Chapter Thirty-Two
Seth balanced Skye in one arm and Toby in the other, wincing when he heard the loud screech from outside. Despite supposedly being their quiet baby, Quinn had a cry that would make any shifter within a mile come running.
He hurried outside, finding Dara sitting on the porch in the rocking chair. Jamie, their little omega, was nestled against him, fast asleep, while Quinn arched her back, her nose twitching.
“I know that look,” Seth said, awkwardly passing Skye and Toby to Dara and scooping Quinn up into his arms. “You’re either about to sneeze or about to…”
She arched again and Seth almost dropped her, belatedly sinking to his knees bringing them both closer to the ground.
“I thought Toby would be the first to change,” Dara said, struggling with the three babies in his lap. “Him being an alpha and all.”
“I guess Quinn decided to take the initiative,” Seth replied.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Dara replied with a smile.
They heard Max’s voice and called out to him, knowing they needed an extra pair of hands.
“I’m taking bets here,” Seth joked, as Max jogged toward them. “Wolf or ocelet.”
“Ocelot, definitely,” Max said, folding his arms.
“Swan,” Dara threw in, and Seth snorted. “Wolf, definitely wolf.”
He cradled Quinn closer as Max scooped up Skye, feeling the second the shift started, Quinn’s tiny form going still and tense in his arms. And then a wolf cub was nudging at his chin and licking his face, yipping loudly. The noise woke the others in a way Quinn’s crying hadn’t. Skye shifted immediately on catching her scent, and Max settled him onto the ground next to Quinn and Skye.
“Hey, buddy. You gonna show her how it’s done?”
Skye was old enough that his wolf form could move around a lot. Quinn, in contrast, wouldn’t go far just yet.
Dara picked up Toby and Jamie, settling them down on the ground between them. Toby blinked his eyes open and waved his arms before he too changed. Jamie’s nose twitched and they held their breath for the last baby to shift. The sneeze took them all by surprise, and Dara giggled as Jamie’s eyes went wide with shock. And then Jamie shifted.
“What is he?” Seth asked, not recognizing the mewling pup straight away.
“Ocelot kitten,” Dara said, wonder in his voice as he stroked Jamie’s soft fur.
“He is so cute,” Seth said, ticking his belly and surveying the four cubs. Three wolves and an ocelot. “Daring to be different, huh? Just like your daddy.”
Dara grinned back at him, that grin turned into a frown as Skye scrambled away from them and dived into a flower patch. It had rained the night before, the ground still soft and muddy.
“Skye,” Dara called, as Max tugged him free of the plants.
Seth burst into laughter on seeing Skye’s muddy coat. He stopped laughing when Skye broke free from Max’s hands and landed in the middle of the smaller babies, shaking mud all over them. They stared in horror at their mud-splattered infants. And then Dara was smiling and shaking his head.
“Bath time.”
He and Seth knelt either side of the bathtub as they washed the mud from their little shifters’ fur.
The expression on Seth’s face was hard to read. He looked happy but… something else, too.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Dara asked as Seth washed the last of the mud from Skye’s paws.
“I was just thinking how much has changed. A year ago, in some ways, I was still just a kid, rebelling against my dad. Now I’m alpha, a mate, and a father four times over. Some days I look around and I can’t believe that this is me. That this is my life.”
Dara lifted Quinn from the bath as she changed back to human form, wrapping her in a towel.
“Do you miss how things were before?”
“I miss my dad. I wish he was still here. I miss having Hunter here. But I wouldn’t change what we have.”
“I miss the den. Having my brothers there all the time. But I love the Cove. I love being with you. I… I love our kids.” He loved how Seth didn’t treat Skye any differently to the triplets, showing him as much love and attention as if he really was his.
Jamie shifted back and Seth lifted him out, wrapping another towel around him.
“The kids are amazing. Really and truly. I can’t wait to see what they’re like when they grow up. They have so much personality already.”
They got the babies dried and dressed.
“Another big day today,” Dara said. The wolf packs were returning, for proper talks this time. They hoped to end the day with an agreement of some sort. Dara had his fingers and toes crossed that things would work out. Seth and Max had put so much work into it.
“Speaking of big days, I had better go. Are you sure you don’t want to sit in on the talks?”
“And leave Angie and Joe holding the babies? I don’t think that would be fair. Besides, I’d have to leave a bunch of times to feed them. You go ahead, I know you can handle it.”
Seth caught him around the waist, tugging him away from the bed to capture his lips in a kiss.
“I’ll make it up to you tonight. Here’s hoping we have something to celebrate.”
His hands slipped lower, fingers teasing below Dara’s waist before he let go with a grin.
“Go,” Dara said, giving him a gentle shove. “The sooner you’re gone, the sooner you’ll be back.”
It was dark when Seth wandered back home, waving goodbye to Max, the alpha in unusually good form.
Dara was sitting on the edge of their bed.
“The babies?” Seth asked in a whisper.
“They’ve had their last feed and they’re down for the night. Or, at least, for a few hours.”
Seth sat next to him on the bed, sagging into the soft mattress.
“Well?” Dara asked.
“They said yes. Yes to the alliance. Yes to reinstating the den. Yes to the new borders. And they’re very interested in having visits from the dens, so I think that’s a yes on the covert omega matchmaking plan.”
“Really?”
“They want what we have, Dara. They’re so envious, it hurts to see it. That visit you did with the babies earlier was genius.”
Dara had dressed them up in the cutest outfits he could find and brought them in when the alphas were eating lunch. He pulled a trick then, asking Lucas to shift outside and making sure the windows were open. His scent reached the babies and they all shifted, to the surprise and delight of their guests.
“By happy coincidence, it has tired the little ones out so I suspect we’ll have a very quiet night.”
Seth stroked a finger along Dara’s cheek. “Just what we both need.”
He kissed a patch of skin just below Dara’s ear, the omega shivering. “A chance to catch up on some sleep.”
Another kiss along Dara’s jaw. “To dream sweet dreams.”
His lips found Dara’s, soft at first, until Dara pushed back, his hand behind Seth’s head, deepening the kiss.
He wrapped his arms around Dara, easing him back onto the bed and straddling him.
“This is all because of you, Dara. You saved me. Lucas. Our pack. That was all you.”
“All I did was fall in love.”
Seth smiled down at him. “Then let me show you how grateful I am that you did.”
Dara laughed, throwing his arms around Seth and pulling him down for another kiss. In the next room, a baby cooed.
Seth groaned, then laughed. “This is our life now, huh?”
“Shh,” Dara murmured. “They’re just dreaming. Like us.”
They waited another minute, holding their breaths for the first cry. None came.
Seth relaxed. “Where were we?”
Dara wrapped his arms around Seth’s waist as the alpha cupped his cheek.
“We were right here.”