Chapter 11 #2
“Rene, it’s so good to see you again.”
“Oscar, come in. You don’t even have a coat,” he said, pulling Oscar into the house and giving me a glare over my mate’s head.
I entered behind my mate, keeping my hands on his shoulders.
“We were only outside for not even half a minute, Rene. I wasn’t cold even a little.”
Another look at me over my mate’s head. I wasn’t sure how that was even possible, really, because the omega wolf in front of us wasn’t much taller than my mate.
“Dad, leave them alone. Monroe probably poofed them here from their own house up on the mountain,” Alpha Forest said.
“I did, actually,” I said, holding out my hand to shake Alpha Forest’s. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you and your mate have done for not only me but Oscar these past two weeks.”
“No,” Rene said. “You’re here to take the babies?” Rene asked.
“Dad…” Alpha Forest said, a warning tone to his voice. “You knew they were only here temporarily and that their parents were coming for them soon.”
Rene looked to Alpha Forest. “Yes, but you said parents. I know Oscar isn’t a parent.”
Alpha Forest sighed. “Excuse him. He’s quite attached to little Mae. She’s such a sweetheart and has won over everyone. Mason loves his trucks and hanging out with the boys and Cora.”
“I hope he wasn’t a pest to them,” I told Alpha Forest.
“No, not at all.” Alpha Forest looked to his dad. “Dad, Monroe is raising his two youngest siblings like Oscar is. They’re going up to the mountain now because that’s where they live.”
“But…”
“No,” Alpha Forest said. “You will have to get onto one of my siblings about giving you another little grandbaby. Or maybe you should think about volunteering at the childcare center. There’s one here and one up at the council.”
That seemed to really light up Rene’s eyes. He nodded and left the room, talking to himself quietly about how he could make all the cookies for the kids. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but when I looked back to Alpha Forest, he was shaking his head.
“He’s harmless. He loves all of his grandkids, all of them. But my siblings and I seem to be at a place where we’re not having more, and he’s become a bit grumbly.”
“Did he spoil Mason with cookies the past two weeks?” Oscar asked.
“He tried. Aspen put his foot down when Mason wouldn’t eat one night. He told Rene no more cookies until all of the kids ate their meals first. Now it’s two for after-school snack and one after supper.”
“That’s a lot of cookies still,” Oscar said to me through our bond. “Do you normally give them that many sweets?”
“Not normally. But I wasn’t here to take care of them, and they were doing us a huge favor by watching after the children for these past two weeks.”
“Would you like to see them? They’re in the back room playing.”
“Yes, please,” I said, glancing down at Oscar, who nodded. Immediately, I felt his nerves ramp up, and I gave his hand a squeeze before I wrapped my arm back around his shoulders and walked with him beside me. I heard the children before we could see them, and it was Mason who saw us first.
“Roe!” he shouted and came running toward us.
I gave Oscar’s shoulder a quick squeeze before I let go and bent down onto my knee to be at my brother’s level.
He didn’t miss a beat and threw himself into my arms. “I missed you. They said you’d come back, so I wasn’t worried you’d leave like the others. ”
That absolutely broke my heart. “I’m sorry, Mason. Oscar and I were working on some things and moving our stuff into our new house.”
Mason let go of my neck and looked up at my mate. “So he really is going to be living with us?”
Oscar sat down on the floor, crossing his legs in front of him.
“I really am. Is that all right with you? I’m looking forward to spending days with you and playing trucks.
And we live on the mountain. We can go for a walk and see Monroe at work and play in the snow, and we might even see the enforcers around up there. Does that sound like fun?”
Mason crawled into Oscar’s lap and started pulling on the strings on his hoodie. I missed what he and Oscar started talking about because Maelie screamed and then started crying. I held out my arms, reaching for her, my heart breaking even more because she was crying so much.
“Shh…I’m right here, Mae. Do you want to go to your new daddy? Hmm? Do you want Daddy Oscar?” I asked her. I gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and sat beside Oscar where he and Mason were talking about taking walks and looking at all of the birds and squirrels up on the mountain.
“Hey, Mae. Can I get a hug?” Oscar asked, holding out his hands.
Mae snuggled into my shoulder a bit more, wiggling around a little before she launched herself at Oscar.
