Chapter 489: Episode 487: Let’s start over.

Roxy’s fake smile held steady.

It was the absolute hardest thing she had ever had to do in her entire life. Her cheeks hurt, and her bottom lip trembled, but she kept her teeth showing and her green eyes bright. She wanted that smile to be the very last picture her babies kept in their hearts. She wanted them to remember her looking happy and strong, not broken and sad.

The loud, happy chaos in the old Iron-Wood Manor slowly settled down. The kids could feel that the time was almost up. The room got quiet.

Drax stepped away from Iris and the baby. He walked right to the center of the camera. As he moved, Roxy realized he didn’t look like a boy anymore. The scary, tough King mask was gone, but underneath it was a good, strong, mature man. He looked at his mother with pure love and total respect.

"You have raised us all well, Mama," Drax said softly. His deep voice didn’t shake. He spoke with the calm strength of an older brother who was ready to take care of his family.

He looked past Roxy, giving a small, respectful nod to Zarek, Torian, Syris, Kaelen, Caspian, and Ren standing behind her.

"Go and be happy with Papas," Drax told her. "Look at it as a second chance at life, but with them. You do not need to worry about us anymore. We are doing fine."

Drax slowly raised his hand and placed it flat over his heart.

"Every morning, we feel your caress," Drax promised, his eyes shining. "We feel your love in the wind and the sun. We would never forget it. We love you."

Hearing his beautiful, brave words, all the other children leaned in as close to the big television screen as they could. Axel stopped wrestling Tyara. Tanith dropped her bossy Queen act. Little Zale wiped his wet cheeks and took a huge, deep breath. Even baby Gianna cooed softly in Iris’s arms.

Together, all eight of the older children shouted at the very top of their lungs, "We LOVE YOU!"

Their sweet, loud voices filled the human living room. The sound bounced off the walls, filling Roxy’s ears with the most beautiful, wonderful noise in the entire universe. She felt a giant wave of warmth wrap around her heart.

And then, click.

The big monitor suddenly went entirely blank.

The bright picture of the cozy manor completely vanished. The smiling faces of her babies were wiped away in half a second. The screen turned into a cold, dark, empty black square. The weird humming sound from the special phone stopped.

The connection was cut forever. The magic string that reached across the stars was totally, permanently broken.

The silence that followed was deafening. It was so completely quiet in the penthouse that it actually hurt Roxy’s ears.

Roxy stared at the black screen for one single heartbeat. The brave smile she had glued to her face melted away instantly. The invisible strings holding her body up were suddenly cut with a sharp knife.

Her legs gave out completely. They turned to absolute jelly.

She didn’t even have time to cry out. She just collapsed, falling straight down toward the floor.

But she didn’t hit the ground hard. Before her knees could even touch the thick rug, strong arms were already there to catch her.

Her six mates immediately crowded around her. They didn’t try to pull her back up to her feet. They didn’t try to lift her and place her gently on the fancy velvet sofa. They knew she couldn’t sit up right now. They knew she was completely broken.

So, they just went down to the floor with her.

They dropped to the ground, pulling her right into the exact middle of their circle. They wrapped her in a massive, warm pile of thick arms and broad chests. Zarek pulled her back against his chest. Torian wrapped his massive arms around her legs. Syris and Kaelen pressed tightly against her sides. Ren and Caspian held her shaking hands and shielded her head.

They became a human blanket of pure, unconditional protection.

And they didn’t talk. Not a single one of them said a word.

Nobody whispered, "Shh, don’t cry." Nobody patted her hair and said, "It’s going to be okay." They didn’t try to fix it, and they didn’t offer any empty promises. They knew there were no words in the human language that could make this pain go away.

They just sat on the floor and let her cry.

They let her scream into their shirts. They let her sob until her throat was raw and burning. They let her shake and tremble as the worst pain she had ever felt ripped through her body.

They served as her absolute anchor. While she mourned the loss of her babies, while she grieved for the birthdays she would miss and the hugs she would never get to give again, they just held the pieces of her broken heart together so she wouldn’t blow away in the storm.

She had finally got the closure she desperately needed. She knew her babies were safe, she knew the new baby’s name, and she knew they didn’t hate her. They loved her. But even with that beautiful closure, the pain of saying goodbye forever was still massive. It was a giant, awful storm, and she just had to let it rain until the clouds were empty.

They stayed on the floor for a very, very long time.

The afternoon sun outside the big glass windows slowly started to set, turning the sky a dark, quiet blue, and then a deep black. The city lights began to twinkle far below them.

Finally, the heavy storm inside Roxy’s chest began to slow down. The loud, messy sobs turned into soft, tired hiccups. The tight, painful knot in her tummy slowly started to untie itself. Her eyes burned, and her head ached, but she had no more tears left to cry.

She felt completely empty, but it wasn’t a scary, dark empty anymore. It felt like a clean, quiet room that had just been swept out.

Roxy took a deep, shaky breath, filling her lungs with the scent of the men holding her. She smelled pine, ocean salt, rain, and clean earth.

She opened her tired, red eyes.

The world was still here. The big TV was still black. The soft rug was still under her. And her six men were still holding her, just as tight and just as close as they were an hour ago. They hadn’t moved an inch.

She slowly lifted her head from Zarek’s chest. She turned her body just a little bit so she could look up at the Dragon King. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Zarek looked down at her. His golden eyes were soft, wet with his own tears, waiting patiently to see what she needed. He didn’t rush her. He just stroked her messy hair with his big, warm hand.

Roxy reached her hands up. Her fingers were weak and shaking, but she gently cupped Zarek’s handsome face. She felt his rough, scarred skin under her thumbs. She looked deep into his eyes, silently thanking him for keeping his promise. Thanking him for letting her say goodbye, and thanking him for catching her when she fell apart.

She pulled herself up just a few inches, leaning forward, and kissed him deeply.

It was a slow, long, meaningful kiss. It wasn’t frantic or scared like the one on the bridge. It was a kiss that poured all her love into him. It was a kiss that said, I am still here. I choose you. Roxy pulled back slowly. She rested her hands on Zarek’s chest and turned her head to look at the others.

She looked at Torian’s tear-stained face. She looked at Syris’s messy hair. She looked at Kaelen, Caspian, and Ren, who were all watching her with careful, hopeful eyes.

They had given up the entire universe for her. They had traded their magic and their homes just to sit on this floor and hold her while she cried. They had sacrificed everything. They were her family now. Her only family in this loud, strange human world.

Drax had told her to go and be happy with them. He had told her to look at this as a second chance at life.

Roxy took one last, deep breath. She gave her men a very small, tired nod of her head.

"Let’s start all over," she whispered softly.

The words were quiet, but they carried the heavy, beautiful weight of a brand new beginning.

And the exact second the final word left her lips, her tired body simply gave up.

The massive stress of the day, the endless crying, the huge relief, and the deep, heavy exhaustion all crashed down on her at the exact same time. Her brain just decided it had done enough for one day. It was time to turn off and rest.

Her eyes rolled back. All the strength left her muscles in a single swoosh.

She fainted completely in their arms, slipping away into a quiet, peaceful dark.