Page 53 of An Alpha’s Guide to Finding the One

“But—”

“Now!” Wyatt barks. It’s only the second time I have ever heard him bark, and if I wasn’t scared out of my mind, I might tease him for it. Another wave of pain hits, this one much stronger than the others and bringing another gush of fluid with it. I blink wide eyes at my alpha and whimper when he circles an arm around my back to help me up. He does most of the heavy lifting, and I find myself immensely grateful that I have such strong pack members who don’t grunt when they pick me up. I think that would send me over the edge right now.

“You’re doing so good, honey. I won’t lie and say I understand how you’re feeling because what we feel through the bond is barely more than a fraction of your pain, but I’m here. Anything you need, even if it’s just to squeeze the hell out of my hand to make yourself feel better. I don’t have a voodoo doll handy but you have the actual Lucky here if you wanna stick pins in him? I feel like he would let you do it. Hell, we all would and we’re not the ones who knocked you up. You just have to make it through this and then you have four able-bodied alphas ready to take the majority of the work when it comes to the babies.”

“Wy?” I pant.

“Yeah?”

“Please shut the fuck up.”

He nods quickly. “Right, sorry. Not helping. We’re almost there.”

And we are. The parking lot is in sight and I see Lawson’s sheriff vehicle parked haphazardly across the single lane. He paces in front of it, hands raking through his hair as he speaks to the others animatedly. It’s the most lively I have seen him since everything went down with my mom, and oddly enough it calms me. He’s here, and he cares, and he isn’t avoiding me out of fear like when I first moved in.

“Why the hell is she walking?” Lawson shouts at Wyatt, stomping over to us with a cute pout on his face. I’m not prepared for him to scoop me into his arms without a single noise of effort, but he does it anyway and rushes us to the truck. It’s technically not big enough to fit all of us, but he drops me into the back seat between Rhys and Lucky before getting into the drivers seat and flicking on the lights and sirens. His green eyes collide with mine in the rearview mirror, more determination in them than I have ever seen. “Let’s go meet our babies.”

“I can’t believe they’re really here,” Lucky sniffles, stroking the back of his finger down Bryce’s cheek. “They look just like you.” He says this to me, but his eyes are locked on Wyatt, who’s holding Blaise.

Lawson and Rhys are snuggled up on either side of me in the large hospital bed, and I have never felt this kind of contentment before. A yawn cracks my jaw, and Rhys nuzzles my temple before placing his lips there in a tender kiss. The room is filled with our combined scents, and the guys used their scents and bonds through my whole labor to soothe me when it became too much.

Twelve hours after my water broke in the middle of campus, our son Bryce was born, followed three minutes later by his brother Blaise. It was only our pack, Doctor Mel, and the nurses in the room and the whole experience felt like something out of a dream.

“You did so good, angel. We’re so proud of you.” Lawson whispers. He has one arm wrapped around me and the other resting on top of Rhys’s over my now-soft belly. They got so used to touching it the last few months I think it will take them a while to stop.

I squirm, feeling like I need to pee and absolutely dreading it. There are things no one warns you about that happen after you give birth, and the painful peeing is one of them. “Bathroom?” Rhys asks quietly. I nod, but can’t muster up the energy to feel embarrassed. He helps me up and into the small room before he fills my peri bottle with warm water, waits for me to finish, and then brings me back to the bed. I’m eternally grateful that these men are the ones I ended up with. I can’t imagine anyone else seeing me this vulnerable and leaning into it rather than shying away until I’m “me” again. “Give me one of my babies.” I aim the request at my ball boys but soften it with a smile when I hear how demanding it sounded.

“Here, little mama. I think our oldest boy needs you.” Bryce is writhing in Lucky’s arm even though he just ate not too long ago. We realized that my scent soothes both of them in those in-between times when they aren’t really hungry but need comfort. His downy blond hair is soft and sticking up at every angle, identical to his brother’s and both of theirs just like their dad’s. His muted scent is vaguely reminiscent of berries like my own, but it’ll be hard to tell for sure what kind until he’s older. Blaise’s scent is similar to his twin’s, but there’s a touch of mint that reminds me of Lucky.

Lawson takes Blaise from Wyatt and moves to sit next to me again so the twins are together, and the other three alphas crowd around us as close as they can get. Looking around at the family I stumbled into and somehow helped create, I can’t help but stare in awe. To think, all of this started because of a one night stand with my scent match who refused to give up on me and an accidental dorm fire.

For the rest of our lives I’ll be glad my alpha was so determined to find the one.

One Year Later…

“Ugh! Why is it seven hundred degrees in here?” Lainey growls, throwing her t-shirt out of the nest with surprising strength. She’s been showing pre-heat symptoms for days now, but I think she’s in denial because it’s her first heat since the babies were born a year ago. With singleton pregnancies you would normally have your first heat around the six month mark, but I guess multiples are different because of the stress on the omega’s body. Some evolutionary thing Doctor Mel explained when I was deliriously tired and only half listening.

“I’ll go turn the air up,” I offer as I back out of the room slowly.

Pulling up my text thread with Posey’s pack, I shoot off the text I’ve been preparing for months.

Me

You guys ready to fulfill your roll as uncles and aunt?

Mack

DO WE GET THE BABIES?

I snort a laugh. I knew that would be Mack’s first question.

Posey

Is her heat finally coming?

Me

It is, but she’s in denial about it. Wyatt thinks it could hit has early as tonight but she needs to know the boys are taken care of first.