I don't own The Selection.

reviews:

Lady Annabeth of Illea:

I despise Kota... he is a jerk. But anyways... great chapter and the argument was good! That sounds weird but it was written very well. Also, just to remind u... u are and AMAZING author! U really do have a talent for this. If u ever do write a book.. I'll be the first to buy it! (Not trying to say that this isnt a book or whatever... u know what I mean hopefully. Like a published book. Ugh sorry i hope u know what I mean. I know some people get offended when people say an "actual book" since some don't count fanfiction as actual writing which is stupid. Not trying to say that. Wow that was drawn out and took awhile. Sorry lol..) Seriously ur writing style is amazing! I hope u have a great day and can't wait for the next chapter! :)

livewithbooks:

ah, i despise kota too. he's horrible. haha, thank you! i'm glad you enjoyed it. i know what you mean, don't worry! maybe someday i'll write my own book! thank you so much, i'm serious. the support really keeps me going! thank you so so so much! have a wonderful day too!

gabyselectionlover:

so this was really good and i feel your chapters are getting so good and i remember when i just started and you were only at 16 but one note is maybe but a tw because some ppl get upset by this kind of language or content? also sorry i haven't commented in a while

livewithbooks:

i'm so so glad you liked it! also, thank you so so so so so much for pointing out the tw. i'm going to really trying to add them if i write more sensitive topics (which i most likely will).. it's fine! you don't have to comment on every chapter, but any suggestions/criticism is so very appreciated. have a good day!

i'm going to go ahead and add another TW, just because this chapter continues the whole idea of the threat, so

TW: DEATH THREAT!

okay, so now, onto something else,

guys, if you have any suggestions, anything you'd like to see, please tell me! i love seeing your opinions and ideas! every review means the world to me.

Our bedroom door creaked, but I figured it was just America going to check on the twins.

However, America was in my arms, her head on my chest. I frowned and shrugged it off, closing my eyes again. The comforting sound of rain and thunder in the background was one of my favorite things at night. Truthfully, it helped me sleep most nights.

And then, there was a tug on my blanket and a soft, "Mackin?"

"Astra?" I whispered, and she climbed up on the bed and into my arms. "What's wrong, star?"

"I'm scared, Mackin."

"Of the storm?"

She nodded and I kissed her head.

"Does your Mommy or Daddy know you're here?"

"Nope," she said. "They were sleepy."

"How about," I paused. "You sleep in here with me and Aunt Ames tonight?"

"Yes!"

"Shh," I laughed. "We can't wake Ames up, okay? Come here."

I helped her so that she was facing me, but in between America and I. I could feel her breathing against my bare chest, and within minutes, she was out like a light. So, hoping to get some more sleep, I closed my eyes and quickly followed.

In the morning, the storm was a little worse, and Astra was crying.

"Mackin?" She whispered, poking me.

I yawned, half-asleep and tired. However, I let her snuggle against my chest and rubbed her back to comfort her. She sighed, and wrapped her arms around me.

And then, the door opened and a panicked Kenna, James, Magda, May, and Gerad were revealed. I facepalmed; I hadn't remembered to tell someone that Astra was with me. Now that's what I called smart. Astra shooed them away and resituated against me.

"You stole my child?" Kenna asked, clearly mad.

"Of course not," I said, sitting up.

"Mackin let me sleep with him and Aunt Ames last night," she said, and winced at the thunder. "Loud."

"Astra, why didn't you come get us?" James asked.

She simply buried her face in my side, hugging me so tightly I couldn't get away. "I wanted Mackin."

Ah, so she had actually just wanted me.

"Astra, you can see Maxon anytime you want during the day," Magda reminded her. "But it's not nice to wake people up, okay?"

"Oh," she frowned. "Mackin mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," I said, setting her down on the floor. "But you've got to tell someone where you're going, alright?"

"Okie dokie." She said, but then she grabbed my leg, so that she was sitting on my foot.

Good move, Maxon.

I now had a four year old little girl clinging to me for dear life. And I had a job, which I was expected to do even when it stormed. Then, I noticed that America wasn't actually in bed anymore. Where she had gone was beyond me. Lovely.

