29. Griffin

-Meant to Be- Bebe Rexha Florida Georgia Line

I have a son…

Agnes returns to the house with both of the pups and they are curious about the bundle in my arms. “Thanks for watching them for us.” I smile looking at her and she laughs as she reaches in her purse.

She pulls out a baby wipe and wipes the corners of my mouth. “You forgot to clean up after cutting the cord, daddy.” Agnes pokes a little fun at me and I can’t help but laugh.

“I was positive it was Ethan’s the way he hogged Gracie.” Shaking my head, I stare down at my son, watching him sleep in my arms.

Agnes pulls me into the kitchen, and she cooks for everyone. “Genetics is a funny thing, Griffin. You and Ethan are identical and Conrad is fraternal. The three of you shared a womb, you and Ethan a placenta. This child sired by you is as much his as it is yours.” She laughs and tosses the bacon into the pan. “What I am saying is that for the three of you, it’s very hard DNA wise to tell who the father is.”

I digest what Agnes is telling me and it’s true. Ethan and I are almost identical in every way. Conrad shares a lot of common things with us, but is lighter built and less aggressive. “I see what you mean. So, I should ask my brothers to help me name our son.” Arching my brow, I look over at her and she tilts her head.

“Have the bond help you and Gracie. That way, no one feels left out.” She offers her words of wisdom and starts working on the sausages and eggs.

Conrad enters with the basin and pauses. “You don’t have to cook. Nic was planning on doing it when Gracie wakes up.” He offers as he takes the washbasin into the mudroom. I can hear him open and close the door to the washing machine, then it starts washing the birthing towels.

“Ruby, Elinor, and I have decided that we will each take a day here doing the cooking for the family. You need time to bond with the baby.” The spatula scrapes the pan as she flips the eggs over.

“Thank you.” I don’t know what else to say other than that. A soft laugh escapes my lips and I walk closer to where she is. “Do you want to see our baby?” I bend down and move the blanket to reveal my son’s chubby cheeks and pouty pink lips. There’s a tiny tuft of black hair on the top of his head.

“He’s absolutely gorgeous Griff.” She leans in and sniffs him. “There’s no mistake he’s of your sire line.” She smiles as she pulls back and watches him. “What color are his eyes?”

Arching a brow, I stare at my son. “I have no idea.”

“There’s plenty of time to find out.” Agnes smiles and turns back to the stove to pile the breakfast foods onto a tray. “We’ll bring breakfast to Gracie so she can regain her strength.”

Conrad must have gone out to the pack house and returned because he has one of the catering trolleys with him. “Will this work?” He rolls it close to Agnes and takes the pitchers from the second shelf and fills them with juice and ice water.

“It’s perfect Con. Don’t forget plates and cups and plenty of napkins.” Agnes offers helpfully as she plates the last of the food to take back to Grace.

When the cart is full, we roll quietly down the hallway and to Barrett’s door. Quietly, I turn the knob and signal Conrad to turn off the hall light. Agnes rolls the cart in and a low growl comes from the nest. “Gracie, Agnes has brought you food.” The new scent in the room made her uncomfortable for a moment.

“Nic, I’m hungry…” Grace whines from inside the nest.

Having heard his mother, my son cries, and next thing I know I have a very angry-looking Grace staring at me. “What did you do?” She growls out before snatching our child from my arms.

“Nothing, he heard you.” I throw my hands up in a placating manner, trying not to be murdered by my mate.

“He’s hungry.” Gracie says as she pulls her shirt down and to the side and our son latches on. She climbs back into the nest and settles in. Nic and Ethan move like a well-oiled machine, setting up the pillows around Grace so she can recline and feed the baby.

I make up a plate and crawl into the nest. “Can I feed you? You kinda of have your hands full.” I laugh a little and wave a piece of bacon at her.

Laughing, Grace leans forward and takes a bite of the offered bacon. “I like this version of you best. The caring, engaged mate.” She looks down at our son, then back up again. “Its tough being a leader. But you have brothers you can lean on for support. Share the burden and don’t forget you have a family at home that loves and needs you, too.”

