Oliver had finally delivered his second baby, and it was time for us to visit to finally say hello to the new family member. I was nearly ready to pop myself, though I had a good month or so to go.

It was amazing to think that in one month, we would have a new family member that we had brought into existence ourselves.

I hadn’t even thought I’d wanted kids before Archer. Maybe in the abstract, some day, when I met the right alpha. But being with Archer made my dream of having a loving family seem much more attainable.

The car pulled up in front of their building and I slid outside, holding my stomach. Archer was incredibly helpful, but I could still do a lot myself.

Except when I couldn’t.

Thankfully, those moments were rare.

“You okay?” asked Archer, taking my hand and gazing at me solicitously.

“Yeah,” I said, grateful for his concern. He was so kind, so attentive—everything a perfect alpha and a perfect dom should be. “I think I just want to stay sitting, you know?”

“Well, I’m sure Caden and Oliver have chairs in their home, so you’re good there,” said Archer with a goofy grin.

“Already working on your dad joke game, I see.”

If you’d ever told me that alphas could be described as goofy, I wouldn’t have believed it. But Archer’s dad personality was starting to emerge, and somehow, he had a whole stockpile of dad jokes ready to go.

Maybe it was a transformation that came over alphas when their mates were pregnant. That was what I liked to think, anyway. It was kind of adorable.

We knocked on Oliver and Caden’s door, and the alpha greeted us on the other side. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked a little weary, but he smiled genuinely when he saw us.

“Come in,” he said, holding the door for us. “You’ll want to take your shoes off. We’re trying to keep everything clean. Really clean.”

I nodded and obeyed him, then entered the home, where I saw Oliver on a couch with the baby swaddled in his arms. The child appeared to be sleeping soundly.

I whispered so as not to wake him up. “How’s he been doing?” I asked. “Hell, how have you been doing?”

“Well,” he said. “Labor is tough, but gods, is it worth it.” He shook his head. “I love this little potato more than I ever thought possible. It’s like my heart’s expanded several sizes. And mind you, that already happened when Amy was born. How much bigger can my heart get? I don’t know.”

I laughed softly, taking a seat next to my friend and peering down at the bundle. The tiny newborn did indeed look like an old man alien, just like I thought it would.

I heard footsteps behind me and saw that Amy was tiptoeing up to us, walking around the couch and sitting next to her father.

“This is my new baby brother!” she said in a loud whisper.

“I know!” I replied. “He’s so cute. He looks just like you!”

Amy scrunched her face up, then attempted to quash some giggles. “I don’t look like that,” she said. “I have hair, you know.”

I tried not to laugh too loudly. I hadn’t spent that much time with kids before, but they were way more personable and interesting than I’d previously thought. Well, maybe not the newborn. He was extremely good at one thing: being cute.

“What’s his name?” I asked Oliver.

“Tyler,” said the omega. “Tyler Joseph Sterling.”

“Beautiful,” I whispered, still gazing down at the delicate face. Tyler was sleeping so deeply that I could get right up close to him. “He just… he has so much potential, you know?” I asked Oliver.

“I know what you mean,” said Oliver, nodding. “It’s amazing to look at him and think that this little sprout of a person is going to do something with his life. Grow up, meet people, learn new things… and we were all sprouts once too.”

“May I hold him?” I asked.

“Of course.” Oliver carefully handed him over to me.

“You gotta support his neck,” blurted Amy.

“Thanks for the tip,” I said, securely holding the baby. In about a month, I’d be holding another one, and that one would be half me, half Archer.

I wondered who he would take after in terms of appearance. Or what interests he would have, what kind of career paths he could do.

I held the baby close to me and looked even closer at his face, with the thin skin and pink complexion. He stirred a little, so I started to rock him in my arms, which had the intended effect.

It felt magical, holding him, as I gazed down into his sleepy little face.

“The labor wasn’t bad either,” said Oliver musingly. “Of course, it’s not a pleasant experience, but Tyler popped right out, like he’d been waiting to meet us this whole time.”

“Yeah?” I asked, tearing my gaze away and looking up at Oliver.

“That wasn’t how I remember it,” said Caden, chuckling. “It sounded difficult!”

Oliver waved his hand. “Yeah, I’m sure it sounded difficult, but it was over quickly, you have to admit.”

“That’s lucky,” I said, finally handing Tyler back to Oliver. “I hope mine is easier too.”

“It’s really a roll of the dice what you get, but I’ll be thinking of you,” said Oliver sweetly.

“You know you can tell us if you need anything,” said Caden, nodding and clapping Archer on the shoulder. “We’re here for you.”

“And we’re here for you,” said Archer. “Let us know if you need us to watch Amy, or anything…”

He trailed off and I felt tears prick my eyes again. There was a lot of happy crying in my life since Archer and I started dating. Or maybe it was just the hormones. Either way, I was incredibly touched that I felt like I’d found my family.

My last stressful phone call with my alpha father seemed like it was far away. I had a family now, a real family.

I still wanted to have a relationship with my Papa, and now that I had a mate and a child on the way, I felt much more capable of doing so, without my alpha father interfering.

I was an adult, and I didn’t have to let them treat me like a child.

I felt Archer’s hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently, reminding me of his presence. He was here, and I felt safe and loved.

With my family.

I looked up at Archer and he smiled down at me. “I love you,” he mouthed.

I took his hand and laid a kiss on top of it.