Looking at the clock, it was nine o'clock. Stavros was going to murder me. Today, we were to be working on the military downsize I was arranging and trying to figure out what exactly the rebels had planned for my daughter's murder. Astra could have come with me, but it would only upset her and that's the last thing any of us needed.

"Astra, Maxon has to go to work," May said.

Astra's face fell, and I thought my heart had actually shattered. "You're gonna leave me?"

"I'll be in the same building, Astra," I assured her. "I'm not leaving, I promise."

"But, Mackin, the noise—"

"That's thunder," I said. "And it won't and can't hurt you, Astra."

"Mackin, no," Astra said, and tears fell down her face.

I pulled her back into my lap. "Hey, don't cry, okay? Why don't you come eat lunch with me and your aunt?"

Thirty minutes later, I was finally getting ready for work, though I was literally an hour behind schedule. I sped down the hallway towards the meeting, and entered to see Daphne and Frederick at the other end of the table, and everyone looked a little pissed that I was so late.

Daphne got up from her seat and hugged me briefly, and I shook Frederick's hand. And then, I sat down.

"Sir, Queen Daphne has received a letter much like yours, but it's targeted towards her unborn child." Stavros explained, and I had to keep a straight face. "We've found that they are almost identical, except for who sent them."

Hell, Daphne was pregnant.

That was news to me. I briefly wondered why she hadn't told me earlier, but then again, I knew from firsthand experience that sometimes things slipped your mind. Like when I didn't tell Brice right away, it wasn't because I was trying to lie, I just had a lot on my plate and hadn't managed to remember.

"Why are they targeting an unborn baby?" I asked, and Daphne shrugged.

She handed me the letter. "As this would be our first child, she'll be the heir to the French throne, just as Avery is."

"Does this mean that they are specifically targeting future female queens?" I asked, trying to think of any other reasons. "Is this some kind of hate crime?"

"It cannot be a hate crime unless they succeed in killing them," Aspen explained, and both Daphne and I shared a look.

She spoke first. "So, what? We wait for our daughters to be brutally murdered? And I'm pretty sure that if Avery's a target, then Roman is as well."

"Yes, it is highly possible that the royal twins are both targets in this." Stavros said. "And if His Royal Highness is killed, then it can no longer be classified as a hate crime against the female sex."

"Wouldn't all four of us be targets as well?" I asked. "We could all have more children. More heirs."

"In both letters, sir, they described how they wanted both parties to suffer deeply." Carter said, and I got the point.

"The more heirs we have, the more heirs they'd kill."

Daphne looked pale. "We could run."

"Daphne, running is what they want." I explained. "The more panicked we look, the more pleasure they receive. We cannot run. We've got to keep up appearances."

"You mean we must go out in public when our children are in danger?"

I nodded. "That's what I'm saying."

"Do you hear yourself, Maxon? You'd sacrifice your own children?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying that we can't change what we do. If we show them that we're scared, it could go downhill."

"Downhill?"

"If we panic and don't pay attention to little things, they could slip by us Daphne. Our children could end up in a grave because of our mistakes."

Frederick stepped in. "Do you think there's any chance this could be a game, monsieur?"

"Even if it is, should we let our guard down, Frederick?"

Lunch came slower than I'd have liked.

I was in my office when the entire family walked in, and Astra barreled into my arms, hugging me so tightly that I didn't know if she'd let go. When she finally did, she turned around so she was no longer facing me in my lap. America set both Avery and Roman down on the desk, and they wiggled around a bit. Astra leaned forward and kissed both of them.

"I didn't know Daphne was visiting," America said, sitting down next to me. "You know, she said something about her being pregnant."

"She got a letter too, Ames." I said, and her face fell. "Her and Frederick are having a girl."

"A letter?" Astra asked.

"Oh, yes. You know how you send Kile letters?" Kenna asked, and she nodded. "It's a lot like that."

"Oh, okie dokie." She said, and the adults in the room motioned for me to come talk to them.

I set Astra down in my chair. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, Maxon. Has she told you anything about why she's doing this?" May asked, bluntly.

I shook my head. "I have no clue why she's being so clingy to me of all people."

