Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hannah is asleep on the bed, resting between feedings.
She amazed me today. Giving birth to our son and handling the pain with her head held high.
I have never been more grateful that we share a matching birthmarks Fated connection.
If we had shared pain instead… a shudder runs down my spine thinking about feeling even half the pain she did today.
I would have passed out after the first contraction. My pain tolerance is abysmally low.
Keeping one foot on the ground, I gently rock in the chair, our baby sleeping soundly in my arms. He’s adorable.
All squishy cheeks and wrinkly skin, with thick hair all over his head.
The latter won’t last. Baby hair thins as they learn to move their heads, and it often changes color, too.
I was born bald, and my hair grew in blonde patches, slowly shifting to the almost black curls I wear today.
What will our little prince look like when he’s older?
“If you look like your momma, you’ll be stealing hearts left and right,” I whisper.
My phone chirps from the side table. A text from Manny waits on the screen.
I grab it and quickly reply, asking if he is free to video chat.
Seconds later, his handsome face flickers onto my screen.
“Hey, Hot Stuff.” I grin, joy bubbling in my chest as his voice filters through my ears and soothes my instincts.
Listening to him talk is better than any song I’ve ever listened to. “I have a surprise for you.”
His brows rise. “Oh?”
Panning the camera down, I fill the video with my son’s face. Our son, as soon as Manny accepts his place in my pack. “Hannah went into labor this morning.”
“Felicidades, Galán. He’s beautiful.” The softness I hear in his voice doesn’t hide the undercurrent of insecurity that briefly flashes through his violet eyes.
Quick enough that I wouldn’t have caught it if I hadn’t been staring at him.
This is something he’s brought up several times, and I’ve tried to reassure him.
Proving that we aren’t going to wake up one day and decide he no longer belongs with us will take time.
“We’re taking him home tomorrow. You should come visit after work. Spend the night with me.”
Uncertainty fills his eyes as I tilt the screen up so he can see me. “I don’t want to intrude, especially on your first night at home with a new baby.”
“You are part of our pack,” Shepherd growls, startling me.
I hadn’t realized he had woken up, nor that he was sitting beside me.
“Our home is yours, our family, too. If we had the room, I would ask you to move in tomorrow, but I doubt you want to cram into our apartment, so we’ll wait until we close on the house.
After that, you have an open invitation to live with us. Anytime you are ready.”
Manny awkwardly clears his throat, suddenly interested in his shirt. “Has Hannah agreed to that?”
“She has,” I tell him. “We all want you with us. Forever.”
The baby starts to wiggle his head against my chest, searching for food, so I let Shepherd take him to wake Hannah.
Losing his warmth against my chest makes my heart ache, but watching him with my angel fills that temporary void.
“Tell me about your day.” I turn my attention back to Manny, redirecting our conversation.
He isn’t ready to accept his place with us yet, and I won’t keep pressuring him. It has to be his decision.
Two days after we leave the hospital, Manny agrees to sleep over. He ended up working late yesterday to help another producer whose system had crashed. Our restless night was lonelier without him, but I’m glad he’ll be here today.
Shep’s phone rings while he is in the shower.
I answer it when I see it is the front desk, thinking Manny may be waiting.
Our building hired two additional security guards, so they might need to double-check that he is allowed up.
“Apologies for the interruption, Mr. Wilson, but there is a courier down here who needs one of you to sign for a certified package.”
Huh. That’s weird. After telling him I’ll be right down, I pop my head into the guest room where Kaitlin is watching Hannah change the baby’s diaper. “Angel, I need to run downstairs for a minute. Can you let Shepherd know if he gets out of the shower before I’m back?”
She glances at me over her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”
Smiling, I reassure her it is. Hopefully, this is news about the house we’ve been looking at.
The lobby is fairly empty when I arrive, with only the courier and one of the evening shift security staff.
The manila envelope has our pack name, not one of us specifically, but no return address, which is sketchy.
I sign for it, knowing that regardless of what is inside, it isn’t this barely eighteen-year-old Beta’s fault.
As he’s walking out, Manny walks in. He looks hot as hell in his oversized cream sweater and dark slacks, brown hair slicked back away from his face. I grin as I meet him halfway, package forgotten, when his arms wrap around me. “Eager to see me, Omega?”
“You know I am.” I slip my arm around his waist, hand slipping down to squeeze his ass as I steer him to the elevator bank. “I actually had to sign for this. The timing just happened to be perfect.”