Grace’s words hit like a sledgehammer to my chest. We were all closer to mom because Dad always had pack business to attend to. I’ve barely been around because of pack business. Fuck, I’ve become my father. “I will. Ethan, Conrad, and I will rotate duties so that we all have time at home with you and the children.”

I watch as the puppies scoot closer to their new sibling and then shift. The two chubby toddlers reach out to lay a hand on the baby in Gracie’s arms. “Girls, you have a brother.” Gracie smiles and her eyes take on a soft golden glow as she looks at the children.

“What’s she doing, mom?” Nic asks as he moves to the cart to make himself a plate.

“She’s forming a bond between the children so they can always find each other.” Agnes smiles as she looks into the nest where Grace and Barrett are still snuggled together with the children.

“Keep in mind boys, she is going to be volatile for a while, especially if all three pups are close to her. No outsiders in the nest with her or even close. You will see a vicious side of your mate that will rival Ethan’s rage.” Agnes says. Her words make me look at Ethan and even he has paled at the thought.

“After seeing Grace mad over the babies being stolen, I really don’t want to see her go off the deep end.” Ethan says and moves to fill a second plate to pass in to Barrett to feed Grace.

“We are supposed to have a meeting with the other alphas next week.” Conrad mentions as he looks down at the calendar on his phone.

“I gave birth. I am not dead.” Grace’s voice holds a growl to it that makes the hair on my arms stand on end. “The meetings will go as planned.” The glow in her eyes intensifies as she stares right at me.

“If that is what you want, then that is what will happen.” I lean back further into the nest, pressing myself against the side, trying to look smaller.

“What are you doing, Griffin? You look constipated.” She arches a brow, studying me. That is, until Ethan laughs and she turns to stare him down. He holds his hands up and backs away. That’s a first.

“Just giving you space.” I offer gently.

“We need to name the new baby.” Grace’s eyes search all of ours. Her eyes finally lock on mine and I glance at my brothers, then back at her.

“Any suggestions?” I look around the room again and each of my siblings looks away. They know if they help name mine, I will help name theirs.

“Phoenix, Cyrus, Liam, Deacon…” Barrett reads from a list on his phone and one of the names triggered Grace’s eyebrow to shoot up.

“Say that list again.” She turns and stares at our baby in her arms.

“Phoenix, Cyrus, Liam, Deacon…” Barrett reads the names slower this time. At the name Deacon, he opens his eyes and looks up at his mother.

“Deacon…” Grace says again and our son coos hearing the name. “Deacon Griffin Murphy, you get daddy’s first name as your middle name. Lucky for you, your eyes are my color. She-wolves of the world beware. Mommies eyes and daddy’s black hair, you are going to be a dangerous man when you get older.” Grace’s grin turns feral as she looks down at Deacon.

“Anyone hurts my baby, mommy will rip them limb from limb. There won’t be enough left to put in a body bag.” The tone she hits is sickenly sweet, but the look on her face and the feeling through the bond screams dangerously. Mom smiles at Agnes before she leaves the room to handle setting up for the rest of the day.

Conrad picks up his phone and walks out of the room. He’s calling in the birth to the clinic and giving them the date and time. “Grace?” He steps back into the room briefly.

“Yeah?”

“The clinic needs a weight and length for Deacon for his birth certificate.” Conrad smiles, looking at her.

“Oh ok. Ruby, can you handle that with Conrad? I really want to shower.” Grace passes my son off to my mom and then heads into the bathroom with Nicolai and Barrett in tow.

I walk over and watch mom and my brother stretch Deacon out on the table. She uses the paper tape and gets his length. “He’s twenty-two inches even.” Mom smiles, looking at her grandson and then up at me. “He has you beat by an inch.” She scrunches her nose then moves over to the regular scale Conrad pulled out.

“Get on.” She points at the scale and I step on. She writes down my weight of two hundred and nineteen pounds, seven point five ounces. Next, she hands me my son and looks at the weight again. “Deacon weighs nine pounds, three point two ounces.” Mom proudly announces. If mom was any happier, I swear she is going to explode.

