~Noah~

"Ssshhh it's okay Juni, your daddy's gonna be here soon," 

I cradled my babies close to my bare chest as Juniper let out a small cry. I know I could smell Tristan was near but I didn't know the babies already knew who their father was as they became restless.

"Do you really think your boyfriend's coming?" Sensei asked as he sat across from me. It was dark in the room but I could tell from the moonlight just how pale from the loss of blood in his leg even after we applied tourniquets.

"He's already here," I responded and Sensei looked a little surprised. 

"Your kind really scares me sometimes," He says just as the door slams open and a bright white light blinds me. But Mason's strong scent of a sweet vanilla forest floods the room and instantly feel at ease. 

"Mason," I gasped his name as the light came close and fell with a thud, blinding me further than I already was. 

"I know you're excited but I don't appreciate the kiddoes and I being taken out by a flashlight," I winced and the light clicked off. 

"Goddess, I'm so sorry baby, I just didn't know if I was seeing right. Are there really two of them?" He asked and I giggled slightly. 

"No, you're not going crazy. Mason, meet your son and daughter, Waylon and Juniper." I introduced him to our beautiful babies and Mason gently kissed my cheek. His look of complete shock was everything as he gently touched the back of their little heads with his fingertips. 

His large hand was shaking when he did so and the massive sigh of relief that left his body was so overwhelming that I reached out my arm and pulled him close. The babies calmed down a little bit once they realized their father was here but Waylon remained mostly remained inconsolable. Probably because his mommy was still missing from this beautiful moment. 

His forehead rested on my shoulder as he reached his arm around all of us and my tiger chuffed from deep within. Even Anu was overjoyed to be reconnected with one of our mates.

"Oh Goddess, they're so beautiful." He breathly whispered into my bare shoulder. He picks up his head of soft brown curls and suddenly my alpha grows serious. 

"We have to get you out of here, can you walk?" He asked and I tried to fake my strength with a smile but the second I tried to slide up the wall I was so weak that my knees gave out from beneath me. In two seconds I'm instantly swept up in his arms with the blanket covering my naked body and the twins cradled between Mason's chest and mine.

"Wait, we need Sen-Sensei!" I cried out only to find Nico slumped on the floor. 

"There you are. I thought we'd never find you," Nakoa's voice floats through as two more flashlights enter the room and Mason stumbles a bit.

"Nico!?" My brother stutters when he finds his ex-husband's lifeless body on the floor. 

"Help him, please," I begged Nakoa, but I know he doesn't have a single mean bone in his body. He would never leave a person suffering behind, even if that person caused him so much pain and heartache. 

He instantly got out his med-pack and got to work on attaching an IV to Nico's pale body. His breathing was shallow now and Nakoa's friend came in with a stretcher. 

Another man offered to grab a stretcher for me and the babies but Mason's deep growl scared him off. 

"Lead me back to the boat," He commanded the human who nodded and turned around. Mason followed him with a small limp as he walked and I started to worry.

"Baby, are you hurt?" I asked but Mason ignored me, continuing to hobble after our guide and down a few flights of stairs while cradling myself and the babies.

At this moment, my love for Mason grew exponentially with my admiration for his strength and protectiveness. I felt safe in his arms and I trusted him with our lives as he put me down in the rescue boat first before hopping after me.

Mason accepted a few blankets to keep us warm as the cool breeze had taken over what was left of the island in the evening light. He refused to let anyone else touch us as he wrapped the thin reflective material around the three of us. 

"You have to at least let a doctor see us when we get to...where are we going again?" I ask as my gaze wanders down from his face to his leg which looked like it was cut apart by dogs. 

"Hey Mason, let me take a look at that leg," Nakoa offers when he lays Nico down in the stretcher towards the front of the boat. 

"I'm fine," Mason lies and I give him a piercing gaze of direct disapproval. 

"Look at his leg Nakoa, please," I speak for Mason who doesn't dare challenge me. He sits beside me as Nakoa brings his large medical bag over and scans my stubborn mate's leg with a flashlight.

"It looks like you're going to need a lot of stitches but we should clean these out to minimize the risk of infection and cover them," Nakoa advises and starts going through his bag for the necessary items. 

"How's sensei Nico?" I ask and Nakoa pauses briefly, looking back at the stretcher carrying the man who saved me when no one else could.

"He's not doing so well, but the quicker we get him back to the ship the better the odds," Nakoa nods as he goes back into his bag and the rescue boat starts up.

"He saved my life Koa," I mention and my brother has a small smile that lets me know he understands. 

"I know, now this is going to hurt," He warns Mason who looked semi-panicked for a moment before immediately treating his wounds and my mate squeezes his eyes shut and tries to slow his breathing. As if he needed fake a tough guy act in front of his mate and two kids. 

I reached out, holding his warm hand in mine as the boat rocked back and forth against the tide. 

"Stay strong my love," I whispered gently in his ear as Nakoa cleaned a wound that went down to the bone itself and Mason bit his lips so hard that he was bleeding. 

"Alright, we're done," informs us as he tapes the last piece of gauze and Mason lulls his head onto my shoulder. 

I wanted to ask about Tristan and how he was doing, but Mason was so exhausted that I held back. 

"Tristan's just fine, we were together during the storm," Mason weakly answers and I release a small breath of relief before checking on the little ones. Both of them had been lulled to sleep by the ocean waves which I found surprising considering how loud the boat motor was.

The ship looked to be just a few miles out in the distance and the closer we got the more massive the thing looked. The fact that there were three of them seemed like overkill considering how small our island was but I'm not complaining. 

"We're almost there guys, just hold on," Nakoa pleaded, watching over Nico as his friends in uniform steered the boat and Mason passed out on the floor.