EPILOGUE

Soren sat on my hips, slowly swaying up and down. It wasn't easy, given that his belly was so big and bulging, but that didn't mean his pregnancy cravings had diminished. Supported on the back of the chair, he slowly impaled himself on my swollen dick. His opening was wet, and I slid inside with ease. Soren's body was already getting ready to give birth, his pelvic muscles more relaxed. His eyes were fixed on my face, and I moved my gaze down his beautiful body, that remained slender despite the huge protrusion at his front.

On my way down, I paid some attention to his nipples, which had become even more prominent, swollen with milk—a thin, pearly trickle of which was now running down his chest as he rode me. I scooped up some of it and licked my finger, under his watchful gaze.

His cheeks were flushed, and his lips were parted. He sighed softly, protractedly, impaling himself on my stiff manhood.

"Yes… yes…" he murmured under his breath, closing his eyes and picking up the pace slightly. I admired him for still having the strength to have sex with me in such a position, despite his heavy belly. As often as he wanted to do it, I was fully on board! Watching his gorgeous body, which remained perfect even with the baby bump at his front, was the height of pleasure for me. And the pleasure was growing much too fast now…

"Oh, baby, you feel so good, so wet for me…" I moaned, putting my hands on his slim hips and encouraging him to speed up a bit more, bringing us closer to climax. Soren's thigh muscles worked beautifully, damp with sweat, rising and falling, pulling my dick in and out of his hole. This, of course, couldn't last too long; that's how it worked between us. We didn't have to worry about running out of orgasms. Five minutes, and we were at our peaks.

Soren tilted his head back, presenting me with his exquisite, long neck, on the sides of which ran a barbed wire tattoo. My fingers slid over his hardened nipples, squeezing them lightly, and a few more drops of milk dripped onto Soren's belly. Then he let out a deep moan, and his stiff dick bounced up and down, splashing semen all over my abdomen. I could feel his orgasm in my nervous system, we were so much in sync—so I quickly joined in, exploding inside Soren's hot insides, feeling a wave of his wetness flood me. Unexpectedly abundant wetness…?

"Wet, so wet…" I muttered, although a bit surprised by the squelching sounds. Soren did not look down, he had to tilt his head slightly to the side to see what was under his belly. A large amount of clear liquid was now spilling onto my crotch.

"Wait, what's this?"

"What?" I groaned, still dazed from the orgasm.

"This liquid… I think my water just broke!"

I stared in shock at the clear puddle that had now partially dripped down over my stomach and hips.

"How do you feel? Any contractions or anything like that?"

"Besides the orgasm, I didn't feel any, but that might've masked it." He slowly pulled himself off my dick, and as soon as his feet touched the floor, we saw another gush of fluid.

"Fuck! This is it!"

Soren's eyes met mine, filled with a mix of shock and overwhelming emotions.

"Yeah, this is it. I made it to the end of the pregnancy, Skye. We did it, we really did it," Soren whispered, his voice breaking a bit.

Seeing how vulnerable he was, I stood up and wrapped him in a tight hug, pressing his head against my chest. A soft sob escaped from him, and his arms clung tightly around me.

"After everything I've been through, it still doesn't feel completely real."

"But it is real, baby, very real. In a few hours, we're going to be parents!" I kissed the top of his head.

"What now? Fuck, what do we do? Should we go to the hospital?"

"Relax, I'll take care of everything. Sit down for now, take some deep breaths, and maybe start that contraction-timing app. I'll call Dr. Jim."

"And call Winter!" Soren shouted as I was walking away. "Let him know I won't be able to come to work on Monday…"

I burst out laughing. Soren had worked up to the very end—just yesterday, Friday, we were both at the office. The ByteBites project had been a huge success, and Soren got a solid raise and bonus. Now we were working on another big project. Since Soren's debt was already paid off, we put the bonus money toward a nice house we had our eyes on. Three months before the birth, we sealed the deal and bought it.

It was in a good, central location, about a half-hour drive from DevApp and around 40 minutes from my parents' house. We deliberately chose this distance so that my father could visit as often as he wanted. Dad was incredibly excited about the arrival of another grandchild, and impatiently awaited news of Soren's labor.

The other positive was that our new house was across the street from Nathaniel and his husband's mansion. Nathaniel's husband, Darien, gave birth to their son two weeks before Soren; they became friends and supported each other a lot during the pregnancy.

I made the call to Dr. Jim first, who asked us to come to the hospital where he was currently on duty. Dr. Jim had been overseeing Soren's entire pregnancy and was really rooting for us. He would sometimes text us just to check on how Soren was doing.

Next, I called Winter, who congratulated us and promised to be at the hospital as soon as the baby was born. His life, too, had changed a lot since the day he had decided to give his controversial relationship a chance, and there was a whole story around it, even involving a plane crash… But for now, Winter just assured me that Fay would cover for Soren while he was on paternity leave.

Finally, I called my dad, but to my surprise, my father picked up his phone.

