18. Blake #3
“There’s a baby growing in me,” Luca tells them.
Samuel’s mouth drops open before he throws both arms around Luca’s neck. Grayson catches his waist before the impact can knock Luca backward and helps him settle against Luca’s side instead.
James stares at Luca’s stomach as though he expects it to change while he watches. Rosalie places both hands on her hips, her plastic crown tipped slightly to one side.
“Who’s our baby brother’s daddy?” James asks.
I lean forward from the chair. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
Rosalie answers before James can. “Because I’m the only girl allowed.”
Laughter spreads through the room while Rosalie looks pleased that everyone finally understands the rule. Luca reaches out and pulls her closer with one arm, kissing the top of her head before he answers.
“We don’t know whether the baby is a boy or a girl yet. Quentin tested all of our blood, and Maceo is your sibling’s biological daddy. All of us are going to be their fathers.”
James shifts closer to Maceo’s knee. “The blood said so?”
“The first test did,” Maceo explains, keeping one hand against Luca’s side while James watches him. “Quentin’s doing another test that takes a week, but he’s already very sure.”
Samuel lifts his head from Luca’s shoulder. “Can the baby sleep in my room?”
“Not right away, sweetheart.” Grayson eases Samuel back when he begins climbing farther into Luca’s lap. “Babies wake up a lot, and they need someone with them.”
“I can wake up.” Samuel looks toward Maceo as though expecting him to confirm this strength. “Can I carry the baby?”
Maceo reaches over Luca’s shoulder and smooths Samuel’s hair. “You can help hold them while one of us stays beside you.”
Rosalie leans closer to Luca’s stomach. “The baby’s room should be yellow, but they can’t have my crown.”
Luca catches the crown before it slides from her head and straightens it carefully. “The crown stays yours.”
James begins asking how long the baby has to grow before it comes out. Samuel moves three cushions onto the floor to mark where he thinks a crib should go, while Rosalie retrieves her crayons and starts assigning colors to every wall in the house.
The conversation spreads around us without becoming a formal plan.
Grayson sketches a possible nursery arrangement only after Luca tells him he may.
Luther keeps one arm resting behind Luca while he rereads Quentin’s appointment list, and Maceo’s hand moves between Luca’s waist, shoulder, and knee whenever the children shift around them.
Luca reaches back without looking, and I take his hand from the chair behind him. He keeps our fingers linked while Rosalie declares that the dragon from the wedding cake should also appear above the baby’s crib.
I eat half the crackers Grayson placed beside me before realizing they’ve settled my stomach. Luca notices and pushes the rest of the bowl closer with his foot.
Two hours later, the children are upstairs arguing over whether yellow belongs on every wall when the courier rings the bell.
Luther answers the door and returns carrying a sealed packet with the Omega Welfare Board emblem printed across the front. The courier waits long enough for his signature, then leaves without offering any explanation.
The warmth in the room changes before Luther reaches the table. Maceo rises from the sofa and comes to stand beside Luca while Grayson lowers the volume on the television. I take the packet from Luther, slide one finger beneath the seal, and open it carefully enough to preserve the envelope.
The first page is a formal complaint alleging that Luca underwent an unlawful bite removal with the pack’s assistance. An attached transcript presents pieces of Luca’s intake conversation as evidence that he admitted to unauthorized bond alteration.
I read far enough to recognize his words.
The order is wrong. Several statements have been separated from the questions that gave them meaning, and the emphasis has been changed to make Luca’s consent sound uncertain.
A storage device is sealed inside a clear evidence sleeve at the back of the packet. Maceo takes it without opening it and places it beside the envelope.
“This came from Josie’s recording,” I say, keeping my voice low. “But the complaint doesn’t identify who edited it or submitted it.”
Luca stands beside the table with Maceo’s hand resting at his waist. His own palm moves over his stomach while he reads the Omega Welfare Board seal on the first page.
I close the packet before reading any farther and place it face down on the table.
“His room is going to be yellow, okay? Daddy? Yellow!” Rosalie screams from her room. I chuckle, shaking my head as Samuel starts yelling over her.
“He needs a training mat!”
Something smacks loud in the air and then an ‘ow’ from Samuel before silence. I raise an eyebrow and then James says, “He’s going to be a baby. He doesn’t need one yet.”
Luca looks toward the ceiling while their voices continue to spill down the stairs, then turns back to the seal beneath my hand, both of us trying not to laugh.