Page 28 of Arthur

“I didn’t need another child to be pleased, but I’m thrilled we’re to be parents again. I love you so much.” I leaned in and kissed Patrick gently before I pulled away and wiped at his eyes again. He did the same to me. “You are and will always be my heart. I can’t wait to share the news with everyone,” I said before I pulled Patrick to me again and kissed him again. A baby. We were going to have another baby. “How long have you known?”

Patrick swiped at his eyes and then grinned. “Not long. Just a few days, actually. I’m really surprised you didn’t pick up on his aura before I did. With the others, you seemed to know before me.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Well, I happen to be quite in tune with your body.” I took a step back, keeping my hands on Patrick’s shoulders though. “Every inch of your body.”

Patrick rolled his eyes at me. “You should after all of this time. I’m surprised you’re not sick of looking at me by this point.”

Immediately, my smile dropped. “Are you tired of me? Do you wish you’d been gifted a shifter for a One?”

“No. Why would you ask such a thing?” Patrick tried to push away, but I pulled him tightly to my chest.

“Because you asked an equally senseless question. Why would you ask such a thing?”

Patrick sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I simply wasn’t thinking clearly. Do you think I’ll be able to handle the pregnancy? I’m a lot older than I was when I had our other children.”

I gave Patrick a look. “You aren’t nearly as old as Father was when he had Elliot or the twins. You will be perfectly fine. Besides, Constantine is here, and you know he will be watching over you as much as you will allow.” It would be different not having William deliver this baby. Sadly, he passed long ago, as did Constantine’s fathers. I liked to think that Alexander and Lancelot would still be here with us if they’d not been caught in that explosion. It was possible.

“Do you really think I won’t have any issues?”

“I’m sure of it. If you’re so worried, we can go talk to Constantine about it and see what he suggests.”

Patrick seemed to consider it for a bit before he shook his head. “Maybe later. Right now, I’m not ready to announce it to everyone just yet. I know the majority of them are warlocks and will be able to sense the baby soon if not already. But I would like to wait just a bit longer before we make any sort of formal announcement.”

“We can certainly do that.” I kissed Patrick’s temple before I started toward the couch that was in the office. When I sat, I pulled him down beside me. “Before I forget, we need to swing by and see Julius and Cameron soon.”

“Cameron’s pregnant,” Patrick said.

I chuckled. “Yes, but that wasn’t really a secret. They completely disappeared for a week not long ago, and Madison is a year old now. It was expected.”

“True. Is there another reason we are stopping by? I have an adorable outfit for Madison. It has a matching hat and so many ruffles.”

I smiled. Patrick truly loved all of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I sighed, hesitant to say what I was about to. “Julius has decided that he and Cameron are going to be moving back to the pride,” I told him. Immediately, the change in Patrick’s demeanor was noticeable.

“What?”

I turned Patrick on my lap, hoping he would understand. I knew he’d so enjoyed having them here, but now they were leaving again, and I wasn’t sure how well Patrick was going to take it. He was pregnant again, and when he’d been carrying Louis, he’d been overly emotional.

“Cameron doesn’t have a pack. Not really. But his wolf has really enjoyed being around Vincent’s pride and doing pride things. With Madison being a shifter, they would like to raise her in a pack or pride setting. So they thought it would be best for them to go to Seattle to raise their children.” It wasn’t unheard of. Julius was Louis and Vincent’s child. Unluckily for us, all three of our children had all moved away once they’d found their own forever loves. That meant that the only way we had ever had any time with our grandchildren had been when we had visited or they had come to us. It wasn’t quite the same as having them with us all the time, but it was better than nothing.

“You’re right, of course. They should be with Julius’s parents—allow Vincent and Louis to have the enjoyment of their grandchildren.”

I slowly started rocking Patrick side to side. “I know it’s difficult to think about. Our children all left. But just think. We’re going to have a new little one to fill our days and nights.” I felt Patrick’s mood lift. I didn’t ever wish for my love to be upsetor sad for any reason. But life sometimes wasn’t quite fair, and we had to make the best of things.

“True,” Patrick said. He looked at me and smiled. “What do you think he’ll be like?”

I chuckled. “Amazing, just like you are. And our other three children. Do you want to share the news with them?” I was, of course, elated with the news. But I felt that it was Patrick who should share our excitement with the others.

“Not yet. Soon though.”

I nodded. “Since you’ve known for a few days, have you thought about names? I know we had at least three or four more picked out all those years ago. Is there one you would like to use?” It had honestly been so long ago since Louis had been born, and I couldn’t remember what the other names that we’d discussed were. They were written down somewhere, but I wouldn’t be able to put my fingers on that journal easily. We’d moved a few times since then, and although the journals were here somewhere, it had been so long since I’d seen them as they had been put into storage with other things.

“I know I don’t necessarily want to use a currently trendy name. It just doesn’t feel right. I can’t really see using an incredibly stuffy name either.” Patrick sighed. “We have time though. The baby won’t be here for several months yet.”

“Very true. Well, if you come up with any ideas, I’m all for listening to them.”

“Do you have any?” Patrick asked.

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. “No. I know we had several names picked out and were on a list a long time ago, but I can’t recall what names were on it.” I moved in and kissed Patrick on the nose. “Besides, I’m not the one who is carrying the baby. You get final say in his name.”