"Hey, I'm calling to let you know that Soren's labor has started—his water just broke."

I heard my father gasp. "Well, congratulations! Hang in there, everything will be fine. I'll let your dad know right away—he's just taking a shower—"

"Okay, we're on our way to the hospital now. Dr. Jim is already there waiting for us—"

"Son," my father suddenly interrupted me.

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to say this for a while—I want to apologize for not being more supportive when you decided to pursue Soren. I should have trusted your intuition. I'm glad you didn't listen to me back then."

I froze for a moment, surprised by his words. Not many parents knew how to apologize, let alone admit to mistakes, so his honesty really caught me off guard.

"Thank you for saying that, and to be honest, I kind of understand. Things didn't look good at first, and they just… weren't! But something kept pulling me toward Soren, and I couldn't resist it, even if it defied logic".

"Now we know why. Next time, we should trust Fate a little more. It's been very generous to our family after all the difficulties. We're finally finding our way."

"Sometimes I think that Fate is giving us all this because of what happened in Dad's past. Maybe it's a way of making up for it, for our whole family…"

My father went silent, and there was a moment of quiet on the phone.

"Maybe that's true. Maybe Fate is trying to right a wrong. My only wish now is that one day we can reconnect with River."

This time, I was the one who fell silent. I didn't know what to say. River seemed like a lost cause, but I didn't want to voice that, especially not at this moment, when we were about to face such a huge event.

My father must have sensed that because he cleared his throat and said, "But let's not dwell on sad things. Today is going to be a beautiful day, son. I'll tell your dad everything, and we'll get there as soon as we can."

An hour later, Soren and I were in the delivery room.

Dr. Jim greeted us, genuinely excited to see us.

"The magic of True Mates works flawlessly—your due date is today, right on the dot! Everything has gone perfectly so far, and we're hoping the rest will go just as smoothly!"

The rest didn't go exactly as planned, though, because Soren had the build of a beta, meaning his narrow hips had to widen significantly for the birth. The hormones flooding his system loosened his pelvic ligaments, which wasn't exactly pleasant for Soren. But as my dad had suggested, I did my best to ease his pain by holding him and trying to take over some of it. The True Mate bond worked wonders in this case, helping Soren manage the pain without needing anesthesia or, for that matter, a C-section—a frequent complication for other betas due to their build, if they managed to get pregnant.

At exactly 9:00 pm, our first son—Silver—was born.

Soren was tired but not exhausted, cradling the tiny baby in his arms, gazing at the newborn with intense focus. Tears kept spilling down his cheeks, and finally, he whispered, "You know, I didn't have anyone. No family. It was just you… and now I have him, Silver! You're both my new family…"

"Maybe one day we'll have an even bigger family," I murmured suggestively. "You'll be surrounded by even more love!"

Soren scrunched his nose and gave me a feisty look. "How big are we talking? Because I'm thinking maybe two tops. I mean, I admire your dad—going through this eight times? But this was pretty challenging!"

Just as he said that, there was a knock at the door, and a nurse brought my parents into the room.

My dad, overwhelmed with emotion, rushed right to the bed.

"Congratulations, Soren! Congratulations to the new parents! What a wonderful day for our family!"

He walked over to Soren to take a look at little Silver, his face glowing with admiration and joy.

Over the last few months, my parents have gotten to know Soren better and have built a solid foundation for a future friendship. Given Soren's introverted personality, it wasn't easy or quick, but we were making progress! I believe this was largely due to my dad's attitude. He was always very tactful, never imposing, and always gave us space. With each passing month, Soren gradually opened up to him more and more, feeling free from any pressure. Now, I could confidently say that Soren trusted and genuinely liked my dad. In fact, it was Soren who suggested we buy a house closer to my parents' mansion. This was another great step in him warming up to being part of our big, and rather intense, family.

My father followed right behind Dad to the hospital room, but as soon as he saw me, he came over and gave me a warm hug.

"I'm so happy for you, son…"

Then, one by one, my brothers and their partners arrived, a real parade of congratulations and joy. Yes, there came even Storm, who changed a lot after he found his own, very cute True Mate. The river of people seemed endless, but Soren handled it well, even though he kept a protective hold on Silver the entire time, fiercely refusing to let anyone else hold him—except for my dad. He made an exception for him. Everyone else had to put on masks just to get close to our precious Silver.

But the biggest surprise came the next day.

Soren and I were lying on the hospital bed, with Silver nestled between us. We stared at his little face in mutual admiration, analyzing his cute features and predicting how he might look in the future. His little chin still had traces of milk from his recent feeding—a cute scene I couldn't stop swooning over. Soren seemed so happy—so deeply happy, like I'd never seen before. It was as if a light radiated through his skin. From time to time, single tears would fall down his cheeks, and he was sniffling a lot.

"You know… when I had those miscarriages, it was like my soul was being sucked out of me. People say it's irrational and stupid to be sad about it, but I was. It tore me apart. You… literally saved this child."

