Chapter Sixty-One
Assa
Two months after the shooting, Assa felt healed from his injuries.
He also felt like he lived in a completely different world from the one he’d woken up in at the hospital. A better world.
Less than two years ago, he’d had one child and one partner. Now he had four partners. And four children.
Jordie and Ked would never call him Pop the way Ryde did. He’d come into their lives a little late for that. But he cared for them like they were his own, just as Wes, Valentin, and Zinn did.
But the Pashuks had given up the de-de label with Lachie.
For both Ryde and Lachie, the five men would be Papa C, Papa V, Dad, Pop, and Daddy.
That would also be true for any future babies they might have.
Although Zinn’s next heat wasn’t due for a while, the men had already discussed the possibility of another breeding heat.
They wanted that.
Assa lifted Lachie from his crib and hefted him onto his shoulder. At nine months old, the baby was crawling like a champ. It probably helped that he had so many family members to encourage him.
Zinn, Calder, Jordie, and Ked had moved into the Pashuks’ house six weeks ago, since it had enough bedrooms to accommodate everyone. Calder hadn’t decided what he wanted to do with the house behind Felton’s yet. He was unsure about renting it out since it was so close to the bakery.
Assa walked into the living room, bouncing the baby in his arms.
“That was a short nap,” Valentin commented.
“I think he’s getting ready to cut out his morning snooze. Ryde went down to one nap at about this age.”
Valentin nodded. “Are you going into the lab today?”
“No. I worked four tens this week. I want to go to Ked’s soccer game this afternoon.”
“Are you alright if I go to the club? Xan asked if I could come in early to help with inventory.”
“Sure.”
Valentin gave Lachie a peck on the cheek and tilted Assa’s head back to give him a kiss before leaving.
After the families moved in together, Zinn had returned to work part-time. He missed decorating cakes, and with Assa’s flexible schedule and Valentin mostly working evenings, they had tag-teamed watching the baby so Zinn could go into Felton’s a few days a week.
“Daddy will be home soon,” Assa sing-songed to Lachie as he prepared a plate of cereal puffs, peas, and applesauce. “And we’re going to your brother’s game later, so be a good boy and eat something for Pop.”
Lachie giggled and gave him the I will not make this easy look before Assa lifted the spoon to his mouth. At least half the applesauce and most of the cereal landed on the floor, but he gobbled down the peas, so Assa called it a victory.
Assa was sitting in a dining chair, cleaning Lachie’s face, when Zinn flew in through the back door.
“Sorry I’m late. I was working on a special cake topper and wasn’t minding the clock.”
Assa smiled. He loved that Zinn had his work back, his creative outlet. It reminded him of Ryde, who never failed to lose track of time when he was painting.
“Why special?” Assa asked.
“That’s the coolest part…because they’re like us.”
Assa thought for a moment. “You mean poly?”
“Yeah. Four men. All betas. They’re having a huge commitment ceremony and doing all the typical wedding things, including a big cake.”
“Well, they certainly picked the right baker.”
Zinn nodded slowly. “I actually told them, too.”
“About our family?”
“Yep. The staff know we’ve made it official, and so do our friends, but it’s always interesting to tell random people,” Zinn said excitedly.
“And I realize that a cake is only a small part of a ceremony, but having a vendor who respects you, who understands you—that’s priceless.
I think I’ve found my niche, making specialty cakes for people who might not feel safe bringing these requests to other places.
Polycules, alpha/alpha ceremonies, stuff like that. ”
Assa admired Zinn’s enthusiasm. It was such a contrast from when he and Wes felt like they needed to hide their non-monogamy. Still, it was good to be mindful.
“I’m glad you could tell people,” Assa said. “But please be careful, my omega. Not everyone will be so understanding. It’s better in Bellwether than it was in Warburton, but it’s not perfect. Teal told me the McGinns still get hate mail all the time.”
“I know.” Zinn pushed the highchair back a few inches. Lachie watched with enormous eyes as Zinn eased himself into Assa’s lap, kissing his lips sweetly. “But any backlash we might face is worth it. I’m not hiding. Not after everything we went through to get here.”
Zinn’s words reminded Assa of a discussion he’d been wanting to have with him.
“Precious, before we go to the game, can I ask you something sort of serious?”
“Sure.” Rising from Assa’s lap, Zinn unhitched the lock on the highchair tray and lifted Lachie into his arms.
“Now that we’ve gotten to this place, where you feel good about the five of us, and where we are a unit facing the world together—”
“I like how you make us sound like superheroes,” Zinn joked.
