One year later

“Have you seen Ben?” Wyatt asked, stopping by the nursery door.

“He’s on the mattress,” Raph said, glancing up from the half-braided locks of Hazel’s hair. Then he turned to look at the low mattress behind him, and froze. “Shit. He was just here!”

“He’s gone?” Hazel frowned, setting down her mess of jigsaw pieces. She moved, and her hair slipped out of Raph’s fingers.

“Damn it, princess. I was almost done.” Raph scowled, releasing Hazel’s hair. He stood up, combing the neat, tight twists of Hazel’s hair loose. “Ben was asleep when I started the braids. He couldn’t have gone far—it hasn’t been half an hour.”

“I saw him sleeping, too,” Hazel said.

Wyatt held his breath, casting his thoughts about for where Ben shouldn’t have gone. Ben had just begun crawling two months ago. Most days, he tired himself out from crawling, and napped for hours after. “Come on, let’s split up and search. I hope he isn’t chewing on the houseplants.”

Better the houseplants, than Ben hurting himself somehow.

They split up, Hazel peering into the corners of the nursery, and Wyatt checking Hazel’s bedroom. Raph looked into the kitchen, then the bedroom he shared with Wyatt. Two minutes later, they met in the living room, shaking their heads. It shouldn’t have been difficult—they were still in the same apartment Wyatt had always lived in. He knew this place inside-out.

“Did you check under the beds?” he asked.

“I did,” Hazel said.

“Yeah. I even looked behind the curtains,” Raph said.

Wyatt winced, the alarm bells in his head clanging. The front door was locked, and Ben couldn’t reach the windows yet. Where could he have gone?

“Let’s search again. It shouldn’t take three people to find a baby.” Wyatt had heard stories of cats that hid themselves away, not appearing until they wanted to be found. But Ben was twelve months old—he couldn’t scale cabinets and shelves yet.

“Maybe he’s hiding in a closet,” Hazel said.

Raph and Wyatt looked at her. “I haven’t checked the closet,” Raph said slowly.

“Neither have I,” Wyatt answered, his thoughts racing. The closet was a far better alternative than the kitchen, or the bathrooms.

Raph returned to the nursery. Hazel checked her own room. Wyatt stepped into the master bedroom, looking behind the plain bedroom door, and the space between the bed and the dresser. Then he turned to the closet, where there was a half-foot gap between the open sliding door, and the wall.

Gingerly, Wyatt slid the doors back, holding his breath. Ben had to be in here somewhere. There were no aliens in this world, or vampires, or anything that could sneak into the apartment.

In the middle of the laundry hamper, on top of his and Raph’s dirty clothes, Ben was curled up, sleeping with his thumb in his mouth.

Wyatt stared; he hadn’t thought Ben could climb yet.

He was about to pull his phone out, maybe take a picture, when Raph stepped into the room.

“Couldn’t find him,” Raph said, forehead creased.

“He’s here.” Wyatt smiled, nodding at the hamper.

Raph crossed the room, his eyebrows crawling up. “Sneaky little brat! I just looked in our room!”

“Shh, you’ll wake him.”

Raph grinned, slipping his arm around Wyatt’s waist. “Didn’t think to look in the closet. I should’ve.”

“He just climbed into the hamper, Raph! He’s starting to climb!” Wyatt had been about to say, Ben’s going to get into so much more trouble now, but Raph’s eyes lit up.

“That’s great, isn’t it?” Raph grinned, crouching to scoop Ben into his arms. “Not sure why he’d want to sleep in the basket, though. It’s full of dirty clothes.”

“Because it smells like us? Or food?” Wyatt chuckled. They’d returned to work at the drive-in when Ben was six months old. The staff never said a word about Wyatt and Raph’s relationship; either they didn’t mind, or they weren’t aware. No one mentioned the ring on Wyatt’s finger, either.

But morale at the diner was high, and that was all Wyatt wanted—a safe place where he and Raph could work, and where their children could grow up.

Ben stirred when Raph straightened, his eyelids fluttering open. He had Wyatt’s hazel eyes, and Raph’s black hair.

“Hey,” Raph murmured, kissing Ben on the forehead. “You scared us for a moment, there.”

