Page 42

“Watch it,” Sloan warned automatically, although there wasn't a damn bit of heat behind it.

Dawn smiled as she placed the baby against Becky's chest, quickly drying him and settling a warm blanket over them. “Congratulations, you two. You've got a healthy, beautiful little boy.”

Becky began crying the second she looked down at their son, her hands trembling as she gently touched his tiny face. Sloan watched over her shoulder, unable to believe that the little boy lying against his mate was actually theirs.

Dawn checked the baby as he rested against Becky, giving them a moment together before preparing to clamp the cord.

“Sloan?” Dawn caught his attention with a smile. “Would you like to cut your son's umbilical cord?”

“Me?” Sloan frowned, looking from Dawn to the scissors she held.

“Well, I could ask Slade, but I figured you might want the honor.” Dawn smirked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Touch those scissors, Buchanan, and I'll break your damn fingers,” Sloan warned with a growl.

Slade laughed. “Wouldn't dream of it, boss.”

Angelina helped Becky settle comfortably against the pillows, making sure she had their son securely against her chest while Sloan carefully moved from behind her to stand beside the bed. Dawn clamped the cord in two places and showed Sloan where to cut.

He took the scissors she offered, but when he positioned them, he hesitated.

“This isn't going to hurt him or Becky, is it?” Sloan asked, glancing at his son.

“No, Sloan. Neither Becky nor your son will feel a thing,” Dawn reassured him with a smile.

Satisfied, Sloan positioned the scissors where Dawn indicated. For a man who had handled more weapons than he cared to remember, he found himself being ridiculously careful with a simple pair of scissors. The cord was tougher than he'd expected, but he made the cut and handed the scissors back to Dawn.

Such a simple thing, yet the significance of what he'd just done hit him harder than he could have imagined. He'd severed the physical connection between Becky and their son, and now that tiny little boy was beginning a life of his own.

“Hey.” Becky's soft voice drew his attention. She was watching him with tears in her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered, but he heard her clearly.

“I love you,” Sloan replied, then looked down at their son against his mother's chest, before meeting Becky's gaze.

While Dawn and Angelina continued attending to Becky, Sloan remained beside the bed, unable to stop looking at his son. He'd felt him move inside Becky, listened to his heartbeat, and watched her belly grow over the past months. But none of that had prepared him for this.

A child who, by every rule Sloan had lived under for centuries, should never have existed.

Yet here he was.

Alive. Perfect. And theirs.

“Sloan.” Becky looked up at him through her tears. “Look at him. He's perfect.”

“Just like you.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, not giving a damn who heard it.

Their son continued making little noises as he settled against Becky, his tiny fingers curling near his face. Sloan reached out, hesitating before gently touching one of his small hands. The baby's fingers closed around his, and something inside Sloan broke wide open.

He'd spent most of his existence protecting others, making sure the people under his care survived whatever the world threw at them. He'd lost Warriors, made decisions that haunted him, and carried responsibilities that never seemed to get any lighter. But nothing in all those years had ever felt like this.

This little boy had no idea who he was holding on to, or what his existence meant. He didn't know the rules he'd already broken simply by being born.

And Sloan would spend the rest of his life making damn sure he never had to worry about any of it.

CHAPTER 18

“How much longer?” Sid demanded, glancing from his wife to Dawn, who was checking Lana's progress.

“If you ask that one more time, I'm going to have Slade surgically sew your mouth shut,” Lana warned, her head resting against the pillows as she tried to catch her breath.