Three loud knocks against the door shot me out of Elliot’s bed. Two months had passed, but we were still swapping mattresses.

“What is that noise? Who’s here, Elliot?”

Elliot blinked wildly, and he stepped out of bed, scratching his head. “I have no idea. I didn’t plan on any visitors,” he said, groggily.

I opened the door and walked through the hall, calmly. My thought was that it was probably just a salesman or a Postal Service man in need of a signature. When I opened the front door, I felt my bones turn weak.

“Been looking for me?” Standing directly in front of me was Sid Carwell, the man who we had been talking about for months.

Elliot walked into the hallway wearing only his underwear. He jumped back when he saw who was standing in front of me. “Honey,” I muttered. “Sid’s here.”

Sid walked into the room without asking permission. His heavy boots hit the floor loudly with each step, and his keys jingled on the side of his jeans. “We need to talk. Both of you. Put some pants on and meet me in the kitchen,” Sid said.

Elliot had a worried look in his eye, and I was thinking of all the ways this could go wrong. Sid had ambushed us in our place of solitude and peace. I had a strong feeling that he wasn’t here to kiss and make up.

Elliot threw on some clothes and met us in the kitchen. Sid leaned against the counter. Next to him was a bowl of red apples. He grabbed the one on the very top. The sound of his bite seemed to pierce my ears.

“What’s on your mind, Sid?” I asked.

Sid set the apple away from him. He wasn’t going to finish it, now that we had established a dialogue. Sid was all about appearance, and I was sure that he had been planning this out for weeks now.

“You’re pregnant.” Sid pointed at Elliot’s small baby bump. Elliot took a few steps back, standing behind me. “Congratulations.”

“Get to the point, Sid,” I said.

Sid laughed and whipped his stringy hair back. His hands were dirty and dry, and his fingernails were black. It looked like he hadn’t showered in weeks. The worst part about him was his eyes. There were substantial rings around the lids. It was as if he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“I have something for you,” Sid said.

Elliot stepped forward. One hand lay flat against his stomach. “Whatever you have, we don’t want it,” he said.

“Calm down. It’s a peace offering. I want to apologize. I believe we got off on the wrong foot,” Sid said.

I would have laughed if this was a joke, but Sid looked severe. His smile faded as soon as he swallowed the last bite of apple.

“Omega killer. That was the phrase you used, right?” I asked. My stomach tightened, forcing my nerves to go haywire. My body was telling me to punch him right in the gut, but I knew that would put my omega in danger. Instead, I waited for his response.

Sid jumped from the counter onto the floor. He wiped his hands together and groaned. “Can’t we just get along?” he asked. “I’m getting tired of the conflict, Tate Highland.”

Both Elliot and I stayed silent. Sid reached into his pocket. For a second, I thought he was going to pull out a weapon. Instead, he revealed a thick envelope. A hint of green could be seen.

“This is for your troubles,” Sid said, standing back.

I had no doubt in the world that this money had come from two possible sources. It either came from something illegal, or it came from his mayor father. Either way, I wasn’t taking it.

“No thanks,” Elliot said. “We don’t need it.”

Sid’s eyes perused the room, and ultimately they landed on me. I wasn’t budging either. “Actions speak louder than dollar bills,” I said.

“That’s ten thousand dollars,” Sid said, without skipping a beat. “Count it. It’s all there. Oh, and afterward, you might want to take a look on your porch. I bought you a brand new bassinet.”

I wasn’t a wealthy man, but I wasn’t desperate. I enjoyed working for my money. If I accepted that envelope, I’d be in debt to his misdoings for the rest of my life.

“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll earn my own income. Take the crib back. We already ordered one.” I didn’t even want to think about my baby sleeping in that crib.

Sid slowly nodded his head as his gaze fell to the floor. There was nothing left to say. I had a terrible feeling in my stomach.

“I hear you loud and clear, partner,” Sid said.

Elliot took my hand and squeezed. Suddenly, Sid was smiling again. “I’m glad,” I said. “Just leave us alone, and we’ll be good.”

