Chapter 15

Haze

A few days later

Sometimes it felt like the minute we got on top of things, some new challenge had to present itself. I felt like I was rolling with the punches, but Riley… We were all sitting outside on our veranda with Lily and her pack when the next hit came.

“Will my brothers look like that?” Evie peered at my sons, then wrinkled her nose in such blatant disgust I had to laugh.

“All babies look like this when they are first born. Even you, kiddo.”

“No, I wasn’t that ugly.” She shook her head sharply, then turned to her mother. “Mum, was I an ugly baby?”

“You were beautiful.” I could see Lily shooting her daughter meaningful looks, but we’d become accustomed to Evie’s bluntness. “And so are the boys.”

“Just like your brothers will be.” Ben, her father, appeared and put his hands on her shoulders. “They just look a lot different to kids.”

“Did you want a cuddle?” I asked, moving my arm even though I didn’t want to. The wolf was near feral at the idea of anyone touching our child, but I knew he’d need all the love the world could give him.

“Um…sure.” It was a funny sight, seeing the big, buff alpha nervously approach. He picked up my son like someone might a live bomb, but he supported the baby’s head and settled him into the crook of his arm. “Need to get some practise in if we’re having more kids.”

“Did you hold me like that?”

There was something sharp, keen about Evie’s gaze as she stared at her father.

“No, love.” His free hand went to her hair, giving it a gentle ruffle. “But I wish I had.” He tucked her into his side. “I just need extra cuddles now to make up for it.”

Evie went willingly, snuggling into her father as she stared at my son.

“Will you still want cuddles when the babies are born?” Her voice was small as she scanned the lot of us. “There’s so many of them. You’ll have your hands full.”

“Never too full for you, pumpkin spice.” Damon, another of Evie’s father, scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. “You’re our best girl. Well, along with your mother. There ain’t no cuddles like Evie cuddles.” He settled her on his hip despite the girl being too big for that, but she clung on, pressing her head into her father’s neck. “But you’re right. We will have a lot of babies, so maybe you could help hold them. Babies like being held a lot.”

“Damon…”

Lily’s eyes went from Evie to my son and back again, mentally trying to warn him off suggesting the girl hold my child, but I knew. This little girl was all alpha. She’d never hurt a baby, and when Damon set her down, I asked her if she’d like to hold him. Damon, Ben, and I clustered in close, supervising the entire process, making sure she supported the baby’s head and everything, her sharp mind sucking in every instruction. I watched her blink when we stepped backwards then look up at her dads.

“I think I’d like to be a big sister. Can you have the babies soon?”

“We’ll find out in a few weeks, love.” Lily swept in and took my child from her daughter, settling him against her shoulder and patting his back with ease. “But…”

She had more to say, but was cut off as a car rolled up the driveway. That shouldn’t have been cause for alarm. Plenty of people had come by to congratulate us, to bring food or supplies or advice, or just to spend time. I’d worried about it being a strain on Riley, but she made clear something I hadn’t realised. We might’ve given up a community in Bordertown, but we had another right here. We might not all live in the same place, but we were joined by bonds of affection not geography.

Something I was going to need to make clear to my family as my parents rolled up our driveway in our car. The dads stepped out first, not moving forward and stopping Mum from doing so when she got out. They knew what was happening. We might not be in the old place or the alpha residence, but this was still our turf and no one was more protective than a pack of alphas with newborns. I glanced sideways as Fen, Colt, all of my brothers, stepped forward, ready to throw down if needed, but instead Riley pushed past us.

She just kept patting our son on his back as she stepped down from the deck and onto the grass below. Every step she took was shadowed by us as we massed behind her. Mum’s face screwed up the minute she saw the babies, her hand fluttering as she dashed away some tears.

“I’m sorry.” OK, a strong opening because I hadn’t expected to hear my mother say that at all. “Riley, I am so, so sorry. I thought…” A sharp look from the dads stopped her there. “I don’t know what I thought. I was so excited about the babies and the grotto, the baby shower, that was what we did for my pregnancy. I liked having the whole community gathering around us, so…” Mum’s hands locked together to stop them from moving constantly. “So I thought you might like the same.”

