A strange vibration hung in the air. Bray felt it in his chest, in his heartbeat, a low buzzing in his blood as it ran through his veins. It rushed through him like adrenaline, the excitement of something amazing that was about to happen. And as he looked around at the other men gathered in the kitchen of the main house, he could see he wasn’t the only one affected.

They all sat there, awaiting news about the baby. Bray’s father was there—with his two boys, of course. Bray’s younger brother Lucan sat quietly at the table, sipping a steaming mug of coffee, with Sando right next to him, looking like his mind was elsewhere, as usual. The omega’s brain was always occupied and rarely with something right in front of him. Both of Palani’s brothers were present as well, Kean and Rhene. The latter had arrived only minutes ago after Kean had called to tell him he was about to become an uncle.

An hour ago, Palani had come flying out of the alpha’s bedroom, calling out for Lucan and Maz. Sven had grabbed a checklist from the refrigerator and had started boiling water and gathering supplies, which had been carried in as soon as he was done. Lucan had been assigned a task as well and went running to grab medical bags and rush them to the bedroom. After that, all they could do was wait.

Sounds drifted in from the bedroom, which wasn’t that far from the kitchen. Vieno was in pain, crying out. Bray winced a little, not entirely comfortable with listening in on something so private.

“It’s not supposed to go that fast, is it?” Lucan asked.

His question wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular, but Bray wasn’t surprised when his father answered. “It happens sometimes, especially with male omegas. It’s called precipitous labor, and Enar and Maz must’ve seen this plenty of times. They’ll know what to do.”

It was a stark reminder that out of everyone in the house, his father was the only one who had experience with this. Three times, actually, though the last time it hadn’t ended well. Bray’s daddy had died giving birth to his brother Dane, who had ended up with severe disabilities due to the complications of the delivery. Bray couldn’t remember his daddy clearly, but he remembered sitting on his lap as he held him and Lucan. It was a vague memory, but one that brought love to Bray’s heart. Of course, his father had completely forgotten about his first husband.

Bray stole a glance at him, noticing the way he sat with Sven on his left and Lars right next to him. Those three were always touching each other. Bray couldn’t understand why no one else objected to that sickening level of PDA.

When his dad had started seeing those two boys, Bray had been appalled. They were younger than him, for fuck’s sake, younger than Lucan, even. What the hell was his dad thinking? At first, he’d figured things would come to an end all by themselves. After all, how could an old guy like his dad keep up with two men, one of whom was a super horny omega, affected by the Melloni gene?

That had been a miscalculation on his part, he admitted. Not only had his dad kept up, he’d done a terrific job, according to the rumors flying around the ranch. Talk about TMI, ugh. Bray shuddered at the various comments he’d had to endure about his own father’s sexual prowess.

What was even more worrisome, was that their fling had turned into something far more, something much deeper, and Bray no longer held the hope they’d break up any time soon. Hell, his dad had even managed to make Lars behave, and no one, including Bray, had thought that possible.

Granted, the pack alpha and his mates weren’t much better when it came to public sex. They were worse, actually, as Bray had caught them in compromising positions multiple times, and he wasn’t the only one. It was a running joke among his men, the number of days they managed to not catch the alpha’s mates in a sexual situation. So far, their record had been four days. Maybe that would change after the baby had arrived.

Still, it was different when it was the alpha and his men. Bray had no desire to see his father and his two boys get it on, though he had to admit his men didn’t object so much. That morning, one of his guys had caught a rather arousing view of Lars getting a spanking and had joked with the others he wouldn’t mind being on the receiving end of one as well.

“You’re staring.” A soft voice startled him in his thoughts.

He averted his eyes and focused on the guy who said it. Kean, who else? Just as observant as his brother and equally stubborn, Bray had discovered the last few months. For a beta, he was damn opinionated, another trait that ran in the family, though Bray couldn’t deny Palani was doing a phenomenal job as second-in-command of the pack. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t think of a single alpha on the ranch that would’ve done better than him at bringing the pack together and expanding their operations, all while researching and blogging about current affairs.

“Just staring into space,” Bray said, annoyed Kean had caught him.

Kean rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

Bray wondered why he always reacted so strongly to whatever Kean did or said. He usually didn’t have that much of a trigger temper, but with Kean, it was different. The beta managed to easily see through his mask, get through his defenses, and Bray didn’t like it one bit. One of these days, he was gonna put him in his place. Maybe they should battle it out sometime, he thought. Just to see who was boss, which would be Bray, obviously. He would never let a beta best him.

