Levi was everything I hadn’t known an alpha could be. Every day, he helped me explore the world again, whether it was something as simple as grocery shopping or as exciting as seeing a movie in a theatre—we stuck to kids’ movies. I wasn’t ready to test my fear response in public on anything intense. At night, we’d cuddle on the couch… but it never went further. I’d had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that Levi was my mate, but wasn’t sure how to proceed further on that scale.

If I could show him I wasn’t weak, though, maybe he would be interested in taking the first step? The pregnancy was not helping.

I heaved a sigh of frustration at my ungainly body as I waddled from the kitchen to the back yard for the fifteenth time, but only after glancing around to make sure Levi couldn't hear me. He'd make me sit down and put my feet up, maybe put some ice packs on my swollen ankles.

Beyond showing Levi I could handle… well, life, this was the first time any of the team had seen Levi's house, and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. We’d compromised on the whole gender reveal party and decided to have a barbeque instead. Papa P was in charge of the dessert that would reveal the gender of the babies. I honestly didn’t care, as long as they were healthy.

But everything was annoying me today. My ankles were swollen and achy, my lower back was a constant complaint, and I felt like I was in the bathroom peeing every fifteen minutes. And yet, somehow, even with all those annoyances, I was horny as hell, and had been for a week.

The only time I could relieve that issue was in the shower... so I was very clean these days. I played it off as easing my aching pains, but the reality was I was jacking off morning and night, and occasionally several times in one shower.

For years, sex had been a duty for me, not a desire, but this was apparently a common pregnancy side effect, and it was forcing me to get in touch with my sensuality, and fast.

I squeezed past Levi—on the way to pee yet again—when a brief knock announced the arrival of the team before the door flew open and chaos tumbled in.

"Sheesh, Levi," Ezra started in on him immediately. "Did you let Cody decorate the place? Or maybe the reason you've never had us over is because you're secretly a grandma?" He picked up one of the afghans and examined it closely.

Offended on Levi's behalf, I waddled over and jerked the afghan out of Ezra's hands, folding it back up and placing it gently on the back of the couch. "These are from Levi's parents," I said with a glare.

Boomer was looking at a picture hanging on the wall next to the bookcase. It was a family photo from when Levi was about eighteen. "Levi, these your grandparents?"

Levi came to stand beside him. "No, man. Those are my parents. I was what you’d call a late-life surprise for them."

Boomer turned to him with wide eyes. "No shit? Huh."

"Yep. Mom was forty-nine when I came along; Dad was fifty-seven. He passed in my early twenties, and she went a few short years later."

I suddenly realized that I didn't know how old Levi was. So, I asked him. “How old are you?”

"Yeah, Levi. How old are you?" Zeke came up behind him and gave him a noogie. Levi pushed him off, rolling his eyes.

"The guys give me shit because I'm the oldest in the group."

"He really is a grandma," Ezra said, then shot me a wary look. "No offense to the afghans."

"Levi, you never answered me. How old are you?" I asked again, my interest piqued even more.

Noah had come in the back door instead of the front with the others and must have caught the tail end of the conversation. "How old do you think he is?"

All eyes turned to me and I curled in on myself a little. "I don't know... if he's the oldest... maybe forty, forty-five tops?"

That set off a peal of hooting laughter.

"He thinks you're old enough to be our dad," Ezra gasped between guffaws.

"Only if I was in high school when you were born!" Levi gave him an exasperated look. "I'm thirty-six," he told me finally. "Not that much older than these jokers here."

"Whatever you say, Betty." Ezra dodged as Levi grabbed a throw pillow off a chair and launched it at him. It hit a side table, rocking the glass container full of caramels on it.

"You boys are worse than a pack of teenagers," Ray said through the back door. "Get your asses out front and help Cindy and Justin finish carrying in the munitions. Levi, you've got a nice place, son."

Levi went to shake Ray's hand in greeting. "Thank you, sir."

I came up behind Levi and tugged on his sleeve as Ray went back outside. "Munitions? Are they going to be doing target shooting or something?"

"I think he actually means the food. See?" Levi pointed out the back door to where the other alphas followed Papa P and Cindy like obedient pups, loaded down with bowls and casserole dishes. My eyes bugged out.

"Do they expect us to eat all of that?"

Levi laughed. "You've never seen the team at a potluck. I'll put it this way—there won't be many leftovers."

I shook my head in amazement. I couldn't imagine it.

It was a good thing I had gotten plenty of exercise in earlier, because once everyone arrived, I was barely allowed to move. If I needed a drink, someone was already at my side with a lemonade. If I looked over at the table of food with interest, someone was passing me a plate a few minutes later.

