57. Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Valentin
Valentin and Wes were released within a day, but Assa remained in the hospital for two weeks after the shooting.
Calder had been the one by his side when he came out of his sedation. The big alpha lifted Assa’s knuckles to his lips, saying, “Welcome back, baby. You scared us.”
Assa stared back at him, stunned for a moment before breaking into a wide smile.
Baby. Valentin had watched from the doorway, and the tenderness made him shudder.
While Assa recovered, the men never talked about their future. Nothing needed to be formalized. It was clear from their casual touches and intimate words that a shift had occurred. The details would work themselves out eventually.
Last week, Valentin walked into his den and saw Calder pressing a kiss to the back of Wes’s neck as he cleaned the window.
Another night, the four men watched a movie in the Rosens’ living room after Ryde and Lachie went to bed.
Zinn rested his head on Wes’s lap while Wes ran his fingers through Zinn’s curls, idly stroking down his side before teasing his fingers into his waistband.
In both instances, Valentin had gotten hard. Watching.
Calder was the one who drove Valentin to the hospital to get his wound cleaned and stitches removed, a process that resulted in a surprising amount of pain.
When they returned to Valentin’s house afterward, Calder helped him up the stairs and into bed, making sure his meds were close by. After tucking him in, Calder kissed his forehead and whispered, “Call me if you need me, moonbeam.”
Valentin raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Moonbeam?”
“I wanted something just for you,” Calder explained, shrugging.
“Zinn is my sunshine because he brought light back into my life. My attraction to you—” He stopped and shook his head.
“No. We’re not doing that anymore. My love for you has been unexpected, but so welcome.
I never imagined loving another alpha, having even more light in my life. If you hate it, I can stop.”
“I don’t hate it,” Valentin murmured.
“Good.” Calder cupped his jaw, stroking his cheek with his thumb. “Because I’m looking forward to loving you more.”
But while the increasing intimacy felt natural, the notion that they were working their way toward a physical relationship between all five of them—and, specifically, that it meant Valentin could have Zinn again—was overwhelming.
Overwhelming or not, their omega was going to make it okay for all of them.
Frequently since he’d left the hospital, Zinn had cuddled on the couch next to Valentin, often while he chest-fed Lachie. Zinn also made a point of kissing him, Wes, and Calder whenever they were together, in a definitive we are more than friends way.
It didn’t surprise Valentin that Zinn was pushing things forward, fearlessly making sure no one could mistake what was happening while he struggled to trust this new happiness.
He had spent the past year understanding that a life with Assa and Wes would fulfill him completely, and while that was still true, his life would now include Calder and Zinn.
In the bedroom.
Because it didn’t matter whose house they eventually lived in, or how their families took care of the kids. Or the chores. Or what they were going to say to their co-workers and friends. They’d been living in each other’s pockets for a year. Most people already saw them as a unit.
The fundamental shift was that now, whenever Valentin looked at Calder, he thought about what it might be like to touch the other alpha’s cock, to take it in his mouth…
or have it in his ass. Calder would be bigger than Wes.
Valentin knew he’d struggle to take him.
Fuck, he could picture it. Sweating and straining.
Two alphas being together sexually was still taboo, but Valentin didn’t care. He craved it.
And Zinn.
He still dreamed of the one heat he’d shared with Zeller. How would it feel to be with his omega again? To have Wes, Assa, and Calder there with them? The thought of sharing Zinn with the others made his head spin. He wanted it so much.
And it would be his. Soon.
Once Assa was home from the hospital and they figured out how to officially be a five-man polycule. How to live. How to parent. How to divvy up responsibilities. How to love.
How to fuck.
***
When Assa came home, he was under strict orders to limit his movements. He could not lift anything heavy, including Lachie—something he was particularly annoyed about.
“He needs his de-de Assa! I’ve been gone for two weeks, and he wasn’t allowed to visit me in the hospital. He probably thinks I abandoned him!”
Calder laughed. “And we thought Ked was the dramatic one.”
“Hey, leave me out of this,” Ked complained, bringing a plate of raw hamburgers to Wes at the grill.
