Chapter 165: Finally!
*~Hazel’s POV~*
"So I was right," I said. "You’re hiding something from me."
"I never said that—" He immediately deflected.
"You didn’t have to. Your eyes said it all." I spat.
"My eyes?" Cayden stepped closer. I stepped back. He grabbed my waist and yanked me in until our chests met.
"What do you see in them?" he murmured, brushing his hair out of his face. His stupidly gorgeous, well-sculpted face.
"Lies and deceit." I shoved him off.
He came right back, dragging me again. We wrestled me pushing, him pulling until the babies burst into laughter. We both froze.
"Hey, look! They like it," Cayden said.
"Let’s do it again!"He pushed me again. And the twins laughed harder.
"Why are you using me to entertain them?" I snapped.
"It’s fun," he said simply.
"No, it’s not. Let’s pick their damn names and stop acting like a kid."
"What am I even saying?" I muttered, rubbing my temple. "Asking a child to help name my babies..."
"Fine," he shrugged. "Then I’ll name them myself."
"Have you forgotten something?" he cut in, smug. "I’m not just their father—I’m the Alpha... I have a say in this."
"No, you don’t get power here," I hissed. "I’m the one who birthed them. I brought them into this world."
"And who made you their mother?" he replied smoothly...His voice dropped—low, dangerous.
My heart stopped....That night flashed in my head. The night I stormed into his room to reject him... and ended up getting marked instead. The memory hit me fresh and raw.
I turned away and sat on the bed.. "Ugh."
"Exactly," he muttered, sitting beside me. "We’re never going to agree on this, are we?"
"Nope." I flopped onto the bed. "How did we even end up as parents?"
"Could’ve been me and Caspian," I sighed. "Would’ve been way easier."
"Ouch. That hurts."
"Sorry, it’s just... we’re not compatible parents. We should’ve done a test or something."
"That’s not how the mate bond works," he said, voice suddenly soft. "We’re made for each other."
My heart flipped. I shut the feeling down fast...Just then, both babies reached their hands out.
"Oh no. Not again." I leaned over. "You guys need feeding?"
But the moment I touched their tiny fingers... I heard it. A voice. My voice... and another masculine voice.
"Heather... Christian."
I jerked back. "What?"
I touched them again. It came clearer...my voice and a man’s voice. Familiar. Cayden? No—Caspian? Or...
Both?
"Their names," I whispered. "Heather and Christian.".....Cayden stared at me.
"I’ve said it before. I know I’ve said it before. With you... or Caspian. I just..." My hand clutched my head as pain pulsed through it. "I can’t remember when. But those are their names."
"Heather... and Christian," he repeated slowly.
I nodded. "Yes. I remember. Somehow, I remember."
"Are you crazy?" Cayden asked, staring at me like I’d just grown two heads.
His brows lifted, concern shadowing his face as he reached out and touched my neck, checking my temperature.
"No, I’m not crazy," I said, swatting his hand off.
"You’re burning up," he muttered.
"I’m fine. Do I look like something is wrong with me?"
"Yes," he said flatly. "Yes, you absolutely do. You’re lying—not just on I and Caspian—but on innocent babies. Hazel, you just said the babies told you their names."
"They did!" I snapped. "I held their hands, and I heard voices. One of them was mine!"
"Newborns, Hazel. Newborns. They don’t even know what their hands are. How in the moon’s name would they whisper their names into your head?"
I glared at him. "You’re not listening. It wasn’t a dream or hallucination. I felt it. It was real. The names are Heather and Christian."
Cayden groaned dramatically and threw his hands in the air. "My wife is losing it."
"I AM NOT CRAZY!"
"Okay. Okay, fine," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "But I still stand by Jordan and Kaylee. Solid names. Normal names."
"I’m not naming my babies Jordan and Kaylee."
"And I’m not naming mine Feathers and Cyristain," he muttered, purposely butchering the names.
"It’s Heather and Christian," I corrected through clenched teeth.
As if on cue, the babies giggled in their cradles.
"See!" I pointed. "They like those names!"
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. Maybe it’s part of your magical delusion. But admit it, Hazel—Heather sounds a little too close to Hazel. And Christian... doesn’t that remind you of a certain Caspian?"
I blinked.
He smirked.
"I am their father, not Caspian," he added sharply.
"Are you jealous of your own baby?" I asked, disgusted.
"No! I’m just saying—the boy should have a name that reflects me. If the girl gets a name similar to yours—Heather, Hazel—then maybe the boy’s should be, I don’t know... Cayden Jr.?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then at least not Christian. I’m vetoing it."
"Too late." I folded my arms. "You’re not ready to act right, so Christian it is."
He was about to argue when there was a knock at the door. The universe really had timing, because Caspian was the one who walked in.
"Speak of the devil," Cayden muttered under his breath.
I elbowed him and hissed, "Stop it."
"What’s going on here?" Caspian asked, already halfway to me.
He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Congratulations, dear."
"Thank you," I said, returning the gesture with a quick kiss on his cheek.
Cayden’s face twitched. "Grab your room, man," he muttered bitterly.
"Jealous?" I teased, raising a brow.
"Nope." Cayden yanked me to his side. "You’re my wife. Why would I be jealous of my own wife?" he asked, then kissed my forehead too.
I wiped the kiss off. "Copycat."
Cayden scowled.
"We’ve named the babies," I announced, turning to Caspian with a smile. "Heather and Christian."
"We?" Cayden scoffed. "She means she named them. Solo. No input from me."
"She claims the babies whispered their names to her." He turned to Caspian. "You hear that? Whispered. Newborns."
"I promise you, it happened!" I shouted, ready to slap both of them upside the head.
Cayden threw his hands up dramatically. "See?! Our wife is losing it."
"I. Am. Not. CRAZY!"
The babies laughed again.
Caspian chuckled. "Well, if the babies approve... I guess Christian and Heather it is."
I shot Cayden a smug look....And he shot me a glare.