Xac threw a pair of tiny pants at me. “He’ll be happy not to have to live with us. But I think he’ll love this place. It’s everything you were looking for.”
I sighed, hoping they were right.
My comm buzzed in my ear. It was Ilam.
“Hey. Is everything okay?” I’d been worried since the moment Utahn had let me know he and Reeve had left Orez. They weren’t traveling alone, my brother and his family with them, but I wouldn’t relax until they were with me.
“Yes. Ret said to let you know the shuttle just landed. Everyone is fine. One of us will let you know when we’re on our way.”
“Okay, thanks.” That meant I didn’t have much time before my family was here. Leaving Xac to finish off Reeve’s room, I walked to the main bedroom. The one I would share with Utahn. Finally.
But would he like it? Was the bed too big? Maybe too small? Were the colors too dull? Stars, I wanted everything to be perfect for him. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. I could change whatever wasn’t right. If this home didn’t make him happy, I would sell it and find another that did. Whatever it took to please my mate. He’d left our home planet to live with me, and I didn’t want him to regret it for one moment.
It would be strange for me not living with my teammates, but this was the only way I could think of to be with my family and still be a space racer.
“On our way.”
Ret didn’t say anything else over the comm channel, but those three words were enough to make my heart race and my stomach twist. I rushed outside to wait, joined by Xac and Qé as I tried not to pace.
The moment I saw the extended hovercar up the road, beads of sweat gleaned across my forehead. This was it, the next big change to my life.
Xac gripped my shoulder. Could they feel me shaking? “It’s all going to be fine.”
Then my family was there, in front of us. Utahn’s eyes were wide as he cautiously stepped out of the car. “What’s this?” he whispered when his gaze found mine. “Where are we?”
“Our new home.” I ducked into the car to get Reeve out of his seat without waiting for Utahn’s reaction. And when I came back out holding our son, my mate had tears in his eyes.
Utahn tugged on my sleeve. “You did this for me?”
“For us.” Supporting Reeve in one arm—I was much more comfortable holding my son now that he wasn’t as small—I wrapped my other arm around Utahn. “Do you like it?”
He cuddled in close and nodded against my side. “I didn’t think we’d live in the dorms forever, but I didn’t expect this. And there’s a storefront down below.”
I squeezed him, finally able to see the three-story house as our home now that my mate and son were here to live with me. “It’s all equipped to be a bakery when you’re ready. Or, we can lease the space to someone else if you don’t want to.”
Utahn turned to face me, holding both me and our son. “I always knew you’d be a perfect alpha.” Pushing up to his toes, Utahn pressed his lips to mine, showing me how happy he was.
Vawn appeared beside us and plucked Reeve from my arms. “Don’t worry, little guy. I’ll rescue you. There’s only so much affection a child wants to see from their parents.”
I heard chuckles all around us, but that didn’t stop our kisses. I drew him tight against my chest. I’d missed my omega so much.
Utahn pulled away and giggled as a blush crept across his cheeks. “Why don’t you show me what the inside looks like? I want to know where we’ll be sleeping.”
“Sleeping?” Ret scoffed. “I don’t think there’ll be much sleeping for the next few days. It’s a good thing we don’t have a race soon because Genj is going to be too worn out to practice.”
Vawn shoved our older brother aside. “You can tell you don’t have kids. There won’t be sleeping going on because little Reeve here is going to have to adjust to the day-and-night cycle of this planet. It’s different than on Orez, and he’d just gotten on a sleep cycle there.”
I groaned as we all headed inside. Regardless of why I wouldn’t be sleeping, I was elated to have my son and Utahn here. We would learn to live together, the concept new for all of us. But the omega I’d crushed on for much of my life was now my mate, and he and our child were here to live with me. Nothing could make me happier.
Six months later…
“Be sure to tell Utahn thanks for the treat,” Qé said as they and Xac headed out of our team’s training room.
“Yeah, thanks.” Ret held up a lebut, already devouring a piece. “Delicious.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. Ever since my mate had started baking again, he sent me to practice with a container of goodies for my teammates.
At first, I’d thought he was spoiling them, not making them pay. But he’d noted Ret always ended practice on time when there was food waiting. And it was true yet again. Funny Utahn had picked up on that so quickly when no one on our team had. If we’d noticed, we would have brought food to every practice.
