Everyone quieted down and turned to look at Gramps and David.
Gramps cleared his throat, looking nervous. “My fathers were an alpha and omega couple, and I loved them both very much. They were good parents, and I wish every day that all of you could have met them. The same with my younger brother.He would have loved knowing all of you. No one from my childhood family is alive anymore, and I miss them.” Gramps’ eyes glistened with tears. “Siblings are a treasure, and I always wanted more of them.”
Mal looked over the Wilson clan as he ate, noting the nods coming from most of them. The Wilsons were a prolific bunch and knew the value of having the support of a large family.
“With that in mind, I would like to tell you a story about my omega father,” Gramps continued. “He was an omega who lived in a world where loving men and women equally was a sin. Dad hid his desires as much as he could, and his family pressured him to only date alphas because, according to them, that’s what God wanted.”
Clearly the crowd of Wilsons didn’t agree if their frowns had anything to say.
“Dad never felt comfortable with himself. He believed his desires were wrong and tried to ignore his interest in women. Then he met a woman named Grace. She taught him to accept himself for who he was. Though they didn’t love one another, they were good friends and spent one night together. Not long after, Dad met an alpha and fell in love. His family was happy, but that no longer mattered to him. All that mattered was that he was true to himself. Shortly after the wedding, he heard that his good friend, Grace, had passed away. My alpha father and he decided that if they ever had a daughter, they would name her Grace in remembrance of the friend that taught the omega so much.”
“Grace,” Cain whispered, looking fascinated. “I really like that name.”
Mal set his plate down and took Cain’s hand, smiling. “I do too.”
Gramps continued his story. “My fathers went on to live a full life and taught their own sons the importance of accepting oneanother’s differences. They never had that daughter, but they never forgot about Grace.”
David shared a nervous smile with Gramps. “I’m David Reed. My mother’s name was Grace. She got pregnant with me from a night spent with a good friend. She never told that friend about me because he had fallen in love and gotten married.”
Mal’s eyes watered as he watched each of the Wilsons making the connection between David and Gramps.
“I have another brother,” Gramps said, crying as he laughed. He slung an arm around David. “He has a large family of his on in Washington state. How about that, right? It’s not everyday you discover you have more family than you thought.” He waved toward Mal. “That young man over there with Cain is Malcolm Reed, named after my omega father. Cain you believe it?”
As one, his Wilson cousins stared at him and smiled evilly. “Our new cousin was the one pranking us over the years?” Zoe asked.
“Not all of the pranks,” Mal said, taking another bite of his mashed potatoes. “You all prank each other a lot. You can’t blame me for everything.”
“Oh, but we can,” Ernie said, cackling. “We have a new cousin to torment.”
The younger generations of Wilsons cheered, clearly happy with Mal’s existence. Their parents were still wiping their eyes and saying hello to David. Mal didn’t want to even think about what they would say.
“What have I done?” he asked Cain, cuddling up to his alpha. “Do you think they’ll prank me back?”
“Yes,” Cain answered with a grin. “And you’ll deserve every bit of it.”
Grandpa Lucas chuckled and pulled his phone out. “Let’s start this right.” He pushed a button and all the small boxes atthe center of the tables burst open, shooting glitter and confetti everywhere.
“Damn it,” Marco Wilson said, the large cowboy covered in pink glitter. “This better come off in the shower.”
Mal laughed. “I love you, Grandpa Lucas.”
“It’s always the quiet ones.” Cain sighed and hugged Mal closer. “Always.”
Epilogue
Afew months later, the summer breeze made the trees beside around them sway as the scent of pine and lilacs swirled. It was a good day for a wedding. Mal’s grandparents and Cain’s mom had gone all out with the decorations. From the hand-carved wooden wedding arch to the dragon topped wedding cake, everything followed a D&D theme.
Cain stood in front of his friends and family, dressed in chainmail and fuzzy cat ears. He held Teddy in one arm, the little boy dressed as a calico kitten. Across from him, stood Mal, the most beautiful elvan druid in a long green robe. He held an equally beautiful little girl dressed as a black and white kitten. Their daughter, Grace, was only two months old, but they couldn’t possibly get married without her.
Bianca, Van, and Rick stood to one side of them and Roe and Cain’s brothers stood on the other. Each wore their own costumes. Bianca and Roe were dressed as elves, with pointy ears and long robes. Van and Carter were in chainmail and dressed as orcs, green skin and tusks included. Rick was a bit shorter than everyone else and had dressed as a halfling. Caden was the only human and was dressed in leather archer’s armor.
Their friends and family wore their own costumes ranging from traditional medieval garb to orc and elf costumes. There were well over three hundred there for the wedding. A surprising number of Reeds had flown to Maine, and many of Cain and Mal’s friends had travelled in from out of state.
All of that was simply icing on the cake. The true magic was the man that stood with him. Mal was his weird, wonderful omega, and Cain wanted to live every moment of the rest of his life with him.
