EPILOGUE
Riki Heelies was born after a night of misery and screaming. He came kicking into the world feet first, scaring the pants off Xan and Urho, who’d delivered him. Hale and hardy, the baby unleashed a wail.
“What do I do?” Caleb asked, holding the screaming babe. “I can make a print, use a printing press, put on a show in the Virona art gallery with no problem, but already I’m failing at being a pater. I thought it was supposed to be natural?” His voice was high pitched and threaded with anxiety.
“Shh,” Xan soothed. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing his omega so flustered. Caleb was always collected, and even throughout the pregnancy he’d been calm. The labor, not so much, but that was painful and scary for all of them.
Urho sat on the bed next to them, took the baby in his big hands, and examined him. “He just needs a feed.”
“That’s all?” Caleb asked. “There’s nothing wrong with him? What if there’s something wrong with him?”
“He’s healthy, omega mine, and so are you.” Xan sat on Caleb’s other side, watching as Urho carefully wiped the baby down, and then put on a little fold of cloth to cover his genitals. Then he wrapped Riki up again, and handed him to Caleb.
“There,” Urho whispered. “Hold him close. That’s it.”
Caleb gazed wonderingly as the babe latched onto his nipple, the wailing ceasing.
“How lucky am I?” Urho asked softly. “Sitting here with my three beautiful omegas.”
Caleb glanced up. “He’s an omega?”
“Yes,” Urho said. “Like his namesake. And his pater. And his father.”
Xan laughed softly. “I’m not really an omega, you know.”
“You’re mine,” Urho murmured. Xan’s heart quickened, and he smiled helplessly.
Caleb kissed the baby’s head. “I guess we’ll have to make another one if we want an heir.”
“Or we can say screw the rules,” Xan said. “Continue our trend of giving the finger to the established way of doing things, and leave it all to little Riki here.”
“Or we can have more babies,” Caleb repeated. “I do want at least one more, you know.”
“You didn’t think so a few hours ago!” Xan exclaimed, laughing. “You were very angry about it all!”
Caleb stared down at the baby in his arms. “He’s worth it.”
“He is,” Urho agreed.
“Yes,” Xan smiled and snuggled in close. “Welcome to the world, Riki Heelies. Your three parents already love you so much.”
With Caleb and the beautiful babe sleeping soundly, Xan and Urho walked along the shore, the warm surf swirling around their bare feet in the moonlight. They held hands and shared kisses.
Xan could hardly believe he was actually a father. He’d done it. It all seemed like a dream, and he squeezed Urho’s hand, letting Urho’s strong, steady presence ground him, as always.
The stress of the day ebbed away and they began to talk of other things.
“How is the new clinic coming?” Xan asked, referring to the office Urho was setting up in the village. Not only was it time he got back to his calling, but it also engendered good will in the village to cut down on the potential gossip. It would provide new jobs in both the creation of the clinic and in the running of it, plus the benefit of another skilled doctor in the area.
The flu epidemic of the prior year had just narrowly missed Virona and left thousands of casualties in the city. The sense that another episode like that might not leave the village unscathed also contributed to Urho’s welcome in the area. An extra doctor made everyone feel safer.
So far, they’d dealt with any questions regarding Urho’s choice to live at Lofton by saying that he’d spent many lonely years after the loss of his Érosgápe in his city home, and that he no longer had the stomach for such solitude. The mention of Riki did much to stop deeper questions, putting an end to most speculation. Everyone pitied an alpha that had suffered Urho’s loss, and no one blamed him for soothing himself with the care and comfort of intimate friends.
“The contractors you recommended are doing great work. I think I can start interviewing for staff positions soon.”
“That’s good news.” As Urho talked more about the clinic and what came next, Xan’s mind went back to the interesting phone call he’d shared with his pater, announcing baby Riki’s arrival.
After a few minutes, Xan interrupted Urho’s discussion of new obstetric tools he intended to purchase by saying, “Pater was thrilled about Riki.”
“I’m sure he was. Does he plan to visit soon?”
“Yes, though I convinced him to give Caleb a couple of weeks breathing room first.”
“Good idea.”
“He said that Janus is still playing the hermit in Montrew, and, even more surprisingly, behaving himself. No love affairs or poor behavior in months.”
“Your father must be devastated by Janus’s sudden loss of ambition.”
“I think he’s more baffled than anything. Pater also had some other interesting news.” Xan bit his bottom lip. The next topic was always a tense one, even though he’d shared all the gory details of his final run-in with Monhundy long ago. “Wilbet Monhundy was arrested last month.”
Urho’s fists clenched and he was silent for a long moment before gritting out a single word. “Good.”
“He was found guilty of raping prostitutes in the Calitan district.”
Urho nodded curtly.
“It’s not anticipated that he’ll be released for a very long time. If ever.”
“Excellent.”
Xan cleared his throat. “Yes. I’m glad that he met such a poor end, but I do feel sorry for his omega. Kerry never had a brutal bone in his body.”
“In all likelihood, he was abused, too.” Urho cracked his knuckles. “Men like Monhundy enjoy giving pain.”
“Yes.”
They walked quietly for several more minutes, the moon sparkling over the water, and the water lapping at the shore, washing away the remains of the day.
“Anyway, I thought you’d like to know.” Xan took Urho’s clenched fingers and unfolded them. “That portion of my life is put away. For good.”
Urho raised Xan’s hand to his mouth and kissed the knuckles. “I love you and I’m glad you are safe from him. I’ll feel better when you go into the city knowing that he’s not there to accost you.”
Xan nuzzled Urho’s neck, and they held onto each other as the water swirled at their feet. Finally, Xan asked softly, “Speaking of, do you really have to go into the city tomorrow?”
