Free Web NovelChapter 527: Episode 525: Going into Labor
Zarek stayed completely frozen on his knees right there on the soft living room rug.
His massive, calloused hand was still pressed totally flat against Roxy’s growing stomach. Underneath the soft cotton of her shirt, another totally wild, heavy kick hit his palm. Then, a tiny elbow or knee rolled across the inside of her tummy.
The giant, terrifying mafia boss didn’t say a single word. He slowly leaned forward and pressed his ear right against her belly.
Because of his incredibly sharp dragon senses, Zarek didn’t need a medical machine to hear what was going on inside. If he concentrated, he could hear the fast, tiny thump-thump, thump-thump of three tiny, perfect heartbeats.
A heavy wave of intense, overwhelming emotion slammed right into Zarek’s chest.
It had been so incredibly long since he had heard the heartbeat of his own children. For so long, he thought he wouldn’t have a child after Zarek anymore. But now he has three coming out soon. freёwebnovel.com
Listening to the strong, loud thumps of his babies kicking their mother, that empty hole was completely, permanently filled.
Zarek did not cry. He was a Dragon King, a fierce warrior, and the absolute boss of a new human empire. His jaw clenched incredibly tight. His thick muscles went completely rigid with pure, unbreakable devotion. He closed his eyes, and a low, deep, rumbling purr started deep inside his chest, vibrating right against Roxy’s skin.
He slowly pulled his head back. He looked up at Roxy, his glowing golden eyes burning with a fierce, totally protective fire. He gently kissed her stomach once, and then he kissed her hand.
"They are perfectly strong," Zarek whispered, his deep voice thick with emotion. "Just like their Matriarch."
Lira, who was still sitting on the floor holding her pink nail polish, let out a soft, happy sigh and wiped a tear from her own eye. "Okay, that is the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."
From that single moment on, the pampering in the giant stone mansion reached totally insane, unbelievable levels.
The very next morning, Roxy woke up and stretched her arms. She tossed the heavy silk blankets off her legs and slid to the edge of the bed to go brush her teeth. But before her bare toes could even touch the fluffy rug, a giant shadow blocked the morning sun.
Zarek scooped her completely up into his massive arms.
"Hey! Put me down, I just need to go to the bathroom!" Roxy laughed, wrapping her arms around his thick neck.
"Absolutely not," Zarek rumbled totally seriously, carrying her across the giant bedroom. "You are carrying three heirs. Your body is doing enough hard work. From now on, your feet do not touch the floor unless it is completely necessary."
Roxy thought he was just joking. He was absolutely not joking.
For the next few weeks, Zarek flat-out refused to let Roxy walk anywhere. If she was sitting on the couch and wanted to go to the kitchen for a snack, Zarek would pick her up and carry her. If she wanted to go read a book in the library, Zarek carried her. When he had to leave the mansion to go handle his business down in the city, he gave strict, terrifying orders to Torian and Kaelen to carry her instead.
She was treated like a literal, priceless piece of fragile glass.
The other Kings completely joined in on the total madness. If Roxy even looked at a leather chair, Torian was already there, throwing five fluffy pillows onto the seat so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. If she mentioned she was a little bit thirsty, Caspian would practically sprint into the room carrying a silver tray with three different kinds of fresh juice. Ren constantly rubbed her tired feet, and Syris checked her blood pressure every single morning with a totally serious, focused face.
It was totally ridiculous, but Roxy secretly loved every single second of it. She had never felt so incredibly safe and loved in her entire life.
Months passed in total, quiet billionaire bliss.
Outside the massive, thick glass windows of the estate, the bright green leaves of the pine forest slowly turned brown and fell to the ground. The crisp autumn air turned into a biting, freezing winter wind.
It was the middle of a massive, totally freezing New York winter.
Inside the mansion, it was a perfectly warm, cozy seventy-five degrees. Giant fires crackled happily in every single stone fireplace, filling the halls with the sweet smell of burning wood and cinnamon.
But Roxy was not feeling very cozy. She was feeling totally, completely huge.
She was now heavily pregnant. Her stomach had grown so large and round that she hadn’t been able to see her own toes for a very long time. She felt like she was carrying a giant, heavy bowling ball under her favorite oversized sweater. Her back ached constantly, her ankles were totally swollen, and the triplets were completely out of control. They spent all day and all night kicking her ribs, rolling around, and having massive wrestling matches inside her belly.
She was ready for them to come out.
It was a quiet Thursday afternoon. The sky outside the giant living room windows was a dark, ugly shade of gray.
Roxy was sitting in her favorite, super-soft armchair right next to the crackling fire. Zarek was sitting on the floor right beside her chair, his broad back resting against her knees. He was holding her swollen hand, totally relaxed.
Roxy reached over with her other hand to grab a heavy crystal glass of ice water from the small wooden table next to her.
She wrapped her fingers around the cold glass and lifted it up.
Suddenly, it happened.
It didn’t feel like a normal baby kick. It was a sudden, massive, incredibly sharp pain that started low in her back and wrapped tightly completely around her stomach like a giant, crushing rubber band. The pain was so totally shocking and intense that all the breath rushed completely out of her lungs.
Her fingers went totally numb.
The heavy crystal glass slipped right out of her hand.
The glass hit the floor and shattered into a hundred shiny pieces, sending ice cubes and cold water splashing all over the expensive rug.
Zarek completely jumped, spinning around fast.
"Roxy!" she gasped out, completely out of breath. She gripped her giant stomach with both hands, her face turning totally, chalky white.
"Roxy! What’s wrong?!" Zarek yelled, jumping to his feet. His golden eyes went wide with sudden panic.
Another massive, totally agonizing wave of pain hit her stomach. Her water had just broken. The babies were coming. Right now.
"Zarek," she gasps, gripping her stomach so hard her knuckles turned white. "It’s time."
Zarek froze for one single, terrified second before his intense protective instincts completely took over. He spun around to shout for Syris to get the medical bags ready for the trip down the mountain to their private hospital wing.
But as Roxy tried to take a deep, shaky breath, she looked past Zarek’s broad shoulders.
She looked out the giant glass windows of the living room.
The dark gray sky wasn’t just gloomy anymore. The wind had suddenly started to howl, rattling the thick window frames with terrifying force. And falling from the sky were millions and millions of thick, heavy, blinding white snowflakes.
It wasn’t just a normal winter flurry. The trees were already completely disappearing behind a totally solid, moving wall of white snow. The news had warned them about it that morning, but nobody thought it would hit this fast or this hard.
The absolute worst snowstorm of the decade had just begun to fall, completely burying the mountain and completely blocking the only road down to the city.
Roxy groaned as another terrible contraction squeezed her stomach. She stared at the terrifying blizzard outside, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.
She curses internally, ’Fuck, of all times for the triplets to be born!’
