Chapter 0450

I break the embrace, searching Victor's weary gaze. "How long was I unconscious, my love?"

His calloused palm cradles my cheek, thumb tracing the curve of my face. "Thirty-two days, my heart."

A gasp escapes me. Thirty-two days! No wonder my mate looks like he hasn't slept in weeks.

"Victor, forgive me." My fingers clutch his shirt. "I'm here now. I won't leave you again."

The distance between us feels unbearable. I need to feel his heartbeat against mine, to confirm we're both alive. But these damned IV lines and monitor wires keep us apart.

With a frustrated growl, I yank the nasal cannula free. My fingers find the IV in my arm just as Victor catches my wrist.

"Easy, darling." His voice carries both warning and tenderness. "These tubes are keeping our son nourished."

"Then get rid of the rest," I demand, already reaching for another wire. "I need to be close to you."

Victor moves with practiced efficiency, disconnecting unnecessary monitors while preserving those tracking our baby's vitals. Our son?

"How are you certain it's a boy?" I ask as he settles beside me. The moment our bodies touch, warmth floods my veins - that familiar blend of safety and belonging only my mate can provide.

"I scent him." Victor nuzzles my hair. "I refused to let Seraphina reveal the gender. Wanted us to discover together. But Leopold and Donovan swore they could tell by scent alone, and now I understand. He carries my sandalwood musk, not your floral notes."

Joy blossoms in my chest. A little warrior to carry his father's legacy!

Seraphina insisted on keeping me hospitalized another week. Our son thrived, she confirmed, though I already knew. Maia's spirit had whispered reassurances, her celestial presence guarding our child.

The confinement should have maddened me, but our chambers became a revolving door of well-wishers. Seraphina herself delivered during my stay - a radiant girl with her mother's golden eyes. Then came Elara with her twins (both boys born simultaneously, that peculiar fae magic at work), followed by Luna and Stella presenting their newborns.

Theodora and Leopold brought their daughter, while Titania shared news of her impending son. Even Seraphina visited, glowing with another pregnancy. Vivian and I teased her mercilessly, though I spotted the longing in Vivian's eyes - Donovan remains resistant to expanding their family.

I drank in every birth story, every description of that first miraculous embrace. No bitterness tainted my joy now - only anticipation. Our time would come.

Vivian brought Julian during visiting hours. She's grown stronger, finally agreeing to attend the mate gatherings. More second-chance matings occur each moon cycle, though Reginald still refuses to participate, claiming he's "too long in the tooth for such nonsense."

Homecoming brought relief. After two nights of uninterrupted sleep in our den, routines resumed. With packhouse renovations nearly complete, Victor, Leopold, and Donovan returned to their brutal training regimens. We established school transports for the pups, while Rosalind stepped down as Lead Omega to manage her diner with Reginald's help. Beatrice assumed morning duties, hiring a promising young omega for evenings.

We converted the adjacent chamber into a nursery. Nathaniel crafted each piece - bassinet, crib, changing table - with exquisite care. Victor spent nights carving wolf motifs into the wood, then painted celestial patterns across the ceiling. I added silver constellations, our child's future night sky.

Isabella became my personal seamstress as my belly expanded alarmingly. That final month, our boy grew like spring wheat, requiring new garments weekly.

We'd chosen his name months ago - Sebastian Grey, honoring Victor's fallen father. And when the winter moon hung highest, four months after my awakening, we welcomed our son into the world.

Sebastian Grey Blackwood - heir to the Obsidian Moon legacy.