Sid’s tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth as he said, “Got it.”

“Why is that you haven’t apologized to my boy?” I asked.

Elliot and I watched as Sid walked out of the house. Sid shut the door, but not before he angrily grabbed the bassinet. We could hear him talking to someone as he got into the white truck and sped away. The calm we shared together these past few months was now gone.

Elliot leaned forward and let out a massive sigh of relief. “Fuck,” Elliot said, breathing quickly. “I thought that was going to escalate. I really did.”

I held my omega close to me and carefully kept my eye directed at the door. Even though I had watched Sid leave, I felt like he could appear again at any moment.

“It’s okay now,” I whispered. “We stood our ground. He’s gone for now.”

“For now,” Elliot repeated.

We were two months pregnant, and it felt like the whole world was against us. I kissed Elliot’s cheek and tenderly coiled my fingers around the back of his neck. I began massaging him.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. I’ll protect you,” I said. These weren’t just idle words. I was going to do anything to make sure he and our baby were safe.

Elliot had one month left at the station before he was subject to desk duty because of his pregnancy. The department was hardly lenient on expecting fathers, even though they outwardly celebrated the alpha and omega bond.

It was becoming clearer and clearer that he would have to retire once the baby was born. Elliot’s police duty belt was slung against his reading chair. His eyes wavered, ultimately dropping to the floor with disappointment.

“I’m supposed to be able to protect myself,” Elliot said.

“We can protect each other,” I said. I trickled my fingers down his arms and closed my eyes to smell his calming scent. I kissed the crook of his neck and tenderly whispered, “I love you, Elliot. We’ll get through this together, okay? Let’s just focus on good things. We have a baby coming. That’s huge.”

Elliot leaned the weight of his body against my chest and curled into me. I lowered both of us down to the floor and just held him for a few minutes. Elliot calmed down and finally said, “Our family is so important to me. Rowan, Griffin, and you… you’re all I need. But part of me knows that I’m going to have to quit the force, and that saddens me. I always thought I’d be a cop forever. That was when I was a beta, I guess.”

“You don’t have to quit,” I said. I wanted to support Elliot in everything that he did. I didn’t particularly enjoy the danger associated with being an officer of the law, but if Elliot’s heart was set on it as a long-term career path, I would support him.

Elliot shook his head. “No. I do have to quit, and I think that I’ll feel better about the decision after some time. It’s too dangerous to be a cop out here, especially with Sid showing up at my door like this. I don’t want to put us in danger,” Elliot said.

I kissed the top of his head, down to his ribcage. “I love you,” I said. “No matter what happens, I’ll always love you.”

Both of us stood up. We had a lot planned for the day. We decided today was going to be the day we picked out the wallpaper for baby Griffin. But first, I told Elliot that I would help his father get situated for his day.

As Elliot took his shower, I decided to take his dad for a short walk around the neighborhood. The conversation was, at first, light, but as we move further away from the house, Lee started to open up to me more and more.

There was a beautiful park two blocks from the house, aligned with benches, so we sat down and relaxed for a bit.

“Thank you for walking with me,” Lee said. “I haven’t left the house in a long time.”

“You came to my block party, though Remember? At the lake?” I asked.

Lee slowly grinned, but I could tell that the memory had already faded. “Yes, that was such a nice day,” he said, out of kindness.

I really respected Elliot’s desire to honor and help his father. It was more admirable than what most people did, and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do it myself. As we sat, staring at the beautiful clouds in the sky, I realized the magnificence of the human spirit.

Elliot continually sacrificed himself for the people in his life. This was a primary contention between him and the other officers, and I knew it to be the main reason why they couldn’t stand him. He was just a better person than all of them.

I tried to emulate that as best I could because I wanted to be the best father that I could to Rowan Griffin. My ex-husband’s accident woke me up from a normal state of existence. From that night on, I knew that life could change at any second. I had to hold myself accountable.

“I know that I’m not right,” Lee said, out of the blue. “Sometimes, I get scared.”

