Pregnant With Alpha’s Genius Twins

#Chapter 21 – Bath Time’

Tires screech as Victor swerves into his driveway, throwing the car into park and jumping out the door almost before it stops.

“Victo-“ Amelia says, just starting to unbuckle her seatbelt. But he’s already moving around the house, heading for Evelyn’s cottage out back. Amelia slumps back in the seat, watching him go. He didn’t say a word to her the entire ride back. Instead, he made a thousand calls, shouted at Betas, ordered more security for the house. He didn’t even look at her.

f**k.

Amelia crosses her arms over her chest and stares silently out the windshield, planning her next move.

Victor bursts into my house through the back door, coming into the living room where I’m working to wrangle two sobbing boys into their pajamas. They cried the whole way home and, while I don’t blame them, my head is pounding.

“Are they okay?” Victor asks as he approaches, looking over the boys.

“They’re fine,” I say softly.

“Boys, what happened,” Victor asks, staring at the twins who lay on the carpet sobbing their little hearts out.

“Victor, I think we should –“

Ian crawls over to Victor and raises his arms, asking to be picked up, still screaming with tears. Victor complies, cradling the boy in his arms. Alvin sees this and works his way over too.

“Ian, tell me what happened, who took you?!” Victor insists, turning Ian’s head to face him while Alvin screeches, demanding without words to be picked up like his brother.

Ian doesn’t reply, just cries harder. “Boys,” Victor says, his voice deepening with command. “You must tell me what happened.”

“Victor –“ I start, but he shoots me a glare. This sends me over my tipping point. I lose my temper, raising my voice to say “Victor, they can’t right now –“

“Don’t tell me how to talk to my sons,” he growls.

and gesturing towards the two red-faced boys from whom an endless wail sounds. “They’re so freaked

snaps at me. I shove forward my hands, which are clutching two

them in pajamas, and wrapped up, and into bed. But,” I admit, lowering my arms.

“Baths,” he says, decisive. Then he turns and, holding Ian close to his chest, carries him upstairs. I pick

the boys on the floor and let them cry it out as we

some soap into the bath to make bubbles, adding a little lavender to soothe them. I check the water temperature – a little too hot, I turn up the cold – while Victor pulls down some towels from the rack and

work, Victor begins to hum a song – an song that I remember from my childhood, and haven’t heard since then. An old song, about wolves running under the night sky in starlight, about freedom and wind and

brushes his tears away and stands to watch the tub fill. Ian presses his face to the porcelain basin, watching us work almost without blinking, like he’s afraid we’ll

song is done, I put out my hands to Alvin. “Up and in,” I say softly, lifting him and sitting

and Alvin sink into the water. Ian dunks his own head, but Alvin asking me quietly to use

song, daddy,” Ian

and says, “thank you. My grandmother used to sing it to me when I was little, and when I was scared. Do you know?” He says, beginning to rinse

Alvin, laughing,

Ian says, circling his own eyes with his fingers like spectacles. “You can see in the dark! And bite whatever

is true,” Victor says, nodding sagely. “But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t afraid. Sometimes we are afraid even when we know there is nothing to be scared

fear finally starting to leech from me. I think

scared today. But I think there was something to be scared of.” Ian nods in agreement, pushing a boat along through the bubbles as he

so that the boys don’t see how intensely he is focused on their answer. I can see it in him, though – fear and rage

to

because we were hungry,” Alvin continues. The two

and we turned around, and someone had hit him, and was dragging him

Alvin says, looking up at us.

says, his eyes narrow. “We could smell her on

they put their hands over our mouths so we couldn’t yell