“Sorry, kiddo,” Assa said. “You know I love you. I’m just tired of resting.”
They were hanging out on the Rosens’ patio. Felton’s was closed for the day, but with summer fully upon them, there was still plenty of light for an evening cookout.
Ryde and Jordie huddled next to a kiddie pool where Lachie sat in three inches of water, squealing with delight every time his brothers splashed his chest. Valentin smiled at the baby in his floppy sun hat.
“Did Ryde like the water at that age?” he asked Assa.
Zinn leaned in closer. Like Valentin, he was always interested in stories about Ryde’s early years.
“Sure did,” Assa said. “We had him in swimming lessons before he was in school, which is why he’s such a strong swimmer now.”
“Denni taught Jordie the old-fashioned way,” Calder chimed in. “Just threw him in the pool and stayed next to him until he figured it out. He meant to do the same with Ked, but then… Anyway, I got Ked lessons, so he didn’t get the same trial by fire experience.”
Jordie looked over. “I think I remember that. Daddy taking me swimming.” He turned to Ked, who only had a hazy recollection of his omega father. “Daddy brought you too. He held you in the pool and walked around with you when you were a baby.”
“Oh,” Ked said, at a rare loss for words. He furrowed his brow. “Maybe Jordie and I can be the ones to teach Lachie.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” Wes said, pointing the spatula at him.
Valentin noticed, as he assumed they all did, that Wes had just taken responsibility for Calder and Zinn’s baby. And no one blinked.
Valentin gulped. He’d get to be a real father to Lachie.
They sat at the big patio table to eat. Even the baby got in on the action. He’d started solids a month earlier and was mouthing soft crackers.
“So…I was gonna ask…” Jordie began.
“Yes?” Calder’s forehead lifted.
“Ked and I were thinking, now that Assa is out of the hospital, you all might want your privacy…so you can talk.” Jordie glanced at his brother, his face flushing.
“We thought we could take Ryde back to our house for the night and you all could stay here. I’m happy to take Lachie too, but I know that’s tricky with Zinn still chest-feeding. ”
Calder stared at Jordie in bewilderment.
Valentin tried not to grin. It was rare for the other alpha to be discomfited.
“Yes,” Zinn said, also looking like he was holding back a smile. “I can’t be away from Lachie for the entire night, not yet.”
Calder eyed his oldest son, still looking flustered. “What exactly do we need to discuss privately?”
Jordie’s cheeks reddened further, and he exchanged another loaded glance with Ked. “You know…stuff.”
Valentin looked over to see Assa and Wes on the verge of laughter. Assa coughed into his fist.
Ked sighed theatrically. “C’mon, Papa. Don’t make us, like, spell it out. You guys need to talk. You’re obviously all like—” he waved his hand in a circle “—in love now. I saw you grab Wes’s ass by the grill.”
Turning to Wes, Calder finally cracked a smile. “Not as stealthy as I thought, huh?”
“Apparently not.”
Calder sat back, the wicker chair groaning under his weight. He folded his arms across his chest, addressing his sons. “And what do you think of that, the five of us being in love?”
Valentin appreciated that he didn’t bother denying it. Full speed ahead.
But it wasn’t Jordie or Ked who replied.
It was Ryde.
“Papa C, we want you to be in love. I don’t mind having two bedrooms and all that, but sometimes it would be easier if I didn’t go back and forth so much.
Or if Daddy Z was always there to help me with my painting.
And I love being at the bakery house, but I miss Pop and Dad and Papa V.
And I want to be with all my brothers all the time.
It doesn’t make sense to be two families.
Especially since we always end up all together anyway. ”
Jordie put a hand on Ryde’s shoulder. “We’re just one family, bro.”
Ked studied Calder seriously. “Papa, you deserve to be happy. You were alone for a long time after Daddy died. And we know Zinn made you happy, but you’re happier now. With everyone.”
“Thank you, son,” Calder said. “And we’ll take you and Jordie up on your offer to hang out with Ryde at our house so we can talk. Just keep your phones on.”
