Eternal Kingdom

**Bastion's POV**

We finished eating lunch after the meeting and I was thankful that it was finally over with.

The world had gone to hell.

I debated whether or not to visit the twins or confront Rory first. Deciding that the twins would be needed to calm me the fuck down after my talk, I followed Rory into his office.

By the time I got there he was packing various documents into boxes. He didn't bother looking up, but I knew he could hear me enter.

After a brief pause of me watching him, I finally broke the silence.

"Uh, hey man."

He stopped what he was doing, setting down his papers gently then resting his palms on his desk. Cold blue eyes met mine.

"If this is about the hickey, I don't want to hear it. Aria is already pissed at me for it; I don't need you throwing a tantrum, too."

"Woah." I held up my hands. "Someone's pissy today. I'm not here to throw a tantrum, you dick. I came to find out what the hell has been going on with you lately." "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know damn well what. Aria told me what you said. About marrying her and her picking you."

His jaw clenched and he dropped his gaze to his desk.

"Of course she did." He muttered in irritation.

"Look, it's not like she was telling on you. She's worried about you, man. She thinks that you don't believe she loves you." He stiffened, his glare reappearing. "And, what? You're here to tell me how much she loves me?"

What the fuck was his deal?

"No, I'm here to tell you to get that stick out of your ass and stop being such a selfish bastard. She doesn't deserve the stress you're putting on her. And she definitely doesn't deserve you lying to her."

He looked like he wanted to yell back at me, but he bit his tongue, instead collapsing back into his office chair, rubbing his temples.

"Can I ask you a question, Bastion?" He finally opened his eyes again, piercing me with them.

"Yea, man, sure.” He paused, as if trying to decide how to phrase his next sentence.

"If you knew that she could only ever be with one of us in the end, would you want it to be you?"

"That's a bullshit question. She ends up with both of us."

"Just pretend, asshole." He snapped. I had half the mind to put my fist in his jaw, but I promised Aria I wouldn't assault him, so I refrained.

"Of course I would want it to be me. That's easy. No offense, but I love her. I wouldn't give that up willingly. Not unless she asked me to, of course." He scrunched his nose.

"Really? All she would have to say is she doesn't want you anymore and you'd back off?" Was he really trying to question my love for her?

"Yea. I'm not going to force her to be with me. That's fucked up." I responded tersely. He scoffed.

"I think we love her differently, then." He stated plainly, a slight hint of challenge in his voice.

*This son of a-*

I crossed back to the door. Clearly this conversation was getting us nowhere except more pissed off. Besides, I was tired of being insulted by this asshole. He was changing, and it wasn't for the better. Before I shut the door to his office, though, I turned back.

"I don't think what you have can be considered love."

Then I shut the door, heading to see my precious babies.

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"Is it normal for him to be so advanced?" I asked the nanny who was watching me lay beside James, joining him in tummy time.

She only smiled, bouncing my Lilly on her hip.

"Oh yes. Vampire spawn are usually a little more advanced when it comes to physical milestones due to their strength. I would say he's right on track."

Fuck, at this rate, he would be crawling in a month. The kid could roll front to back and lift up his upper body like a champ. My Lilly mostly just flailed about. It was adorable, but clumsy as hell. She didn't possess an ounce of grace. "You want your giraffe, buddy?" I asked, offering his stuffed animal. He kicked his legs, smiling joyfully at me. "Here you go." I placed it in front of him and he latched on with that steel death grip of his, sticking it directly in his mouth and covering it in drool.

I honestly never expected parenthood to be so much fun. Granted, I didn't change a ton of diapers or feed them on the regular, but that would all change once we moved to Pittsburgh. I would be expected to take care of them full time. Thankfully, the nanny said that they sleep through the night already. Apparently that's really rare for babies their age, but I was grateful. It was nearly impossible to wake me from REM and my poor babies would be crying for a while. Well, unless Aria or Rory got up with them.

*Fucking Rory*.

What was with that question of his, anyway? Did he know something I didn't?

I thought about it a little more thoroughly. If she could only have one, would I want it to be me?

I guessed if it came to that, I would just want her to be happy. And if she didn't keep me as her lover, I would at least still want to be in her life.

I loved her with all my heart.

Even after getting our bond broken, my love for her never lessened. Hell, I'd say it got stronger, because that was when I realized just how real it was.

She was my mate, but she was also the woman of my dreams and the mother of my daughter. She was amazing.

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"I thought I'd find you here."

Speak of my angel.

"Hey baby." I flashed her my dimples. The nanny handed over Lilly, stepping away to give us some privacy. Aria gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, holding her tight against her chest.

"How'd the talk go?" I could tell she was nervous by how she was chewing on her bottom lip and avoiding eye contact. I rolled over onto my back, placing my hands behind my head for support and bending my knees.

"It was... ineffective."

"Oh." Her shoulders slumped and she knelt to the floor beside us.

"Don't worry, baby. It's probably just stress. He'll get over it."

I didn't think it would be beneficial to inform her about the question he asked me. That would only confirm her suspicions that he was trying to take her for himself, and as much as I was pissed at the guy, I didn't really want to damage their relationship.

She nodded, obviously unconvinced, before clearing her throat and meeting my eyes. That's when I noticed that hers were red and puffy. Damn asshole made her cry.

"Have you started packing?" She asked me, changing the subject much to my relief. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Nah, I wanted to spend some time with my babies first. Are we even going to be able to fit all of our stuff in our new house?" Her face lit up in excitement as she started rocking Lilly.

"Yes! Have you read the file Brett gave us? There are a couple of pictures of the house and it is adorable! Obviously no mansion, but we are on a couple of acres. It's basically like a cabin with how far into the woods it is. That doesn't make it sound good, but it is really cute, I promise. It reminds me of an old plantation house." Despite the fact that none of what she said sounded remotely satisfactory, I knew it would be perfect for us.

"Maybe I'll take a lo-" The loud ringing of an alarm sounded on her cell phone, making our babies squirm in discomfort.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go. I have my meeting with Lysander." She said apologetically, but I gave her a warm smile.

"It's okay, baby. Do what you have to do." I sat up, opening my arms to accept my baby girl. Aria gave me a sweet kiss on my forehead, making a jolt of electricity flow through my body in satisfying pleasure.

"Thank you, Bas. I love you. If you need me, I'll be in the chamber. I plan on packing while we meet. Three days isn't much time." Kissing both of our children, she stood, striding back out of their room while I tried to ignore the pang in my chest from her meeting Lysander in our bedroom in private.

It's not like she would ever cheat on me.

And if she did, I would know.