22. Zephyr

twenty-two

Zephyr

5 weeks later

T he days following Luc, Zo, and Robert’s departure were tough. Maddy was sad and no matter how hard her mates or her best friend, Reed, tried, none of us could cheer her up for long. Slowly but surely she came back to us and by the second week she was ruling hell in a way that amazed even the most cautious of demons.

Now between the new work assignments for any demon who desired it and the change in the soul sorting and torture departments, it’s a whole new Hell. Tonight we’re going to take our girl out to celebrate. We had made weekly trips to Riz’s a tradition but tonight is special, tonight we're going to ask our girl to be our wife .

“Maddy. Put the computer away. Work time is over. If we want to make our reservation and walk through town to get there like you prefer to do, we have to leave in ten minutes,” I remind her as I close the laptop in her lap, not giving her the option to argue.

She looks up at me with a grin and I’m instantly on alert.

She’s up to something.

Or she knows we’re up to something , Zar thinks from across the room.

We’ve gotten the hang of this whole reading each other’s thoughts thing. It’s definitely come in handy planning this surprise. She may think we’re up to something but there’s no way she knows what .

“You know the devil’s work is never done.” She chuckles. “But I’m hungry so now’s a good time for a break.” She stands up and stretches, arching her back as she groans. “Okay. Who’s turn is it this week?”

“Mine, Princess,” Oz asserts as he enters the room and struts over to Maddy, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her like it’s been days since he last saw her instead of the mere hours it’s really been.

“What’ll it be this time?”

Oz looks her over head to toe appraisingly before closing his eyes. His face screws up in concentration and Maddy disappears in a cloud of smoke. When she reappears she is wearing a skin-tight black t-shirt that cuts off just below her belly button leaving a strip of skin that has my mouth watering and a pair of flare-legged jeans.

“I am absolutely not wearing a pair of kitten heels to walk across town Mozoth ,” Maddy scolds him before the heels in question are replaced by a pair of tennis shoes she calls her ‘favorite chucks’. “I do look cute though.”

“You always look cute.” I wink at her. “Let’s go, I’m hungry. And you know what happens when I get hungry.”

“Yeah, I definitely don’t want a repeat of last time.” She shudders dramatically.

Oz kisses her again, successfully distracting her from her thoughts.

“Ready to go Sweetheart?” My twin asks from where he is waiting by the door.

“Definitely.” Maddy responds before we disappear from her quarters reappearing by the front doors. We step out of the palace and Maddy stops, taking a deep breath and looking up at the night sky.

“Have I ever told you how much I love it here? I always thought Hell would be stupid hot, but it’s so nice. The stars are my favorite. They’re nothing like the stars on Earth. They’re so much bigger and brighter,” she sighs.

“I’m glad you love it here, Angel. I haven’t spent much time on Earth, and I might be slightly biased, but I agree. Hell is way cooler.” I wink as she giggles at my lame joke.

When she starts walking again, she wraps her arms around mine and hugs my arm as we walk. She loves to demon watch whenever we walk through town, so we keep the conversation to a minimum and just enjoy the moment together. As we pass two female demons, part of their conversation snags my attention.

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant !” one squeals.

“I know! I thought for sure it’d never happen. There hasn’t been a demon pregnancy in at least fifty years”

Did she just say she’s pregnant? Belz asks in my head.

That’s what I heard. I shrug and keep walking.

Forty minutes later we finally make it to Styx after being stopped no less than ten times by random demons wanting to talk to the queen. No one would ever even consider saying hi to Luc if they ever saw him, but Maddy makes time for anyone who wants to talk to her. And it’s safe to say they feel more than comfortable doing just that.

Entering the restaurant, we walk straight to our room in the back, passing a group of demons celebrating. There’s a banner hanging that reads Congratulations! And when we walk by the word baby gets my attention.

Another one? What are the fucking odds?

A month ago, those odds would have been zilch . Oz projects. I can count the number of new demons born since me on two hands.

Riz greets us as we sit down and I swear I’ve never seen the old demon so lively.

“Boys! Maddy! So great to see you!”

“You just saw us last week,” Zar grumbles. “What are you so happy about?”

Even my twin’s sourpuss attitude can’t put a damper on Riz’s overflowing joy.

“I’m going to be a grandpappy! Verabella is having a baby! Can you believe it?”

“Congratulations, Riz! That’s amazing,” Maddy cheers, pushing her chair back and jumping up to give him a hug. “You’re going to be an awesome grandpappy.”

“Thank you, dear.” Riz says as he wipes a tear from his eye. “You know it’s all thanks to you, our new Queen of Hell is bringing about all sorts of positive changes.”

Riz leaves after giving Maddy one more squeeze and before she sits down I send a thought to my fellow bond mate.

It’s time guys, let’s do it.

We all stand from our spots and make our way in front of Maddy forming a small semi-circle around her.

“ Amica Mea, I have loved you from the moment you first summoned me and I watched from the shadows as you tripped over your pants while walking to the bathroom” Belz starts our prepared speech.

Maddy opens her mouth to lay into Belz but I quickly add my part of the speech before she can say anything.

“You’re a magnet for trouble and chaos and I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“You’re stronger than any demon I’ve ever met. I never expected that from a human raised on Earth,” Oz cuts in before Maddy can say anything. “You complete me in ways I never thought possible.”

“Sweetheart you are the cause of every good thing that has happened to me in recent memory and I hope you’ll say yes to being the cause of every good thing that ever happens going forward. Marry us?”

We all drop down on one knee as Zar finishes the big question and Belz presents her with a gorgeous ring made from a demon metal that resembles platinum and in the center surrounded by vines and small leaves sits a large dark stone that upon closer look appears to contain the entire night sky as seen on earth.

