Chapter Twenty-Eight
“This is Sam, our little alpha, named after Jensen’s dad. And this is Farah, wearing the blue. And Maisie, she’s in yellow. And our omegas, Cato, in green and Micah, in the navy.”
Jensen watched Liam introduce Joe and Axel to each of their babies. Joe, who’d been there for the birth, had seen the babies already but was excited for Axel to meet them.
“Color-coded, that’s a smart move. I like it,” Axel said. Joe elbowed him.
“And they’re gorgeous,” Axel added with a sheepish grin. “Can I hold one?”
Jensen let Liam answer. The omega had seemed a little overprotective of the cubs since their birth. Jensen could understand that. After everything he’d been through, suddenly having five helpless babies to protect probably seemed a little overwhelming.
“Okay. Here, take Farah, she’s calm right now.”
Liam handed her over to Axel. Joe took Cato, rocking the omega back and forth when he started to cry.
Liam leaned back against the pillows, his eyes slipping closed. Sam let out a cry and he opened his eyes, sitting up.
“I’ve got him,” Jensen assured him. “Just rest.”
The others didn’t stay long, giving them some privacy.
“What’s on your mind?” Jensen asked. He knew something was bothering Liam.
“What if Nevan comes for me now? The babies are so small, how will we protect them?”
Jensen lay down on the bed next to Liam, taking Liam’s hand and lacing their fingers together. He knew the omega had been anxious since hearing that lion shifters were responsible for Axel’s brother’s murder.
“The babies are going to be just fine. They have two brave parents who will do anything to keep them safe. But it’s not just us. There’s Hunter, Max, Davyn, Ollie, Joe, Axel… every single person in this den will do their best to protect the den’s children. All of them.”
That seemed to reassure Liam, at least in part. But there was something else bothering him, and from the way he was looking at Cato and Micah, it was something to do with their two omegas.
“It’s not just that,” Liam said. “How do we keep Cato and Micah safe? I don’t mean here and now. I mean… later. How do we protect them from people who’d treat them like Nevan treated me?”
“We teach them,” Jensen said. “Teach them to be strong and brave. To know their own minds, to respect themselves, and to expect respect from their alphas.”
“And we can show them, right?” Liam asked.
“Show them?”
“What a happy mating looks like. They’ll see us and how much we love each other and how we support each other. And when they’re grown up, they’ll look for that themselves.”
“Exactly. Lead by example.”
Maisie started to cry.
“I think she’s hungry,” Liam said. “Can you pass her to me?”
Jensen picked her up, unable to resist a quick cuddle before he handed her over.
“I can’t believe they’re ours. So many years thinking that love, that family, wasn’t meant to be for me. And then you walk into my life and I get everything I ever wanted.”
Liam grinned at him. “Some people get all the luck.”
“Yeah,” Jensen. “But I’d rather love over luck any day.”
“Then I guess we’ve been blessed. Luck and love.”
Jensen cradled Sam in his arms, marveling at how something so tiny could create feelings so huge that everything else seemed to fade into insignificance.
“Liam!”
The omega heard Jensen shout and dropped what he was doing, rushing toward the living room. The babies were having tummy time, on a blanket on the floor.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Liam skidded to a halt at the door and just stared.
Four babies and a lion cub.
“Is that…”
“Little Sammy,” Jensen said with a grin. He was bursting with pride. “First to change.”
Liam sank to his knees at the edge of the blanket.
“Look at him. He’s so adorable.”
Liam tickled Sam’s tummy, the alpha batting at Liam’s hand with his paws.
“Who’ll be next?” Jensen asked.
Liam looked the other children over. Cato had an odd look on his face, his nose twitching. He pointed him out to Jensen and they both watched him closely, knowing something was about to happen. The sneeze took all three of them by surprise, Liam giggling.
“Or maybe not.”
It was Maisie next, another lion cub. Sam squirmed closer to her and he watched as they scented each other.
“They’ll probably all change to the same animal this time,” Jensen said. “That’s normal when they’re this age and because they’re reacting to each other’s scent.”
But it didn’t happen quite like that. Farah changed too, into a lion cub. But neither of their omegas changed. They did their best to encourage them, moving them closer to their siblings and making sure they got their scent. But the two stayed stubbornly human.
“Maybe it’s me?” Liam said later, as he and Jensen did the washing up together.
“Maybe what’s you?”
“The boys not changing. When I was a kid, I was so scared of changing, of making a mistake. Maybe they’re picking up on my anxiety and it’s stopping them.”
Jensen dried his hands and pulled Liam into his arms. “Then show them. Show them their dad is not afraid of who and what he is.”
Ollie and Davyn came to help them settle the kids into bed that evening. It gave Liam a chance to go outside and shift. He tried to do what Jensen encouraged him to do. Relax and just let the change happen. He was surprised to find that when he did that, he often became a polar bear instead of a lion. Cade and Ollie said he probably had an affinity with his bear shifter that he’d repressed as a child because of Nevan and his pack. And now that he was free, his bear was free too.
A few minutes later, he shifted back and walked inside, just in time to help with the babies’ bath. Jensen handed him Micah and then Cato and Liam cradled the boys to him, letting them get his scent, heavy with bear from his recent change.
With Jensen’s help, he then settled the boys into the baby bath together. He wasn’t sure if it was his scent or the water or the combination of the two, but it did the trick, the two little ones shifting into near-identical polar bear cubs.
Liam smiled, laughed, and cried, all in the one breath. Jensen was there, arms around him, holding him tightly.
“They’re beautiful,” he murmured into Liam’s ear. “Beautiful and strong, like their papa.”
“Sometimes I don’t feel it,” Liam replied. “But when I look at you and them, I know it in my heart.”
Ollie cooed over the little shifters. “I think that’s a first for the dens. A family of lions and polar bears. They’ll make excellent swimmers.”
After their bath, it was time for their last feed of the day. Liam fed two together while Jensen fed the others. Sometimes, they had an extra pair of hands to help.
Jensen liked to tell a story while they ate. Liam had thought they were too young for stories, but the alpha seemed to think otherwise. He liked listening to them. They were soothing and hopeful stories, each with a simple message about love or life. Sometimes, he felt he got as much out of them as the babies did. Maybe even more. And by the end, each of them was fast asleep.
One by one, they settled them into their cribs before flicking off the light and creeping out into the living room. They curled up on the couch together, one ear on the nursery as they talked about their day and their plans for the next.
Liam fell asleep with his head against Jensen’s shoulder. He woke to the feeling of being carried in strong arms, Jensen’s scent surrounding him. It was a scent that spoke of love, of safety.
Hands gently settled him down in their bed and then a warm body lay down beside him. Liam latched on to Jensen, curling tight against the alpha.
“Goodnight,” Jensen murmured. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” Liam replied with a yawn, a smile on his face. He knew they wouldn’t sleep long, he knew that life wouldn’t always be exactly like it was then, but he was happy. He was home.