Cherry Breeze

18. Mommy Dearest

Chapter eighteen

Mommy Dearest

After picking up their things and a quick wash up at the beach house, they locked up and headed back home. Asher didn’t fall asleep this time, but held Sebastian’s hand and sang along with the radio as the alpha drove. The atmosphere couldn’t be more different than it had been when Sebastian had driven them there with a crying, upset Asher in his passenger seat. It made the alpha proud that time with him had cheered up his omega. The car still smelled a little like sex, but it didn’t bother either of them.

It was about an hour into the drive when Sebastian’s phone rang and on the dash display it showed his mother was calling.

“Oh, it might be important. Do you mind if I..?” Sebastian indicated to the screen and Asher shook his head and smiled. The alpha pushed a button on the steering wheel and the call connected. “Hey mom.”

“Sebastian Rossi! Is there a reason I had to hear from my granddaughter that you have a boyfriend?” A female voice came through the speakers, and Asher had to cover his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

“Mom.”

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me! You haven’t dated anyone for years and now I’m finally on the verge of getting more grandbabies and you can’t even introduce him to the family?”

“Mom!” Sebastian said, more loudly.

“What?!”

“Can we talk about this later?”

“Why? Are you trying to get out of introducing him to the family, because that won’t work. I’m determined. Mia apparently loves him already and Lara said he was very pretty and you seemed really serious about him.”

“No, it’s because I’m driving, you’re on speaker and he’s in the car with me, listening to everything you say.”

“Oh! Well, hello there. I’m Serena, Sebastian’s mother.”

Asher had both hands over his mouth to hold back his laughter. He took a couple of deep breaths and answered.

“Hi, Mrs. Rossi. I’m Asher.”

“Oh, call me Serena. It’s so wonderful to meet you, though I guess this doesn’t really count. Is my son treating you well?”

“Mom!” Sebastian repeated again and Asher giggled.

“He’s treating me very well, don’t worry. You raised quite a gentleman.”

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair, cheeks bright with color at his omega and his mother. He could only imagine how much mischief they would get up to if they met, combined with Lara.

“You should come for Thanksgiving! It’s only a few weeks away and we’d love to have you!”

“Oh, um…” Asher looked at Sebastian. “I’ll have to see what my work schedule is… and talk to Sebastian, but… maybe?”

The alpha instantly reached a hand out and gently massaged the back of Asher’s neck in reassurance keeping his eyes on the road.

“I’d love it if you came, Baby.”

“Aww… You two are so cute already. I can’t wait to meet you, Asher.”

Asher was blushing like crazy even though Sebastian was the only one who could see him. It felt good to know that Sebastian wanted him to meet his family. It had been one thing to meet his sister by accident, but this was something more, and it made him feel important in the alpha’s life.

“You too, Serena.”

“Alright, I’ll let you kids go. Sebastian, make sure to call me later. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Mom. Talk to you later.”

The alpha ended the call and Asher took his hand again. His mind lingered on their parting words. The omega couldn’t remember the last time his mother had told him that she loved him, and yet Sebastian’s mother had done so seemingly without thought.

“Your mom loves you a lot.”

“I know. I’m very lucky. Though, she is going to be pestering you about how many grandbabies she can expect, so get ready for it.”

“I’ll have to practice my lines with you then.” Asher joked and Sebastian laughed.

Before the alpha could respond, Asher’s cell phone went off and he looked down to see that Trevor was calling him. He gave Sebastian a look and held up the phone, indicating he was going to answer and the alpha nodded.

“Trevor, what’s up?” Asher answered, happily but his smile faltered at the tone of his best friend’s voice.

“Ash hey… um, I don’t know if you already know, but have you seen the news?”

“What news?” Asher asked, suddenly worried.

“It’s all over the internet. Were you and Sebastian at a car show earlier?”

“Yeah. How did you know that? What’s going on?”