Amongst the sound of the wind flowing through the green trees, I took hold of Lee’s hand to give him comfort.

I knew that Lee couldn’t perceive his disease. He didn’t wake up every morning and know that he had dementia. But there were inklings of understanding that were still there.

“You don’t need to be scared, Lee. Elliot and I are here to protect you,” I said.

Lee smiled warmly. The wind picked up speed, circling us. In an instant, the breeze stopped. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I’d like to go home now.”

“We can do that, Lee,” I said. I helped him to his feet and walked carefully to Elliot’s home. Elliot was sitting on the porch with a coffee in his hand.

“Hey, guys!” Elliot waved and walked up to help his father.

“It’s a beautiful day outside,” I remarked. The weather had hit that perfect spot today, despite the recent heats.

“I just loved meeting your new friend,” Lee said with a big smile on his face.

“He’s wonderful. Isn’t he, dad?” Elliot asked. Lee agreed with him. It filled my heart with such goodness that it completely erased our altercation with Sid earlier.

When Elliot was ready to go, we both stepped into my car and headed toward the local mall. “I’m actually kind of nervous,” I admitted.

“Nervous?” Elliot asked me. “About the baby?”

I laughed because baby Griffin was the least of my worries. “Actually, I’m feeling excellent about that decision,” I said. “I just haven’t been on this side of the city in a long time. Lots of old faces. Lots of memories.”

As I drove through the neighborhoods, I felt all of those old emotions come back to me. I had a different family back then, a whole different life. Now that I was taking the step into something new, there were a lot of complicated things I had to face.

Elliot ran his hand across my shoulder. “Baby, we don’t have to do this right now,” he whispered.

I did my best to smile. “I have to do this, though. At least I have you to help me,” I said.

“You always will,” Elliot said.

As much as I wanted to bathe in the idea of that statement, I found it hard to do that. Sometimes, people didn’t have others forever. When you end up alone, you’re really alone. Rowan and I learned that the hardest way possible.

I didn’t want to cause any discomfort, so I kept my mouth shut. This was a much-needed step in the road to forgiving the past. I carefully parked the car in the lot, and both us stepped out.

“Here we go,” I whispered.

Elliot kept his arm around my waist, holding me close as we walked toward the doors to the store. I used to know everyone here. Back in the day, I had a lot of friends and acquaintances, but once I left, I never heard from any of them.

“It’s going to be okay, Tate. I promise,” Elliot said.

This was something I hadn’t faced in years. Living in the woods, there was no real reason to ever step foot in the populated areas of town. The REI supplied everything I really needed, as well as the Supermart down the street.

“I know it’ll be okay. I just feel kind of… stupid,” I admitted. “And weak. I don’t feel like an alpha. It’s hard to explain.”

Just as we were about to walk into the store, Elliot pulled me to the side of the building. “You’re not weak,” Elliot said. “And no one thinks that about you.”

“People have said similar things,” I said. “Sid, for instance.”

“Those people don’t believe what they’re saying. They don’t have conviction. They never found out what that word meant,” Elliot said with confidence. “Don’t let their voice get into your head. You’re a wonderful, handsome man who is responsible, and you have a lot of love packed into that strong body of yours. You’re incredible, Tate. I mean that.”

“You keep me grounded,” I said.

Elliot kissed me and moaned with satisfaction. “Damn straight,” Elliot said. “Now let’s pick out that wallpaper.”

I walked into that store with Elliot’s courage lifting me up. I was going to take on the day… and pick the best damn wallpaper color in the world!

As soon as we walked into the baby store, however, I heard my name. “Tate? Tate Highland? Oh my God!”

I felt the pit in my stomach widen, and I immediately turned around to walk right out of the store. Behind me was an old family friend, Brett Villedolle from across the street.

Even though my heart was racing at high speeds, I knew I had to get through this. I looked over at Elliot, who nodded slightly. “Brett, how are you?” I asked, hugging him.

“Good, man. I haven’t seen you in ages,” Brett said. He forgot to add the end of his sentence: “Since the accident.”

