31. New Home

Our new home was beautiful. It was a perfect blend of our different tastes, filled with lots of natural light, letting the trees behind our house feel like they were inside with us. Although inside was warm and outside the branches had a fine dusting of snow thanks to the wintry weather.

In truth, the house was very simple and likely rather plain compared to the other houses in the neighborhood owned by our Alpha and his family and Roan with his. It had been easy to ask for more rooms to be added after we had been told to expect more children, but it was not a big home. We had all we needed and nothing extra.

Though we had not discussed it, I knew Axel wanted as many children as the goddess decided we could handle. Even with his prolonged morning sickness, he enjoyed carrying our child, seeing his body grow and change. He reveled in each new thing, documenting it in a baby book for our daughter to enjoy when she was older.

Once he was out for the day, checking on his new office and learning about his new job in greater detail, I began the task of organizing our home to our mutual tastes.

Since Axel was keen to sleep in the new house to allow our scents to soak into it before he gave birth, I worked on the bedroom first. The elves had grown many plants, some native to Abrocaelum, which thrived in Sweetwater. I placed them around the room on the new wooden furniture I had commissioned. They brought the outdoors inside and purified the air. I knew Axel liked them and hoped to see them flower in the spring.

The bed was a custom made thing due to my size, with bedding also custom made. It was all natural fibers, and because shifters ran hot, we did not require many blankets, though we had a lot of them. Axel would need them when it came time to create his birthing nest. I changed the sheets since the others were dirty after our… activities. Happy our bed was once again clean and comfortable, I set about putting our clothes into the dresser and closet.

Pictures and trinkets were last, giving our room a truly personal feel.

Content with one room fully unpacked, I quickly did the bathroom and then the kitchen.

I was unpacking dishes to put through the dishwasher when Chase arrived.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” I asked.

“Nah, it’s lunchtime. I was going to have it with Axel, but thought you might like some help and company.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you. I neglected to get some food.”

“Got you covered.” Chase held up a box. “Winter ordered some staples in for you and made us some sandwiches. He even put in his homemade chips.”

“Great. Could you put the cans and such in the pantry?”

“Sure.”

With Chase helping, we got the kitchen quickly organized. Before putting them away in the cabinets, we washed and dried all the dishes and pots.

“Why are you doing all this without Axel?” Chase asked thoughtfully as he leaned against the counter, eating chips.

I thought for a moment about how to answer. “He deserves to come home and really feel at home. He is doing so much just growing our baby. As his alpha, I feel it is my job to ensure he has a clean and comfortable home.”

“Huh. I know plenty of alphas who wouldn’t see this as their job.”

“I plan on being a different breed of alpha. My mating with Axel is a partnership, which is why he is working right now, benefitting our pack, because I understand his need for independence. Money is no issue for either of us. He likes to be needed.”

“The Luna did good work with you and Kade, I swear. I bet if I’d wanted a mate, she would have given me someone great.”

“Teagan is just waiting for you to decide—“

Chase’s laughter cut me off. “Nah, we would be a wreck. Teagan needs someone more dominant than me. She’s so beautiful and strong. Smart, too. She would walk all over me, which she thinks she would like, but she’d get bored in a heartbeat.”

Something told me Chase understood my friend’s needs better than I did. “We’ll just have to find her a powerful alpha.”

We ate together in the kitchen before Chase helped me situate the living room in a better way, so my reading corner made the best of the fading winter light. There wasn’t a TV since neither of us had the time, nor the inclination for one. Something Chase had very strong feelings about.

“I can’t believe you don’t have a TV!”

“You can have one in your room.”

“My room?”

“Yes, it is over here.” I led him to the addition to our two-story home.

On the ground floor, on the other side of the utility room, was a small apartment. It had a spare bedroom above it and its own staircase, which led to the upper floor. I had asked about the need for it. Axel explained it was another method of security. Chase had his own exit and his bedroom was next to the staircase, so he could guard the children.

Axel never had to ask about adding the apartment for Chase. We both did not want him remaining in the mansion, which was basically a bunk-house for single alphas now. The offices and a large dining hall remained there, but the important people to the pack lived elsewhere. Deke even had his own small home.

Chase belonged with us, his family. If, at any time, he wanted a house of his own, we would help him get settled.

His eyes went round with surprise when he saw the room. He pushed back any other deeper emotions he was feeling.

“You didn’t have to do this for me. I was okay where I was,” he said quietly.

“You’re family, Chase. You belong with us. I want to do the baby’s room with Axel, but I’d like to help you settle in, if you would like that?”

“I’d love that, thank you.”

Helping Chase really did not take that long. A couple of his enforcers carried his bed to the house, and he did not have much in the way of belongings. Somehow, part of what he owned was already at our house.

He hugged me briefly after we unpacked the last box, then returned to work just in time for Axel to come home.