Asher was tense, unsure of exactly what was happening but his best friend sounded extremely grave.

“There is news all over the internet that you and Sebastian were in some kind of altercation there and that you’re dating.”

“Oh.”

Asher hadn’t thought about the fact that Sebastian was, in his own way, famous. He was the owner and CEO of one of the biggest makeup brands in the world and there had been cameras everywhere. Asher had been too focused on calming his alpha to consider repercussions from the media. Sebastian wasn’t a celebrity to Asher, he was just… his alpha, his sweet Sebastian who he loved. But what would Sebastian think of this news? He could feel the constant looks that were being cast at him.

“Where are you now?” Trevor asked.

“We’re headed back to town. We should be there in an hour or so.”

“Don’t go home. I drove past your apartment and there are swarms of reporters there, waiting to catch you two together.”

“Baby? What’s going on?” Sebastian asked and Asher looked at him to see he was tense all over again, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

“Thanks for letting me know, Trevor. I’ve got to go, I need to tell Sebastian.”

“Okay. If you need a place to stay you can stay with me. You know you’re always welcome.”

“Thanks Trevor, I’ll let you know.”

He hung up the phone and instantly did a google search, finding several articles about them and opening the top one, not noticing Sebastian pulling over at a rest stop until the car stopped moving.

“Baby? What is it?”

Asher responded by reading the article on his phone out loud.

“Sebastian Rossi (37), notoriously publicity-shy CEO of Rossi Cosmetics is off the market. Seen out and about with Asher Knight (20), who modeled in his recently released campaign for his lip product, Cherry Breeze. Eyewitnesses report that the couple were involved in an altercation at a car show.” There were several pictures of Asher modeling with the car and one of them on stage just after Sebastian punched his assailant. “Witnesses say that they saw Sebastian Rossi lose control and attack another alpha who made a pass at his omega (Asher Knight), who reportedly also physically assaulted the man in question, who wishes to remain anonymous. We can report that the couple entered the alpha’s car and didn’t emerge again for almost an hour and Asher Knight (pictured below) can be seen to be wearing a different outfit. It’s reasonable to assume that more than innocent actions were happening inside that car. Neither party involved has yet to issue a statement on this matter.”

“What the fuck? Let me see that!” Sebastian took the phone from Asher’s hand and snarled as he looked at the article. “Made a pass?! HE FUCKING GROPED YOU!”

Asher reached over and laid a soothing hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Sebastian. I shouldn’t have even modeled for—”

“Oh hell no!” Sebastian cut him off and dropped the phone in his lap before reaching over to wrap a hand around the back of Asher’s head to pull him over into a hard kiss. He pulled back and looked into the omega’s honey eyes and growled softly, “Nothing that happened was because of you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But… everyone’s saying all these things and… oh my gods, your parents are gonna see that! They are gonna hate me!” Asher said, hiding his face as he added. “And Trevor said there are reporters waiting outside my loft. What am I gonna do?”

“I don’t give a damn what these reporters say. I avoid the media like a plague for this exact reason.” Sebastian pulled his hand away from hiding his eyes. “My parents are going to love you because I love you. You are the only thing that’s important. You’ll stay with me, where you belong, until we can figure this out. I love you and you are mine. Nothing else matters beyond that.”

“Sebastian… I love you.” Asher whimpered, tears filling his eyes, and the alpha kissed him again, this time just a whisper of lips against his, soft as a butterfly’s wings.

“I love you too. Don’t worry about anything. I have a PR team and lawyers for a reason.”

Sebastian scented Asher until he was calm again, and then he spent a few minutes shooting off emails before they got back on the road. Sebastian’s hand rested reassuringly on Asher’s thigh, squeezing occasionally as he took them to his home, where he would keep his precious omega safe and sound. There were reporters gathered around the gate to the large community where Sebastian lived, but he drove past them, ignoring the flashing cameras and making his way to his home. Once they were securely ensconced in his garage, Sebastian felt like he could breathe again.

