay beside me.





"Do you want a Bahm junior?"






"Oh, no way.

Not a junior, for sure.

Not my name.

I don't want the boy to be like me."






"Then what?"



Bahm stares at the babies as he comes up with a name.

The clock in the room indicates that I've only been unconscious for an hour or two, and boy was I hungry!



"Hmmm.

What about...

Bahari?"






"Hmm...

I like it!

Where did you get that?"





"It was my...

Father's name.

Ba'Hari with an apostrophe."





"What about their last names?"




"I don't have one, remember?" Bahm says, looking down sorrowfully.






"Why not ask your mom?" He lifts his head with dull eyes. I could tell it was a sensitive subject for him, and I was ready to give them my last name.





"He was so old.

Everyone knew him as The Great Demon-Wolf, Ba'Hari.

No one left from his clan to tell me his last name, and he died when I was 4. I never really searched for his surname as I should've.

Prince Bahari Bahm sounds good!"



He smiles, showing all his teeth and closing his eyes. I just realized he, too, wore a black tunic with a red ribbon trimming the seams of his tunic and pants. Then, I finally realized I was wearing a similar style, but it was a black kimono with a large bow tied behind me.




"It does sound good, but it's silly."






"I'm old Hunnie, going back to 522 B.C. not many of us had last names, but we can search for my father's surname around the Kingdom. I'm sure one of these beings has information."






"And you were in Hell for 350 years, so it makes you even older!" I burst out laughing, and he smiles, shaking his head.






Something inside me wanted to ask why he had never searched for the surname, but I agreed to the name he chose for our son.



"But for her...

She's going to be a problem."



His finger gently brushes across our baby girl's eyebrows as she slowly opens her eyes.



"What makes you say that?"



"Well, not only does she look like you, but I felt the power she has inside her...and... she's just a newborn."

His eyes look up thoughtfully.






●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●







Bahm's P.O.V







Hunnie came up with the cutest name for our baby girl, bringing a smile to my exhausted face. She was tough like her mother, giving me a run for my money before she barely arrived earlier, and her face was the spitting image of her mother's.




Miss Princess Hubi!





I had a feeling she was going to be just like her mother!



Hunnie picks her up when she begins to move about under her swaddle.

As soon as Hunnie passed out on us earlier after her delivery, Anna and Mirah placed the babies on her breast while she slept so they could still feed.



"Awesome!!!

She's so tiny!" Hunnie exclaimed happily as I helped open her kimono.



Hubi goes insane once she feels Hunnie's nipple on her lips, shaking her head rapidly from side to side as she did earlier.

I was watching the family I created and worked hard for, and it made my heart numb.

This is all I ever wanted!



Speaking of heart, Kris was still waiting out in the hall.





"Do you think you can walk?"





"Hmm...I'll try."



Hunnie cradles Hubi closely to her breast before she swings her legs off the bed and touches the flooring. She tenses her body just as the scent of blood eases through my nose and cups her lower stomach.



She explains how she was very thankful for whoever put the sanitary pad in her underwear, and I chuckle at her timidness.



"It was me!"

I said, reaching onto the bed and wrapping Prince Bahari in his blanket. He was much larger than Princess Hubi, who I was afraid to hold with her tiny frame.



"Yeah, right." she smiled, watching me intently as I held him close to my shoulder with one hand.





"I did too!

I've been around long enough to know how a woman's body will be after birth.

Once Anna cleaned off the twins and Mirah brought in materials for you, I chased them out, cleaned you, and even dressed you myself." I said proudly.



She took a few steps before asking where I was taking her.




"Ummm...let's go show the babies to Kris." I exhaled nervously, and her face lit up.

She looks down at a sleeping Hubi with a delighted look and unlatches Hubi's milky little lips.





"Your Highness will be approaching!"



My ears pick up on Leolo informing Kris about my arrival. I was very nervous to see him.
Especially after earlier today. I've been pushing him away since my possession, which hurt me a lot.



The shield I've been holding up this whole time against our shared heart bond prevented me from connecting to his emotions, as him for me. I could only imagine what he was going through. He had a lot of love for me, and now he can't stand for me to treat him differently.



Hunnie and I turned the corner leading us to Kris, sitting on a bench with his back facing us and a few guards posted against the wall across from him.



"Hey."



Cautiously and slowly, he turned around, not even eyeing me, but Hunnie first, then back to me before his hands covered his mouth. He began sobbing, watching the two babies as I got closer to him with Hunnie behind me.



I didn't want to see how her eyes were looking at him because her heartbeat had said a lot already.



I take Prince Bahari with one hand and hold him out to Kris.



"Meet...
Meet your...little brother."



He holds his hand and forearms as I place him in his grasp. He breaks down soon after, pressing his head onto Bahari's chest.





"His na-name is Bahari.
Like Bahm's father." Hunnie croaks and holds Hubi upright, showing her tiny little body.




"And this is Hubi."




He lifted his head and smiled before breaking down again. I struggled to keep my composure before him. The scent of misery and hopelessness poured out of his pores and made me feel awkward and uncomfortable with this situation.



Hunnie kept shooting me desperately and pleading to look for me to do something, but I was scared.





"My baby..." Kris croaks quietly.