They watched the sun set over the hills on the far side of the lake, the pinks and purples nearly exploding across the sky before fading into pale orange, and then Jess's voice drifted down to them that dinner was ready. Luke was curled into Gage’s body, Gage’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him tightly. They didn't move right away. Gage was amazed how well he had taken all of this... craziness. No one would have blamed him if he'd gone running for the hills, but at every step and every upset they'd had, he'd been right there with Gage, a support, an ear, a comforter. Gage had never really thought about his future mate before. Not more than the nebulous, "someday when I'm married and have kids" sense. He'd never built his ideal image of the perfect partner. But he had come to him. Luke was everything he hadn't known he needed.

Luke pulled away and gave Gage a quick kiss. "Ready?"

"No." Gage buried his face in Luke’s neck.

Luke laughed. "Well, you have about two minutes to get ready, so let's get moving, buster."

Everyone was just figuring out where to sit when they arrived, and Jess firmly directed them to their seats, putting Gage just to the left of Alice. The table was laden with beef stew, salad, and fresh bread. Simple, but comfort food. Gage was grateful everyone seemed content to stick to small talk during the meal instead of digging into the heavy topics of earlier. He thought they all needed a break. Luke ate a little stew, but filled up on bowl after bowl of salad. 

Gage leaned over to whisper to him. "Not that I'm judging your food choices, but are you feeling okay?"

"My stomach is still a little weird," he murmured back. "The only thing that tastes appetizing is the greens. I tried a little of the carrots and potatoes from the stew, and they were just too rich."

"Don't you need more calories now that you're pregnant?"

"He'll be fine," Alice interrupted, and Gage jumped, not realizing she could hear. "The first trimester can be difficult, because that's when most people experience morning sickness. He'll be fine even if he loses weight the next few weeks. He'll start gaining it back in the second trimester. If either of you need a doctor, I can give you the contact info for Brandon Delaney. He's a great obstetrician. Cole, you should know him, I think he was a couple years above you in school."

"That's who I'm seeing," Evan added. "And I'll second that recommendation. He's got a great personality, really easy to talk to, doesn't mind explaining things."

"That would be great, thank you," Luke said.

The realization that he was going to be a dad kept hitting Gage in waves, each larger than the last. Next year, he would have a kid. Which meant right now, he needed to get his shit together. A few people were still finishing up their plates, but Gage’s and Alice's were empty.

He turned to her. "I want to accept your offer."

She nodded, accepting the coffee Samuel handed to her and taking a sip before she responded. Gage politely declined Samuel’s offer to grab him some. He was keyed up enough without coffee. The break with Luke and the warmth of dinner had unwound him slightly, but not significantly.

"Do you want to make the switch official immediately, or would you be content to wait a little while?"

That wasn't quite the response Gage had expected. He wasn’t sure exactly what he had, but not that. "What did you have in mind?"

She set her mug down and wrapped her fingers around it. Maybe Gage should have accepted the coffee if just for the calming warmth.

"I'd like to find out more about the situation before upsetting the status quo. That doesn't mean I don't intend to accept you if I believe the results will turn ugly, quite the contrary. But I do like going into situations with my eyes wide open."

Gage looked to Luke to see if he had anything to say before Gage responded, and he nodded in affirmation. "I'm okay with that. And I like your idea of giving my house a good sweep before we go back to stay. Cole, Dare, if you have time tomorrow, I'd like to do that as soon as possible.'

"Sounds good," Cole said.

"Of course," Dare replied.

"Well." Alice pushed herself back from the table. "I think that's enough decisions for one night, don't you? I'm sorry we don't have much in the way of desert, but I suspect you're all wanting to get a good night's sleep tonight."

"I'm definitely feeling the need for a soft bed," Luke agreed. "Can we help with the dishes before we go, though?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. We'll just take everything into the kitchen. I have someone coming to clean tomorrow."

They all insisted on at least helping clear the table, and then they were all saying goodnight and piling in cars, Sean, Luke and Gage following Jess and Cole to their house. Even Sean was flagging, and Cole showed Luke to a room while Jess pulled Gage aside.

"First thing," she wrapped her arms around him. "Congrats on becoming a dad, big brother!"

"You too, little sis! I always expected you to have kids before me. This is a bit of a surprise twist."

She was smiling as she pulled back from the hug, but it faded. "You know I'm beyond excited about you leaving Cherry Creek and joining White Falls, but how do you really feel about it? Beyond the Sean thing and the Luke thing."

Gage rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of hard to think about it without those two factors."

"But you've been with the pack your whole life."

"So have you," Gage pointed out wryly.

"I'm a beta. It was always a possibility for me. But you're an alpha."

"Alphas leave their packs, too. But I understand what you're saying. But yeah. I think I feel good about it. I've always kind of sucked at fitting in, alpha or not. I've been debating it for a long time, honestly. Especially since Mom and Dad died. But now with Luke and the baby, it just makes sense. Like everything in my world has come together to form a giant flashing sign pointing to my answer." Gage ruffled her hair. "So you don't have to worry about me, Jess. But how about Sean? How is he handling it?"

"You know Sean, he's excited, but he probably knew before we told him."

"It kinda sucks having a little brother who actually is a know it all."

"Tell me about it."

Gage pulled her into another hug. "Everything is going to work out fine. Hey, maybe Luke and I could buy a house near here so our pups can really grow up together."

She pulled back and punched him in the arm. "Don't even tease me about that unless you really mean it, Gabe Carpenter!"

He hadn't considered it until the words popped out of his mouth. It was something to consider. "Well, I'm tired. And I want to get started as soon as Cole and Dare are ready in the morning. Night, sis."

"Night, Gabe."