“You’re all a bunch of assholes… except you Zar. But how could I possibly say no?”

“So that’s a yes?” I ask eagerly.

Laughing, she nods her head. “That’s a yes you big dummy.”

We all stand as one and Belz slips the ring on her finger before we smother her, all four of us surrounding her and hugging her at once.

Madelyne

Once everyone finally backs away and I have space to breathe, I decide now’s the perfect time to share my news.

“So, I knew you all were up to something but I let you have your fun because while you were all trying so hard to keep your secret from me, it has made my secret much easier to keep.”

“Hey! You’re not supposed to keep secrets from us,” Zeph pouts.

“Neither are you,” I sass back, sticking my tongue out at him for good measure. “But here we are and it’s a good secret, I promise.”

“Shut up and let her tells us,” Belz glares at Zeph.

“You shut up,” Zeph grumbles back.

“Thank you, Belz,” I start again hoping to get it out this time. “Anyhow, as I was saying, my secret was much easier to keep thanks to your plotting and scheming, and now I’m ready to tell.”

“Princess, if you do not get to the damn point I am adding to your current tally. ” Oz drawls.

“Shut up, Oz!” Belz, Zeph, and Zar shout in unison.

“Oh my hell guys, screw it. I’m pregnant!”

Zar freezes and stares at me slack-jawed. Zeph stammers the word pregnant over and over again, while Belz looks at me in awe and breathes the word.

Oz is the quickest to overcome his shock, scooping me in his arms and spinning me around. When he sets me down, the others rush to my side.

“Is it true? We’re going to be daddies?” Belz asks in wonder.

My eyes get wetter as my smile gets bigger. “Yes. You’re going to be daddies,” I confirm.

“When did you find out? How did you find out?” Zeph says, clearly not too educated on how babies are made.

“Women just know.” I roll my eyes. “Well, that and I know the signs and symptoms because I randomly researched the topic to traumatize Reed with random facts. Did you know women are very emotional when they’re pregnant?”

“That explains a lot,” Zar mutters, earning a smack to the back of his head. “What? You were thinking it too!”

“Yes. But I’m not stupid enough to say it out loud.” Belz shakes his head.

“Anyway.” I glare at Zar. “That should have been my first clue but I had valid reasons for being emotional and stressed out so I didn’t think much of it. Then right after Luc and my parents left I got really sick. I swear I’ve never felt so bad in my entire life. Turns out morning sickness suuucks. But what finally tipped me off was this insatiable craving for cookie dough ice cream, I’ve conjured six cartons this week!

“Are you feeling better now?” Belz asks. “We can go home if you’re not feeling well. I wish you would have told us. I hate it when you’re sick,” he mumbles.

“I’m fine. Trust me, if I was sick like the first few days, there’s no way I’d be out of bed right now. Unless I was in front of a toilet. I’m actually feeling really good today. It’s interesting though, I’ve always heard morning sickness lasts months, not days. But ever since then, I swear I’ve never felt so good.”

“Can I check, just to make sure?” Zar pleads, giving me the puppy dog eyes his twin is usually known for.

“Of course.”

He lets out a deep breath before laying both hands on my stomach. I feel his magic settle over me, sinking into my body. It caresses me like a lover as it searches my body, focusing on my womb.

Zar’s head snaps up and he stares at me in wonder. “It’s more than one,” he gasps. “I can’t feel how many, but there’s definitely more than one little demon baby in there.”

“ Twins ?” Belz gasps.

“Or more.” Zar shrugs.

The guys are jolted out of their shock when Riz rounds the corner flanked by two waiters carrying a feast of all his best dishes.

“Why are you all still standing around? Sit, sit I’ve brought your favorites on the house as a thank you from my family. Congratulations on your engagement, she said yes I presume?”

“Thank you, Riz. Was there ever really any doubt?” Belz says as he helps me back into my seat. “We’re celebrating more than just the proposal tonight though. Seems Maddy here has a surprise of her own.”

Belz caresses my tummy and Riz’s eyes light up as he makes the connection.

“Well hell yeah, congratulations guys!” Riz smacks Oz on the back then gives me another hug.

As soon as Riz and his servers place the food on the table we all dig in like a pack of wild animals. Not a word is uttered outside of the occasional grunt or yummy sound. I finish my food and sit back in my chair stretching and popping open the top button of my jeans. Looking around I see I’m not the only one with a clean plate and an obviously full belly.

“I’m so stuffed I don’t think I could walk a block. Want to say goodbye and then just pop home?”

“Yes, please,” Zeph groans.

We find Riz back at the front of the restaurant and say our goodbyes before disappearing and reappearing back in our suite.

“What’s that noise?” Zeph asks as we walk through the living room to our bedroom.

Cocking my head, I listen for the sound in question. Faintly I hear soft, high-pitched whining. Pushing Belz and Zeph out of my way I dart into our bedroom and find Snowball lying on her bed with Fireball standing vigil. I quickly come to a stop and slow down softly cooing and making sure neither of them see me as a threat to the precious bundles I expect to find.

“Oh my hell, Snow, you did such a good job momma. Can I come see your puppies, girl?”

I crawl on the floor to their nest and Fireball sniffs me before scooting over just enough for me to see four tiny little blue and white fluff balls.

Oh my me , they are so fucking adorable!

“I can’t imagine having four babies. You’re a rockstar, Snow!”

Just a few months ago, I was a single human teacher with a creepy stalker. Now, I’m the Queen of Hell, watching this beautiful world get better and better every day. And to think it all started with some orange soda and whipped cream vodka.

The end