“It’s OK.” My mate was so damn strong it took my breath away sometimes. “I ended up getting exactly what I needed.” Riley’s eyes met mine. “I needed to know how I wanted my pregnancy to go, to take back some self-determination when it felt like it was just happening to me. The grotto was beautiful, and you put in a lot of effort for the baby shower. I’m sorry we couldn’t stick around.”

Malcolm snorted.

“Pretty sure having your babies is a legitimate excuse to leave a shower, love.”

“But I know this. You showed me the way each Vanguard pack was born, raised.” Mum straightened up then, hope beginning to rise. “Thank you for showing me your traditions. I’m glad you had an experience that made you feel supported.”

Where the hell was this going? I glanced at my brothers and saw similar looks of concern on their faces.

“But we aren’t the Vanguard pack. We’re the Taylor’s, and our place is here.”

Fathers didn’t play as important a role in a birth, but it wasn’t until she said those words that I realised how much I needed to hear them. Going back to Bordertown felt like a regression. We all knew the politics, the bullshit that reigned there. It worked for a lot of alphas, but not us. Riley had given us more than her heart and our children, but a purpose. I liked to think that the first alphas were caretakers, protectors, and Bordertown didn’t need that from us. We might not particularly like the Williams, but they would keep the town ticking along just fine. Our work here, the kids we helped, that to me felt like a true alphas’ calling.

“Are you accepting new members?” I blinked as I stared at my fathers, trying to work out what the hell that meant, but John just smiled. “I mean, you’ve made it sound pretty damn good, living in the city.” I snorted because we had a block out in the hills, and almost no beta would describe this as urban living. “Your mother is going spare in Bordertown.” He put an arm around her and gave her a hug. “Can’t keep her nose out of Omega Williams’ business.”

“It’s because she is making some silly decisions…” Mum huffed until everyone around her chuckled. She flushed bright red, her eyes falling to the ground. “I’m meddling, just like your grandmother used to do to me when you boys were young. God, I’ve become just as bad.” Her fingers raked over her face. “She was such a pushy old bat…” Her hands fell away. “And I’m becoming one too.”

“Because you're smart, driven, and want the best for everyone.” Where the hell had that come from? I stared at Riley as she smiled down at my mother. “We might not agree on how that’s done, but I think we want the same things.” Our son let out a big burp and then a little grunt as she brought him back down and then held him out to my parents. “Maybe if we started working together, we might be able to achieve something amazing.”

“Can I…?” Mum was asking for more than just to hold our son, but Riley nodded. I watched my mother take him with my heart in my throat, not able to breathe until she had him settled against her chest. “Oh, he’s beautiful. Just beautiful.” She stared past Riley to the rest of us. “All of them are.”

“And they need grandparents.” Who said that? Shit, apparently me, because everyone was staring my way. “Ones that respect the parents’ wishes and works with them, rather than trying to dictate how things need to go. Ones that don’t try to stuff them into predetermined roles.”

“You’ll have your work cut out for you holding your tongue,” one of the dads said to Mum. “Reckon you can do that, El?”

“That’s what you need?” I loved my mother, but I couldn’t remember the last time she’d asked me a question like that. “If that’s it, then I’ll make it happen. I’ll keep my mouth shut and my heart open.”

“There will be slip ups.” My dads held my gaze and it felt like something was happening here. “It’s hard from going from being the ruling pack to a support position, but…” I hung on their every word, needing to hear it. “There’s always a transfer of power to the younger generations and now… Now it’s your turn to lead.”

Plans were made, ideas tossed around about what the parents could do, as they came to sit down on the veranda. They were introduced to Lily and her pack, my dads talking with her guys because they’d met them at different alpha meetings over the years. We didn’t commit to anything right now, not yet, and there was no need to, not when my son was returned to me, the weight of his body grounding me as he lay sleeping on my chest. Right now there was the breeze on my face and the smoky smell of the barbeque to enjoy and then. My pack, my mate, my babies, my friends and family. Tomorrow more problems might arise, but right now this was enough.