Cool hands slide into Nix’s hair, and when he finally looks up, Gideon kisses him deeply. Nix lets himself get lost for a few moments and whines when his alpha pulls away.
“I love you, Gideon.”
He’s compelled to say it, and he’s rewarded with a genuine smile.
“I know,” Gideon says with a smile, and Nix has to pinch his butt in retaliation.
Gideon’s smile fades, suddenly becomes serious.
“Nix, my love, my mate—I love you, too.”
“I should say so. That’s more like it.” They stand just the two of them until the last of the moon fades from the sky, the sun rises fully, and Finn appears in the doorway, glasses in place and coffee already in hand.
Gideon squeezes his butt as he slips past him, after a last kiss on Nix’s forehead.
Finn comes out and offers Nix a sip, which he declines this time. The baby isn’t supposed to have coffee, right? He doesn’t bring it up because his Bean is the last thing he wants anyone thinking about today. Instead, he lifts Finn’s arm and slides underneath.
“Morning, Finnie,” he says finally.
Since they’d bonded, Nix had always greeted his mate with a mental inquiry, and Finn jerks at the question being suddenly asked out loud.
“Morning, Nix. You okay today?” He leans in and kisses Nix’s forehead, stopping to sniff his head and growling when he can’t smell him.
“Sorry, Finn. I just…I’m not giving him the satisfaction, and I need to be sure it’s locked down sooner than later.”
“I know. It’s okay.” It isn’t really, but it’s his way of saying he understands.
“I love you, Dr. Merritt,” Nix says and licks his cheek before he takes off toward the kitchen, where he smells bacon.
“Ew! Why? You are such a shit.” Finn chases him and catches him around the waist, swinging him around. “I love you, too,” he whispers into his ear before he squeezes him tight.
A low growl interrupts them, and Nix already knows it’s got to be Rowan.
Finn had said biological parents, especially alphas, often had a harder time controlling their territorial instincts.
Nix can empathize with that out-of-control feeling. It hasn’t been long since he felt those same urges around his new pack.
Rowan is sitting at the table, a hot cup of coffee in front of him, but he’s gripping the table and breathing deeply. His eyes are locked on them, and Finn freezes.
“It’s okay, Finn,” Nix whispers and pats his hand.
“You say that, but…” Finn shakes his head and heads into the kitchen to help Gideon with breakfast.
They’re leaving in an hour and should eat before then.
When he gets close enough, Rowan stops counting and opens his arms. Nix sits on his knee and runs his nose along Rowan’s ear.
He hasn’t talked to Rowan about the baby yet, and this isn’t the time, but he’s happy it’s Rowan’s. Not that he wouldn’t have been happy if it were one of the others, but it seems fitting that it’s theirs.
Nix would have been blind and stupid to miss how he and the young alpha are on a parallel journey.
While Nix is learning to be an omega, Rowan is learning to be an enigma.
They are different ends of the second-gender spectrum, but both have a wolf that speaks strongly through them.
Not to mention, there’s also that mind-blowing physical attraction.
Children are made of the heart, soul, and spirit. But first, they are made from the body, and that’s where he and Rowan have met most profoundly.