“We’ve certainly come through the fire like superheroes,” Assa replied.
“Alright.” Zinn sat down with the baby, matching Assa’s serious tone.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how I left things with my alpha father before he died.”
“Jeral?”
“I never got closure with him. Deep down, I wanted him to apologize for being horrible to me, but all I did was make his last years more palatable. I never told him about Ryde, never told him he’d lost the privilege of meeting his grandson because he was so awful that I couldn’t risk him being around my child.
Looking back, I wish I had told him, so he would have understood his actions had consequences.
Would he have cared? I don’t know. But the thing is—I’ll never know. ”
Zinn squeezed his thigh. “You were kinder than he deserved.”
Assa took a deep breath. “If I felt then the way I feel now, so sure in the love of four amazing men, I would have confronted him. Because I would have known that no matter the outcome, whether Jeral rejected me, ignored me, or was miraculously remorseful, I would have been able to handle it. But I can’t have a do-over because he’s gone. ”
Zinn looked pensive. “What does this have to do with what I said?”
“When you talk about refusing to hide, it proves that you have the strength to face anything. I was only starting to build that type of resolve while Jeral was still living.”
“You mean—?”
“I never got my closure. But you can. You’re strong enough to face them.”
“My fathers?”
Assa nodded. “If you want to confront Keyes and Deveron, I’ll be with you. We all will. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
Zinn launched himself at Assa, taking care not to squish a protesting Lachie as they embraced. “My beautiful beta. My amazing friend. Your father was an idiot not to appreciate having a son like you.”
“I know,” Assa said quietly.
“I’ll think about it,” Zinn said. “But if I decide not to confront my parents, it won’t be because I worry about not being strong enough.” He gestured vaguely around the room, then at Lachie and Assa. “This might be enough closure for me. I’m honestly not sure.”
“Fair enough. The offer doesn’t have an expiration date. I just don’t want you to have any regrets.”
Zinn smiled. “I’ll consider it, but right now, all I want to do is change Lachie’s diaper, put on that I Heart History sweatshirt Wes got him, and go cheer for our son at his soccer game.”
His words were light, but Assa saw Zinn’s expression and knew he’d given his omega a lot to think on. But he wouldn’t push. Whatever Zinn wanted to do, he’d have the full support of his partners.
But secretly, he hoped Zinn decided to tell his parents off, to make sure they understood how badly they’d lost. Keyes and Deveron Parkenson deserved nothing less.
***
That evening, Zinn and Assa told their partners what they’d discussed. The other men agreed Zinn should take his time to decide if he wanted to confront his fathers.
But a week later, the issue came to a head thanks to some news delivered by Asher.
Ryde and Ked were out with friends and Jordie was at the pizzeria, but all the adults were home.
“Oh, good,” Asher said when he saw them. “I was worried one or two of you would be out.” He went to Zinn and held out his hands for Lachie. “Come to Uncle Asher, sweet stuff.”
Assa thought Asher looked extremely happy with a baby in his arms, sitting comfortably in the recliner. Now that Asher and Xan were official, he wondered if Zinn’s brother would settle down to have kids of his own.
“Did you need to talk to all of us?” Valentin asked.
Asher bounced the baby on his knee, drawing giggles. “I received some information. This mostly affects Zinn, but I understand you’re a package deal now.” He waggled his brows.
Zinn rolled his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“There’s no easy way to say this,” Asher said seriously. “And I feel guilty for not having more emotions around it.”
“What?” Zinn prompted.
“Jem died.”
Assa had to rack his brain to remember that Jem was Asher and Zinn’s older alpha brother.
Zinn’s head snapped back. “What?”
“Jem died.”
“No…I mean, I heard you the first time.” Zinn scrubbed a hand over his face. “How?”
“Car accident, but…”
“But what?”
“It looks suspicious. Like maybe Jem’s husband ran them off the road intentionally.”
“Like a murder-suicide?”
“That’s the theory. Father and Daddy shut down the investigation, of course, had it declared an official accident, but that won’t stop the gossip.
Apparently, Jem had been cheating on his husband for a while.
You remember how much they hated each other, right?
That our parents arranged their shitty marriage? ”
Zinn nodded.
“Fuck,” Valentin whooshed out, and Assa realized he also must have known Jem, at least peripherally.
“Jem and his husband had a terrible relationship, and I suppose his omega just lost it. Or maybe it was a legitimate accident. Either way, he’s gone.”
Calder scooted closer to Zinn on the couch, rubbing his thigh. “You okay, sunshine?”
