*Rhys*

The air was thick with tension. It was the kind that made your skin crawl and heart beat a little faster. I could sense the storm brewing outside, but the tempest in Saoirse's eyes spoke of a different urgency.

She had been fidgeting and acting strangely, but she had kept me talking and distracted. She gripped her belly, her face etched with discomfort. I knew without words what was happening.

"Rhys," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the ...