Page 115 of Alpha Chase

Vienna steps over to Nessa, holding River close to Seb and bouncing her softly. By some miracle, River immediately chills out, and Vienna looks over to us with a triumphant grin. “See, what’d I tell you?” she laughs.

Theo and I exchange side-eyed glances again, shaking our heads. River may only be two months old, but Theo’s already fiercely protective of his little girl. I pity the poor chump who winds up with him as a father-in-law someday. He and Brooke went through hell trying to expand their family, so the fact that they even have River is a damn miracle.

When a she-wolf is pregnant, she can’t shift without risking the baby- and though Brooke has made huge strides with integrating her wolf, she still can’t fully control her. It led to her losing three pregnancies, and after she made it to full term with River by some miracle, her wolf tried to push through during labor. It was so gnarly that Theo almost lost both of them. Brooke nearly bled out, scaring the crap out of Theo and causing him to put his foot down about taking chances with future pregnancies; he refuses to risk his mate’s life for the sake of expanding their family further.

I can’t say I blame him. I’d be lost without Vienna.

A couple more kids zip past us, Jax and Quinn arriving with their brood and contributing to the already chaotic scene in the backyard.

“Slow down, Lo!” Jax calls to his eldest daughter as she rushes to join Sloane and Avery in their game of tag with Maddox, her little brother Iver hot on her heels. Jax shakes his head, looking exhausted as fuck as he strides over to join us. “Tell me you’ve got beer?”

“Of course,” I chuckle, beckoning him with a flick of my head toward the patio. Theo follows, too, leaving the girls to chat and fuss over the babies. Quinn’s got a little one of her own in her arms; their third, a little girl named Harper.

I lead Theo and Jax to the cooler and bend to flip open the lid, passing beers back to each of them before snagging one for myself. “Gray, Brock!” I shout out, holding up my beer, and they both nod and start making their way over to us.

“What about me?” Serena asks, stepping onto the patio through the sliding glass door at the back of the packhouse, her striking red hair shining in the sunlight.

I grin, sidestepping to hand her the beer I just uncapped for myself. “I’ve always got one for you,” I wink.

She takes it with a smug grin, but before she can bring it to her lips, Reid reaches over her shoulder and snatches it away. Serena wheels around like she’s about to let him have it, but he gives her a stern look that has her rolling her eyes, turning back to us and flicking her long hair over her shoulder. “Reid thinks I’ve got a bun in the oven,” she mumbles, folding her arms across her chest indignantly.

My brows shoot up and my eyes instinctively drift to her stomach. “For real?”

Serena rolls her eyes again. “Pretty sure I’d know, like I did with the last one,” she scoffs.

“Shit, we’re dangerously close to being outnumbered,” Brock grumbles as he approaches, stooping to grab a beer from the cooler and popping the cap off with his teeth. He turns to look out at the kids running and playing in the yard together, the corner of his mouth twitching up. He may still be the surliest motherfucker around, but the guy is a big softie when it comes to kids. The last time we all got together, they were climbing all over him like a jungle gym.

“Is Cole gonna make it?” Gray asks Brock, shouldering past him to grab a beer for himself.

Brock nods. “Should be here any minute. Thank fuck, because Sloane has been whining all week about seeing her cousins.”

“Food’s ready!” Vienna calls cheerfully, and I turn to see her setting a pile of paper plates on the edge of the picnic table, her dark hair blowing in the breeze. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

I swear she gets more beautiful every day. Even when she was pregnant, uncomfortable about the way her body was changing, my girl was a total knockout. Just looking at her with the knowledge that the swell of her belly meant she was carrying my pup was enough to take my breath away every damn time. And now seeing her with my son in her arms… there aren’t words to describe it. She’s my everything.

I cross the lawn to meet her, drawn like a magnet, and stoop down to press a kiss to those soft, plush lips of hers, swallowing her little gasp of surprise. My arms wind around her waist automatically, crushing her to my chest as my tongue slides past the seam of her lips. Someone nearby clears their throat, but I don’t pay them any attention. I just keep kissing the hell out of my girl, savoring the way she tastes; the way her body feels in my arms.

When I finally pull away, Vienna blinks up at me, lips puffy and looking a little dazed.

“What was that for?” she breathes, still clutching onto my biceps.

I shrug, a lazy grin sliding into place. “Because I hate you, baby.”

Vienna smirks, lifting up on her toes to press another kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I hate you too, ya big lug.”

A chuckle rumbles in my chest and I lean in closer, putting our foreheads together. “Keep on hating me baby,” I murmur, nipping her lower lip. “As long as you always love me more.”

18 years after that

“Madd’s an asshole for making me go through summer training camp,” Seb grumbles from the back seat of the truck as we pull into the parking lot of the squad complex.

I turn to peer back at my sulking boy, a deep scowl etched on his handsome face and his muscular forearms folded tightly across his chest. “Aw, c’mon. It’s only fair. I had to go through it once too, ya know.” I flash him a smile of encouragement, but it does nothing to lighten his mood. “Hey, at least you’re better prepared than I was…”

“It’s still bullshit,” Seb snaps, fisting a hand in his hair and tugging the strands, a gesture that reminds me so much of his father. He’s the spitting image of Chase when he was that age- the same dark eyes, sharp jaw, and arrogant swagger.

Chase heaves a sigh as he pulls the truck into a parking spot, his eyes flickering up to the rear-view mirror to gaze back at our son. “Enough with the attitude, Seb,” he warns, leveling him with a stern look.

“At least you won’t be alone, right?” I offer, spotting Theo and Brooke as they exit the parking lot and head toward the gate with their teenage daughter. “You’ve got Riv…”

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