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I kissed her head once more before letting Lucien lift her away. He gently settled her back in the cot and brought our younger daughter to me.

I watched the little mask. “Am I going to hurt her?”

“You won’t, my heart,” Alaric said. “Keep your hands here, and I’ll support your arms while Lucien watches her mask.”

Lucien settled our daughter against my chest, and once she was comfortable, I kissed her head.

“Hello, little one. It’s me, Mummy. I’m so sorry I missed your birth, but I’m here now.” I brushed my lips over her hair again. “Don’t you worry. I’m here now.”

A little of Leon’s pain slipped through the bond, but I pretended not to notice. Alaric was always telling him off for it.

“You’re a little warrior, aren’t you?” I watched her breathe against my chest. “Fighting so hard already. I’m so proud of you.” I glanced towards her sister, sleeping so peacefully in the cot. “Both of you.”

Looking between them, I couldn’t help thinking that none of the names we’d chosen felt quite right anymore. They all meant something gentle: flowers, light, lovely things I’d imagined whispering while the girls slept. I still liked them, but now I wanted their names to mean something stronger.

“We need to choose different names.” I looked up at Alaric. “Something that shows how strong they are. They’ve been fighting to get better for nine days. They’re not delicate flowers; they’re warriors.”

“Warrior names are not given to Omegas, my darling,” Lucien said.

“They’re Stormforge,” I said, stroking the edge of her blanket. “They’ll be warriors too.”

“Then we shall choose warrior names,” Alaric replied, covering my hand where it rested beside our daughter. He looked towards the cot. “Vaela would suit our elder daughter.”

I tried the name quietly as I turned towards her. “Vaela.”

“Strength that endures,” Caius said.

She lay asleep with one hand beside her cheek. I watched her little chest rise and fall without any help, thinking of everything she’d been through while I slept.

“I think that suits you, darling.” I looked at my mates. “Vaela?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Leon said.

Lucien repeated her name softly, and when I looked toward Darius, he nodded. I smiled down at the little girl in my arms.

“And you, sweetheart?”

“Seren,” Darius said.

I looked towards him. “What does it mean?”

“One who rises again.”

Caius began to purr softly, but Leon looked down, and Alaric’s fingers tightened briefly around mine. I repeated the name to the baby, watching her fist shift against my finger.

“Seren.”

I bent to kiss her hair, careful to avoid the straps of her mask, then looked across at her sister.

“Vaela and Seren. Our girls.”

“Yes, my heart,” Alaric said. “Our girls.”

Leon brought another cup of water to my lips, and I wrapped my hand around it as he helped me drink. It wasn’t shaking quite so badly this time.

“How ill was I?”

His gaze met mine. “Very ill.”