Chapter 359: _I'm Pregnant

Elian’s POV

*****

“Well, this looks lovely.”

Elian spun around with a bright smile when he heard those words from Lucian. The Alpha king sauntered into the dining room, donned in a silver and gold royal robe.

Three days had already passed since what was now being termed “the siege on the Stormborns”. The palace had already been rebuilt, and the wards were almost completely corrected.

With all this rebuilding, you’d think a certain someone would’ve found the time to tell his mates he was pregnant with freaking twins.

But… well—

“I just decided to treat you to something nice.” Elian stretched out his hands, pulling Lucian into a soft kiss on his cheek. “Well, with help from the maids and cooks, of course.”

[Yeah, otherwise you’d have levelled down the palace for good this time.]

‘Do not ruin this for me.’

Set on the dining table was a diverse assortment of delicacies—with recipes carefully curated from all corners of Lunaria.

Elian had a feeling this would be the perfect moment to share the good news.

“Hey,” Lucian grabbed his butt when he was about to pull away, his silver eyes teasing. “Just a peck? Really?”

That got Elian’s cheeks reddening. “L-Lucian.” he cleared his throat. “You can see the maids still standing behind us, right?”

Indeed, three maids were waiting patiently at a corner, each of them pretending to be too busy staring at the ceiling or the motes hovering past the morning sun rays.

Lucian’s gaze flitted to them. “Leave.” He grinned when they bowed before doing just that, his attention drawn back to Elian. “That’s been taken care of.” A sniff. “Gods. Are you using a different fragrance or are you—”

“If I’d known,” a voice Elian had been eagerly expecting, fortunately, cut the moment short, “that the invitation for ‘breakfast’ had just been code for a threesome, I would’ve brought one or two of my toys, little flame.”

This time it was Lucian’s turn to blush.

Walking into the room was none other than Kyren, draped in typical form-fitting black attire alongside a cape cascading down his broad shoulders.

“You’ve got to be…” The Alpha King reluctantly withdrew his hands from Elian, taking a glance over his shoulder. “Cousin. Can you not make disgusting comments like that?”

“Oh, please.” Kyren barked a short laugh, placing a hand on the nearest chair he could reach. “You’re acting like we didn’t have a threesome just days ago.”

“That is NOT what a threesome is.”

“I believe you have a naive definition of the word. We—”

“Boys!” Elian raised both hands, instantly bringing order between the two kings. “Can we stop yelling about threesomes in the middle of breakfast? Come on, the walls have ears.”

The Rogue king snorted.

Lucian glared, but he didn’t push the conversation further, simply rolling his eyes before pulling out the seat at the head of the table. Kyren sat at the opposite end while Elian lowered himself onto a chair at the middle of the table.

“Thank you.” He nodded, looking between his mates. “And uhm… speaking of threesomes…”

[You bloody hypocrite.]

Ignoring that comment, Elian adjusted his sitting position before grabbing a bottle of wine. “I actually called for this breakfast because I have something I’ve been meaning to share with you two.” He poured himself a glass, swivelling it around a bit before taking a sip.

Kyren and Lucian exchanged a look.

Then Lucian tilted his head. “What is it?”

For a second, Elian considered the sweetest ways he could let this out. Maybe talk about how far they’ve come? Say he’s excited for the life they’re going to build?

… Yeah, no.

“I’m pregnant,” he said almost bluntly, huffing a breath. “Yes, it was unexpected considering I literally died and got reborn. But I’m pregnant.”

Silence.

The Rogue king had just been about to dig into a starfish barbecue when he heard that confession. Now he was left frozen, blinking as though trying to confirm he wasn’t hearing things.

Lucian, on the other hand, couldn’t close his mouth, gawking at Elian like he’d grown wings and begun reciting lines from the Necronomicon.

[Aww. You’ve broken them.]

‘They’ll live.’ Although Elian said that mentally, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been too fast with letting out the news.

Sure, he and the guys had already accepted they’d be happy with him getting pregnant. But that was before the palace got attacked and he fucking died.

He won’t be surprised if they are now hesitant about bringing a kid into this mess.

“I…” Lucian struggled with his words. “You… how did…”

“Who’s the father?” Kyren shot the second he regained composure.

Elian gave the lord of the Dark Lands a disapproving look. “Really? That’s the first thing you could think of asking?”

Regret flickered behind those crimson orbs. Just for a beat. “It’s… a fair question.” Kyren straightened. “Obviously, I’m glad you managed to—”

“They’re both yours. Each of you, I mean.”

Kyren’s eyes bulged. “Huh?”

Lucian appeared to be on the brink of fainting. “You’re joking. That’s a joke… right?”

Elian rubbed the back of his neck, letting out an awkward laugh.

“The system ran a full scan after… everything that happened in the sacred pool,” he explained, setting the wine glass back onto the table. “That’s what it showed me.”

His fingers unconsciously drifted to his stomach.

“I know how insane that sounds. Trust me, I would’ve called bullshit too if I hadn’t seen the stats with my own eyes. I know this is probably a lot to process and honestly it’s still terrifyingly real to me but—”

His words never reached the end.

The chair scraped harshly across the floor as Kyren crossed the distance in an instant, wrapping both arms tightly around Elian. The embrace stole the rest of his sentence away, leaving him blinking against the Rogue King’s shoulder.

“You’re carrying our children,” Kyren whispered, his usually composed voice cracking ever so slightly. “Our family…”

A second pair of arms joined them almost immediately.

Lucian buried his face against the side of Elian’s head, laughing through an unsteady breath. “Gods, Elian.” His grip tightened just a little. “Do you have any idea what a blessing you are? After everything we’ve survived… you’re giving us this?”

Elian’s throat tightened.

“Well,” he muttered with a watery smile, “when you put it like that, now I’m the one trying not to cry.”

“You’re allowed to,” Kyren murmured.

“So are we,” Lucian admitted shamelessly.

The three of them remained wrapped around one another for several quiet moments, letting the reality finally settle in.

Then came the sound of approaching footsteps.

Aurora peeked inside, freezing the second she noticed the group hug.

“Oh… sorry.” She smiled apologetically. “I really hate interrupting this because it looks incredibly wholesome.”

Her smile faded.

“But I have news.”

The room immediately fell silent.

Aurora swallowed before meeting each of their eyes.

“Troubling news.”