We were all sitting in a circle of folded chairs—all the tables so stuffed full of food there was nowhere to sit at them—when Cindy looked over at Papa P's plate and asked, "What's that yellow stuff on your plate, Justin?"

"This?" He pointed his fork at it. "It's my potato salad."

"And what's that green stuff in it? Do you put bell peppers in?"

"No, that's olives. Ray won't touch it without his olives."

Cindy shook her head. "Honey, that's not a potato salad. I don't know what it is, but definitely not a potato salad. This is a potato salad." She pointed at a whiter version on her own plate.

"Here they go again," Noah groaned. Preston cackled gleefully next to him.

"It doesn't look like there's any mustard in it," Papa P said, peering at her plate.

"I just don't understand why people insist on adding mustard—it overtakes all the other flavors."

"Why wouldn't you add mustard? It's a perfectly fine, complex flavor."

"But you can't taste anything other than mustard!"

"That's why you add the olives."

"Okay, let's settle this." Cindy set her plate aside and picked up a clean plate, putting Papa P's potato salad on one side, hers on the other. The alphas all became very interested in their own plates as she marched back to the group. She thrust the plate in front of me—the only person without a plate full of food, currently, and said, "Cody, it's up to you. Tell us which is best."

"Don't do it!" Levi whispered loudly. "It's a trap!"

I gave him a mischievous smile. "Afraid, Levi? I'm not."

I took the plate from Cindy and she crossed her arms with an arch look at Papa P, who leaned forward, watching me anxiously.

Her certainty and his anxiety turned to horror as I mashed both samples together and took a giant bite of the mixture. "They're delicious," I declared, as everyone else burst into laughter. "They're both the best."

"That's 'cause you ain't had Mama Chiarelli's potato salad," Boomer said from across the circle, heading toward the food table. "Now that's some five-star food." He dipped the serving spoon into Cindy's potato salad, but she marched across the grass and pulled the bowl out of his reach.

"Then you can go eat hers."

Shrugging, Boomer turned to scoop some out of Papa P's bowl instead, but he had followed suit, standing beside Cindy, protecting his potato salad.

"You're banned from potato salad," Papa P declared. "You and Cody."

I pouted. I actually had liked the combo of the two. "But what about the babies? They loved it! They're doing all kinds of somersaults after that taste."

Cindy and Papa P's faces relaxed immediately, but it was Levi's soft, "Really?" that made me drop my put-upon act.

"Yeah, they're actually making it difficult for me to focus on eating."

"Can I feel?"

I moved my arms and plate out of the way. "Of course!"

Levi placed one hand reverently on my stomach, and immediately smiled as one of them kicked right under his palm. "That's so cool. I don't think I’d ever get used to that."

I shrugged. "I've actually gotten very used to it. If they haven't moved in a while, I get a little nervous. I kind of wonder if I'm going to wake up after they're born and freak out because I don't feel them, forgetting that they're not inside me anymore."

"The birthing process has a way of making the transition very, very memorable," Papa P said.

"Isn't that the truth," Cindy agreed.

"So, can they have potato salad?" I pleaded.

Cindy and Papa P exchanged a look. "Okay, Cody is unbanned. But Boomer's still on our list."

Boomer shrugged again and helped himself to some baked beans instead. Oh, I wanted more of those, too. I started to stand, but Levi pressed a hand on my shoulder. "Just tell me what you want, and I'll get it."

I handed him my plate. "Some baked beans, please. Ooh, and some coleslaw. And maybe some more chicken?"

Levi handed me the loaded plate and I cheerfully mashed everything all together.

"Oh no," Ezra said. "That's just wrong. I mean, coleslaw goes with just about everything, but in with your baked beans? And the rest of it—man, that's just nasty."

I tasted it, swirling the flavors around in my mouth. "It's missing something... Levi, get me the pickle relish."

"Ooh, are we giving Levi orders now?" Jonah asked. "In that case, Levi, get me a coke while you're up."

Levi pointed at him warningly. "You're lucky I'm busy right now." The other guys piled on, but I suppressed a smile at the easy obedience of my alpha, no matter who was watching.

I had come to accept him as my alpha, but I'd avoided thinking of what that meant in the long run... though my inappropriate and still-insistent hard-on certainly had some ideas. Ideas I'd thought about very thoroughly in my shower sessions, and then did my best to ignore the rest of the time.

Ray chuckled at the team's banter. "Leave him alone, boys. You'll know what it's like when you have a pregnant omega of your own."

"You can say that again," Noah piped up, and Preston smacked him on the shoulder. Noah leaned into him with a mischievous grin and gave him a kiss in apology.

Amy, who'd been sleeping happily in her carrier, suddenly woke with a fuss.

