Chapter 172

Aisha POV The first cry of my son shattered the quiet of the birthing chamber. A beat later, his brother followed, a softer wail that tugged at my chest until tears spilled down my cheeks. I had worried endlessly about complications, about what could go wrong, but when I held them, tiny, warm, and perfect, it felt as though the world itself had folded into my arms. Simon was useless through most of the birth. He paced, he growled, he barked orders at the midwives as if his voice alone could speed things along. But when I placed Kaya and Noah in his arms, the great Alpha King melted into nothing more than a father. He puffed his chest and grinned so wide I thought his face would split. “Two sons,” he boasted to anyone within earshot. “The gods must have known one wasn’t enough for me.” I laughed, exhausted but filled with a pride I couldn’t explain. He strutted around the chamber, carrying them one at a time, making sure every elder, every healer, every attendant saw what he had accompl