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A smile took over my face. Xylo had remembered my pack’s dynamic. “Yeah. Just… see if they’re doing alright at some point tonight. I’ll be home in the morning.”
“Sure thing.”
“I owe you, Xy.”
He snorted. “Not for this, Isaias. Never for this.”
three
JOEL
Waking up smothered by the scent of fresh peaches and cinnamon was the best kind of way to wake up. I was just missing Isaias’ pine, although his scent seemed to linger on the pillows. Kieran was once again sprawled across his nest, taking up most of the room. Ren had joined us, the babies back in their crib as I crawled over to look at our sons. They looked like near carbon copies of me and while it was strange, I loved that there was a small piece of me that would flourish and grow absent of the horrors we had lived through. A grin split across my face as I reached down to run my fingers along their cheeks, their wiggling halting beneath my touch.
Kieran shifted and then moaned behind us, his scent spiking and then hardening before tapering off again. My cock filled in my pants, almost painfully, similar to when Kieran had been in heat. Confused, I turned around to meet Ren’s gaze. He had propped himself up on his elbow, a weary look on his face.
“That’s new,” I whispered.
The little Alpha nodded. “It happened a few times when you were sleeping. I’m not sure what it means but he’s definitely having nightmares again.”
My shoulders deflated as my gaze lingered on Kieran. His eyes were squeezed shut, his fingers curled into the pillows. His muscles were strained, veins thickening beneath the force of his grip. “About the birth?” I asked, knowing that Ren couldn’t possibly know that. Kieran rarely shared what was going on in his head. He kept trying to do all of this on his own when we were right here. I didn’t know how to help him understand that. Even Isaias found it difficult to help him see that if he leaned, we’d be here to catch him.
Ren sat up, scooting closer to Kieran before dragging our Omega’s head into his lap. Kieran seemed to quiet down when Ren ran his fingers through the Omega’s hair, the little Alpha relaxing against the wall. “I don’t know, Joel. A lot of traumatic things have happened to him in such a short time.” Tears glazed over Ren’s beautiful brown eyes, one escaping down his cheek.
The many nights we woke up to Kieran fitfully shifting around in the nest after Elias and Leo’s birth had been nothing short of terrifying. He wouldn’t talk to us and we had no idea how to help him. When the nightmares seemingly disappeared, the doctor said that it was just Kieran’s way of trying to cope, that there would be a time when we would need to address it head-on rather than bury it.
My attention shifted back to Ren, though. He had suffered just as much as Kieran had, in different ways, and was just as headstrong trying to deal with it himself. While Kieran hadn’t had anyone to lean on, Ren still fell victim to society’s rules saying that Alphas needed to be strong and lead. “He’s not the only one suffering, is he?”
Ren swallowed nervously, his eyes dipping to my arm and then back to my face. It had healed perfectly fine but I still recognized the guilt in Ren’s expression from time to time. He clamped his arms around Kieran, worry etched into the wrinkles lining his forehead.
“No, don’t hide from me, Ren. You’ve come a long way, little Alpha,” I purred, crawling closer so that I could throw my arms around his shoulder. Kieran slipped off Ren’s lap and curled into the pillows beside him before letting out what seemed like a sigh of relief. Taking the freedom, I dragged Ren a little closer, gripping his chin between my fingers. “That Omega isn’t here anymore and he can’t hurt you. However, I know that the healing process isn’t over. I still see you hesitate and hide when you think you haven’t done enough.”
It had been months before Ren began to open back up. During Thanksgiving, I had seen him submit in a way that I hadn’t seen since before Austin. The problem was that Ren believed he had fixed himself, that within those special moments, he had cured his pain and shoved the haunting memories so deep he was rid of his trauma. It just didn’t work like that.