“Dada,” Ben mumbled, blinking sleepily up at him.

Raph broke into a huge, silly grin. “Can’t believe how excited I get every time he says that. Dada.”

“Dada,” Ben said again, wriggling his fingers. Wyatt pressed his index finger against Ben’s palm. Ben held him, his grip loose. He’d grown so much since he was an infant; they’d been going through baby clothes, changing them out every few months.

Wyatt stepped closer to Raph, stroking Ben’s hair from his forehead. “Are you hungry? I made oats for you.”

Ben smiled, five little white teeth on his gums.

“Gods, he’s so cute,” Raph said. “But only when he isn’t flinging food at me.”

“Or peeing on you.” Wyatt laughed. Raph rolled his eyes. “Remember the time you were going to kiss him? And he peed all over your new shirt.”

“Not like he didn’t pee on you, too.”

But unlike Raph had feared, he hadn’t dropped Ben. In the first few months after Ben was born, they’d slept with Ben between them on the bed, before moving him to the crib some months later. Ben loved applesauce, and teething biscuits, and he’d been smiling along when Wyatt played on the piano.

Wyatt snuggled into Raph’s side, slipping his arms around his alpha, and their baby. Ben smelled like baby soap. Wyatt pressed his nose into Raph’s neck, just breathing in, Raph’s warmth soaking through his shirt.

“I’m glad I’m doing all this with you,” Wyatt murmured. “I don’t know what it would’ve been like by myself.”

“Don’t even think about that,” Raph said, sliding his fingers through Wyatt’s hair. “You’re doing great with the kids.”

“So are you. And you’re a first-time dad, too.”

Raph grinned, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve got you. It’s my chance to show you what a great dad I am.”

Wyatt snorted, slapping his ass. “When you aren’t goofing off with Hazel.”

“Hey!” Raph frowned.

“What did you say about me?” Hazel popped up in the doorway, nibbling on an apple. “Did you find Ben?”

“He was in the laundry hamper,” Wyatt said. Raph turned, so Hazel could see her brother. “Looks like we’ll be searching the closets next time, too.”

Hazel raised her eyebrows, whistling. “Looks like he’ll be great with hide-and-seek. I can’t wait for him to grow up!”

Wyatt groaned. Ben, with his mischievous older sister? Who knew what those two would get up to? But Hazel was growing up, too. She was eleven now, and when Ben was five, she’d be fifteen. In four years, she might already have presented as alpha.

“Gods, the children are growing up so fast,” Wyatt said. “Pretty soon, Ben will be old enough to walk down the aisle.”

“For our wedding, or his own?” Raph grinned.

“I meant ours.” Wyatt glanced at the ring on his finger. With the way time flew, it wouldn’t be long until Ben found his mate, too. “The more I think about it, the more I’m ready to be married.”

“Yeah?” Raph kissed his cheek. “Want more babies first?”

It wasn’t a terrible idea. Wyatt smiled, looking at Ben, then Hazel. They were adorable, and Wyatt would never regret them, not even for a single day. “I don’t see why not.”

“Does that mean I’ll get more brothers to play with?” Hazel bounced on her heels.

“Probably.” Raph smiled, nodding for Hazel to join them. “C’mon over. Group hug.”

Hazel groaned. “That’s cheesy, Dad.”

But she padded over anyway, snuggling between Wyatt and Raph, leaning away from Ben so he didn’t grab her hair. Wyatt hugged them all.

They’d come a long ways, him, Hazel and Raph. Hazel had stood by Wyatt through the difficult times, young as she was. With Raph by his side, Wyatt had finally been able to give her a stronger dad. Someone she could look up to.

She loves you as her dad anyway, Raph had said. No one can replace you.

And maybe he was right.

Without Raph, Wyatt knew he wouldn’t have dared stand up to Grandma. Max would’ve still been around, and Wyatt would still have been afraid.

But with Raph as his alpha, Wyatt had made the decision to follow his heart. He stood stronger, and he was learning to see the good in himself. He wore Raph’s markings on his skin, and he’d built a family with his alpha, a home they were all safe in.

Someday, maybe he and Raph would have another child. For now, Wyatt was content to hold his family, and look forward to their future.