She remembered every detail of him. How could he have come to mean so much to her so quickly?
And yet if he died... she wanted to die, too.
She choked on more tears.
"Here."
She looked up as Shahara brought her a mug of hot cocoa and placed it in her cold hands. Devyn's mother had been amazingly kind and attentive to her. Most of all, she was frighteningly composed. "Thank you."
Shahara inclined her head. "I really hate hospitals."
"Me, too." She took a sip of her cocoa, still awed by Shahara's composure. "How can you be so calm?"
Shahara's gaze burned her. "I know my husband won't let our baby die."
"But what if--"
"Shh, Alix. There are no what-ifs. Syn will move the universe itself to keep Devyn alive. I have faith in him. Besides, he knows if he fails, I'll kill him where he stands."
Now she understood the source of Devyn's morbid humor. "I'm surprised you're even talking to me after everything that's happened."
"Me, too, to be honest. I've never been able to stand any woman my son has brought home."
"Then why me of all people?"
Shahara smiled gently as she smoothed a piece of Alix's hair behind her ear. "Because I see a lot of myself in you, and you're one of us. You put your family first and when Merjack threatened Devyn and Syn, you answered the same way we did. You took the means necessary to stop him. Without hesitation. Most of all, my son and grandson love you. Even Vik and Sway love you, and that's no easy feat. Vik still hates me most of the time."
Those words meant a lot to her. "I would laugh if I wasn't so scared."
She rubbed Alix's arm. "I know, baby. But have faith. It took me a long time to learn it. Now I don't know how I ever lived before Syn catapulted into my life."
As if in answer to her words, Syn came out of the OR door. Alix couldn't take her eyes off the specks of blood on his right sleeve.
Devyn's blood from surgery.
But by his relieved demeanor, she knew Devyn was alive. He went to Shahara and hugged her.
"He's fine?"
"You think I'd be out here facing you unarmed if he wasn't?" Syn kissed her forehead. "He's in recovery and will be back on his feet in a few weeks."
For the first time, she saw the chink in Shahara's armor as she wept in happiness.
"What about Paden?" Alix asked.
"I couldn't kill one son to save another. It took a little bit, but we patched him up. He's in recovery, too."
Shahara cleared her throat and regained her composure. "How did you fix Devyn?"
Syn flashed her a grin that reminded Alix so much of Devyn that it sent a chill down her spine. "I am that good, baby. I took parts from Vik and reconstructed another chamber for him. His heart should be stronger now."
Shahara leaned into her husband as she looked at Alix. "I think you're definitely right, Syn. His heart is much stronger now."
Devyn came awake to the worst pain imaginable. He felt as if someone had clawed him into pieces. But as he blinked his eyes open, he was surprised to find Alix beside him, holding his hand.
Her smile dazzled him. "Hey, sweetie."
He grumbled as more pain throbbed. "What did you do to me?"
"That was your father, hon, not me. He had to do some repair work on your heart."
He breathed slowly, trying to mitigate the pain. "I take it I lived, though I don't feel like it right now."
"Bitch, bitch, bitch. Most people would just be grateful they're alive after all you went through."
He laughed until he saw his parents, Vik and Oman in the corner. "Why are you guys being bashful?"
His mother smiled. "We didn't want to intrude."
"Oh, please. When has that ever been your concern?"
His father's gaze went to Alix. "Since you finally found a woman your mother approves of. And me, too, for that matter."
Devyn started to ask how Paden was doing, but before he could get the words out, Paden was leaning against his doorframe. Like him, he wore a blue hospital gown.
"The nurse said you were awake."
Devyn held his hand out to him as he approached the bed, and Alix made room. "I heard what you said when you were shot. You're such a lying sack of shit, I have no idea what to believe where you're concerned."
Paden turned his head to their father. "I would die for you guys. You know you can believe that. Does anything else really matter?"
Devyn looked at Alix as he realized that he felt the same for her. "No, no, it doesn't."
His mother moved forward and tugged gently at Paden. "We're going to step out and see Paden back to bed before he collapses. You two have some things you need to say to each other and I'm sure you don't want an audience for it."
They carefully took Paden out, along with Oman and Vik.
Alix didn't speak again until they were alone. "Devyn, I want to say--"
"Alix, I've been meaning--"
They laughed as they talked over each other.
"You first," Devyn said. As always, he was a gentleman.
Alix took a deep breath as she stared at him. "I wanted to say thank you for everything you did. Really. Thank you."
Devyn arched a brow as her words cut through him. "That's it?"
She looked confused by his quesion. "What? Were you expecting me to say that I love you?"
Well, yeah. Especially since that was what he'd intended to say to her.
But he'd be damned if he was going to say it if she didn't feel that way toward him.
So he dropped his gaze away. "No. Why would I expect that?"
She wrinkled her nose in an adorable way that actually made him hard. "Maybe because I do?" She leaned forward over him until they were practically nose to nose. "I love you, Devyn Wade Kell, with everything inside me. But it's okay if you don't feel the same. I know I'm just a piece of trash in your world, and I don't expect you to share my feelings."
He cupped her face in his hand and gave her an angry stare. "Don't you ever say that to me again."
Alix felt tears sting her eyes at his reaction. Though she'd been scared to tell him how she felt, she'd never thought her love would actually anger him.
When will I learn?
Still, his eyes shredded her soul with his anger. "Trash is something people throw away, Alix. I intend to keep you for the rest of my life."
His words stunned her as her hurt melted away. "What did you say?"
He flashed that disarming grin. "I love you, baby. And I want you to stay with me. Always."
* * *
EPILOGUE
One year later
Alix stood aside as Devyn, Paden, Oman, Sway, and Vik helped the rebels at Paradise City unload the supplies they'd brought for their wives and children while her mother helped hand out clothes.
Never in her life had she seen a happier group and she was thrilled to be a part of it.
She understood why Devyn did this for free. There were things in life that no one could put a price on, and with every day she spent with him, she learned that more and more.
Tempest came running up to her, holding a link. "You're buzzing."
"Thanks, runt." She placed it in her ear and answered it while Tempest went to help give out supplies, too.
"How's my daughter doing?"
She smiled at the sound of Shahara's voice in her ear. "Fine, Mom, how are you?"
"Worried about my babies as usual. Am I interrupting?"
She smiled at the two things Shahara always said whenever she called. "You're never intruding, and I'm looking at your babies right now and they're all good."
Devyn came up and kissed her on the cheek. He dropped his hand down to touch her stomach. "Did you tell her the news?"
"News?" Shahara asked.
Alix bit her lip before she spoke. "We're going to have a baby."
The happy shout in her ear almost deafened her. "All right, you guys take care. I have to go make calls. If you thought the wedding was
big, wait until you see the baby shower."
Alix laughed as she hung up and put her arms around Devyn. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything."
He rubbed his nose against hers. "Trust me, I'm the one who's thankful. I thought I had everything until you stuck your nose in where it didn't belong."
And she'd had nothing until the day she'd found him. Now... now she had a life worth living and she intended to spend the rest of it loving all of them.
THE END
Sherrilyn Kenyon, Born of Ice
(Series: The League # 3)
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