They gathered their things and took them inside. Halfway across the entryway, they were met by a haughty, meowing Princess who clearly did not appreciate being left alone all weekend. Asher set his bag down and picked up the cat, cradling her in his arms and kissing the top of her furry ginger head. That seemed to placate her and she started to purr and lazily knead the side of the omega’s neck with her paws.

“Were you lonely all by yourself, Princess?” Asher cooed at her and scratched her belly.

“We’ll take you with us next time.” Sebastian added, petting her head and giving one soft ear a little tug, making her mewl at him and bunt her head against his palm, soaking up the attention.

Sebastian cooked Asher dinner and cuddled him while Princess stretched out across both their laps and they watched some random documentary on TV and spent more time pressing kisses back and forth. Sebastian had several meetings lined up the next day to deal with the whole situation about the articles that had been published, but at the moment he had no mind for any of that. He was leaned against the arm of the couch, with Asher half on top of him and Princess on her back, white belly on full display, stretched between them, purring as the omega scratched her tummy. The thought that this was only temporary really hit him. He didn’t want to be alone in his too big house anymore. He wanted to come home to his omega and hold him every night.

“Cherry?”

“Hm?” Asher hummed and looked up at him from his place pillowed on his chest.

“Move in with me.”

Asher’s brows raised and he drew back a little to look at him more fully. “Are you serious?”

Sebastian pecked his lips lightly a few times before gently cupping the side of his face.

“Dead serious. You can have any room you want for your studio, or… hell, I’ll build you one on the property if you want a space of your own. I just don’t want you away from me anymore. I know we’ve only known each other a few months, but I want to be with you. I want to cook for you and go to bed with you and wake up next to you. I love you. Please move in with me.”

Asher studied him for a long time, and Sebastian waited as his heart beat a tattoo against his sternum.

“Okay.” The omega whispered and Sebastian laughed and pulled Asher in for another kiss as Princess meowed and jumped off him from being jostled.

A week later, Asher was in his loft, packing the last of his things. Sebastian had handled the press startlingly well, and he still shivered at the memory of watching him make a public statement about their relationship and the way his wolf had surfaced, making his eyes glow red as he’d guaranteed that anyone who dared to come near Asher would suffer more than just being sued. The alpha’s lawyers had already started proceeding with suing those who had insinuated in their articles that they’d been breaking the law (no matter how true), without any evidence were now being pursued for libel and defamation, and the alpha who had failed to disclose that he’d groped Asher just before the events was being sued for slander. Asher had chosen a very capable alpha indeed.

Sebastian was supposed to be arriving anytime, to help with the last of his packing. The day was warm, so he opened the windows to let in the fall breeze to cool the place. Most of Asher’s things were already at his new home, his nest now dominating the alpha’s bed and his art supplies all set up in a room on the third floor just down from Princess’ bedroom.

All he had left were some old boxes in the closet that they hadn’t been able to fit on the last run, a few dozen of his paintings and a plethora of his watercolor paintings. He pulled the boxes out and opened the top one to find one of his old polaroid albums. Asher smiled as he opened the book to a random page and the first picture that jumped out at him was of him in his rebellious phase. He was dressed in his private school uniform. His ripped up fishnets, combat boots, pink mohawk, and dark makeup were starkly contrasted by the neat navy-and-cream uniform. There was a knock on the door behind him and Asher called out for Sebastian to enter, wondering why he was knocking, but too distracted by the album in his hands. He turned as he heard the door slide open.

"Alpha, look! You wanted to see me… Mom?” Asher froze as his mom stepped into the loft, the tap of her high heels echoing in the empty space.

“Asher! It’s good to see you!” She said with a smile and closed the distance between them quickly, wrapping him in a hug and enveloping him in the familiar aroma of her scent mixed with her perfume… Chanel No. 5, a scent that brought back a thousand memories and made him want to vomit.

