25. A New Beginning

25

A NEW BEGINNING

"I have a surprise for you," Fang said when he came down the stairs, five months into Wren's pregnancy.

Wren blinked and stared at him. "What kind of surprise?"

"It's upstairs." Fang's lips curved into a delighted smile; he stopped in front of Wren's couch and puffed out his chest.

There were paint splatters on his old shirt and jeans. "You were painting?"

"C'mon, I'll show you."

Wren was heavily pregnant by this point. It was difficult to stand up and walk anywhere; most days, he carried a bottle with him so he didn't have to make the whole trip to the bathroom for a little bit of pee.

"Dada! Dada!" Steffie reached for them in her playpen, stomping her feet.

"Aww, Steffie." Fang grinned and scooped her up, swinging her into the air so she squealed. "Timmy Tim! Get over here. I've got a job for you."

The shopping cart skidded around the corner and raced toward them, stopping with a few inches to spare. It waved its flap in greeting.

"Hold Steffie. We're all going upstairs," Fang said. He deposited Steffie in its cargo basket. "Steffie, sit. No standing or climbing until I say you can."

Steffie nodded, and Wren grinned. She was learning everything so quickly these days.

Fang scooped Wren off the couch. Then the four of them made their way to the stairs, where Fang had installed a cart lift.

Timmy Tim rolled onto the flat metal square and nudged a large button mounted on the wall. The cart lift made loud bleeping sounds to warn everyone of its intentions. Then it was a lot of waiting: Fang waited for the cart lift to take Timmy and Steffie all the way to the top of the stairs, before joining them there.

"I'm glad we managed to train Timmy so it wouldn't roll off the cart lift," Wren said.

"One of the greatest things we've done," Fang agreed.

He carried Wren to the room they'd designated as the nursery, and Wren smelled the fresh paint in there.

"You just painted that not too long ago," Wren blurted.

"And you didn't like that shade of green." Fang laughed. "I repainted it."

"You didn't have to—"

Fang covered Wren's eyes and led him into the room. Then he pulled his hand away, and Wren's mouth dropped at the prettiest shade of egg-yellow that covered the walls.

"Oh," he said softly.

Fang was holding still, his eyes wide and waiting.

"I love it," Wren said truthfully. "Thank you."

"That's all I needed to know, that you like it," Fang growled. "You've been carrying our pup all this time. Your legs hurt now, and you feel like a beached whale. I just wanted to help in any way I can."

"You already are!"

"You didn't say I can't do more." Fang grinned triumphantly, all lit up with pride, and the words just—

Fell out of Wren's mouth.

"I love you."

Fang blinked, sucking in a quick breath. And his smile grew even warmer. "Love you too, Birdie. I must've been in love with you ever since we met. You're so fucking brave and selfless. So protective."

Wren's heart felt too small to contain everything he felt. He swallowed a few times, just replaying those words in his head. Fang loves me.

He'd known it, after all these months of Fang rubbing his ankles and his back, cooking him food and snuggling up with him on the couch.

"I just didn't want to say it too soon," Wren blurted. "I realized it after that big fight where I unlocked my magic, and we'd only spent four days with each other by that point. And I was... convincing myself that I could deserve you."

Fang's gaze turned warm. "Have you convinced yourself yet?"

Wren touched his amethyst pendant. "This helped. And I think... at some point, when things are not crazy, maybe I'll go to school for something. Then I'll work part time and have a job and everything."

Fang huffed. "You know money's not an issue, right?"

"Yeah. I just want you to know that I'm not in this for your money."

Fang smiled warmly at him. "I was waiting until you were ready to talk about all this."

"You literally moved me into your life without talking about it!"

At that, Fang shrugged. "We'll talk if we need to. But this felt like one of those things where we were on the same page from the start."

He was right. Wren smiled, almost shyly, and Fang leaned in to kiss him sweetly on the lips.

"Oh, what joy! Oh, how majestic!" Hector leaped into the nursery and flung bits of confetti everywhere. "You finally said it!"

Fang narrowed his eyes. "We could've said it when you weren't around."

Hector wriggled his eyebrows. "I have ways of knowing."

"I don't want to know," Fang said dryly.

Before Wren could say anything, his belly clenched in a contraction. He hissed and looked down, feeling a sudden wetness.

