I watched carefully from the side as Jude held onto Willow, raising the baby high above his head to get a good look at him. Forest stood right next to him as a safety blanket, should anything happen, but it still freaked me out how he was holding our child. That instinctual parental feeling that they should take it easy with the baby was strong, but I trusted even more that Forest had a good handle on things.

The post-baby shower they talked up was more like a meetup, or a party for the adults to celebrate their pack size increasing. Lucas was in the kitchen area, making drinks for him and Jude, while I simply sipped on my chilled chardonnay. I wasn’t that big a fan of liquor, and didn’t want to get too out of my own head so I could still pay attention to Willow and his safety.

“Wow, he’s already so much larger than last I’d seen him.” Jude finally placed the baby back into Forest’s arms, a proud smile on his own face, as though it was his child.

“Yeah, he’s growing really fast. But wolves usually do, don’t they?”

“They do,” I piped up, taking another sip from my glass.

“Still, from how small he was and not knowing if he was going to survive. And now he’s thriving, getting fat, and shitting all over the place. It’s awesome,” Lucas said, as he walked out into the living area with two drinks in hand. He passed one over towards Jude, who happily accepted it. He took a small sniff before the bridge of his nose wrinkled in what seemed to be apparent disgust.

“Lucas, what is this? It took you five minutes to pour a drink. I’d figure with all that time you’d be making something palatable. Not straight booze.”

Lucas shrugged, extending the other small glass over towards Forest.

“Here, to the proud Omega and his baby; why don’t you take it easy and have a drink.”

“Well, that does sound nice. I haven’t had a drink in ages.”

I watched as Forest went to reach before I pushed off the wall, walking over towards the three. “I think you should probably abstain for a little longer, you know.”

“That’s not any fun. I think he deserves one after all the hell he’s been in.” Lucas snorted, giving me an up and down glare. He was already starting to sway, even if just a little bit, and I didn’t want anyone to get too wasted and hurt Willow. Of course, I didn’t wanna say anything out loud that would offend Forest and his pack... my pack.

“But he’s breastfeeding. That’s not good for the baby. It’ll get in his system, and next thing you know, Willow will end up right back in the hospital,” I warned.

“You’re so stuck up. Come on, let loose,” Lucas insisted. I noticed Forest’s eyes glancing between me and the glass.

“Lucas, I think Jason is right. Stop with the peer pressure already. We don’t want anything bad to happen to the kid, alright? Why don’t you go find Silver and get drunk with him instead.” Jude gave Lucas a harsh look and the Beta retreated slightly with a cringe. He must have had a rough lesson with Jude keeping his pack in order of their hierarchy. Whatever Jude said, went.

“But Silver won’t talk to me right now. He’s been so moody lately that he doesn’t even want to be around me.”

“Do you blame him? You’re pretty annoying,” Forest said, giggling. Lucas frowned, setting the drink down on the coffee table in front of the couch after gulping it down himself.

“Yeah, whatever. Here, lemme hold the baby now.”

“Okay, but be careful.” Forest hesitantly held out his arms, and Lucas, to my surprise, was careful with taking Willow against him.

I continued to watch as Lucas began to trail back into the kitchen, bouncing Willow up and down, while Forest followed after him cautiously. I watched with a smile, until Jude cleared his throat from beside me.

I spun around, careful not to slosh the wine too much in my glass as I moved to face him.

“Yes?”

“So when are you gonna do it?” he asked me, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, a stern, piercing look to his eyes.

“When am I gonna do what?” The way he stared at me was actually make me feel anxious.

“Mark him. Make him your mate.” Jude’s eyes flicked off towards Forest for a brief moment before his gaze settled over me once again. I nearly spit the wine out of my mouth mid sip.

“I’m sorry but I don’t know if that’s your business.” The anxiety began to taper off into embarrassment. Jude came off as a pretty bold Alpha, but for him to actually ask something so personal caught me off guard.

“In fact, I think it is. I might have accepted you into the pack—temporarily—but if you really want to be with us, that’s something you should consider.”

“Do you always keep tabs on your pack mates’ love lives?” Who did he think he was?

“Of course I do, to an extent. Forest has been through a lot of shit, more than any of the others. I’m sure you can see that. And he deserves a happy ending.”

“We have a baby together; do you think I don’t plan on giving him one?”

Jude shrugged, taking another drink from his glass of liquor. He grimaced, but swallowed it without a shiver. “A baby can be ‘for now’. There’s plenty of Omegas out there living the single parent life. A mate is forever. You can’t take that shit back.”

“A mate doesn’t mark you for life. It just keeps other wolves off of you.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You haven’t been a part of a pack for some time, I get that.” Jude held up his index finger. “But try and remember. If a member of a pack is mated to another, and they try to leave them and the pack, what happens next?”

I thought about it. Genuinely, as I stared at the pale yellow liquid in my glass. I swirled it as I tried to remember what he was getting it, but I was unsure.

“Beats me.”

“It’s my duty, as the Alpha, to put them down. You can’t just leave the pack and your mate after leaving your mark. Sure, you might just be banished and never wanted back in some groups, but me?” Jude leaned off the wall, stepping close towards me until his face was merely inches away from mine. “I’d hunt you down and use your pelt as a throw rug. Remember that, Jason.” He spat my name out before a smile danced across his lips.

“Hey, lemme show you how to hold him, you oaf.” Jude stepped past me towards the others, leaving me standing there, flabbergasted.

Never in my life would I intend to hurt Forest. No matter the cost, but that was just...

Ring. Ring.

I looked over at the couch, my phone ringing on the armrest. Though the screen was face down, I swallowed the lump in my throat as I reached for it and answered without seeing who was calling, placing the phone up to my ear. A call would be a much needed distraction from Jude’s threats, or promises. Whatever.

“Hello? Jason here.”

“How are you doing this fine afternoon?” Declan asked from the other line.

“Oh, uhm. Fine. Now’s not a very good time; we have some people over and—” I tried to cut the discussion short, but Declan clicked his tongue.

“I think now is a very fine time, actually. We haven’t spoken in a week and I have pleasant news that you’ll want to hear. Now, how about you stop by my home for a moment and we can chat.”

“Right now?” I glanced over towards the three men playing with Willow, my heart sinking. “Like I said, now’s not a good time.”

“You wound me with your words,” Declan laughed, “but fine. I have procured you a new home.”

“Already?”

“Indeed, I did. I have a bit of pull, I’m sure you must know. Whenever you’re ready to check it out, just give me a ring. I’ll meet you there with the key so you can have a look at it for yourself. It’s closer to downtown.”

Downtown? That’s where Jude lived close to, and homes in that area were ridiculously pricey.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford something down there.”

“Don’t worry about that right now. We’ll talk about the money aspect later. You enjoy the rest of your day. Can’t wait to hear back from you, Jason.”

With that, he ended the call before I could say anything more.

“Did he really find us a place to stay?” I mumbled to myself, running a hand through my hair. Damn, did I need a haircut. I shook the thought from my head. I’d enjoy the rest of this get-together, even with Jude breathing down my back and having to make sure Lucas didn’t drop Willow in a drunken stupor. Because now, with faith in Declan’s favor, we’d have a new place to call our own.