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.

an endless wail sounds. “They’re so freaked out, they’re not going to be able to tell you anything like this! We

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

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

and, holding Ian close to

tub fill slowly with water. We put the boys on the floor and let them cry it out as we silently

I check the water temperature – a little too hot, I turn up

from my childhood, and haven’t heard since then. An

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 disappear if he closes his eyes even for a

my hands to Alvin. “Up and in,” I say softly, lifting him and sitting him

but Alvin asking me quietly to use a cup to wet his hair. I do so, and begin with the

song, daddy,” Ian says quietly, looking up

even knew he was humming. He laughs softly and says, “thank you. My grandmother used to sing it to me when I

laughing,

eyes with his fingers like spectacles. “You can see in

afraid. Sometimes we are afraid even when we know there

clones. I smile a little, watching all three, my own fear finally starting to leech from me. I think I needed this too – the normalcy of an evening routine after this

quietly says, “I was scared today. But I think there was something

us what happened?” Victor says, organizing the soap and shampoo bottles so that the boys don’t see how intensely he is focused on their answer. I can see it

went with Beta Frank to

hungry,” Alvin continues. The two tell the story together,

heard Frank shout, and we turned around, and someone had hit him, and was dragging him

at us.

Ian says, his eyes narrow. “We could smell

their hands over our mouths