Page 35 of Omega's Breed

She peered down with her kindly eyes. “If you’ll permit me, Omega, I’d like to have a look at your mate.”

Will quickly, if reluctantly, opened his arms and fretted with his lip tucked between his teeth as the healer did a quick tour of Finn’s damaged body.

“Not too bad. Let’s get him inside,” Andrea proclaimed.

After that, things happened in a blur, with the alpha and Caleb lifting Finn up and carrying him into the longhouse. Numb, Will found himself being propelled by Kyle behind them. Only the sound of Annie calling out for him with her usual “Da” broke through. With his gaze still fixed on Finn, he detoured over to meet Joey and take Annie into his arms.

Tears started to cloud up his world as he tried to comfort her while keeping her away from the worst of the blood and gore sticking to his clothing. He kissed Annie’s head and patted her back, as much to soothe himself as her. “It’s okay, sweetie. Your sire’s going to be fine.”

Yes. Sire. It felt right calling Finn that. It felt perfect.

****

“You don’t have to do this now.”

Will glanced away from the alpha sitting in wolf form in front of him to focus on Finn. “I know.” He licked his lips nervously and jiggled Annie, who sat naked on his lap and was getting antsy. “I want to. But for Magnus’ goons showing up, we’d have been done with this by now.”

Finn wrapped his arm around Will’s shoulders and drew him in close to his side. He still moved stiffly despite having been slathered with Andrea’s healing balm and shifting a couple of times in the last few hours. “I understand you’re anxious to get this over with, but you’ve been through a lot of stress already today. Another twelve hours or so won’t make a difference.”

“You don’t have to worry about my getting overwhelmed. After the courage you showed today, I can do no less for our family.” He was determined to be brave, even though he quaked inside.

“Oh, baby.” Finn nuzzled Will’s face. “You’ve already been braver in your short life than most shifters ever have to be.” He let out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right, though. Let’s face all our demons in one shot. Alpha?” he added with a nod toward the massive wolf.

Lorcan padded over to where they sat on Andrea’s guest chairs. Doing the change in the healer’s room made the most sense. Just in case. The kindly female stood off at a distance, close, yet not intruding on what should be a private moment between the family and its alpha. Will held his breath the closer the alpha got. He was an impressive and intimidating beast.

Lorcan came to rest by Will’s side and focused his mesmerizing gaze on Annie’s face. The toddler instantly stilled and stared back at him. Her whole body went lax as her alpha captured her attention. When he bared his teeth, she passively stayed in place. It was Will who had to look away as Lorcan extended his neck to reach Annie’s upper arm.

The brief scent of blood turned Will’s stomach, conjuring up all the bad memories of what that meant, including Finn’s recent battle. Annie took a deep breath, a sure sign that she was about to screech. Nothing came out, however. Instead, Will felt as if the whole room tilted and once his head and eyesight cleared, he found a furry bundle in his arms.

He gasped before burying his face in the tawny-haired pup. “Oh! It worked.”

He held her up to marvel at the miracle of her transformation. Behind her wolf eyes staring back at him, he could see his Annie’s intelligence and recognition. Unlike other pups being shifted, she had enough brain growth to understand something of what happened. She opened her snout and gave him a wolf version of a grin. Will giggled, then laughed out loud when she yipped.

“Oh, Finn, can you believe it?” He turned to his mate and saw the sheen of tears in the beta’s eyes. “Don’t cry, or I will, too.”

With a sniff, Finn reached over to ruffle the fur on Annie’s head. “Can’t help it. It’s so wonderful. Thank you, Alpha.”

Lorcan had already shifted back to human and was stuffing his long legs into jeans. “You don’t have to thank me for doing my duty, but I do want to thank you for letting me.” He approached and stroked Annie along with them. “It was the most amazing thing. It wasn’t like my experience with the other pups. They were newborns, and I didn’t detect any mental bond with even Hope except on the most elemental level. With Annie, it was different.”

“How so, Alpha?” This from Andrea, who had come to join them.

He shook his head slowly. “It’s hard to explain. I felt like she was communicating with me, as if her wolf was speaking to mine the way it will once she’s able to start shifting at will. It must be because her brain is so much more advanced now than it would have been as an infant.”

“What did she say?” Now that he wasn’t afraid for her, Will was interested in how her first shift went. Other than being bigger and really squirmy, she seemed like any other wolf pup he’d seen. He plopped her on his lap to keep a careful hold on her.

“She didn’t say anything so much as conveyed her feelings, I think.” Lorcan scratched at the back of his neck. “Almost as if she were encouraging me to bring on her shift.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I simply imagined it all. It’s been a long day.”

Annie began to struggle against his hold in earnest. Will had to let her down or risk her falling. The second her paws hit the floor, she scrambled away as fast as her furry little legs would carry her—right through the narrow opening of Andrea’s door.

“Annie!” Will shot up, but Finn was already ahead of him.

“I’ll get her, don’t worry.”

Ignoring the various aches and pains still plaguing his body, Finn took off down the hall. His darling daughter—and just thinking that word gave him extra energy and joy—scampered at full speed ahead of him. By the time he caught up with her, she’d already made it as far as the kitchen. Joey, Kyle and the sigmas putting dinner together were all frozen in place while they watched a very mobile pup in wolf form invade their space. He couldn’t fault their reaction. No one to his knowledge had ever seen such a thing before.

Then, an instant later, the spell broke. Calls of “Annie?” and incredulous laughter reverberated around the room. Everyone bent to welcome her and get a feel of baby fur as she scampered around, clearly loving the attention. Finn braced against the doorjamb and watched the playful sight with a big grin splitting his face. Will came up and wrapped his arms around Finn’s waist. Touched at the sign of affection, Finn gladly pulled his mate in tightly.

The omega pressed his face against Finn’s chest. “I still can’t believe it. Gods, I’m so lucky.”

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