He didn’t hug her back and after a moment she pulled away and held him by the shoulders, looking him up and down.

“Wow, you’ve grown up so much. Your hair is different, but I saw that in your pictures.” She said fondly as she fingered his brown curls.

“What… What are you doing here?” Asher asked, stepping away as she smoothed a hand over his cheek, needing distance.

“I’m going to leave your stepfather. I know you never liked him much.”

Asher walked a few paces away, took a deep breath, clenched his fists and then turned back to her. “But why are you here ?”

“Well, I need someplace to go and I thought maybe—”

Asher cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “No.”

“Not permanently, of course! Just for a little while.”

Asher felt anxiety bubbling in his gut as he thought of his mother living with him and Sebastian. He could already picture her trying to weasel money out of him.

“No, Mom. You aren’t going to live with us.” Asher said with finality.

“Well, maybe you could get a little loan from your alpha then? Just enough to help me get set up on my own?”

“Mom! NO! What’s wrong with you?! I’m not asking him for money!” Asher half-shouted, as anger replaced his anxiety. The fury was easier to manage, and his words were more forceful.

She stepped forward, trying to calm him with touch, but he wasn’t comfortable with her touching him and he moved away from her again.

“Asher, he’s a wealthy alpha. This much money won’t be a big deal to him. Maybe fifty thousand dollars? That’s nothing to a man like that. If he loves you then he won't mind giving you the money!"

That stung and Asher recoiled as tears filled his eyes and when he spoke his voice was husky and full of tears. "If you loved me , you'd never ask me to do that. Sebastian's money is not mine to give away and I won’t ask him for money."

"Why not? Isn't he your alpha? Doesn't he take care of you?” She asked, getting agitated now, anger making her voice harder, sharper and every syllable cut him like a knife. “Apparently not, look at what you’re wearing, dating one of the richest alphas in the country!" She waved at Asher’s paint stained overalls and tank top derisively.

"He does take care of me in every way that counts!" Asher shouted at her, clenched fists shaking as his tears spilled over. He hated this feeling.

"In every way that counts? A knot is only important to you when you're young." She snarled back at him, lip curling.

"Oh, fuck you! You let anyone with a salary of six figures or more stick their knot in you , so get off your high horse! I'll never ask him for a dollar!"

"You know nothing, you're just a foolish child! You think he loves you? You think you love him? Wait until your looks start to go and you'll see how much that loyalty lasts!"

"I do love him and he loves me! Shockingly, I found love, regardless of the fact that I never saw a healthy example of it in my life! Just because you threw away your life and your relationship with your only son pursuing a bank account, doesn’t mean that I will follow in your footsteps!”

“I did everything for you, you ungrateful brat! I tried to give you a good life and a good education!”

“I’m sure it feels good to tell yourself that, but you never gave a fuck about me! I was the speedbump between you and wealthier men. You got me out of the picture as soon as you could, and the moment your alpha disagreed with my choices, I was disowned. You’re only here now because you think you can use me and my alpha for another free ride and the answer is no!”

“After everything I’ve done for you…” Her voice was a growl and Asher snorted a teary laugh at her anger.

“Like what? Taking care of me to the legal degree that wouldn’t constitute child abuse? Disown me at seventeen so that I had to make my own way in the world without a single person to lean on? Yeah, those were all really helpful. You haven’t been a mother to me since I was a child. Don’t try to claim the benefits now.”

“So you plan to leave me destitute?”

“You did it to me.” Asher answered as more tears leaked from his eyes. His heart hurt and he couldn’t help but think of her as his mother, even if he knew that what he was doing was the right thing. That didn’t make it any easier.

“How long are you going to hold that over me? I was just teaching you a lesson, one that you clearly didn’t learn. You could have come back at any time if you’d just given up on this ridiculous quest to be an artist!” She snapped at him as she pointed at the stack of paintings leaned against the wall and the watercolor drawings that practically papered the walls. “Look at all this garbage!” She yelled as she knocked over the first of the paintings and Asher stepped forward.