“You’re gonna be one helluva alpha one day.” I kiss my son’s forehead and step off the scale to go sit in the recliner, waiting for Grace to emerge. I curl up in the recliner with my son on my chest. It’s been a really long day and I can only imagine how long the first night is going to be.

I must have dozed off because I was awakened when someone tries to take my son from me. Growling, I reach out and grip the person by the throat, prepared to crush it. “Griff…” Grace’s voice breaks through the rage and my blood runs cold.

“I’m so sorry…” I release her immediately and look down at the still sleeping baby on my chest.

“It’s okay, I’m not hurt.” Grace manages to laugh a little. “To be perfectly honest, I am glad you reacted that way. At least I know the baby is safe with you. Your first reaction was to kill and protect, not question.” Grace leans forward and wiggles her self into the recliner with the baby and me.

“Here.” She reaches out and takes Deacon from me and pulls herself into my lap and lets our son feed. “I’m gonna nap while he eats.” Grace yawns and kisses my lips softly before laying her head down on my chest. She wiggles herself a little more until she is half on and half off the recliner, with her legs dangling off the side.

Our son is laying on my chest latched onto his mother’s breast making happy little baby noises. My brothers, Nicolai, and Barrett eventually return with the girls to find Grace using me as a pillow.

“Fatherhood looks good on you, Griff.” Nicolai says, holding his daughter Nina. Her head is resting on his chest as she sleeps in her father’s arms.

“Thanks … It’s amazing that she grew this.” I motion from Grace to Deacon.

“Women can do a lot of amazing shit. Like not murder us for being dumbasses.” Ethan says, holding Ashina sleeping in his arms.

“That right there is the honest truth. I’m amazed mom didn’t murder us at one point.” Conrad chimes in as he rolls the cart with drinks around.

“Well, there’s six adults and three children, so we can split duties pretty easily.” I say, looking down at Grace.

“Not really.” Nic chimes in.

“How do you figure?” Arching a brow, I thought it was pretty cut and dry.

“You have about four to eight months of Grace feeding the little man. So she is on constant Deacon duty. We can rotate to give her breaks, but she’s his food source until he can eat regular food.” Nicolai single handedly destroyed my plans for rotating the baby duty.

“I work when I want to so I can relieve Grace the most often.” Barrett chimes in, smiling.

“That’s my perfect omega.” Conrad says as he presses his lips to Barrett’s forehead. We always knew Conrad leaned more towards loving men than women. His bond with Barrett is what saved us from going insane. His convincing us that Barrett was going to save us is honestly what kept us all alive.

We’ve treated Barrett like the love of our lives. Then came Gracie. Luckily, she is the true mate of the four of us. We didn’t have to destroy our family to keep the ones we love. She’s so close to Barrett. It’s beautiful when they nest together.

“Where did you go just now?” Ethan comes over and looks down at our mate and son.

“Thinking about how beautiful Barretts and Grace’s relationship is.” It brings a genuine smile to my face.

“We’re like sister-wives.” Barrett says and laughs. “That is until she wants to get laid then, well the dynamics change.” We watch Barrett climb into the nest and start scooping out the bloody and wet bedding. “Ugh, I need to go shopping again. Some stains just don’t come out.” He shakes his head, smiling.

“Are you happy or upset? I can’t tell.” I was never good at reading other emotions.

“Are you kidding me? Grace chose my room to give birth because she felt safe here. I am proud as all hell she chose my room.” He beams. “Even after Roxy tried to attack her here, she still felt safe enough to deliver our baby here. Words can’t express the joy I’m feeling.”

“But your bedding is destroyed?” He was just complaining about shopping. I really must be missing something here.

“It can be replaced. The birth of our family’s first baby was here. In my nest. In my room.” Shaking his head, he smiles broader. “It’s a memory that will live on forever. Who knows, this may turn into Gracie’s birthing room. What a shame I may have to move in with Con.” He bats his eyes at my brother and he laughs a little.

“I added a note to put a birthing nest in the new house.” Nicolai chimes in as he brings beers and passes them out. “Congratulations everyone! Here’s to many more happy and healthy births in the future.” We raise our beer bottles and quietly clink them together, celebrating. Gracie and Deacon somehow sleep through everything.