“Yeah, Rowan and I moved down to Buckle County, near the lake. You know of the place?” I asked.

Brett smiled. “Sure. We take the kids down there every summer. We’re thinking about renting a house down there in August. I hear there are some decent fishing spots,” he said.

I laughed. “Sure, if you can manage to actually get the fish to bite!”

It was a small feat, but I felt good talking to people from my old life again. It had been years, and the idea sent chills down my spine. But this wasn’t bad. In fact, it was pleasant.

Elliot met my old neighbor, and the two got along really well. Brett was just about to leave, but something else was on his mind. “Listen, I want to tell you something, but I hope you don’t take it the wrong way,” he said.

Elliot squeezed my hand for support. “Um, okay,” I said, a little unsure about the whole thing.

“I just want to say that I think it’s despicable what the department did. And I think you deserve a little bit more respect. This whole town is rooting for you, Tate. Don’t ever forget that,” Brett said.

Brett took me by surprise. I didn’t know how to respond, besides by simply asking him, “You don’t really mean that, do you?” It was such a shock to hear his words that I couldn’t think of it as reality.

“Are you kidding? The whole town is on your side. We talk about it all of the time. The departments out here are corrupt, Tate. I probably don’t need to say this, but if you need anything, just let us know. We’ll be there in an instant,” Brett said. “Anyway, I’ll see you around. Really great seeing you, Tate.”

I didn’t want to make a scene in the store, so as tears fell from my eyes, I calmly walked to the back of the store and sat down. “This whole time, I thought everyone was against me, Elliot,” I whispered. “I received letters from anonymous bullies. Rowan was terrorized at school… I had to get us out of the city. But now, everyone is on my side? I don’t know what to make of this.”

“You have people that love you, people that want to give love to you and your family,” Elliot said. “That’s a true blessing, Tate. It’s time to start your life again.”

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and nodded. “I do. You know what? We’re starting our lives again,” I said.

“That’s right. We’re both starting things from scratch. Together,” Elliot said.

“Forever. I’m not going anywhere now,” I added. I stood up, feeling confident and ready. “Come on. Let’s look at these cute wallpapers.”

Choosing the right wallpaper for your baby’s room is one of the hardest things an alpha can do. Admittedly, I immediately got lost in the endless shapes and colors. Then, I got super tired.

We had seen them all. There were wallpapers with monkeys, cute airplanes, and there were pink wallpaper selections with elegant floral arrangements. There were even wallpaper selections with clown faces. Creepy.

“I’m picking the clowns,” I said, gleefully. “They’re cute.”

Elliot grabbed the roll and hid them behind the rest. “No clowns,” he said, frowning. “I don’t want our baby growing up traumatized.”

“Oh! And we can have a big shelf of old dolls. We can line them up, so our baby has some nice friends,” I said.

I was in a wild mood because I felt freer than I had in a long time. I felt like I could finally let go and be fun. Elliot was bringing a whole new side out of me, and I loved it.

“No clowns. No creepy old dolls. No monsters or aliens,” Elliot said. His gaze was piercing.

“Hey, I never said anything about monsters or aliens,” I said.

As soon as the joke left my mouth, I saw the perfect wallpaper. The design was simple: big, white clouds with a little boy in a boat, fishing. It was utterly cute.

“Wait. Seriously, though. What do you think of this one?” I asked, holding the design up.

Elliot’s cheeks turned red. “That’s it,” he said. “That’s definitely the one.”

I hugged my omega tightly as the realization that in less than seven months time, we would be raising a child together. Another human being was going to enter our house and change our lives forever.

“It just hit me,” I said at the counter.

“What did?” Elliot asked. He handed the cashier his credit card and kept a curious smile on his face.

The cashier gave Elliot the receipt. I shook my head, thinking about it some more. It was all so mind-blowing. Life, history… So much can change when you meet someone new who understands you and believes in who you are.

“We’re having a baby,” I said.

I stopped walking outside of the store and threw my hands up in the air. “We’re having a baby!” I screamed for the world to hear. A surge of energy ran through my body as I started to run through the parking lot.

