11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kalwin

Leaving Bren and Neale was not the easiest thing I'd ever had to do. It was second only to the first time I had to leave him, when he went home to America. I felt as if I was constantly having to leave Bren, and I hated it. I wanted him in a place where I never left him. Or at least, if I left him, I knew it was temporary and then I would return to him shortly. Was it too soon to move him into the castle permanently and to my suite or perhaps find us a home of our own? The only one of my brothers to actually find a home of their own had been Wendell and Augustus. Though the two of them did so much work in the city that they still maintained a suite at the palace as well.

I didn't care where I lived. I simply wanted to be with Bren and Neale constantly.

Iain and his husband caught me as soon as I returned to the palace. They pulled me into one of the sitting rooms—one of the over two hundred rooms we had in the palace.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We got the detailed report back regarding Bren and his son."

"My son," I said.

"Yes. It does seem that Bren was not lying about any of it. We were able to follow his movements from when he touched down in America to when he returned here."

"Jesus, how much research did you do on the man?"

Xavier shrugged easily, as if prying into people's personal lives was second nature to him. It had been, when he had been second-in-command of the royal guard. "I can get more if you'd like, but doing so would probably require me tapping into satellites and cameras that I don't necessarily have access to. Also, I would need more time."

"That's not necessary. I trust Bren." That didn't mean I didn't want to learn more about him, though.

"His pregnancy was smooth. The baby arrived a bit early, as you know. He attended every one of his doctor's appointments. He is still paying off his medical bills from the States."

"Medical bills?" I shook my head. "Damn that country. Let's get that debt wiped clean," I said, though I didn't know who I was issuing the order to exactly. It wasn't as if Iain and Xavier worked for me.

"I actually already called your people and had that taken care of. I knew it was something you'd want to do," Iain said.

I smiled at my twin. "Thank you," I said.

"Do you think that Bren is going to appreciate you doing this behind his back?"

"I didn't do it. You did."

He rolled his eyes.

"He probably won't like it, but I'm hoping that he will see the benefit of this situation soon."

"The doctor that delivered your son remembered the situation," Xavier continued.

"Oh, really?"

"I spoke with him on the phone," Iain said. The two of them filled in the story like an old married couple, completely in sync.

"You personally, not one of your people?"

"Me personally," Iain said. "I know how important this is to you, and I wanted the matter handled myself."

"Thank you," I said.

"He remembered your Bren because the man was totally alone. He doesn't often see that. The omega usually has a friend or even a distant relative with them during the birth, but Bren was there by himself."

My heart squeezed like an arrow through the chest.

"He remembered placing newborn Neale into Bren's arms. And Bren looked at him and said that his father would love him very much. The doctor thought that meant that Bren's alpha had passed away, but I think he meant you. His first thoughts after having his son, your son, were of you."

I both loved and hated that. Hated that he had been alone but loved that he knew me enough to know that I would have been there if I had known. We could not erase the past. It was done. We could only move forward.

Bren and my son would never be without me now.

"I'm going to tell our parents. I've invited Bren and Neale here for a while so we can get to know one another. If it's up to me, they'll be staying forever, but we'll start with a week."

"Our parents are currently in the Purple Room," Iain said, rolling his eyes. I knew how much he hated that room, though it was our father's favorite sitting room. "I told them to wait there until you came to speak with them."

"I'm starting to worry about how well you know me," I said with a teasing smirk.

"Like you didn't do for me exactly what I needed when I was in a situation."

It was true. When Iain had needed his space from the limelight, from his mate, I had given it to him. He had hidden out in the apartment I rented in the city that no one knew about. I stood, straightening my jacket. "I suppose then I'd better go speak with them."

The walk to the Purple Room was ungodly long because the palace was too large. My bodyguards followed close behind me; what they were protecting me from inside the house, I did not know. Soon we would be adding protection for my mate as well. He would need it even if he didn't quite know it yet.

I found both my parents sitting near a bookshelf—my alpha father reading on his tablet, while my omega father read a physical book. It was likely that inside the tablet my father was reading were reports that they needed to have for their day. I was so thankful for modern conveniences to deliver that information. I did recall having a physical book delivered to my alpha father each day with reports he needed to look over when I was a child.

"Kalwin, your brother said you needed to see us," Omega Father said before putting down his book.

"Yes, a situation has occurred that I need you to be aware of."

Both my fathers looked at me now. I did not wish for the news to linger or the conversation to drag out, so I simply blurted out the facts.

"About a year ago, I started a relationship with an omega barista who was here as a university exchange student from America. Before he returned to the United States, we broke things off and never exchanged numbers or any way to get a hold of one another. He did not even know my true name."

"He did not know you were a prince?" My alpha father almost leapt to his feet like I had committed some treasonous act. My omega father gripped his forearm.

"No, I was in disguise for the majority of our relationship."

"Oh dear. Slipping your bodyguards is something that I expected out of you as a child, not as an adult." The former king scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Right. Well, Bren has returned to Swena, and he brought along with him his four-month-old son."

Both my fathers' jaws dropped, a motion unbecoming of their royal status, but I would let it slide.

"This child is yours?" Alpha Father asked.

"Yes," I said.

"And you know this for a fact?" Omega Father added.

"I do. Bren is… I love him. He doesn't know this yet, but I have pined for him while he was away. I consider him returning to Swena with my son to be a blessing. I will be bringing him and my son to the castle soon to stay. We will have a dinner where all of you can meet."

I stated the facts, leaving no room for discussion. Given the opportunity, both of my fathers would meddle. They did so when they were the king and king consort; goddess knew how much time they had on their hands now.

"Cort is aware of all of this?"

I nodded. "I have been keeping him informed, and he approves of my plans."

They exchanged a glance, somehow communicating without ever speaking out loud.

"We look forward to meeting him. And your child. We would never deny one of our grandchildren. Surely you know that, Kalwin."

The air rushed out of my lungs. I hadn't let myself think those thoughts, but they had been on the edge of my subconscious. It was not ideal to have a child in this way when we were in the public eye, and I knew it would cause a scandal. The press would have a field day.

"Thank you," I said. "He will be here tomorrow evening. Cort is having his staff arrange for all of us to be at dinner."