They finished their meal in relative quiet, and soon enough, Valentin was shutting the door behind the three older boys as the men clustered in the living room.
He waited for it to feel awkward. But it didn’t.
Getting the go-ahead from their sons was the last unofficial hurdle. Everything else was just frosting.
“I need to put Lachie to bed,” Zinn said, shifting the sleepy baby from one shoulder to the other.
“Thank you, sunshine,” Calder said. “But just checking that you’re okay here? This isn’t some type of stalling tactic?”
“No.” Zinn smiled. “More like a let’s get the baby down as soon as possible so I can find out what happens next tactic.”
Calder cupped Zinn’s face before placing a long, lingering kiss on his lips. “What I’d like to happen next is that I take you to bed.” He turned to the other men. “All of you.”
“Yes,” Zinn breathed out.
“I want that too,” Assa said, surprising Valentin with his forcefulness. “I’ll need to be careful, but I’m clear for sex as long as I’m not…lifting anything.”
Wes pulled Assa against him. “Don’t worry. You can be a pillow prince, sweetheart. We’ll do all the work.” He nodded at Calder. “I’m ready. I want this.”
“So do I,” Valentin said, squeezing himself between Wes and Assa.
Butterflies swarmed in his belly because there was one discussion that needed to happen before the five of them could be together. He focused his attention on the other alpha, silently communicating with him.
Calder spoke to Zinn. “I think Valentin should help you put the baby down.”
Zinn’s brow furrowed only briefly. “Alright.”
As Valentin moved to follow Zinn upstairs, Calder grabbed his wrist and whispered into his ear. “I just want you to know that the things you need to say to Zinn are okay with me. They don’t take away from anything that’s happened. Then or now.”
Valentin dipped his chin, grateful that Calder understood.
Even with a new, better vision for the future, it wasn’t always easy letting go of the old one.
***
They set up the portable crib in Ryde’s room. Valentin watched as Zinn changed Lachie’s diaper and rocked him in his arms. As the baby’s eyes drifted closed, Valentin took him from Zinn and kissed his downy head.
“Goodnight, sweet little one,” Valentin said, placing him in the crib.
Zinn dimmed the lights and turned the dial on the miniature mobile until it began twirling and tinkling a melody.
As they looked down at Lachie, Valentin stood behind Zinn. He slid his arms around the omega’s slim waist and murmured into his ear, “This should have been us, years ago, with our baby.”
“I think about that…have thought about it…maybe more than I should,” Zinn replied, equally hushed. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Even for a minute.”
“It’s okay. A lot was taken from us, more than most people could understand, even though we’ve gained so much since then.”
Zinn turned in Valentin’s arms. “In another world, it’s us, and our baby, perhaps even more babies, and it’s enough. You were always enough, Valentin. Always. Just as Calder is now. Whatever happens next doesn’t change that.”
Valentin nodded, squeezing Zinn close to him. “I thank the stars every day for bringing Assa and Wes into my life. And I’ll be forever grateful Calder was there for you. But I spent years in prison dreaming of this. Holding you like this.”
“We were robbed of this.”
“We were. And it would have been perfect. Magical. I’m letting go of it now…the bitterness about the old dream.” He leaned down to take Zinn’s lips. “But I’m never letting go of you ever again.”
Zinn surprised him by deepening the kiss, aggressively tangling his tongue with Valentin’s like he’d been starving. The man in his arms was so familiar, it brought tears to Valentin’s eyes.
They were interrupted by Decoy scurrying into the room, weaving himself between their legs.
“He always finds us,” Zinn said, wiping a tear from Valentin’s cheek.
Valentin pulled him closer and tipped their foreheads together. “I love you, Zinn.”
Zinn nipped Valentin’s chin. “Will you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Call me Zeller, one last time, and then after tonight…never again.”
Another tear escaped Valentin’s eye, traveling along the curve of his jaw before dropping between them. Lachie released a delicate snore as Decoy purred at their ankles.
“I love you, Zeller.”
“I love you too, alpha.”