"Sounds like Princess needs her diaper changed," Preston said, getting out of his chair to extract her.

I shoved my empty plate at Levi with a warning glare. He wasn't going to keep me sitting all afternoon. "Why don't you let me change her, Preston? I need the practice."

Noah laughed. "He'll never say no to someone else changing a dirty diaper."

Preston snorted. "As if you're any better." He slid the diaper bag over my shoulder, then handed me the little girl. "Enjoy."

"Hey, I'll take any Amy time I can get, even poopy time. Even when she's a stinker, she's a sweetheart. Aren't you, precious?"

“Amelia,” Preston corrected absently while I walked away.

I nearly ran into Papa P, who was just coming out of the bathroom, as I was going into the nursery, as we'd dubbed the spare room even before we started decorating it. The full bed was gone, and a changing table and crib had taken its place.

The small dresser was already filled with clothes, thanks to the new gifts that showed up all the time from the different members of Levi’s team, but especially Papa P and Cindy. They seemed determined to spoil my babies before they even arrived.

"Whoops, sorry! We're on poop patrol."

Papa P laughed and leaned against the doorframe as I unshouldered the bag and pulled out the supplies before laying Amy on the table.

"How are you doing, Cody?"

I hated those words. It felt like a test I didn't know the answer to. "Oh, I'm fine. Can't wait until these two troubles decide to show their faces to the world."

Papa P was silent, and I winced inwardly. Yep. Failed again.

"I really don't want to intrude... but it's not hard to see the tension between you and Levi. I know it's difficult considering your past, but... have you considered... becoming intimate?"

I sighed in frustration, glad I had the distraction of changing Amy's diaper to excuse me from looking at Papa P. "I've considered it a lot. Especially lately."

Papa P chuckled. "Those third-trimester hormones are no joke, are they?"

"I want to… but Levi won't touch me." It was definitely easier to talk about this kind of stuff with my back to him. Maybe this is what people who prayed felt like when they were talking to God? "I don't know if it's because I'm so pregnant or what, but he hasn't even tried to kiss me."

I finished buttoning Amy's onesie and pulled her skirt down around her chubby thighs. She smiled up at me and waved her hands in the air, a happy princess once more. Papa P came beside me and took my hand.

"Levi is a caring man. He won't touch you unless you're one hundred percent ready for it. And I may have put the fear of god into him when you first arrived." He shrugged with a bashful smile, and I couldn't help but wonder if Papa P had heard my thought about feeling like I was praying to God while I was talking to him. That was just too eerie. "You're going to have to take charge. And yet, for some reason… I don't think that will be a problem for you."

My cheeks flushed, and I cleared my throat. "I'll... take your words under advisement."

Papa P stole Amy from me. "That's all I ask. Now come, you haven’t had dessert yet."

Dessert! My pulse raced as I excitedly jerked to face him. “Did you really do it? A special dessert to reveal the gender of the babies? I didn’t want to know, but now I can’t wait.”

Papa P chuckled. “Come on, sweetie. I have a great surprise for you and Levi.”

I followed him back out of the nursery and made my way to Levi. He looked up with an expectant smile and opened his arms when he realized my intent to sit on his lap. “Papa P has a surprise for us,” I said happily.

“A surprise?” Levi looked up at Papa P, who was already heading our way with a plate in hand. On the plate sat two beautifully decorated cupcakes: one chocolate, and one vanilla.

“Don’t let the frosting flavoring fool you, boys. Neither is representative of the gender it reveals. Inside the cupcake is a cream filling, colored either pink or blue. When you bite into it, you’ll have your answer.”

“Ooh! How fun!” I clapped my hands and greedily reached for the chocolate one, leaving the vanilla for Levi, since he preferred it anyway. We waited while Cindy and Papa P passed cupcakes around to the rest of the team.

“None of you had better bite into yours until our new parents have tasted theirs,” Papa P warned the crew.

Levi and I grinned at each other and tapped our cakes together in a silent cheers motion before pulling back the paper to take a bite. We both went together, biting in sync so as not to ruin the surprise for the other.

I looked at the blue cream blob on Levi’s lip, and gulped down my bite. “Look at your cupcake, it’s blue! We’re having boys!” I squealed in excitement.

His eyes shining, Levi swiped a bit of cream from the corner of my lips, then held it up for me to see. Pink? He winked as he licked his thumb clean, tipping his chin toward the cupcake I held. I looked down to see pink filling spilling out from where I’d bitten.

It took a moment before I realized what Papa P was telling us. The rest of the crew was chuckling and diving into their own desserts as I spoke.

“Pink and blue? We’re having one of each?”

Papa P smiled so wide, I could almost count every tooth in his mouth. “Indeed. You’re having one of each, dear boy.”