“Yep,” Garin said, ruffling Zayne’s hair. “More little brothers to boss around.”
“Haha,” Zayne replied. He moved off Teal’s lap before kissing Teal’s stomach. “Love you, baby brudder.” Then, quickly, he scooted over to Sorcha and kissed his belly. “You too, other baby brudder.”
Kino rolled his eyes at Zayne before asking if they could watch TV. Teal nodded, thinking dinner could be late since the boys had treats at Fontaine’s.
After the kids went downstairs, the five men settled onto the new bed together, cuddling.
“This room is amazing,” Niall said, rubbing Sorcha’s shoulders.
Teal settled his back against Ronan’s chest, running his hand lazily up and down Jax’s tattooed arms. “This room is lovely. But this life is what’s truly amazing.”
Epilogue One
Ronan
SIX MONTHS LATER
Ronan walked into the bedroom carrying one-month-old Zander in his arms. He and Teal had been at the hospital for the past week and it seemed as though their son had doubled in size since then.
“Where is Sorcha?” Teal asked from the bed.
“He fell asleep on the couch.”
“Ah, well, don’t wake him. I’ve just missed him so much. As well as the world’s teensiest, sweetest little omega. Give him here.” Teal held out his arms greedily and Ronan placed Zander in them.
Teal kissed the baby’s head.
Niall and Jax sat on either side of Teal. They’d removed their shirts and were doing skin-to-skin contact with the family’s week-old beta twins.
When Teal found out twenty weeks into his pregnancy that he was carrying twins—one of them had been “shy” at first and doctors hadn’t initially detected a heartbeat—he’d been stunned. He jokingly told Ronan that Kino had willed it into existence when he’d wistfully hoped for their family to be even more different than it already was.
While it wasn’t uncommon for omegas to birth five or more babies during their lifetimes, two sets of twins for one omega was unheard of. A week ago, when Teal gave birth, word of the feat got out, re-igniting interest in their family. Ronan laughed that they’d only enjoyed six blissful months out of the public eye before being thrust back into the spotlight. Ah, well. He imagined it would die down soon, as it had before.
Honestly, after such a fraught pregnancy for Teal, not to mention an excruciating two-day birthing process, Ronan couldn’t help thinking that Jay and Nino deserved to be the most famous betas in the world. His twins were gorgeous, as was Zander. He could hardly believe he’d welcomed three new sons in the span of a month.
Now that they were finally home from the hospital, everyone could meet the twins properly.
When Ronan and Teal had requested that the twins’ other fathers be permitted in the birthing suite, the high-risk specialist declared that five fathers was “not a thing” and that the hospital already had enough problems dealing with the “three-ring circus” of having their family as patients. His attitude reminded Ronan how lucky they’d gotten with Dr. Kinzinger after Teal’s poisoning. After the long birthing process, with the twins in intensive care, the specialist had been clear that no other visitors were permitted.
Ronan and Teal decided it wasn’t a battle worth fighting. The alpha stayed with Teal in the hospital while Niall and Jax remained at home with Sorcha, helping to care for Zander and the older boys.
“I’ve missed this little guy so much,” Teal said, pressing his finger into Zander’s palm, which the newborn grabbed. “It’s been hard being separated this past week. From all of you.” He kissed Niall and then Jax as they held the twins close.
“It has been hard,” Niall said, gazing down at Nino’s sleeping form. “The way the hospital denied Teal’s request to have us there reminded me we still have a ways to go with omega rights.”
“I had the same thought when we took Zayne to kindergarten,” Jax said, holding Jay close. “He shouldn’t have had to wait. Omegas should be able to go to preschool.”
“Are you trying to make me feel guilty?” Teal asked, only half-joking.
“Of course not, love,” Jax was quick to reassure him. “I’m happy you’re taking time off to be a daddy. No one in this house wants you to go back to all that stress you had with Schulman and Carson. It’s just hard not to want things for our children.”
“I understand,” Teal said, somewhat melancholy, before he suddenly flinched.
“What’s wrong?” Ronan asked.
“Nothing.” A huge grin broke out on Teal’s face. He adjusted his elbow so Ronan could see Zander better. “It’s just…ah…the baby…he’s feeding.”
Ronan peered down at the itty-bitty omega who had slipped out of Sorcha after less than two hours of labor, and who, despite his delicate size, had announced his presence to the world with a robust howl. A shock of white-blond hair covered his head, already an inch long, and his fists kneaded Teal’s smooth pecs mightily as he latched onto a nipple with ease.