Ren huffed out an annoyed breath. “I let Isaias take me and I don’t mind the toys anymore.” Tears fell down his cheeks as his body shook against me. “Why am I still broken when we have Kieran and our boys? I haveeverythingand I still…”
Isaias had been so patient with our little Alpha. I didn’t play the same way he did with Ren but Isaias and I could both see that Ren was still hurting. I leaned forward to place a sweet kiss on his lips, softening his anxiety. “Because you’re not broken. You’rehealing.And however long that takes, we will all be right here with you. You shouldn’t have toletyourself do anything, Ren. If you don’t want to, just say it. And if thereissomething you want…” I trailed off as I captured his lips again, Ren melting against my chest. His fingers dug into my shoulder as I ran mytongue along the seam of his lips. Then I pulled back, swallowing a chuckle when he tried to chase the connection. “You will make the best social worker I have ever seen. Your heart is bigger than anyone I’ve ever met and the way you love is precious. I’m jealous of anyone who gets to experience the fruits of your heart, little Alpha.”
Ren’s eyes glistened beneath the tears and I knew that he was truly listening, the way I hoped that Kieran one day would when we told him that we weren’t going anywhere. I cupped his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs across his cheeks, his tears coating my skin. Bringing his head close so that our foreheads touched, I held the silent embrace, both of us drinking each other in until Ren fully relaxed.
“Let’s go find something for dinner before Kieran wakes up,” I offered and he readily agreed, laying a sweet kiss on my lips before making his way to the kitchen. One last lingering look at Kieran and I headed for the bathroom to wash my face. My phone sat on the edge of the sink where I had left it before our shower earlier, the device vibrating as I stepped up to the edge of the porcelain. A call came across the screen and without thinking, I declined it.
For the last few weeks, I had been assaulted with unknown numbers repeatedly calling but never leaving a message. It had started shortly after Isaias had finalized the days he was leaving but I tried to believe that it had no correlation. Then again, I didn’t believe in coincidences.
Staring in the mirror, I saw a man I barely recognized. A few years ago, I was the light-hearted ranger who had his entire life ahead of him. A pack, a degree, and a job. Now? I had so much more and yet so much more to lose. While Ren still found it hard to be himself in a society that told him he needed to be dominant, I never knew where I fit. Alphas and Omegas neededeach other. Betas? We were the silent additives to a society that could do without us.
My eyes trailed the weary form of the Beta staring back at me, my hand moving up to my shoulder to run across Isaias’ bite. Sweet memories of distant moments swept over me just before my phone vibrated again. This time, I answered it with a curt edge to my voice. “What?”
“Joel.”
“Shit, sorry.” I pulled the device from my ear, seeing that Isaias had texted a few hours ago that he’d be here tomorrow morning. Any lingering anxiety dissipated at the thought of being able to curl up to my Alpha again. On Valentine’s Day to boot. “I’m just a little frazzled.” When Isaias got back, I’d tell him about the unknown numbers. To anyone else, it was just spam but very few people had this number. I rarely used the phone to begin with.
Keeping Isaias on the phone, I walked back across the hall and peeked into the nest, smiling at the scene before me. Kieran was propped up against several pillows, cradling Leo against his chest as he fed. Elias was curled up on Kieran’s lap, both babies in pure bliss as our Omega stared down at them with such love and devotion, I couldn’t help but melt against the doorway. The doctor had told us that most male Omegas chose to chest feed but that Kieran might not feel the same way.
When we brought up the idea of formula, Kieran had been unsure. He alternated between formula and breast milk—still did—but I never grew old watching him feed our babies in whichever way he chose. I continued taking in our three precious Omegas, seeing how much Kieran had changed over the months. His hair had grown out, his beard bushy and full. The tight muscles that lined his chest and stomach had disappeared but I loved this soft version of such a gruff man.
“Staring at Kieran?”
I jolted and ran back to the bathroom to fulfill my original mission of washing my face. I had forgotten Isaias was on the phone. “Fuck, yes. He’s a dream when he’s feeding our boys.” Even with our bonds snapped in place, I had never been able to truly tell what my mates were feeling like Isaias and Ren could—the curse of the Beta I guessed.