“Stop it!”

“Oh, you care more about these than you do about your own mother?! Well here!”

She picked up two of the smaller canvases and turned, throwing them out of the window, where they caught the breeze and tumbled away, down the street, unaware that below the window, one of them almost hit Sebastian, who instantly raced into the building and up the stairs.

“Mother, NO!” Asher sobbed as she threw two more paintings out of the window and then ripped down the nearest watercolor. When Asher saw that it was the very one he’d painted of Sebastian on their first weekend together, he grabbed her wrists to stop her and begged, “Please! No! Not that one! Please, Mommy! PLEASE!”

She ripped it in half and Asher let out a wail as she threw the pieces out the window and they blew away.

“W-Why would you do that?” Asher sobbed.

“Because you deserve to feel the pain you caused me every day since I gave birth to you. My mating was fine until you came! You’re lucky I didn’t throw you out sooner and now you can’t even help me when I need a little money. What good are you?”

The door slid open and banged as it reached the end of the rails and Sebastian rushed in just as Asher fell to his knees, a sobbing mess.

“M-Mom…mm-my?” Asher hiccuped through his heaving cries.

Asher had known that his mother resented him, but he hadn’t realized just how much until that moment and he didn’t realize just how much it would hurt to hear her finally say what he’d suspected since he was old enough to understand the concept of resentment. His heart shuddered in his chest and then shattered completely. The scent of sandalwood and citrus invaded his head and strong arms wrapped around him and he knew that his alpha was there. He turned his face into his chest and let out a sound of pure, primal, emotional devastation. It was the sound of a child losing their parent, and of a man, losing the last fractured piece of his innocence.

Sebastian hadn’t known what to expect to find, but after almost getting hit with one of Asher’s paintings, he’d thought he was prepared for the worst, robbers, paparazzi or… something . What he’d just overheard and the scene he barged in on was a thousand times worse than anything his mind could have imagined. He’d heard the words spoken by the woman he knew was Asher’s mother, because the resemblance was uncanny. She was like an older, female version of her son, except when he looked at her, he felt nothing but a deep, black pit of contempt and when he looked at the sobbing Asher who collapsed at her feet, he felt love and devastating heartache for the pain he was enduring. He had Asher in his arms in a moment and as the omega screamed against his chest, Sebastian felt a tear escape his eye. He soothed Asher as best he could, rubbing his back and pressing kisses to the top of his head for a moment before looking at the woman a few steps away.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Haven’t you already done enough damage? Haven’t you broken his heart enough? How much will it take for you to be satisfied, you evil bitch?”

“I… I didn’t mean… I just… lost my temper. I didn’t mean to...”

“I don’t give a fuck what you meant. Leave now and never show your face to me or my mate again!”

She stepped closer and Sebastian snarled at her, making her pause and she stepped back again. Asher was still weeping against his chest and Sebastian was crushed. Seeing this woman here, daring to upset his omega was enough to have his alpha longing to take over, but he wouldn’t. This was about caring for his omega and keeping him safe.

“Please… Asher, listen—”

“LEAVE!” Sebastian roared at her and this time he couldn’t keep his eyes from glowing red or his canines from punching down into his mouth as he growled a feral rumble of threat at her and she scurried away from him and then out the door.

Sebastian squeezed his omega against him and let him cry. It was heartbreaking, because now he knew the whole story of their past. He didn’t know what all had happened before he arrived, but he could guess. Asher’s mother likely wanted money and wasn’t too proud to use her son to get what she wanted. He ached at the indignity his omega had suffered and kissed his head over and over, lowering himself to sit cross-legged on the floor and Asher wrapped around him like a koala, hugging his whole body and cried until he was completely worn out and limp in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Baby. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Sebastian.” Asher sniffled pulling back and wiping his face. “Sh-She tore up the painting I did of you.” Asher hiccuped.