He was taken by surprise and fell back a bit, but I was able to stop him before he and the children fell completely.
Good thing we were on the floor already.
“Do I get to call you daddy too?”
“You sure can, Mason,” Oscar said. He managed to set Maelie on his other leg and held her close.
I had already been falling for Oscar up until this point, but seeing him with my siblings, just as natural as if he were the one that had given birth to them, I fell completely.
I was in love with my mate. I wasn’t surprised; I knew it would happen.
But I never expected it to hit me like it just had.
“They were both angels, despite Rene spoiling them,” Aspen said as he joined us. He was looking at Oscar holding the kids. I wasn’t sure what the look was about, but I would be sure to ask Oscar later, once we were home.
I stood, leaving Oscar with the kids since Mae was cuddling with him and now had her thumb in her mouth, and Mason was chatting about trucks and playing in the snow. Specifically, filling the bed of one of his trucks with snow.
“Thank you, again. I…” I glanced at my mate and kids.
“We both really appreciate it.” Oscar glanced up at me and closed his eyes as he snuggled with Maelie.
She was a sweetheart, and I got it. She was so easy to love.
She was one, though, and had her moments where she was difficult, but all one-year-olds did.
“It was really no hardship,” Aspen said. “If you should ever want a sitter, even for just a night out…”
“Sweetheart, they have Joseph, who is already ready to fill in the fun uncle role.”
Mason suddenly wrapped his arm around my leg, and I looked over to Oscar.
He was trying to stand, but with how he was sitting and Mae in his arms, he couldn’t quite stand up.
I gave him a little bit of magical help, and he paid me with a huge grin.
“Thank you,” he said. “She’s out. Should she be?
Is it morning nap time? You mentioned she takes a morning and an afternoon one still. ”
“Yes, but she’s not normally down quite this early. It’s probably just that we’re here now.”
“She’s been getting up a little early lately,” Aspen told us. “I apologize if I’ve thrown off your schedule for the children.”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing that a couple weeks at home can’t fix. Seriously. And sometimes she doesn’t even want to take her morning nap but then wants to sleep at lunchtime and then be cranky all afternoon. It’s normal for her age,” I said, hoping to reassure them.
“Here are their things,” Alpha Forest said, holding out the two bags.
It wasn’t much, and I would be getting them so many more things just as soon as we got home and I was able to take stock of everything.
Already, their rooms were filled with toys and some clothes, but these things that were in the bags were what we were able to bring with us.
They couldn’t be replaced for the same items because they weren’t from this realm.
“We will keep you in mind if we ever should wish for a night out just the two of us. I don’t want to ask Joseph to watch them.
I was forced, as were my other siblings, to raise our younger ones, and that’s not something I will ever force others to do.
They’re my responsibility, but we will be getting childcare every so often for dates,” I told them. I looked over at Oscar, who nodded.
“Thank you. I have tons of questions about Hailey, but I think I should probably ask her, huh?”
Alpha Forest sighed. “She’s still upset, but she has calmed.
Canyon came and collected her. He and Thomas took her somewhere, I’m not sure where, and when she came back, she was quiet.
She’s still not where I would expect a normal fourteen-year-old girl to be, and she’s had a session with Dr. Swift since Dr. Bennett has been spending time with his mate. ”
“Dr. Bennett is mated now?”
I only knew who Dr. Bennett was from Oscar’s memories.
“Yes. His mate ended up being the council’s new psychiatrist. They had to scramble to find a third one, and he came in late last month?
Maybe it was mid-month? I’m not exactly sure.
But Hailey is seeing Dr. Swift weekly, and she seems more and more open when she returns from her sessions,” Alpha Forest told us.
“Good. I’ll make sure she continues,” Oscar said.
I picked up Mason when he tugged on my sleeve. “I hate to run, but I want to get the kids home so Mason can burn off some energy and Mae can get put down for a nap.”
“We understand completely. Believe us when we say they truly are little angels.”
“Thank you,” I told them. I wrapped my free arm around Oscar, and after a quick look at him, I had us back at our house on the mountain in a blink. Mason giggled, and Maelie wiggled in Oscar’s arms but quickly settled back down.
“I’ll take her upstairs and put her in her crib. Should I change her, you think?”