It wasn’t the first time he’d considered it, hooking up with Kean. They were both single and neither of them was looking for anything serious. Bray sure wasn’t, still content with his monthly trips to the club. To his disappointment, he’d never run into that omega again he’d fucked through his heat over six months ago. That still stood in his memory as the single best fuck of his life, but who knew, maybe he and Kean could make those sparks between them work in the sack.

It was funny, because the beta wasn’t even his type. Bray preferred omegas, their slender, boyish bodies. He loved the contrast between their build and his, especially when fucking. It was such an arousing sight to see them take his cock, to watch them surrender to his dominance. Then again, he couldn’t deny the idea of conquering Kean appealed to him on a deep, primal level as well. The beta was anything but slender, but what would it feel like to make a body like his submit and take his dick? Hmm, definitely something worth considering.

Bray wanted to react to Kean’s little taunt when the energy in the room shifted, and he went weak and dizzy in an instant. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt like all the power was sucked right out of him, leaving him trembling and boneless in his chair.

Bray’s hand shot out at the table for support, but before he had a hold, Kean grabbed his arm and steadied him. “You okay?” the beta asked.

“Daddy?” Lars called out, his voice filled with concern. Any other day, Bray would’ve been annoyed by that term for his father, but not this time.

Bray blinked, his head light and dizzy. “Is he okay?” he asked Kean. “My dad, is he all right?”

Before Kean could answer, another wave of power hit Bray, but this time it was the opposite. Energy slammed into him so hard it took his breath away, making his body jerk in shock as if he’d been electrocuted. His muscles contracted painfully before releasing with a force that made him feel like he could fly.

And then he knew. Even before they heard the sounds from the bedroom, he knew. He couldn’t explain how, except that his alpha recognized his leader.

When the howl drifted in from the bedroom, Bray sank to his knees on the floor, his body shaking. Around him, the others were doing the same, forced to their knees by a power they couldn’t see, only feel.

Tears started running down his face even as his mouth split wide in the biggest grin he’d ever felt. His body was pumped with adrenaline, his cock rock hard, his whole being emitting energy and joy. He’d never felt this alive, this in harmony with his alpha, who roared with power inside of him.

And when a large, gray wolf slowly stepped into the kitchen a little later, Bray did the same as everyone else. He fell flat on his belly, bowing down to the magnificent creature in front of him. He had no doubt, no qualms, no reservations whatsoever. This was Lidon, their pack alpha, and they owed him their allegiance.

The wolf—Lidon—let out a satisfactory howl, then trotted over to Bray’s father, who lay prostrated on the floor like everyone else. Bray turned his head so he could see what happened. His father lifted his head when the wolf approached, and it recognized him with a big lick over his face. The joy on his dad’s face had to mirror his, Bray thought, still unable to stop smiling.

He’d never seen an animal so magnificent, so majestic and powerful. And to know it was one of their own, their pack alpha…it was hard to believe, except he felt it to be true in the very core of his soul. His breath caught as Lidon made his way over to him. He bowed his head in recognition of Lidon’s power, and then he, too, felt the wolf’s tongue on his face.

It was powerful, that touch, like Lidon claimed him somehow. He was almost ashamed to admit it felt sexual too, his cock growing even harder in his pants. He had to resist the urge to seek friction against the floor, the sexual energy in his body almost too much to take.

Lidon licked them all, one by one, going by rank from alpha to beta to omega, from old to young. It was dead quiet in the kitchen, though a gasp of awe broke the silence every now and then as everyone stared in amazement at what transpired. Bray couldn’t even find the words to describe it himself, and he saw his sense of wonder reflected in the others.

It lasted a few minutes, and then the wolf left them to trot back to the bedroom, where sounds of a crying baby were making Bray’s heart sing. The baby had been born then, and by the sounds of it, it was healthy. Thank god for that.

He wondered if Vieno had been right about it being an alpha son, an alpha heir to Lidon. Then he caught himself. Could he doubt that, after everything that had happened? After what he had witnessed? It had to be true. Everything had turned out to be true. Lidon was the true alpha and the wolf shifters had returned.

Bray threw his head back and let out deafening alpha roar that mingled with one of his father’s, and seconds later, Rhene joined in as well. The wolf shifters had returned.