“It’s okay. We have the rest of our lives for you to make a million more and I’ll pose as many times as you want.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more. Lets just go home and we’ll finish this tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Asher was hurt, and though it still hurt, he thought, perhaps he'd needed this closure after all. He had to let the last ties that bound him to his family snap before he could accept a new family in its place.

Asher’s hands were shaking so badly he felt like he was going to drop the pie he was holding as Sebastian knocked on the door. There was a few moments of waiting where Sebastian rubbed a hand up and down his back and then the door was opening and there was an excited scream before Sebastian plucked the pie from his hands, just in time to keep it from getting squished as the omega was enveloped in a tight hug.

“Oh! It’s wonderful to finally meet you!” Serena said before pulling back and holding Asher at arm’s length to study him. “Oh you’re even prettier in person than you are in the makeup shoot! I can see why my son fell for you at first sight.” She hugged Asher again and turned her attention to her son, hugging him next. “Hi, baby. How are you?”

“I’m good.” Sebastian reached the hand that wasn’t holding the pie over and took Asher’s. “We’re good.”

They were invited inside and Serena took the pie and disappeared to the kitchen as they entered into the living room, Mia hopped up from the floor where she was coloring and ran to give hugs to the newcomers. She squawked and complained as Sebastian called her 'Goose', but still stayed by his and Asher’s side as Sebastian took the omega around to introduce him to his entire, huge extended family. They started with the cousins, of which Sebastian had 9. It was a bit overwhelming to meet them all and try to learn their names and then the names of all fourteen of their kids, but they were all nice about re-telling him their names when Asher forgot.

Sebastian’s father was next and as they entered the living room where football was playing on the TV, the presence of a stranger drew the attention of all the older alphas watching the game and they all huffed and puffed and got up to welcome Asher and shake his hand. Sebastian’s father looked so much like his son, but older that Asher was a little in awe of him, but he was kind as he shook his hand and introduced himself, complimenting Asher on his beauty and Sebastian on his taste, which made Asher blush wildly and had the older alphas all guffawing at him and Asher getting shy all over again.

Sebastian’s heart was full as he introduced his omega to his family. Everyone was all together, and Sebastian was happy. It was the first Thanksgiving they’d all done together in years and he couldn’t help but to think of how much his grandfather would have loved it. He’d always loved these big family gatherings and he could almost feel his presence as the grandkids all ran around, the alphas watched sports on the TV in the living room and the moms all packed into the kitchen to finish up the last of the cooking.

As soon as Asher was introduced to this last group, he was presented proudly by Sebastian’s mother and instantly surrounded by fluttering, moms who touched his hair and complimented his outfit, and rubbed his back, offered to get him food or drinks, and to Asher’s eternal embarrassment he burst into tears, right in the middle of the heavenly-smelling kitchen. He hadn’t meant to cry, but it was too much, being treated with so much kindness by this group of mothers, when his final departure from his own mom was so fresh. He tried to stutter out some kind of apology and explanation, but that only got more affection smothered on him. Sebastian wrapped around him from behind and kissed the side of his head, squeezing him until he was calm.

For someone like Asher, who had never really had the love of a family, this was all so foreign, but he was welcomed with open arms by the Rossi family. They spent the day warding off jabs about when they would be getting mated and how many kids they planned to have, all the usual, embarrassing family stuff, which they took in stride.

As Sebastian watched his omega and his sister through the window playing games with the youngest kids, his mother came up beside him and rubbed his back in her soothing way.

“He’s very sweet.”

“He is.”

“I think he’s good for you. I haven’t seen you smile so much in a long time. He’ll be a good mate to you.”

“I love him so much, Mom. Gods… when I look at him my heart just…” He made a series of exaggerated gestures with his hands and his mother laughed.