“The house looks great.” Though he had a smile on his face, it was stiff.

“I did not do the baby’s room. Just all the others.”

“Why?”

“I thought it was something we should do together.”

“The rest of the house wasn’t?” I got the feeling he was genuinely curious about my reasoning.

“Not really. I know how you like things ordered. It was very dull unpacking rooms such as the kitchen and bathrooms. If you do not like where I placed things, we can change them. I mainly did the heavy lifting for you. I didn’t want to have you tire yourself out. Plus Chase helped.”

“He did?”

“Yes. I showed him his apartment. Should I not have done that?” I worried I had overstepped.

Axel smiled wide, relaxing fully. “No, I’m glad it was you. Sounds stupid, but he’d believe you wanted him here over me. If I’d told him he’d have said I wasn’t obligated, with you, well, I think he would’ve figured out he was a part of our family.”

“So I did well?”

“You did good. Thank you for not doing the baby’s room. I wanted to do that together.”

I washed up quickly so we could visit with Roan and his family. Kanako was a little beauty and had already wrapped everyone around her little finger. Her sister, Jewel, was very protective of her, so we did not get to hold her for long.

“Where’s Larken?” Axel asked as we were leaving, noticing boxes by the door.

“Um… he’s moved into one of the cabins temporarily. We’ve got a new guard, Ingal.” Hiroshi was unusually close-lipped over the situation.

“An elf is moving in?” Axel asked, surprised. Raising an eyebrow at him, he spluttered, “obviously there’s nothing wrong with living with an elf. I’ve got one of my own!”

Hiroshi laughed, clearly relieved we were no longer talking about Larken. “Yeah, Ingal is fascinated with shifters. He’s keen to get his own animal form. I guess he thought if he became part of our family it might unlock it.”

“Since we do not fully know the wishes of The Luna, we can only hope he is right. Congratulations on the new arrivals to your family. Health and happiness to you all.”

“And you!”

We returned to our home where I began dinner. “I’m not so hungry for food right now,” Axel said, grinning as he tried to climb onto the counter.

I gave up on the food preparation and hoisted him up, running my hands up his thighs. “Hmm, what are you hungry for, my mate?”

“You, inside me, knotting me. We have to get our scents everywhere. Before Chase comes home.”

I nosed a path up his neck and along his jaw, pressing the gentlest kiss on his lips. “Well, in that case.”

He wriggled out of his pants and flung his t-shirt on the floor. Just the sight of my naked mate had me hard and ready for him.

“Right here?” I asked as I stripped.

“Yeah, right here, right now.” I could see slick forming a little puddle under him. His cock was full and leaking against his stomach.

Without needing much more urging, I lined up and thrust in.

“It reeks of sex in here. I hope you cleaned the counters. Don’t tell me where you did it, just let me pretend it was on the floor.”

“As if I would have sex with your brother on the kitchen floor. Just the living room floor,” I teased.

“Dude. No.”

Axel was resting against me. After our first round, I fed him a snack and then he’d wanted more. The rug on the living room floor was very soft. Axel had liked it against his bare skin.

“Can we do the baby’s room now?” Axel asked sleepily as he roused against my shoulder.

“You are not having sex in my niece’s bedroom!” Chase looked horrified.

“What? No, I mean get it unpacked.” Axel frowned at his brother. “Why are you talking about sex?”

“Y’know what? I think we should just focus on the baby’s room. You go do that. I’ll cook.”

“Chase can cook?” I asked Axel.

“He’s pretty decent when he takes the time. Consider yourself honored.”

We left Chase to cook and took the stairs up to the baby’s room. She would not sleep in there for a few months, but it helped to have somewhere for all the clothes and stuffed animals people had been sending for her.

I let Axel tell me where to place the bigger items and carried boxes over to where he needed them while he unpacked them, folding the contents neatly into drawers.

“Could you put up the shade? She can sleep in here for nap time, help her get used to it.”

“Of course. Where would you like the rocking chair?”

One of the elves had worked with one of the ogres from the factory to carve a beautiful rocking chair and footstool.

“In the corner there, please.” He observed the placement, then looked around thoughtfully. “Do you think I should try nursing, like Hiroshi and Tate?”

The question came from nowhere, but I knew my answer. “I think only you can decide what you want to do with your body. Kade did not and all of his babies are perfectly healthy. As long as our daughter is fed, I do not mind how that happens.”

“I think I’d like to try it.” Axel tilted his head as he explained. “Get the full omega experience. There’s room for a playpen at work so I can take her with me. Plus, there’s the community center with the other babies, I think it would be good to have that reason to slow down and just… be with her.”

“Then that is what you should do. Can you also express it so I can have some daddy-daughter time?”

He smiled. “Sure. You’re going to make such a good dad. I’m glad it was you I got to do this with.”

As was I.