"I think my water broke."

Fang stiffened, his eyes going wide. Wren had to grab his arm to stop him from charging into their labor preparations.

"I think we have some time," Wren said.

"Shall I call Talia and Eric?" Hector asked.

"Yes," Fang said.

Hector pulled out his phone. "I will return with entertainment."

Then he slipped out of the nursery, leaving Fang and Wren staring at each other.

"I'll put all the furniture back in here," Fang said, looking around wildly.

"There's no rush. We'll have both cribs in our bedroom, anyway," Wren pointed out.

"I'll start ordering meals."

Wren smiled fondly at his alpha, rubbing his arm. "Fang. I think it's going to be okay. We've been caring for Steffie for months."

"But I've never held a newborn pup!"

"You'll be a great dad," Wren said.

They stared at each other. And Fang laughed. "Since when did you become the person who comforted me? "

"That's what mates are for, right?" Wren blushed. "I mean, I know we aren't officially mates yet—"

"Will you be mates with me?" Fang growled, his gaze turning intense. "From this point forward, until the ends of our lives?"

Wren's breath snagged in his throat. "Yes. I can't imagine a life without you."

Fang's eyes flashed gold; he kissed Wren fervently, dragging his palms against Wren's throat. "I'm going to mark you now. All right?"

Wren's insides felt like they were floating. "Yes, please."

Fang held Wren steady. He nosed carefully against Wren's throat, his lips settling on the crook of his neck. Then his teeth turned sharp, and he bit down hard, breaking skin.

Pain and pleasure twisted through Wren's body. Fang's bonding bite tingled. Ever so slowly, he withdrew his teeth, licking at the bite to ease its aching.

"Mine forever," Fang growled, looking into Wren's eyes. "Now you'll bite me."

"Where?"

Fang offered his neck. Coming from a wolf, that was... humbling. Because that was one of the most vulnerable parts of his body. Wren shivered, leaning in, kissing down Fang's throat. And he mimicked his alpha, sinking his teeth into Fang, breaking his skin.

When he pulled back, blood swelled along Fang's skin, leaving the beginnings of Wren's teeth marks—his bonding mark.

Fang swore. "I'm yours."

Wren blinked back the tears that suddenly welled up in his eyes. "Thank you for loving me."

"Thank you for being by my side," Fang said roughly, kissing Wren again.

He brought Wren to their bedroom, where they'd set aside some bedding for the birth. Fang helped Wren out of his clothes. Soon enough, Fang's parents were there, Eric making sure everything was going according to plan.

"It might take a while," Eric said, giving Fang a hard look. "Don't rush him."

"I won't," Fang muttered.

Talia took Steffie and Timmy Tim downstairs. Fang stayed with Wren, wrapped around him, and Eric checked on them every so often.

When Eric left the room, Wren peeked at Fang. "How, um. How did your mom get your dad pregnant?"

Then he winced. Had Fang's parents heard that?

Fang winced too, then huffed. "Female alpha wolves aren't too different from male wolves. They—and I'm talking about alpha wolves in general, not just my mom —they have cocks."

"Are they as big?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Wren flushed. "That's all I needed to know."

Fang's parents brought Steffie in every so often to visit them. The rest of the time, Wren cuddled with Fang, listening to Fang tell stories about his childhood.

"What about the strawberry sauce in your underwear?" Wren blurted.

Fang sighed. "I was camping."

Wren froze. "That sounds... ominous."

"I was fifteen and camping with my parents. It was the last day of our trip, and we'd had the worst luck. Storm, flooding, mud, you name it. Anyway, we'd found high ground to pitch our tents, but to get there, we had to drive our Jeep through a muddy stream. The water seeped in and went up over our thighs—my duffel had been on the floor. So... I had one miraculous pair of clean underwear left; it was either I wear the grimy ones I had on, grab the ones soaked in floodwater, or put on the clean pair."

"Except something happened to the clean pair," Wren breathed.

Fang cringed. "There weren't many spots left at the campsite that weren't muddy. It was still raining, and I was going to go help with breakfast when I put my foot down in the wrong place, and slipped. Got my sleep pants and my underwear covered in mud. I went back to my tent to grab the new pair, except my dad started freaking out.

