Chapter Twenty-Nine
Randy
With our daughter here, the need to settle the issue of the reds coming after our omega doubled in its urgency. Our building was secure against most ordinary assaults, but dragons could land on the roof. The balcony. Any balcony at all in a building that had so many, so we had to do something, but what?
Unlike some of the other clans around, we were not warriors. What could a doctor and a honey gatherer do? If we couldn’t protect our family, we were worse than useless. I paced the floor on Christmas Eve night, patting our daughter’s back and telling her funny—at least I thought they were funny—stories, trying to soothe her to sleep. She shouldn’t be hungry, and she was not wet, but she was certainly fussy. I showed her the Christmas tree and the ornament we’d bought especially for her.
“Where is your Titus daddy, little face?” I kept moving, having already learned that as long as I didn’t sit down, she wouldn’t go into full-wail mode. “He should be back from the office soon, and then when your Nixon papa wakes up, we can sing Christmas carols and get ready to welcome Santa. A good girl like you is sure to get something special from Mr. Claus, you know.” I bounced her in my arms and hummed, watching her eyelids droop in the soft, Christmas tree lights. Doctors didn’t keep bankers’ hours, but it was getting pretty late, and I was beginning to worry. I didn’t usually call, since I didn’t want to be a nagging mate, but on Christmas Eve?
The roast was going to dry out in the oven, the potatoes get cold and unpleasant if he didn’t show up soon. Not that the food was my primary concern. As a new father, I was as protective of my alpha as my omega and baby. His office was still not ready in our building, necessitating his leaving home every day, and what if the reds wanted to get to Nixon through Titus? He could—
The elevator dinged, the door closed, and the welcome quip, “Honeys, I’m home!” allayed my fears at least for a few hours. Titus came over for his kiss and dropped one on the baby’s downy head. “Nixon asleep?”
“For now, but he should be waking anytime. Ready for the festivities?” We’d decided to be a Christmas Eve family, the Santa stuff excepted, and would open our presents tonight. That way we could spend tomorrow with extended family, but tonight would be just ours. “Long night at work?”
“Sort of. I was over at the lab, trying to get some quick results on a sample I submitted.” His smile lit up his entire face, including his eyes.
“I guess some patient is going to get good news?”
He held up his phone and clicked some buttons. “Actually, this news is in the nature of a Christmas gift for my family.”
I couldn’t imagine what lab test that would be, but I waited almost patiently for him to continue.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the reds, especially since our little one arrived, and, yesterday, I got an idea.”
It became harder to be patient. “So...an idea?”
“The reason the reds are interested in Nixon is because they think they know his ancestry, and I got to wondering what a DNA test would show. So, I took a sample without telling him why. Actually, a swab while he was sleeping with his mouth open.”
“Yeah, since the baby came, he’s extra tired.” And that meant a lot of slack-jawed snoring.
“So I thought, if I could get it through by Christmas…” He pointed the phone at me. “I don’t know anything more than this, but look.”
The screen showed 100 percent bear. It was a few different kinds, sort of a bear soup, but not a drop of anything else. “I thought…”
“I know, me, too. But here it is.” I watched him closely, noting that he wasn’t quite meeting my gaze. “With the help of Sasha and Rob, I managed to leak the results in such a way that it would be almost impossible for the reds not to see them.”
“You did, huh?”
“Yep, the only magical element of our omega is his shifter self. Not another thing.”
“Ah-hah.”
His grin spread so wide, it nearly bisected his face. “Remarkably, his genes are pretty much like, well, yours.”
I snored, too. Hmmm. “That is remarkable. So, why would the reds want someone so ordinary, is that it?”
“Right. I wish we could do more to shut them down, so that nobody would ever suffer under them again.”
“We aren’t warriors, but maybe we will get our chance to help others. For now, you just alpha’d the heck out of the situation.” I wrapped an arm around him, bringing Titus in for a hug with me and the baby.
“Hey!” A sleepy voice came from the doorway to the other room. “Is it Christmas yet?”
“I think so.” I reached out and he shuffled in for the group hug. “It sure is, Nixon. The best Christmas ever.” I embraced my alpha, my omega, and our darling daughter. The men embraced me back, and the little one drowsed peacefully in the safest place in her small universe. Past the Christmas tree, the tall windows showed the snow starting to fall, Santa had already come for us.
Nixon snuggled closer, and the baby squeaked. “It’s okay, baby. We’ve got you.”
My throat tightened with the love that filled our home. I had the life I’d never even dreamed possible, the family who made me complete. Christmas had come, and with it, the very best of the season. The love of friends and family, and the peace of knowing all was right in the world.