Epilogue
DALTON
Later that night…
The bell above the door of Tidal Ink jingled as I flipped the sign to CLOSED.
It had been a marathon day. I finished Mav’s back piece, the colors settling into his skin like liquid fire. Kai and Wyatt had both signed on to rent chairs. And that purple-haired kid would be back next week, ready to learn.
I locked up, my hands still smelling faintly of Green Soap. The drive home was quiet, the Florida night warm and humid, the windows down to let the salt air fill the car Peyton bought me. A blue one with a stick.
When I pulled into the driveway, the house was mostly dark. Just one light, the warm glow from our bedroom window on the second floor.
My heart did this stupid little flip in my chest. Even after a year, coming home to them still felt like a gift I hadn’t earned but was too selfish to give back.
I let myself in quietly, toeing off my shoes by the door. The living room was dark and still.
I climbed the stairs, but instead of heading straight to our bedroom, I turned toward the nursery.
The door stood cracked open, soft white noise humming from inside.
I pushed it open carefully, letting my eyes adjust to the dim glow of the nightlight.
Hope was asleep in her crib, on her back, one chubby arm thrown over her head.
She’d kicked off her blanket again. I smiled, reaching down to gently tuck it back over her.
Six months old. Half a year.
It felt like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, terrified we’d break her. Now she was sitting up on her own, babbling constantly, grabbing everything in reach with those surprisingly strong little hands.
She’d grown so much already. Too fast.
I reached down and gently smoothed her dark hair—soft as silk, just like Theo’s. Her little face was peaceful, her tiny chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
“Love you, peanut,” I whispered.
She stirred slightly, making a soft snuffling sound, but didn’t wake.
I backed out of the room carefully, pulling the door almost closed behind me, and then turned toward our bedroom. The warm glow from under the door called to me.
The bedroom door stood cracked open. I pushed it wider and stopped in the doorway, just… looking.
Peyton and Theo were in bed, tangled together on top of the covers.
Peyton was on his back, shirtless, wearing just a pair of low-slung gray sweatpants.
Theo curled into his side, his head on Peyton’s chest, wearing one of my old t-shirts that was too big on him.
Peyton’s hand was running slowly through Theo’s hair, his other arm wrapped around Theo’s waist.
They were talking quietly, Theo’s hand tracing idle patterns on Peyton’s stomach.
“Hey,” I said softly.
Two heads turned toward me. Theo’s face lit up. Peyton’s eyes went dark and hungry.
“Hey yourself,” Peyton rumbled. “How’d it go?”
“Good,” I said, pulling my shirt over my head and dropping it on the floor. “Really good.”
“Hope’s been asleep for an hour,” Theo said, his voice soft and warm. “We’ve just been… waiting.”
“Waiting?” I asked, unbuckling my belt.
“For you,” Peyton said simply, his eyes tracking my every movement.
I stepped out of my jeans, left in just my boxer briefs, and climbed onto the bed. Theo immediately reached for me, pulling me down between them. I settled on my side, facing Theo, with Peyton’s solid warmth at my back.
“Missed you,” Theo whispered, pressing a kiss to my jaw.
“You just saw me a the shop not more than two hours ago,” I said, but I was smiling.
“Theo might have seen you two hours, but it’s been too long since I touched you this morning,” Peyton murmured against the back of my neck, his hand sliding over my hip to rest on my stomach.
And just like that, the air in the room shifted. Heated. Thickened with want.
Theo kissed me properly this time, his lips soft and sweet, his tongue sliding against mine. Peyton’s hand moved lower, skimming the waistband of my briefs, teasing.
“Peyton,” I breathed against Theo’s mouth.
“Yeah?” Peyton’s voice was gravel and sin, his lips on my shoulder.
“Don’t tease.”
“No?” His hand dipped lower, palming me through the fabric. I gasped. “What do you want, Dalton?”
“You,” I managed. “Both of you.”
Theo pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes blown wide and dark. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Peyton didn’t need any more encouragement. He rolled me onto my back, coming up over me, his weight settling between my legs. Theo moved to my side, his hand sliding up my chest, his mouth finding my neck.
“You have no idea,” Peyton said, his voice rough, “how fucking beautiful you are. Coming home covered in ink and pride. Building something with your own hands.”
“Pey—”
“No, let me finish.” He rocked his hips against mine, and I groaned. “You’re fucking incredible, Dalton. And you’re ours. I love you.”
Theo’s teeth scraped against my pulse point. “Our partner. Our Papa.”
The words shattered something in my chest. I reached up, curling my hand around Peyton’s neck and pulling him down into a bruising kiss. All teeth and tongue and desperate need.
Clothes disappeared. Hands and mouths were everywhere.
Peyton’s grip on my hips, firm and possessive.
Theo’s kisses trailing down my chest, my stomach, lower.
The slick slide of skin on skin as we moved together, a tangle of limbs and whispered names and gasping breaths.
Vows of love and devotion and promises of forever.
“Fuck, Dalton,” Peyton groaned, his forehead pressed against mine, his eyes locked on me as we moved together. “So good. So fucking perfect.”
There was a fumble for lube and then Peyton’s fingers were inside me, his fingers rubbing against my prostate.
I gasped, my body tensing. Theo’s hand moved lower, his thumb tracing circles on my ass.
I arched into his touch, my body trembling.
Then Peyton’s hand was gone and his cock breached my hole.
I gasped, my body tensing before I arched into his touch, my body trembling.
We found a rhythm together, a symphony of pleasure and love and desire.
Theo pressed against my side, his hand wrapped around my cock, his breath hot and ragged against my neck. “Love you,” he whispered. “Love you both so much.”
“Love you too,” I managed, my voice breaking on the words. “Both of you. So much.”
The heat built and built, pleasure coiling tight at the base of my spine. Peyton’s rhythm faltered, his breath coming in harsh pants. Theo’s hand moved faster, his whole body tensing.
“Dalton—” Peyton’s voice sounded wrecked. “I’m—”
“Yes,” I gasped. “Please, Pey—”
We came apart together, a symphony of broken sounds and shuddering bodies. Peyton’s face buried in my neck, his whole body shaking. Theo crying out, arching between us. And me, gripping Theo’s hip, drowning in pleasure and love and the overwhelming rightness of it all.
For a long moment, we just lay there, breathing hard, hearts racing, tangled together in the aftermath.
Peyton shifted first, dropping his arm over Theo’s waist, pulling him closer even as his cock twitched in my ass. I might be a beta, but I loved my alpha’s knot.
Theo lay sandwiched between us—our omega, safe and cherished and loved beyond measure.
“Shower,” Theo mumbled eventually, his voice drowsy and satisfied. “We should… shower.”
“In a minute,” Peyton said, his hand finding mine where it rested on Theo’s stomach. He laced our fingers together. “Just… let me hold you both for a minute.”
I pressed a kiss to Theo’s shoulder, breathing him in. He was my omega as much as he was Peyton’s. And Peyton was mine as much as he was Theo’s. Together, we were so much more than the sum of our parts.
“Love you,” Theo whispered, half-asleep, his hand covering ours.
“Love you too, sweets,” I murmured.
“Love both of you,” Peyton added, his voice soft with wonder.
I closed my eyes, feeling Theo’s breathing even out between us, feeling Peyton’s weight on me even as his knot receded.
A year ago, I was running. Broken and convinced I’d never be enough. Now, I was here. Part of something bigger than myself. Protecting and loving the omega at the center of our world, working in tandem with the alpha who’d given me a second chance at everything.
Not on the outside looking in.
Right here. Where I belonged with our omega in the middle, exactly where he should be.