"I ran back out with the clean pair, only to discover that he was fighting with a raccoon over the bottle of strawberry sauce. Mom was just standing to one side, snickering to herself. She didn't help him! And Birdie, I swear to you that raccoon leaped at my dad and yanked the bottle out of his hands. My dad grabbed it back—only he grabbed it really hard, and the lid had fallen off somehow. And half the bottle squirted out in my direction, all over my last pair of clean underwear."

Wren stared, his mouth hanging open. "You... put it on?"

Fang sighed. "Yeah. I was so tired of smelling like river mud that I put on the boxer-briefs covered in strawberry sauce."

"You didn't just... go commando?"

"There were other people camping around us. It was easier just to wear... something. Then the campers started calling me Strawberry Boy."

Hector's cackling could be heard loud and clear, even though the bedroom door was shut.

"I'm sorry," Wren said, meaning it. "I think the Strawberry Boy nickname is adorable, though."

Fang shook his head, his mouth twitching.

"Strawberry Fang," Wren murmured to himself.

Fang gave him a look. "Don't you start."

"I can't?" Wren gave him the pleading stare that seemed to always work.

"Fine," Fang said.

"Strawberry Fang," Wren whispered, grinning.

Fang sighed and hugged Wren closer. "Just you. You're allowed, but no one else is. Shut up, Hector." Fang tilted his head as though he was listening. Then he grimaced and reached under his pillow. "What the hell?"

Paper crinkled. When Fang withdrew his hand, he brought with it a folded sheet.

"Do I want to know?" Wren asked.

"Probably not." But Fang unfolded it anyway.

Printed in large, bold letters across the middle of the page were a few lines:

Your beauty is like the stretch of a butthole as it gives birth to a baby. It is all-encompassing, all-giving, and you can fit as many love rods in there as you want.

"Who on Earth thought anyone would fall for that line?" Fang spluttered.

Wren cringed all over, gritting his teeth when the next contraction struck him. Fang rubbed his back and dropped kisses all over his face. "I think," Wren gasped when he could speak again. "I think those lines help. Because we're united in our mutual hate of it."

"I guess," Fang muttered, scrunching up the paper and flinging it across the room.

He kissed and licked his new bonding mark, rubbing Wren's back as his contractions grew more frequent.

"Is there anything more I can do?" Fang asked anxiously, when Wren was a panting, sweaty mess against the pillows.

"Not really," Wren panted. He'd already written some spells for numbing pain, but he couldn't use magic to get a baby out faster.

"Push, Wren," Eric said.

Wren pushed. Everything hurt.

"Push," Fang said.

Wren wanted to grab him and shake him a little bit. "I'm trying my best!"

Fang immediately looked contrite, holding Wren's hand and squeezing closer. Wren clung onto Fang's presence, his concern, and he pushed and pushed and pushed, until finally their pup was out of him. He flopped back against the pillows, feeling completely wrung out.

"Birdie," Fang rasped, kissing all over his face. "You did it. I'm so damn proud of you."

Wren tipped his face into the kisses. Fang looked tired too, and it felt so good when he pulled Wren into his arms.

Eric came closer, their newborn pink and mostly cleaned off. He gently set the baby on Wren's chest. "Congrats, you two. It's a boy."

Wren sucked in a slow breath, almost afraid to touch. Their child looked so much younger and more fragile than Steffie had been at five months old. But he was beautiful, too, a little miracle on Wren's chest.

Wren carefully cradled their son, looking up at Fang.

"Thompson," Fang murmured. "After your dad."

Wren choked up. "Oh."

Fang grinned. "You said I could pick any name. Do you like it?"

Wren nodded and tried to find his words. In the end, he managed a few. "Hey, Thompson. We're your dads and we're so happy to welcome you into our family. There's so much to say to you, but right now I think I'm overwhelmed."

"Aww, Birdie." Fang kissed him on the mouth. "You don't have to say it all right now, either." Then he covered Thompson's back with his large hand, and gently kissed the top of his head. "Welcome to the family, kiddo. We love you."

Fang's gaze was full of warmth. Wren settled into his side and let his alpha take his weight.

Soon, Thompson would start crawling and turning into a pup, and becoming a handful. Him and Steffie both. But that was okay. With Fang by his side, Wren felt as though he could do anything. They would fill their family with love, standing hand in hand as they watched their children grow.

Everything was peaceful, and everything was good.