Zinn shrugged. “I don’t know. I honestly haven’t thought about Jem at all these past three years. And even before, when I lived at home after Ryde was born, I hardly ever saw him.” He turned back to Asher. “How did you find out?”
“I told you I kept my phone number the same. Daddy reached out with the basics. A few hours later, I got a longer message from Antoni with the rest of the story.”
Asher made a funny face at Lachie.
“You’ve still never told them about finding me?”
“No. Until this, I hadn’t heard from them in over a year.
Besides the fact that I never forgave them for what they did to you, they were done with me the minute I left accounting to go into construction.
They had Jem, so they didn’t have a reason to chase after me. ” He grimaced. “That might change now.”
Zinn’s lips twitched. “You would have made a terrible accountant.”
Valentin snorted. “Tell me about it. Every time we go to lunch, you have to pull out your phone to calculate the tip.”
“It’s true,” Asher said with a wan smile. “But now that our parents don’t have an alpha heir, they’ll probably look for me.” He eyed Zinn. “And if they do, they’ll find out that you and I are in contact.”
“Does it matter?” Wes asked. “The Parkensons have no claim on Zinn.”
Zinn opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out.
“It’s not that,” Assa explained. He looked at Zinn, who nodded gratefully. “Zinn has gotten used to not having his parents in his life. Even a tenuous connection would differ significantly from a severed one.”
“You may not have a choice,” Asher said to his brother. “They half-heartedly looked for you at one point, but with Jem gone, my guess is they’ll want to account for both of us. Daddy alluded to it in his message.”
“What do you mean?” Calder asked, still brushing circles over Zinn’s knee.
“He said having me and Zeller back would be required to stop the gossip. That we needed to show a united front after Jem’s death.”
“For fuck’s sake!” Valentin threw up his arms. “If Zinn does go back, he’s not going to make nice. Fuck that.” He turned to Zinn. “Are you?”
“Absolutely not,” Zinn said staunchly. “They can look for me. They can find me. But I’m not doing anything to smooth their public image.
I already decided before Calder and I got together that I wouldn’t expose what they did to me, because that would bring scrutiny I didn’t want.
But not seeking retribution is different from helping them. I’ll never do that.”
“You’re nicer than I am,” Valentin said gruffly. “Those fuckers had me locked up for six years. I wouldn’t mind a little justice, a little revenge.”
Assa put his hand on Valentin’s forearm. “Alpha, we have each other and four incredible children. We have our home, the club, the bakery. Friends. A life. I think if Keyes and Deveron find out about all that, that’s your revenge.”
“I think so too,” Zinn agreed. “They’ve lost the only son they truly cared about, the one who was going to carry on their legacy. Seeing me happy with my family—and refusing to assist them—would prove how powerless they truly are. And for Father especially, that’s the worst thing he could be.”
Asher cleared his throat. “Look, little brother, for what it’s worth. I don’t think we should wait for Father and Daddy to find us.”
“You don’t?” Wes asked.
“No. I think we should travel to Warburton together.” Asher looked around the room. “All of us.”
“Why?” Zinn sounded incredulous.
“You know why.”
Asher raised an eyebrow, and Zinn’s hand flew to his mouth. “Oh, no…I’d almost forgotten.”
“What?” Assa asked.
Zinn leaned against Calder. “After I had Ryde, I spent most of my time in my room. Like I said, I barely saw Jem and never thought much about him. When he and his husband began having babies, it was just too painful. I ignored them.” His eyes snapped to Asher. “There were two boys.”
Asher’s expression was grave. “Still just the two. Both omegas.”
“If Father and Daddy get custody, they’ll do to them what they did to me. It might even be worse, with Jem gone.”
“Exactly my thoughts,” Asher said. “Jem’s husband was an only child, and his parents are older than ours. They won’t fight for those boys.”
“We have to do something,” Zinn said.
Assa got up and squeezed himself onto the couch between Zinn and Calder. He pulled Zinn into his arms. “We will,” he assured him. “Those are Ryde and Lachie’s cousins.”
Like Zinn, he saw the urgency of the situation. They weren’t leaving innocent children in the hands of terrible fathers.
“My nephews,” Asher added. “And before I left, I was quite fond of them.”
“Lolo can handle things at Felton’s for a while,” Calder said.
“Xan and Sandi can manage The Cracked Heart.”
“Assa and I can get a few weeks of leave from the university before the semester starts up again.”
“It’s decided,” Assa said, hugging Zinn to his chest. “We’re going to Warburton.” Leaning into Zinn’s ear, he whispered, “You’re going to get your closure, precious, and I’m going to make sure your fathers don’t do anything bad to you.”