“I need to see Yosef about making some legal preparations for you and Caleb should anything happen to me.”
“Don’t talk about that.”
“It needs to be considered, love. And I need to see a real estate agent about the house. I promised Mako. It’s time I decided what to do with the place.”
“I don’t want you to sell it,” Xan blurted. “I want you to keep it. The house and, well, even the room. The one with all of the mementos of your Riki.”
Urho swallowed hard. “You know about that?”
“I saw then, when I…” Xan waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it’s important.”
“That was the home I shared with Riki. It’s no place to start a future with you, Caleb, and the baby.”
“You’re wrong. It’s the perfect place. We can’t forget Riki was here, or what you shared as Erosgapé, or…your son with him.”
“We were going to name him Tarin.”
“That’s a good name.”
Urho shrugged. “It was Riki’s choice. I wanted the name of a friend of mine who’d died in the war. Evan.”
“That’s a good name too.” Xan held onto Urho’s biceps. He needed to get this right. “If you sold the house, what would become of all that stuff? Or the bedroom you shared with him?”
“I can’t just leave it there to molder.” Urho frowned.
“We don’t have to. I’ll sell our place in the city. When we go in for business or family dinners, we’ll stay at your home instead.” He’d recently come to a cold but reasonable agreement with his father to attend family feast nights again for the sake of his pater. So long as Urho was invited as well. “We’ll stay in one of the guest rooms.”
“We can change the room,” Urho said.
“Maybe. But if we do it this way, we can all learn about Riki and Tarin. Our new Riki should know about where we got his name. We should all know.”
Urho gazed down at Xan. The moon shone in his eyes. “You’re a good man.”
“Am I?” Xan laughed. “I mean, I try to be, but—”
Urho took Xan’s face in his hands and kissed him fiercely. “You are.”
Desire sparked to life, and Xan begged against Urho’s lips, “Show me.”
They practically raced to their bedroom, all the emotions of the day coalescing into passion. They tore off their clothes, and Xan stretched out on his back on the mattress, Urho burying his face between his legs.
Xan groaned, “Oh, yes,” spreading his legs wider and letting Urho’s tongue get in his hole deeply. “That’s right. There, there!” The sweet, slippery slide never failed to thrill Xan and bring every cell of his being into wild arousal.
Urho rose up above him, stroking his cock, and Xan’s heart skittered in excitement. “What do you want?” Urho asked, his voice deep and scratchy with need.
“Fuck me,” Xan said. “Hard.”
“Are you going to come for me?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to milk my cock with your tight little hole?”
“Yes,” Xan whimpered. He spread his legs wider. “Do it. Fuck me.”
Urho grinned, a white slash in his dark face, and then he retrieved the lube from the side drawer by the bed. He worked it over his cock and bent Xan almost in half before driving deep inside with no more preparation.
“Yes!” Xan cried, arching up to meet him. “Hard.”
“You sound like you’re in heat,” Urho grunted, fucking into him aggressively.
“Harder,” Xan muttered, wanting to feel his lover tomorrow, wanting the anxiety and fear that had gripped him all day to be rattled out of his body with the force of Urho’s thrusts.
“Like this?” Urho said, slamming into him. “Or like this?” He gently cradled Xan’s throat in both hands, smirking down at him as he rammed him with his cock. There was no pressure, no threat, just pure ownership, and Xan collapsed into a rutting, wailing, wanting mess. His cock spurted pre-come, his body rocked with convulsions, and his ass worked Urho’s cock with every plunge inside.
“That’s right,” Urho muttered. “That’s my sweet omega.”
Xan whined and reached down to take hold of his cock, but Urho shook his head. “That’s not how omegas come,” he taunted. “Show me how omegas come, Xan.”
“Oh, fuck,” Xan moaned, his eyes fluttering up and his hips hitching. “I don’t know if I can.” He was so high on adrenaline, so strung out. He needed the release of orgasm, but he wasn’t sure he could reach it.
“You can. You will.”
Urho’s balls hit Xan’s ass with each thrust, and Xan lifted his legs to try to rut his cock against Urho’s stomach. “No, omega mine,” Urho whispered. “Come on my cock. Milk my orgasm out of me.”
Xan groaned. He closed his eyes, focusing on the pleasure of Urho’s cock rubbing against his prostate, the sweet friction of him rushing in and out of his ass, the tightness of his hole around Urho’s girth, and the burning, delicious stretch of taking him, again and again.
“That’s right,” Urho muttered. “Mmm-hmm, show me.”
Climax hovered just outside Xan’s reach, release elusive and yet so close. His balls ached, orgasm rising in him. And then it was on him, hard and explosive, bursting from his groin and rushing over his body in intense, throbbing pulses. He heard Urho’s shout and felt his body grow tight, and when he opened his eyes, still aching all over with pleasure, he saw Urho’s grimace as he came hard, shooting into Xan’s convulsing hole.
The afterglow was sweet, the anxiety of the night and the intensity of their quickly-taken pleasure releasing them into a sweaty heap of intertwined limbs. Xan whimpered sadly when Urho eventually withdrew. “I wish you could stay inside me always.”
The emptiness Urho left behind was always a little unsettling, but Xan knew it was only a matter of hours, days at most, before he’d feel him deeply again.
“I’m always inside you, remember?” Urho whispered, cuddling Xan close. “You’re full of me—in your heart.”
“In my soul.”
“We’re the beginning and the end.”
“The alpha and the omega,” Xan said with a violent, beautiful shiver. The words were sacred, a vow, an oath. “Forever.”
Urho gazed into Xan’s eyes. “Yes, my omega. Forever.”
THE END