Oni looked less than thrilled as his proud baba toted our son around the party, showing his grandson off to all of our uncles and telling anyone who would listen that he’d told his son not to travel while pregnant. But did he listen? Hell, no. The poor child was born on the side of a damn river. The fact that his grandson was perfect was beside the point.

“Come here, silly boy.” I pulled Oni onto my lap. “We already knew your baba was going to say I told you so, since he actually did.”

“I don’t know if I’m more bothered by that or the fact that he’s the one showing off my baby. Doesn’t Baba think that maybe I want to show Dylan to everybody? Or you,” he added quickly. “I mean, he is our baby, after all. And what’s with the shit of him being born by a river? Half our generation were born during their own quests. Hell, look where I was born!”

“Honeybunch, I will never pretend to understand your relationship with your baba, but I’m pretty sure that you’re just as happy to see him so proud and thrilled with Dylan as you are irritated with his need to be right all the time.” I nuzzled his neck, making him squirm with a giggle.

“Fine, you’re not wrong, I suppose,” he huffed. “But don’t think I’m not taking Dylan on a second circuit to show him off the moment I get my hands on him again.”

“Hey, Kent! It’s your turn to tell us all how it feels for you and Clark to be the first grandparents in our group. We’ve already heard it from Tau and Jun, but Dylan’s your grandkid too. Tell us how it feels, man.” Uncle Cody grinned at my dad.

“It feels fanfuckingtastic,” Dad replied with a smile that lit up the room. He turned to my papa. “We need to call our dads! I know they’ve already seen Dylan on video chat, but have we remembered to rub in the fact that they’re great-grandparents now?”

Everyone in the room laughed because we all knew damn well that nobody would ever believe any of them were grandparents, let alone great-grandparents, due to our unique longevity. My papa grinned as he stepped up behind Dad and wrapped his arms around his mate’s waist, resting his chin on Dad’s shoulder. “Trust me, I’ve already pointed that out to Drew more than once.”

Uncle Peter threw his head back with a laugh. “Why the hell would you go and do that? My poor dad must have freaked.”

Uncle Parker and my papa shared a smile before Papa smirked at Uncle Peter. “Someone had to pay him back for that misbegotten baby shower he threw you guys for the girls. Even though he apologized later, I had to get my twins back.”

“Yeah, over two decades later,” Uncle Parker chuckled. “That water is so far under the bridge that it’s not even a puddle, Clark.”

Oni nestled closer to me as we watched and listened to all the conversations swirling around us as our pack reconnected to share our joy. It was nice of my dads to throw us this big party, but it was even nicer to be able to be here to celebrate.

As though reading my mind, Oni glanced up to meet my eyes. “I’m glad our adventure is over. The apple is securely tucked away in your safe with the biometric lock and enough wards to confuse even a coven of Fae warlocks, if such a thing exists. Our part is done, freaky golems and all. Now we can sit back and enjoy our son. I feel like we’ve barely had a moment to breathe since we’ve been together. It’ll be nice to be just the three of us for a bit, don’t you think?”

I started to say something about how now that it had begun, it wouldn’t be long before the next quest was delivered when Jude stumbled past us, sniffing the air. He glanced over at us, his eyes frantic as he tried to figure out what he was scenting. “Do you guys smell that? What is it? Oh my goddess, it’s like smelling the best solstice memories, and home, and love, and… fuck. I don’t even know what it is except it’s just about everything good in the world all wrapped into one big ball of deliciousness that smells vaguely of pine.” He shook his head absently. “I’ll talk to you guys later; I need to track the scent down and maybe let my coyote out to roll around in it for a while.”

“What the hell is he going on about?” Oni asked as he watched Jude wander away with his nose in the air, continuing to sniff loudly as he roamed the room.

“Think about it, pumpkin. Remember the night you scented me? I’m pretty sure that my brother’s mate just figured it out.” I answered through our connection so as not to be overheard. Oni sat up straight and stared at me with wide, excited eyes.

“Jude is going to be our brother-in-law? That’s fantastic news.” Oni’s eyes were bright as he watched. “But which brother is his mate?”

I tapped the tip of his nose with my fingertip. “Despite my rules, I could probably tell you now, my love—but I won’t. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it so much more seeing it happen for yourself. Just watch and see because he’s about to figure it out.”

Oni squealed and bounced on my lap as Jude flung himself at my brother, pulling his omega in for a big hug as he buried his face into my ecstatic brother’s omega gland, oblivious to the fact that everyone in the room was watching and enjoying the show.

I pulled Oni back against my chest and nuzzled over his claiming mark. “I’m so glad I have you to share these moments with, my love. I hope you know that you’re everything to me.”

He turned to kiss my cheek. “As you are to me, Connor. You’re my mate, my love, my everything. Or, as Jude so aptly put it, just about everything good in the world all wrapped into one big ball of deliciousness.”