Epilogue
Brady
Jae had warned me that the first weeks with a newborn weren’t easy. Exhausting, educational, awe-inspiring, full of joy, yes, but he also warned of the endless worry, the nagging doubt, and even sadness that came with being a new parent.
If it hadn’t been for Xavi, I don’t think I would have survived the first month of Penelope’s life.
Not only was I bone-deep tired to the point of hallucinating, I also struggled to feed her, adding to my feelings of worthlessness.
Without his love, care, and steadfast attention, I would have slipped further into postpartum depression.
I was lucky and only needed some additional support and rest, which our parents were all too happy to provide.
The team at the birthing center had plenty of resources for me to use if things got worse.
We took Penny, or to give her the government name we’d chosen for her, Penelope Stacy-Anne Cross, home three days after her birth.
She had needed a little time under the UV lights, having come out a little jaundiced from her slightly premature birth.
The delivery had also been rather quick for a first time, something we had to be mindful of if we wanted to give her a sibling down the line.
It was a risk to bond when we did. Xavier and I had discussed it at length before choosing the date.
I knew I wanted us to be married and hopefully mated before our daughter arrived.
I just didn’t appreciate how strongly the bonding pheromones would hit.
Still, I didn’t regret it. Penny was perfectly healthy, and we were officially mated.
When we got home from the center, there was a surprise delivery from Mate Match.
Brent and his partner had sent the most adorable gift basket to celebrate our wedding and the birth of our daughter.
I had struck up a friendship with Brent over the months after our successful Mate Match, and I knew we were about to be featured in the testimonials like Jae and Marty were.
“Need anything, sweetheart?” Xavi dipped his head to brush a kiss on my temple. He ran a finger over our daughter’s hand as she continued to nurse.
“Pass me my water bottle?”
He picked it up, shook it, and frowned. “Back in a sec.” He took the nearly empty bottle back to the kitchen and refilled it. “Here,” he put it within easy reach. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay alone?”
Xavi was returning to work after his month-long parental leave.
I still had another month at almost full pay, more at half pay, but I hadn’t decided on when I would return to work.
My husband was happy for me to be a stay at home parent, if that’s what I wanted.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Spending my days with Penny was great.
I loved being with her, but I think we both knew I’d return to work, just at reduced hours.
It had taken me a while to build my career, I didn’t want to lose it.
“Your mom is coming over later. My mom will probably drop in since he knows you’re heading into the office.
I might even go out for a walk, maybe meet up with Marty.
” The omega was quickly becoming one of my favorite people.
I was so grateful to Leigh-Anne and Stacy too.
They were the best in-laws I could hope for.
“Sounds good. I’ll call you later.” My husband was clearly having problems leaving us.
“Go. We’ll be here when you get home.”
He kissed me, a long, slow kiss I felt to my toes. “Want me to bring home dinner?”
“Hell yes! I’m so hungry all the time, thanks to madam here.”
His worried gaze roved over my body. “Are you eating enough? I could—?”
“Xavi, please, I’m fine. You need to go to work and we,” I said, adjusting my hold on our daughter to get her to latch onto the other nipple, “need to learn how to get by when you’re not here.
” I smiled when Penny latched on perfectly.
The lactation consultant Xavi’s parents had paid for was worth their weight in gold, I swear.
“Okay.” Another kiss. One for Penny, too. “I love you both.”
“And we love you.”
Okay, perhaps I’d overestimated my abilities.
Ever since Xavier had left for work, Penny had been screaming.
First it was wind, then it was a dirty diaper.
Then nothing I tried seemed to soothe her.
She threw up on me and somehow I’d gotten it in my hair!
I really wanted to shower, but I couldn’t leave her to cry.
The noise was piercing into my brain. Hours had somehow magically passed without any sort of reprieve.
With my phone in one hand to look up advice, I rocked Penny in the chair we’d bought for her. I wanted to cry and call Xavier. He always had the magic touch with her. I heard the door open. My hand paused, as I went on alert. “Hello?” I called.
Jae and Marty rounded the corner. “Hey, the cavalry has arrived!” Marty announced. He carried Willa in her sling while Jae held Leo’s hand.
Relief flooded me. “What are you doing here?”
“Your husband asked us to head over here yesterday. He was worried about you being alone for the first time,” Jae explained with a fond smile. He and my husband were now good friends themselves.
“When he didn’t hear from you an hour ago, he called me,” Marty added. “Message him back, would you? He’s not going to last the day in the office if he doesn’t hear back from you.”
My best friend let go of Leo’s hand to come take Penny from me.
“Oh, you poor things! Are you missing Daddy?” he cooed at her.
Her cries quietened. “She’s sensing your anxiety, I think.
” Jae glanced at me, leaned closer, and took a sniff.
“Go have a shower, you stink.” He grinned, reminding me of his first few days with Leo.
I looked at Jae and how he confidently cradled my daughter, then over at Marty who was picking up the mess from this morning’s attempts at calming her. These people were my ride or die friends for sure. “If I haven’t said it recently, I love you both.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Marty waved me off. “This is what we do for each other.” Words I’d said after he had Willa.
“Still, I’m grateful.” I didn’t say anything else, just went to have that much needed shower. Not before I called my husband, though.
“Hey, are they there?” Xavier’s voice washed over me, the last of my tension evaporating.
“They are. Thank you for sending them. I… I was out of my depth.”
“You weren’t,” he said with that endless patience he always had for me.
Xavi waited for me to be ready through all my doubts.
He’d worked hard to prove to me he was all I needed.
