Chapter Eighteen

I couldn't believe this was my life. It wasn't but a few months ago I was feeling overwhelmed by everything that had to be done. And worse than that, feeling like I was all alone and that I would stay all alone. And now? Now I had not one but two fabulous mates and an adorable little one in my life who never ceased to make me smile. The motel was pretty close to done, with only some single rooms that needed doing. Everything was falling into place. Either that, or I was about to wake up from the best dream of my life.

I'd been going too hard, too fast, for too long. It was starting to catch up with me. Lately I just could not stay awake past seven, and waking up in the morning was rough. If the middle of the day I was filled with buckets of energy, I wouldn't be as concerned. But the middle of the day was dragging, too. It was getting to be rough, each task taking longer than the last.

After breakfast, I headed to the room I was currently working on. One of the fun things about the motel had been that the rooms all had their own personality. This one was no exception, and its personality officially sucked. It was one of the least fun rooms to fix up in the entire place. In hind sight, I should've done it first instead of waiting so far into the project when both my energy and enthusiasm were slowing down.

Someone at some point looked at a sample book and thought it would be a great idea to put wallpaper in this room. What they didn't do was research how to do it well. Whatever glue they used had to have had, like, a fifty-two-bazillion-year warranty because that stuff was staying on. This wasn't my first room taking off paper in my lifetime, but it was by far the worst.

There were chemicals I could've used to help, but I didn't want to breathe all that in. It wasn't good for my wolf, and it wouldn't have been good for Thia. So instead, I had an old-fashioned steamer and a putty knife, and I went inch by inch up the wall and then down the wall, removing it all. It was tedious at best.

It was slow going—so slow I might see my next two birthdays before it was done. Fine, it wasn't that bad, but it sure felt like it. Gods, I was getting to the point of frustration and was barely a quarter of the way done.

I looked at my watch for the third time; it was only 10:30, but I needed to call it lunchtime. I wasn't even hungry. I just needed to sit down for a little bit, to not be reaching up over my head, steaming off wallpaper, wallpaper that had never been in style. I had to wonder what the theme of the room had been. I'd seen something pretty similar in pattern in some old Twilight Zone back when I was a kid. I only remembered it because it was one of my favorite episodes. I wasn't absolutely sure it was the same, though, because the episode was black and white, and this was full-on color. And by color, I mean burnt oranges and browns. It was like a 1970s couch spit up on the walls.

"When I come back, you need to be sure to just fall off the walls, okay?"

I padded my way into the kitchen and plopped into a chair, trying to think what to have for lunch—when it was finally lunchtime for real. I was not what anybody would call the best cook, although I could bake some pretty good cookies. Lunch though? That was where I shined. Sandwiches for the win.

A hand on my shoulder startled me, and my eyes snapped open.

"You fell asleep, love. Why don't you just go to bed?" It was Ripley. He was just too sweet.

But also, when did I fall asleep?

"No, no, no. I gotta get back to work. It's my responsibility. What time is it?" I was so disoriented.

"Noon and nope, that's the kind of talk we're not having in here. It is not your responsibility. It's our responsibility. Go take a nap and get the rest your body obviously needs. You were so tired you fell asleep in the worst chair ever."

He wasn't wrong.

I walked into his arms and accepted his hug, and he scented me once, twice, three times. "Hmm," he said.

Zeus came in. "I was just checking to see what time people were having lunch. Thia asked if it was almost time."

"Just the person I want to see," Ripley mumbled.

"Oh, did you need help with something?"

"Guys, I'll let you two talk and take a shower to wake up. I know the wallpaper removal kicked my butt, but I feel more energetic now." Sort of, kind of.

They ignored me. Ripley indicated that Zeus should scent me, which he did. It was weird having one person asking another to smell me, but these were my mates, so maybe it was normal-ish?

Ripley looked at Zeus. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep." He pressed his forehead against mine. "Pretty sure you're tired not because you're overdoing it but because you're growing a baby."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah." Ripley took both my hands in his. "I scented it to be sure. We're going to be dads."

"Oh." I wasn't sure how to respond. "That's good, right?"

We hadn't discussed having children, but this felt like amazing news. Best news ever, even.

"It is." Zeus hugged me, and Ripley hugged me from the other side, making me the center filling of a mate sandwich. "The best news ever."

"We're going to be dads." Ripley kissed my cheek.

We were going to be dads. Wow. Just wow.