His gray eyes looked up at me, and they weren't stormy and cloudy anymore. They were silvery, like sunlight piercing through clouds.

I leaned in and kissed him gently. "We did it together, Soren."

Then he whispered, "Thanks for not letting me scare you away from my toxic ass…"

I smiled. "I always knew you weren't toxic, Soren. You were just… deeply hurt. But don't make me the hero of the day! We were meant to be from the start. All roads led to this, even through the darkest days."

My gaze drifted back to little Silver's cute face. His dark eyebrows were so perfect, just like his dad's.

I looked at fatherhood with hope and optimism—even more robust now, having witnessed such a huge change in Soren over the last few months of the pregnancy. Anyone who might have once seen him as toxic would realize that side of him was long gone.

Every month, I saw more of the person I believe he was before Anton broke his heart. Interestingly, the always distant and guarded Soren had become such an affectionate cuddler! He wanted to cuddle for hours, holding hands like teenagers on a first date. He started telling me he loved me more often, and with more confidence, as the months passed. His behavior at home shifted too—he wasn't leaving all the chores to me anymore. He stepped up, and we started splitting everything equally. Though, I still made sure to bring him breakfast in bed every morning!

At my suggestion, we went to a medical laboratory and took the ‘True Mates separation test', which confirmed everything without a doubt. When Soren saw the results, he cried, holding the certificate in his hands. It was like something inside him finally thawed—a layer of fear and insecurity disappeared forever. Once he stopped worrying that I would leave him, like Anton did, he completely transformed. He bloomed, becoming more open, cheerful, optimistic, and incredibly caring. It was like he was a whole new person. He knew he could trust his feelings with me and invest in us, realizing I wasn't going anywhere. We became a real team, and I believed that our future was going to be filled with love and harmony.

Just then, as I was deep in thought, there was an unexpected knock on the door. Since the visitors didn't immediately enter, I got up from the bed and walked over to open the hospital room door.

As I did, I was stunned to see Finn and Liam standing there holding hands, looking somewhat shy.

We hadn't had much contact with them over the last five months because Liam had changed jobs and was now at D-Project on the other side of town—closer to where Finn worked and lived. We knew they were together, of course, but not much beyond that, so I wasn't prepared for what my eyes were seeing.

"Hey, we don't want to disturb the new parents. We just wanted to congratulate you and wish you all the best," Finn said, almost apologetically.

It took me a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor because I noticed something I'd never expected. I looked down and focused on Liam's protruding belly.

"Uh… sure. Come in," I said, still sounding a bit dazed.

They quietly stepped into the room and looked over at Soren, whose expression mirrored mine perfectly. His mouth fell open as he stared at them, then his eyes locked on Liam's belly as well.

"Liam?" he whispered in amazement.

"Well, this is a surprise," I muttered.

Liam smiled shyly.

"Well. Yes. I came here because…" he took a deep breath, "…we were friends for so long, Soren. Despite everything that happened, I missed that—our friendship. What we had. And I wanted to congratulate you on the birth of your baby."

The moment he said it, Soren's face lit up with a broad smile, and he sat up, his eyes practically glued to Liam's face. I could feel, almost physically, the wave of happiness coursing through his body.

"Oh my gosh, Liam, thank you for coming, and… I missed you too!" he choked out, visibly moved, his eyes welling up.

"Well, now I can safely say that everything was really part of a bigger plan," I said, still rubbing my eyes in disbelief and continuing to glance at Liam's baby bump. The fact that he was even pregnant could only confirm one, miraculous thing, and that made me strangely happy.

Finn smiled and also offered his congratulations. I couldn't help but notice how good he looked, like Liam's peer—not thirty-four anymore! And he was super yoked, another sign of the miracle that had happened between them.

Liam turned his head toward me, his eyes filled with light and happiness.

"Hi, Skye. Congratulations on becoming a father."

"Thank you… I guess my congratulations to you on finding your perfect mate! And am I wrong? Parenthood congrats are on their way too!"

Liam blushed, nodding, and Finn rubbed his back softly.

"Yes, we've been very blessed."

Even though Soren wasn't still feeling 100% after the birth, he got up from the bed and walked over to Liam. Tears streamed down his cheeks, as they stood in front of each other for a while, looking deep into each other's eyes.

Suddenly, Soren reached out to Liam and wrapped him in a tight hug. They both sobbed for a moment, and I have to admit that my cheeks got a little wet too.

Not sure exactly why, but I felt incredibly grateful. I had the feeling that the last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.

"I thought," Soren said, his voice breaking, "that the birth of Silver was the best thing that ever happened to me, besides meeting Skye… but seeing you here today… it makes this moment even better. It's all complete now!"

Then he kissed Liam on the forehead.

"This is the most wonderful news: we both got our happy endings."

THE END

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If you're interested in learning more about what happened between Liam and Finn, feel free to read Unwanted . Technically a novella, it's quite lengthy and picks up exactly when Finn and Liam get into the car and drive off—no gaps, everything is smoothly connected!