"I think she's worried about you, Maxon." Magda said. "Every ten minutes she asked us if you were okay. And now, she's obsessing over the twins."

"Worried?" America asked. "But we're fine, Mom."

"I think Magda may be right," James said.

"What do I do?" I asked, internally groaning. "I can't take her everywhere with me."

"Of course not, but we wanted to know if you could talk to her." Kenna stated. "Explain to her that you and the twins are fine, and so is Ames."

"I'll try,"

Astra and I had our little talk that night in her room, where I kneeled in front of her once she had sat down on her bed. I took her hand in mine and kissed the back of it softly. Her room was pink and purple, with sudden pops of yellows and blues. There were drawings on the walls, flowers in vases, and she even seemed to have a pet frog.

Her room smelled like fresh cut grass, which was a rather odd smell for a toddler's room. She also had a rocking chair, a baby piano, and other strange toddler toys laying around. It was much neater than I'd actually expected it to be.

"Astra," I said, looking her in the eyes. "Are you worried I'm going to get hurt?"

She nodded and her eyes teared up. "Daddy told me your job is danger.. ous, Mackin."

I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Star, you know I'm safe, right? Avery and Rome are safe too."

Previously, I had believed that the thunderstorm was the reason for her distress, but Magda had brought up a good point to me. I'd been hurt before, and Astra had seen it firsthand. And now, she believed that I was to be hurt again, and so she was trying her absolute best to never let me be away from her. Like she was trying to keep me safe.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she admitted, clutching my hand.

"Look at me," I asked kindly, and kissed her forehead. "I'm safe, Astra. I love being with you. Being your uncle is an amazing thing, star. It's better than being king. But I've got responsibilities, alright? I have to be there for Rome and Avery, as their dad."

"But, Mackin, lunch was fun."

I laughed, tickled her, and she sat in my lap on the floor. "We can eat lunch together everyday if you want to."

"We can?" She asked, and I kissed her forehead again.

"I'll always want to eat lunch with you, kiddo."

She climbed out of my lap, suddenly.

"Mackin, I want a cookie."

"Ah, not so fast." I said, pulling her back to me. "We can get a cookie tomorrow, alright? It's bedtime."

"Not bedtime!" She whined, leaning back into my chest.

I grinned. "Yes, bedtime."

"Read me a story?"

"Hm," I frowned, thinking it over. "Which one?"

"This one!" She exclaimed, holding up a book about dogs. "And you gotta tuck me in, Mackin."

She climbed into bed and covered herself up, and I sat on the floor next to the bed, and turned the lamp on so I could read. Astra held my hand and motioned for me to start. The story was named, "The Dog and The Elephant".

"Once, there was a dog and an elephant," I read. "The elephant, Ted, was the youngest elephant in the land. One day, Ted wandered away from his Mommy and ended up in the backyard of a friendly dog's home. This dog was called Fluffy, but the truth was quite the opposite. You see, Fluffy had no hair at all!"

She giggled and her smile was enough to make me keep going.

"Ted laughed at his name, but Fluffy was sad. He didn't like his name anymore. It made him feel stupid. And because of this, Ted decided to apologize to Fluffy for being so mean." I read, using goofy voices. "On Fluffy's third birthday, Ted bought him a wig!"

"A wig?" Astra repeated, and yawned. "Mhm."

"Oh, yes! A wig. A big, neon green wig that looked like it belonged in a movie about clowns. Fluffy was so happy, he wore it for a week, until the big bad dog in the neighborhood ripped his wig to shreds. Ted didn't know how to make Fluffy feel better, until he found a brand new bow."

And then, Astra's breathing was evened and she was sound asleep.

"Ah, I love you munchkin."

I closed the book and set it down, and kissed her forehead. I turned out the lamp, tucked her in, and closed her bedroom door behind me softly. I almost had a heart attack when I saw my entire family standing in the hallway. America was grinning, and I shook my head.

"Leave me alone,"

"And you're telling us you've never done that before?" May asked.

"Yes," I said.

Back in our bedroom, America and I changed clothes and laid down in our bed. She curled up on my chest and gently ran fingers through my messy, blond hair. I closed my eyes and basked in the moment, because to me, this was what I considered a very perfect moment.

