“The body knows what to do. Bel, your stomach will stretch until the baby is ready to push through. Once your stomach opens, for lack of a better word, I will reach in and help the little miracle out.”
“And give me the baby,” Bel said.
“Yes, I will place your baby against your chest. Your body’s heat will help regulate the baby’s. We don’t know how much human or demon the baby will have in them.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Atlas said with a shake of his head. “All that matters is that our child is healthy.”
There was a loud cracking sound and Atlas nearly fainted.
Bel’s stomach was literally separating, revealing a smooth tear in the middle.
Calm as he could be, Raphael pushed the edges of the tear open before plunging his hands inside Bel’s stomach.
Atlas locked his knees to stay on his feet.
“I’m fine,” Bel told him. He squeezed Atlas’s fingers hard. “I can’t even feel anything any longer.”
Atlas nodded. Not that he could look at his mate. His focus one hundred percent on Raphael as the angel began to lift something from Bel’s stomach.
He held his breath until Raphael brought out their small baby covered in, well, something that Atlas was sure he didn’t want to know.
A sharp yip then the sweetest little cry echoed around them and Atlas could breathe again.
“Are…is…” Atlas gripped Bel’s hand with both of his, allowing his tears to fall freely.
“You have a beautiful, healthy, bouncing baby boy,” Raphael announced.
Lucifer and Asmos both cheered.
Truthfully, Atlas had forgotten that they were even in the room. His focus had been solely on his mate.
Raphael placed their son on Bel’s chest just like he said that he would. He waved his hand over the baby and Atlas could see his baby boy clearly without the goo or whatever. Atlas was going to go with goo. That…yeah, that was better.
Bel brought up his free hand to hold their son against his chest.
Their son.
Their baby.
Atlas wiped his face against his arm to clear the tears so he could gaze at his mate and child.
That had to be the most perfect moment in Atlas’s entire life.
Leaning forward, he took in the sweet smell of his baby boy before placing a kiss on his cheek. Then he kissed Bel as the demon prince sobbed, looking down at their miracle. That was what Raphael had called their child and he was right. This baby was a miracle.
With a gentle finger, Atlas brushed against his baby. First, Atlas counted all ten fingers. Then all ten toes. Very human fingers and toes. Next, Atlas ran his hand down his baby’s pale human skin to where the tiniest little stub of a tail was.
“He has horns,” Bel whispered.
“And a tail,” Atlas shared proudly. In his opinion this was the best-case scenario. Their child was part Bel and part Atlas. The perfect mixture of demon and human.
“He is beautiful, my friends,” Lucifer said as he and Asmos hovered close.
“I’m mending your stomach,” Raphael told Bel. “Try to stay still. You’ll be sore for about a week and I’ll come back to check on you then.”
“Thank you, brother,” Lucifer told Raphael.
“Thank you,” Atlas repeated. “Come closer, Asmos. Meet the next member of our bloodline. You too, Lucifer.”