He’d been right. “You’ve got this, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Mom and your mom will be over in the afternoon, so you can get a nap, okay? ”
“I love you. Thank you for being the best mate and husband.”
He laughed. “I love you, too. I think you hold the title of best mate and husband. My perfect omega.”
“Stop chatting with your man and have that shower!” Marty yelled from the kitchen, where it sounded like he was loading the dishwasher.
My grin was wide. “I’d better go. See you later.
” We ended the call, and I stripped quickly, dumping my clothes in the hamper.
The water was blessedly warm, washing away baby vomit and stress sweat.
What it would never wash away was my deep love for Xavier, the bond I shared with my daughter, or the support I got from our friends and family.
I was loved in a way I didn’t think possible, and had proven that this recessive omega was capable of anything. Nothing could top that.
Xavier
Eight Months Later
Warm lips wrapped around my cock roused me from sleep.
I lifted the blanket to see Brady’s smirking eyes looking up at me as he sucked me into the back of his throat.
I tenderly brushed his hair out of his eyes.
He’d been too busy with work and Penelope to get it cut recently, something I’d have to rectify. “Hmmm, that feels amazing, sweetheart.”
Opportunities to be with Brady were slim with a crawling baby, our careers, the house, and everything else we had to contend with, but it made it so much better when we could enjoy each other.
Brady had always been talented with his mouth, and after a week without touching him properly, I was quickly on edge.
“Don’t let me knot your mouth,” I warned as I gently pumped my hips, driving my cock deeper into his mouth.
“I want you to sit on my face after.” His smirk only grew as he sucked me harder. I came only moments later.
My darling husband watched me with a smug expression, his fingers running over my knot. “Are you sure you don’t want to fuck me instead? We should have time.”
“I’d rather knot you when I know Pen isn’t about to wake, looking for breakfast. Now come up here.” I returned the favor with urgency. There wasn’t much time before our daughter woke. With Brady’s cock in my throat and my fingers in his ass, I brought him to orgasm quickly. Just in time, too.
Penny’s cries came over the baby monitor. I helped Brady get back under the cover. “I’ll get her. Want some coffee?”
“Could I have some tea, please? My stomach feels a bit weird.” He huddled down under the blanket.
“Sure.” I went to the nursery and picked up Penny, who quieted as soon as she was in my arms. She laid her head against my shoulder and spoke her baby chatter. There were no words for how much I loved her. “Let’s see what’s wrong with Mommy, shall we?” It sounded like she agreed.
Once she was settled in her high chair with some banana and her sippy full of milk, I searched to confirm my suspicions. Brady’s tea was brewing when he entered the kitchen, his cheeks slightly flushed.
“Sweetheart, I think it’s your heat that’s causing your stomach pains.”
Brady sighed and fed some pureed apple to Pen. “Yeah, I wondered. How do we want to handle it?”
“We? Sweetheart, this is your decision. If you’re not ready for another baby—”
“I am ready,” he said hastily. “Maybe it’s too soon—”
“No, I’m happy to try for another. There’s no guarantee…”
“Exactly!” He smiled and offered Pen another spoonful of apple. “This heat might not work out but I want the kids to be close in age and while I know it’s slowed my career progression, I think it’s better to have my absences now, rather than in a couple of years’ time.”
“Okay, so we’re on the same page. I didn’t want to put pressure on you, but I am forty-two and sometimes I feel a lot older!” I joked. A few grays had appeared in my hair since I’d married Brady. I’d take a full head of gray hair over being without him.
Brady rose from the table to kiss me. “You’re still sexy, even if you’re an old man.”
His heat hit fully three days later. Brady’s parents, Arturo and Evan, took our daughter while we went through it together.
I loved the excuse to get a full day with my favorite person and for us to get the chance to reconnect.
Brady’s heat was just as intense as the one where we got pregnant with Penny, so I took it as a good sign that this would work.
It did. Within a month, Brady showed all the signs of pregnancy, with nausea and sensitive nipples. He had, thankfully, stopped breastfeeding Pen when she began weaning, otherwise he would have found it too difficult to feed her.
The day he took the positive pregnancy test, I had another surprise for him. “Now, I need you not to be mad,” I said as I strolled into our bedroom.
“Huh? Why would I be mad at you?” Brady asked, folding one of his shirts. He was looking through his maternity clothes to decide which ones to keep. “Did you go out?”
“Yeah, I had to pick something up.” He turned and caught what I was carrying. “I applied for them before your heat. I know the timing isn’t great, but—”
“Did you get me a cat?” he asked, his eyes going wide. His pheromones signalled his happiness.
I laughed, relieved. “No, I got you two cats. A bonded pair.” Inside the carrier were two short-haired tuxedo cats.
He froze for a second, then squealed. “Seriously?” I had one second to put the cat carrier down before my arms were full of my husband. “You’re… ah! I don’t have words! Let me see them!”
“They’re sisters. Around five years old. Their owner surrendered them because he knew he didn’t have long left. He’s in a care home now. The shelter called him today to let him know they’ve been adopted. They told me he was very happy to hear they’ll be well loved.
“Oh, my goodness! They are so cute! Ugh, I feel so sad for him. Do you think we could send him some photos?”
This was why I’d held out for Brady. Not only was he gorgeous, he had the kindest heart out of anyone I’d ever met. It may have taken us a while to get there with hurts along the way, but he was worth it because he was the love of my life.
We had so much to look forward to together: another baby, seeing our children grow. Years of love and happiness stretched out in front of us because I had trusted my gut. I knew Brady was worth waiting for. The love we had for each other drew us back together, with a little help from Mate Match.