"You're so great with her, Max."

"Who?"

"Astra."

"Oh."

"I don't know why you ever doubted your abilities as a dad, Maxon. You have some kind of natural gift with kids. They love you."

And after a minute, I voiced my own worries.

"America, I'm worried about the rebels."

"We all are, Max."

"I know that, but—I.. I don't know if I can live without the twins," I said, my throat burning. "He's right, Ames. Kota. It'll ruin us."

She turned to face me, and cupped my cheek.

"Nothing can ruin us, okay?" She said, kissing me softly. "Not even Kota. Avery and Roman are fine. And you know what? I love you, and you love me. Our little family is going to make it."

"You're right again,"

"I usually am, remember?"

"And I'm the one with the ego?"

"There's Daddy!" America said, waving Avery's arm at me. "Say hi, little love!"

I laughed at her antics and took Avery into my own arms, kissing her face a couple times. She gurgled and wiggled, and I kissed her belly. When I looked back down, she had the biggest smile on her face and I couldn't help but press our noses together, and kissed her quickly. Laying her on my chest, I turned to America.

"May's started planning her wedding," she sighed, tickling Roman. "She asked me to be her maid of honor."

"Ames, that's wonderful! What'd you say?"

"I said yes, obviously."

"Are you any more sure of her decision?"

"Yes," she said. "I've gotten to know Peyton, and he actually isn't that bad. But you know, it's hard seeing her so grown up. She's my little sister, Max."

"I know the feeling," I said, looking down at Avery. "You, young lady, are never going near a man. We'll hire so many women in this palace, just you see, little love. Ah, yes, I love you so much."

She grabbed my nose.

"No, Daddy must keep his nose, alright? A nose-less king would drive the country insane, darling." I said, kissing her again. "Oh, yes."

"Maxon, we need to get ready for the report." America said, nudging me with a smile on her face.

And in an hour, we were all groomed and ready.

This would be America's first appearance since she'd been on bed rest, and the country was already looking forward to it. And to make it even harder, we had no script for tonight's Report. It would be totally up to us, the twins, and Gavril to make this go smoothly.

The twins wore matching onesies, but Avery had a bow and Rome had a beanie. America wore a loose, blue dress that came down to her lower thighs. She also had on a pair of flats, and her hair was curled. She looked like an actual angel, whereas I looked like James Bond in a suit. My suit was black, but the tie was the same color as America's dress.

"And now, Their Majesties, King Maxon and Queen America! Also joining us tonight will be Prince Roman and Princess Avery!"

We walked out on the stage grinning, and sat down, each holding a baby. She held Roman, and I held Avery. Gavril sat across from us, looking sharp in his own suit.

"Now, Queen America," he said. "I think I speak for everyone when I say it's wonderful to see you back on the show! How are you feeling, ma'am?"

She smiled. "I'm feeling amazing, Gavril."

The crowd roared, and America squeezed my hand, signaling me to her distress. She'd told me earlier that her big return was terrifying.

"I think we've all been dying to know how the King is handling fatherhood, ma'am. I was wondering if you could enlighten us?"

Another squeeze. "Maxon's an amazing father, actually. The twins both adore him."

In my arms, Avery gurgled and reached for my nose, which got us dozens of 'awes' from the crowd. She actually turned back to Gavril and smiled, and the cameras flashed furiously. I had to admit; she was already winning everyone over.

"And I'm sure everyone here would love to know if you have any future plans for more children, Your Majesties?" He added, grinning.

I took this question. "I'll admit, we've both decided we want a somewhat large family. Twins were definitely an unexpected surprise, so I think for now, we're going to focus on raising them."

"But you can definitely expect at least one more addition to our family," America grinned. "And maybe two if Maxon agrees to change all the diapers."

"Maybe."

The best thing about the Report was that we were allowed to tease each other like normal. We even got to let Gavril hold the twins, and many other things. It felt normal, like I wasn't forcing an appearance. Natural, maybe.

I was no longer faking a smile. I wasn't trying to constantly get my father's approval.

I could just be myself—well, without the horrible jokes and the casual clothes.

aw poor little astra :((( this chapter was so fun to write, and i hope everyone enjoys!

love you guys!