Page 27 of Such a Sweet Omega

Again, he looked torn.

“Jabez, go. Go count his toes and fingers and make sure he’s breathing. I need to know too.”

“I’ll be back.”

My mate rushed over to where I could see our son in a clear plastic crib. He was being weighed and measured and was none too happy about the experience either.

Listening to his cries while the surgeon closed me up, I thanked the gods old and new for their blessing.

The healer swaddled our babe, and Jabez brought him over.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He is perfect. And you are as well. Everything went fine.”

I lifted another prayer of thanks. “Let me see him, please.”

Not easy since I was still lying down, being stitched or stapled up. Which one, I wasn’t sure.

Jabez brought our son down for me to look at. He had my nose but my mate’s beautiful brown eyes. The second my mate pressed our babe’s face next to mine, all crying stopped.

“He knows his daddy,” Jabez whispered.

“I love you,” I said to both my son and my mate.

“And we love you.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jabez

I hadn’t taken a vacation in years. Not since I lost my first mate, almost as if by working extra hard, I could make up for the horrible thing that happened. Or maybe it was partly that I didn’t handle quiet times well. But I hadn’t even had a nightmare in months. Life with Beale and our beautiful son was so special it seemed ungrateful to allow the wallowing of my past. And as the time I’d taken off for paternity leave was winding to a close, I wanted to do something to mark that finish in a big way.

I had heard from Rally recently as well. He and Ouro and the baby were off the streets and getting what they needed. That omega had come so close to losing his life, but he had not. He had survived and to all accounts begun to thrive. That birthing had been an echo of the trauma that nearly broke me—but it turned out fine. And that contributed to my peace of mind.

The beach house was right on the sand, and we had it for two weeks. Of course, the baby would have no memories of this, but it was such an incredible time for us to all bond as a family. I’d already made changes in my work life, with my new apprentice starting as soon as I got back. It would take time, but eventually he would be a big help. And with Beale being a full-time stay-at-home daddy, we could find time together without worrying about his work schedule. My fellow owners all incorporated the club into their lives, and a few of them also had families, so we were flexible with one another.

Sitting on the porch with Kirby on my lap, I watched Beale run down to the water and dive in. Who knew he was such a water guy? Since we’d been here, he had been swimming, surfing, body boarding, kite surfing…and he swore when thebaby was old enough, he’d teach him to sail. I could see we’d be coming here for vacations every year.

“Your daddy is going to have you swimming before you’re a year old, little one.” I held him up so he could see Beale splashing around. “He’s the fun one in this family.”

And the perfect antidote to my constant soul-searching. Well, he and Kirby were. Loving them, caring for them, occupied my mind in a beautiful way.

I settled back to watch him swim. No matter how good someone was in the water, my grandmother always said never swim alone. With the baby, I couldn’t go in with Beale, but our son and I could for sure be lifeguards, watching to be sure he was all right. I was not a mental case anymore over the past, but I would always be a vigilant alpha.

After a while, Beale came back up the beach and dried off before taking the baby to feed him. We’d gotten so lucky finding this beach where there were not a ton of people constantly passing us. It wasn’t deserted, but there was still an intimacy that a big tourist area would not have. In fact, the Realtor told us that every place within a half mile was rented to shifters, meaning, we could get out there at night and be wolves, if it suited us. They even had recommended local babysitters, which we might take them up on. Next time.

For now, we wanted one of us at least with Kirby all the time. His first sitters would be people we knew well, and the very best thing I could imagine doing was sitting here on a beautiful afternoon with my family and enjoying the sea breeze.

Epilogue

Theo

“Long night?” the sitter asked when I came in. He was a young man familiar with the club. The other owners let me come in as late as possible so the sitter only had to watch my son while he slept, but that meant I didn’t return home until almost three in the morning.

Bringing Abel to school after that was murder, but I would do anything for my son. Being more involved meant I had a say in what happened at the club. With so many alphas having families now, they needed more owners who could work late. Made sense.

“You have no idea.”

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