Chapter Thirty-Three
Michael couldn’t remember a happier time than those first few weeks after Ben’s birth. As babies went, he was an easy one. Especially since the sickness that had followed both Ryan and Eliot’s births never materialized. The magic of having a strong bond with Max.
His time with Ryan and Eliot as babies had been precious but it made it all the sweeter with Ben to not have that worry of separation. He’d always thought he’d be sent back to the breeder house someday and that fear had lived with him, nagged at him, and left him constantly on edge. But now he could laze around in bed in the morning as he fed Ben, Eliot cuddled against him while Ryan sat next to him playing and not worry about being yelled at by Claude and scrambling around trying to look busy.
Max took on a lion’s share of the housework and cooking, very attentive to anything he needed. Michael knew part of it was worry about him becoming sick. There wasn’t a lot of information out there about a bonded birth after forced ones. He guessed it wasn’t something that happened often if at all.
The night feeds meant both of them were up in the quiet hours. It gave them some much needed time to talk, about them, about the future. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t already spoken about, but before, it had all seemed abstract. Now, everything was very real. The three boys who’d become the center of their lives, the house that was starting to feel like their home, and the pack that already felt like family.
In their early days in Briar Wood, he’d worried about Max. The alpha staying by his side had taken him away from everything he’d known the previous few years. Once the danger had died down, they’d made regular trips to visit Parker. It quickly became clear that while Max seemed to have a good life there, to have friends there, he didn’t really have anyone he was especially close to except Parker. Even in Briar Wood, he kept mostly to himself. When Michael had talked to Griffin about it, his brother hadn’t seemed concerned. Bears were just like that, it was their nature.
Still, they’d talked about going to live with Parker and his people, putting it on the table as an option. But the life they were building in Briar Wood became something more than either of them had hoped. During his pregnancy, when Griffin had offered them a cottage of their own on the grounds, they’d spent weeks thinking it over. There were pros and cons to moving out of the pack house. They’d delayed their decision, wanting to stay close to the others but now, things were different.
“I think it was too soon before,” Michael told Max. “We were still getting to know everyone, learning to feel part of things. But now… we can have our own space but still be immersed in pack life.”
It would be a good compromise, especially for Max whose time apart from the bustle of the pack was important to him.
“If you’re sure,” Max said. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into it.”
“It would be nice to have a space that’s really ours and not borrowed. And I’m sure Griffin would like his guest wing back.”
But there were other things to consider.
“How long will it take to finish one of the empty cottages? Do you think it would be ready in time for next summer or should we put it off until the year after?”
Max looked a little self-conscious, running a hand over the back of his neck.
“I might have done some work on one already. That one by the oak tree, just past the herb garden. It’s mostly ready. Just needs some paint. But it might be wise to wait until the new year, for the boys’ sake. They’re only just settling in. It would be like uprooting them all over again. We could start with visits, let them move some of their stuff over, maybe start eating some meals there. Ease into it.”
It was moments like that when he was reminded strongly of why he’d fallen for Max. The alpha was so caring, so accepting of Michael, his past, and his two kids. Other mates would never have taken on the children of another alpha as their own but Max took to fatherhood well, seemingly determined to make a better go of it than his own father had.
“The new year it is,” he said, smiling. “A new beginning.”
“The next chapter of our life as a family. A new adventure.”
“I always thought adventures were things that happened to other people. But I guess we’ve been living in one all along.”
“What does that make this?” Max teased.
Michael leaned closer to press a kiss to the alpha’s lips before replying.
“Our happy ever after.”
The door to their room pushed open, and he sat up, frowning when a much smaller person than he’d expected toddled into the room.
“Someone’s learned to escape their crib,” Max said, climbing out of bed to catch hold of Eliot as he wobbled across the floor. “Can’t sleep, baby?”
Max was about to bring him back to bed but Michael stopped him.
“He’s wide awake. Let him sit with us until he tires a bit.”
Ben was already drowsing in his arms, full after a feed.
There was a distant thump as Max set Eliot down on the bed.
“Three guesses what that was,” the alpha said, moving back toward the door.
But Michael didn’t need to guess. Their eldest had been shifting in his sleep since right after Ben’s birth and would usually wake himself up in the process.
Max waited by the door for the little wolf cub that they knew would come running to them for comfort. He scooped him up and carried him to the bed, climbing in and setting him down between himself and Michael.
Michael sighed, stroking a hand through Ryan’s fur.
“Noah says it’s just a phase,” Max reminded him. “It’ll settle down once he gets used to the new baby.”
“I’m not worried,” Michael promised, continuing to stroke Ryan’s fur as the cub settled down next to them. “It’s all going to be okay.”
As he said it, he realized, for the first time in a very long time, he believed it.