*.....♡...…*
The halls of the Royal Palace, once silent and echoing with the heavy footsteps of soldiers and the sharp whispers of conspirators, had been completely surrendered to a new, chaotic sovereign,the sound of a nursery in bloom.
Arion sat by the window of the private parlor, the pale spring sun warming his face. His body felt like a heavy, exhausted map of every battle he had ever fought. Just weeks after the grueling birth of Princess Celine, his midsection had not returned to its warrior flat state. instead, it had surged again, the "late fetuses" finally claiming their space now that their sister had paved the way.
The physicians called it a miracle of biology, but to Arion, it felt like a relentless siege. He was a man of the North, built for endurance, yet even he felt the strain of carrying the weight of an entire dynasty within his ribs.
Across the room, the source of the day's current drama was unfolding.
*
*
*
Aiden stood in the center of the plush rug, his small hands on his hips, his brow furrowed in a look of profound indignation that he had clearly inherited from his father. At five years old, Aiden had spent most of his life as the center of Arion's universe. Now, that universe was expanding at a terrifying rate.
"It's not fair, Papa!" Aiden announced, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. "Celine is already too loud! She cries when I'm trying to practice my tiger pounce. She cries when Lorcan reads about the stars. She even cries when the sun comes up!"
He gestured wildly toward the cradle, where Celine was currently sleeping in a rare moment of peace.
"And now?" Aiden continued, his voice rising in pitch. "Now there are two more? Two! That's three babies, Papa! I am only five! I am just a little boy! How am I supposed to be a big brother to a whole army?"
Lorcan, sitting cross legged on a nearby divan, let out a melodic, Southern laugh. At seven, the Omega prince already possessed a poise that made him seem decades older , though his eyes still danced with a child's mischief.
"It's not an army, Aiden," Lorcan teased, leaning forward. "It's a Council. You'll be the Head of the Council, and I'll be your Chief Advisor. We'll have a baby on each side of us."
"I don't want a Council!" Aiden stomped his foot, though the thick carpet muffled the impact. "I want peace! If they all cry at once, the palace will fall down! The walls will shake! Why did the Serpent King put so many babies in there? Is he trying to break Papa?"
Arion let out a soft, weary chuckle, beckoning Aiden over. The boy trudged across the room and leaned his head against Arion's knee.
"Kyon isn't trying to break me, little tiger," Arion whispered, stroking Aiden's hair. "He's just as surprised as we are. Sometimes, the world gives us more than we asked for because it knows we are strong enough to hold it."
"I'm not that strong," Aiden grumbled, though he finally reached out a hand to touch the prominent curve of Arion's stomach, where a sharp, rhythmic kick was currently visible beneath the wool. "Look! They're already fighting in there! They're going to be even noisier than Celine."
Lorcan stood up and walked over, wrapping his arms around Aiden in a sudden, tight hug. "Don't worry, Aiden. I'm here. Whenever it gets too loud, we'll go to the Secret Garden. I'll bring the jasmine tea, and you can bring your wooden sword. We'll let the babies have the palace, and we'll have the woods."
Aiden tried to stay annoyed, squirming in Lorcan's grasp with a huff. "You're just laughing because you don't have to change the diapers, Lorcan!"
But as Lorcan squeezed him tighter, spinning him around, Aiden couldn't help it. A small, giggling sound escaped him, then another, until both boys were collapsed on the rug in a fit of laughter.
*
*
*
The laughter of the afternoon felt like a distant memory when the labor finally arrived three days later. It was swifter and more violent than Celine's had been, as if the twins were impatient to join the world they had been watching from the shadows.
Kyon was a constant, steady presence. He had taken his suppressants, keeping his Alpha scent at a low, grounding hum of cedar and cooling rain. He stayed by Arion's head, his hand locked in Arion's, his face pale with a reflected agony.
"Almost there, Arion," Kyon whispered, his voice thick with a raw, unmanufactured devotion. "The physicians say the first one is crowning. Stay with me. Stay in the center of the storm."
Arion didn't flinch this time. He didn't have the energy for it. He simply gripped Kyon's hand, his knuckles white, and pushed with the last of his Northern strength.
The birth of the first twin was a herald of silver and shadow. A boy, larger than Celine had been, with the thick dark hair of the North and Kyon's high, elegant brow. He arrived with a roar that made even the guards outside the door jump.
But there was no time to rest. Ten minutes later, the second twin followed—a girl, smaller and more delicate than her brother, with eyes that already seemed to hold the amber fire of the East.
By the time the sun set, the Royal Suite was filled with the sound that Aiden had feared: a chorus of new life.
(O_<)...…*
Hours later, the room was quiet. Celine had been brought in and placed in a double-crib with her new siblings. The two newborns, named jun (the son) and Myra (the daughter) , were swaddled in matching silks.
Aiden and Lorcan were allowed back in, creeping across the floor as if the floorboards were made of glass. Aiden stopped at the edge of the crib, staring down at the three tiny faces.
"They're... they're so small," Aiden whispered, his previous complaints forgotten. He reached out a finger, and Lyra's tiny hand instinctively curled around it.
Aiden's eyes went wide. He looked at Arion, then at Kyon, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, his arm around Arion's shoulders.
"See, Aiden?" Kyon said softly. "They aren't here to take your space. They're here to give you someone to lead."
Aiden didn't look annoyed anymore. He looked terrified and awed all at once. "Okay," he whispered to the babies. "But I'm still the boss. And no crying after the moon comes up, okay? That's the rule."
Lorcan stood behind him, his hand on Aiden's shoulder, a silent promise of support.
Kyon leaned his head against Arion's. "Three in one year, Arion. We are the most efficient rulers in history."
Arion laughed softly, despite the exhaustion. He looked at the real logbook, still hidden in the wardrobe, then at his three new children and his two older boys. The "Miracle of the Second Pulse" had changed everything.
He was still the Black Tiger, and he was still a man with secrets. But as he watched Kyon pick up Kaelen and rock him with a tenderness that no chemical could fake, Arion realized the "Gilded Cage" had truly dissolved. In its place was a nursery of giants, and he was ready to lead them all.
"We need a bigger garden, Kyon," Arion murmured, closing his eyes.
"We'll build a forest," Kyon promised.