I went up to the nearest person and said, “Did you hear? We’re having a freakin’ baby!”

“Uh, congrats,” the man muttered before eagerly jumping into his car.

I ran up to another couple and said, “We’re having a baby!”

At that point, Elliot ran up to me. I picked him up, spinning. “You’re insane!” he yelled.

“I know!” I yelled even louder.

Out of breath and utterly dizzy with love, I felt like I was on top of the world. I gently set my omega down and held him close. Everyone seemed to stare at us as if we were out of our minds. Well, we were out of our minds, but that didn’t make our emotions any less real.

This was the start of something great. I felt like I could do anything, and I knew that our family was going to be perfect.

In the car, I leaned back against the leather seat and let out an exalted cry of satisfaction. “I’m going to run for Mayor,” I said.

“Wait…” Elliot’s crooked smile hung open with confusion. “Mayor? Where is this coming from?”

The energy ran through my bones. I couldn’t stop it even if I tried. “Yep. Mayor. It came from… Griffin,” I said.

“Griffin, huh. And how did Griffin give you this idea?” Elliot asked. He was still confused, but pleasantly curious.

“We’ve been talking about changing this town ever since we met, right? Why don’t we actually change it this time,” I said. “Jeez, I can’t believe we never thought of this before. It’s perfect.”

“But you’re not a politician,” Elliot said. “You’re better than those guys.”

I nodded my head. This only strengthened my idea. “Even better,” I said. “You know, I think I really have to give this a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Elliot’s confused gaze turned into patient satisfaction. “You’re serious about this?” he asked.

I nodded, feeling sure of myself. Everything in my life had started to come together at a time when I thought my world was falling apart.

First, I met Elliot. Then, Elliot’s biology changed. Through the power of love, he quickly became an omega. We transcended so much together, and I just wanted to keep that transformation going.

“I’m extremely serious,” I said, breaking out into a smile. Elliot latched onto my hand and pulled it in for a kiss.

“You’re a wild man, Tate Highland. Am I really going to be a politician’s husband?” Elliot asked.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” I said. “It’s going to be really tough to beat Sid’s father. He’s been mayor three times now. The people seem to support him.”

“Don’t be so sure. Remember what your old neighbor said in the shop? People support you. They know your story, Tate. The voters might be waiting for a guy like you,” Elliot said.

“Well, who isn’t waiting for a guy like me?” I asked.

“You’re getting too cocky for your own good,” Elliot said.

I calmed my energy down and took both of his hands into mind. Our fingers intertwined as we held our hands in between us.

“I couldn’t have felt this way without you in my life, Elliot,” I whispered. I didn’t want to get all choked up again, but I needed to express how much he meant to me.

I continued to gaze deep into his eyes. I admired every bit of him, but it was his aura that kept bringing me to him, day after day. I couldn’t leave him, even if I tried.

“For a long time, I just wanted to hate the world. I know that sounds strong, but I hated everyone, especially myself,” I said. “Before I met you, I blamed myself for the accident. If I hadn’t been so selfish, I would have been in that car on that night. I could have been the one to leave.”

“But it’s not your fault,” Elliot whispered, struggling to find the strength to hold his tears back. Both of us began weeping like babies, but it was a good cry, and it brought us even closer. “You can’t predict the future, Tate. Good and bad things happen, and that’s just the way it is.”

“I know that now. You’ve taught me how to forgive. You’ve shown me that there’s a way out of this darkness,” I said. “All I had to do is open my heart and listen.”

“And he’s still here, with you. Right here,” Elliot pointed at my heart. “I don’t believe that people leave us. Not forever, anyway. What I do know is that the people who die live on in our memories.”

“I want to make new memories with you and Rowan. And I want Griffin always to know that he has a happy family who loves him,” I said.

“We’ve already started on the right path,” Elliot said.

I rested my hand on my omega’s smooth belly. It was starting to grow, but there was still a lot of time left. We were going to have a baby, and that was the happiest news an alpha could hear.