“Twins, hijo! Twins!” my mother cried out, rushing into the bedroom, her arms thrown high like a she was taken by the Holy Spirit. “I cannot believe it! It’s a miracle!”

“Shhh, ma!” I laughed, putting a hand to my lips.

“Oh!” She quickly slapped both hands over her mouth and slowed down as she came over to the bed where Bailey was lying, both of our beautiful twin baby boys asleep in his arms.

My father came in behind her, more composed than her, but still ecstatic. I couldn’t remember seeing him so happy.

“Hey, pops,” I said as they both came over to the side of the bed where I was sitting. He smiled at me but neither of them could take their eyes off the two little miracles cradled in my mate’s arms.

“What are their names, hijo?”

“Aaron and Benjamin,” I said with a smile.

“Amazing,” my father smiled.

It had been a surprise to everyone. No one had expected twins. Of course, we’d never bothered to get an ultrasound, preferring to wait, but Bailey hadn’t even gotten that big, so there was no reason to suspect anything. But then it happened, and we were all blown away.

“Two baby boys for you,” Bailey had joked. I don’t know whether he’d been right all along about me wanting boys, or whether I was just feeling that way because they were mine, but I couldn’t imagine feeling any more love for them both.

I’m a new man, I remember thinking the first time I held them. Their skin was so soft it didn’t even seem possible. They were a perfect mix of our complexions, with dark hair but a slightly less caramel-colored skin than mine. And they both, somehow, had Bailey’s blue eyes.

“Congratulations, son,” my father told me, shaking my hand. “You are a father now.”

“I can barely believe it,” I admitted to him. “I mean—I knew it was going to happen, of course, but now that it’s here…it almost doesn’t seem real.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” he told me. “When your mother was pregnant, I thought I knew what to expect, but I didn’t. Once you were born, the whole world changed. And yours will too.”

“I feel like it already has.”

“Prepare for the ride of your life!” he smiled.

“We will be here to babysit for you whenever you want, hijo!” my mom cried out, a little too loudly.

Bailey stirred in bed, and both of the twins stirred in his arms.

“Mom!” I hissed.

“It’s okay, Juan,” Bailey said, slowly opening his eyes. “We’ve been sleeping all day.”

“You need your rest,” I told him, grabbing a glass of water from the side table. “Are you thirsty?”

“No, thank you,” he replied, shaking his head. “But I could use a mint or something. My mouth tastes terrible.”

“Ah! I have one for you!” my mom replied, quickly digging through her purse. She pulled out a small tin of mints and handed one to Bailey. “Here you go!”

“Thank you,” Bailey said with a smile, opening his mouth. My mom dropped it onto his tongue and turned back to me, a proud look on his face. My mom was just happy to help out in whatever way she could.

“Your children are beautiful,” my father told my mate. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Bailey smiled, looking down at our children.

“I am going to knit them so many things!” my mom said, clapping her hands as quietly as she could.

“That’s nice of you,” Bailey smiled. I knew my mom was serious and that it was only a matter of time before we were completely overwhelmed with tiny clothing for the boys.

“And in a few years, we’ll have them working at the taco stand!” my father joked.

“Isn’t it enough we already give you vegetables?” I laughed. “Now you have to take my kids too?”

“Hey, we’ll teach them how to work!” he chuckled. “I can see they’re going to be big strong alphas already!”

“No doubt about that,” Bailey smiled. “They’ve got Juan’s genes.”

“Oh, I’m just so excited!” my mom cried out again. The twins stirred in Bailey’s arms and my father moved over and took her by the arm.

“Come on now,” he said with a smile. “Let’s let them rest now.”

“Ah, I just want to look at them a little longer!” she protested as my father pulled her towards the door.

“We’ll bring them out later tonight, ma,” I told her. They were both staying for dinner and had volunteered to cook for the entire pack.

“Okay, okay, hijo,” my mom smiled, waving her hands in the air. “I see you all for dinner!”

My parents smiled and waved as they left the room and closed the door behind them. Bailey let out a deep sigh and I smiled over at him.

“Yeah, I know,” I chuckled. “My mom’s intense.”

“She has every reason to be,” he replied. “She’s a grandmother.”

“Yeah—she’s still intense.”

“True,” he smiled, taking my hand. “But you know, after never having parents of my own—it’s incredible to have them both here with us.”

“A real family,” I said with a smile, my heart warm from all the love flowing throughout the house since the arrival of the twins.

Bailey smiled up at me, my beautiful cubs in his arms, and I leaned in and kissed him, thinking about all the hardships we’d had to triumph through in order to get here, and all the incredible places we were going to go together.