He eyes the envelope but doesn’t inquire about its contents. “I’m nervous,” he admits as we wait to reach our floor. “Are you certain Hannah won’t mind that I am here?”
“Trust me, Hot Stuff, she’ll be thrilled to see you. Just wait.”
We’re silent for the rest of the ride, enjoying each other’s body heat and subtly inhaling our mingled scents in the small space. I bite back a whimper when the doors open, and we have to separate to walk to the apartment. I need him to move in so I can get my fix of his scent every day.
Sliding our shoes into the cupboard, I call out to my other mates. “We’re back!”
Hannah peeks her head out of the kitchen, a smile lighting up her face. “Manny! It’s so good to see you again!”
Shepherd joins us from the bedroom, strawberry-blonde hair still wet from his shower. “Welcome home.” He half-hugs Manny, who seems shell-shocked by their warm greetings. “What did you have to sign for?”
“Right! This. I haven’t opened it yet.” I pass him the envelope and drag Manny into the kitchen.
My Alpha can deal with whatever that is.
Right now, I want to introduce my last mate to our son.
“There’s our little man!” I scoop him out of his swing seat, happy butterflies taking flight in my stomach when I see his tiny eyes are open.
Manny presses himself against my shoulder and peers down at him, looking as enamored as I feel. “He’s beautiful, Hannah.”
My angel smiles, her eyes focused on our son. “Yes, he is.” She looks to Manny next, pink tinting her pale cheeks. “I was about to start dinner. Are you hungry?”
I’m glaring before I can stop myself. There’s no way in hell this woman is cooking! She just had a damn baby! “You’re doing no such thing. We can manage dinner.” I glance at Manny, hoping he’ll back me up.
His head bobs, lips downturned as he looks from the baby to Hannah. “Yeah, we’ll cook. You rest. I’ve been working in my family’s kitchen since I was a teenager, so I promise not to let Foster start a fire.”
Groaning, I pass Hannah the baby and shoo her from the kitchen.
You almost burned down a kitchen once, and no one ever lets you forget it.
Not that they’re wrong. I don’t like cooking, but if helping means spending the next hour at the stove with Manny, count me in!
I’m excited to see what he makes. Watch his corded forearms slice some veggies.
Fuck, that’s too hot to think about without dragging him into the nest to blow him first.
“Hannah.”
I turn to the hallway where Shepherd stands, papers clasped tightly in his hand. His eyes lock onto our Beta, a tenseness to his expression that puts my guard up.
“What is it?” Her grave tone has a purr rattling to life in my chest. I pull Manny with me as I go to her side, positioning her between us so both of our scents can ground her. Whatever was in that package, it isn’t good news.
“Colin’s parents filed against you. They’re demanding a paternity test and fighting to get custody of the kids, claiming you were cheating on Colin.” Hannah whimpers, hands pressing the baby tighter against her chest. “They claim you are an unfit mother because you’ve joined a pack.”
Silence fills the apartment for a long moment before I burst into laughter. Hannah’s eyes are wide as she turns to look at me. “Sorry, Angel, I’m not laughing at your stress. That lawsuit is so frivolous, I’m surprised there is a law office that agreed to pursue it.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“Your divorce and custody trial took place in federal court, so any additional attempts by your ex or his family must go through federal court. We’ve claimed you—at least legally—so you’re protected by pack law. That supersedes any rights Colin’s parents would have.”
Manny quickly agrees with me. “You said your ex never showed up at the original custody hearing?” Hannah nods. “There isn’t a single sitting judge at the federal level who wouldn’t laugh his parents out of the courtroom for a case like this.”
“But what if-”
“No,” Shepherd cuts in. “They’re right. I let my anger cloud my logic.
This is nothing more than a farce. Neither of them has legal standing to get their hands on you or the kids.
” He crosses the room and joins us, dropping the papers onto the table.
He presses his forehead to hers, staring deeply into her eyes.
The intimacy between them makes me feel like I should turn away, but I’ve found that with my mates, I’m a bit of a voyeur.
“No one will take you away from us. Not you. Not Kaitlin. Not our son. All three of you are ours.”
Her lip wobbles, tears lining her eyes. She’s been emotional since the labor, and this seems to push her over the edge. I slide my arms between them and take the baby, giving them a moment to comfort each other. It’s obvious they need this. A good cuddle on the couch would be nice, too.
“So, Hot Stuff, what are we making for dinner?” I ask Manny, pulling him away from our mates.
No matter what bullshit Hannah’s family or their cult throws our way, we won’t let them break us. Together, we can handle anything.