“That’s good. It means you found your mate. The one you love should make your heart go... “ She copied his exaggerated gestures and Sebastian smiled. “So, why are you just watching him? Get out there and see that smile up close, you dummy.”

Sebastian laughed and gave a little salute.

“Yes ma’am.”

Sebastian went out and played with Asher, Lara, and the kids. He couldn’t help but think of the other times he’d played with Asher, chasing him through his house, playing laser tag, skinny dipping in the night. Asher was such a playful person, and his saucy personality matched with Sebastian perfectly. He loved that Asher loved to laugh and as he picked him up and threw him over his shoulder during a game of tag, the omega squealed and slapped his back, demanding to be put down as Lara collapsed in giggles.

They kept the pups occupied until it was time to eat, and they all got food and ate at the multiple tables that had been set up to make room for everyone. Mia jumped up into Asher’s lap and whined when her mother tried to remove her, and at Asher’s insistence that he really didn’t mind, she was allowed to sit with him, and when her sippy cup ran dry, she held it out to Sebastian who took it and stood, kissing the tip of her head, then Asher’s before heading off to refill it. When he returned, everyone seemed to be staring at the new couple, and Lara was the first to ask the question bursting on everyone’s mind.

“So, when are you two having pups of your own?”

Sebastian choked on his pie that he’d just taken a bite of. He’d tried to avoid that question, because he wasn’t even sure himself. He knew that Asher was the one, that question had already been agreed upon with himself and his wolf, but he didn’t want to put pressure on him. Sebastian was older than him and knew Asher might not want pups for a long time and he was prepared to wait. His omega patted his back as he swallowed his mouthful and took a drink of water as everyone laughed. Before he could get his breath again, Asher answered and stole his breath all over again.

“I definitely want to wait until I’m done with school. I’m not in a rush, but I want a lot of pups, so I’d have to start kind of young.”

Sebastian almost passed right out as his wolf threw image after image of Asher pregnant with their pups, of him holding a baby and nursing it… of him in heat, begging him to put his pups in his belly and he gripped the edge of the table so hard he heard the wood squeak.

“Oh? How many?” Sebastian’s mother asked, from next to Lara, face pulled into a smile that to the alpha looked so eager it was almost evil.

“I don’t know… maybe four or five?” Asher answered and Sebastian had to physically suppress the need to purr as he imagined Asher getting pregnant five times . As if the omega could sense his state, and he probably could by his scent, a soft hand slid up and massaged the nape of the alpha’s neck. “But that’s years away, we’re still pretty new to each other after all. I’d like some time with my alpha before I start having babies.” Asher said and Sebastian leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Love you, Cherry.” He whispered.

“Love you too, you big puppy.”

Dinner finished without any more talk of pups, though his mother seemed unusually happy and Sebastian wanted to laugh as she treated Asher almost like he was pregnant already, insisting that he could just play with the pups while they cleaned up, petting his hair and rubbing his back. Sebastian just watched fondly as his omega was settled with the pups, while Sebastian began helping clean up and break down the many folding tables. His mother and sister cornered him in the kitchen.

“I love him!” His mom said quietly, as if afraid Asher would overhear her singing his praises.

“Do you love him or the five grandbabies he’s gonna give you?” Lara asked their mother with a giggle.

“Him! He’s so sweet and… Okay I also love grandbabies. Sue me.”

“I love him too.” Sebastian added. “If that counts for anything.”

His mother hugged him hard and his sister got pulled in too. “I’m so happy you found someone. Your grandfather would have adored him.”

Sebastian hugged his mom and sister for a moment before they pulled apart and he wiped the tears from her cheeks with a smile.

“Let’s finish cleaning up.”

When they left, Asher got a long, hard hug and a proper scenting from Sebastian's mother, who insisted that he call her 'Mom' and told a giggling Asher that he was welcome to call anytime, and to let her know if her son was giving him any trouble.