Page 37 of What's Rogue Got To Do With It

“One? Were we supposed to have more than that?”

Dr Granger laughed and explained that wolf shifters often carried more than one cub. Thank gods for only one baby. We would have loved multiple babies who arrived all at once but I was thankful for one. One healthy baby who had arms and legs.

"Farmer's market next.” Auden demanded to see the ultrasound image and now I was an expert, I pointed out the baby’s limbs before grabbing a cream-filled cake from the bakery.

The weekly market filled the town square and stalls were full of fresh vegetables, flowers, fruit, bread, and plants, along with homemade jams, soap and wine. Auden and Creven perused the food while I bought seeds and pots of herbs.

I beckoned my mate when I came across a booth that sold handmade baby clothes.

“This is so cute.” It was a onesie with elephants emblazoned over the fabric. I had to buy it even though the baby would outgrow it quickly.

"Alpha Auden!" A woman waved from behind a table laden with loaves of fresh bread. "Haven't seen you in town for weeks."

“I’m no longer Alpha with an upper case A.” Auden introduced Creven and the woman gave a little curtsy.

I stood tall, knowing we were a pack and a family and I was proud that Auden was announcing it at a busy market. We left her stall with sourdough that had just come out of the oven but I had my mate run back for another loaf that I could nibble on in the car.

Everywhere we went people greeted and congratulated us, wanting to meet the new Alpha and me, the Alpha Omega. There was little for this Alpha’s mate to do as yet besides grow our baby and create a garden out of the dusty patch behind our cabin.

"This is what pack feels like," I murmured to my mate as people had us sample herbs and a new batch of jam and they greeted us with smiles rather than snarls.

“Did we buy all this?” I marveled at the bags in the back of the truck. As well as bread, vegetables, fruit and jam, we had cheese, pies, and grass-fed beef.

“Nope. Some of it was gifted.” My mate offered me a pear and when I took a bite, the juice dribbled down my arm. He licked it off and Auden tut tuted, saying there’d be none ofthaton the way home.

“We got a bit carried away.” Auden munched on a juicy apple while I kept my loaf of bread close, yanking off bits, enjoying thesoft fluffy texture that almost melted on my tongue. “With the shopping.” He caught my eye and winked.

At home, my mate took charge of the grill, seasoning the steaks with herbs from our haul while I prepared a salad. Auden busied himself with side dishes. Creven dashed inside and stole a piece of avocado but I smacked his hand, telling him I didn’t care that he was Alpha, he’d wait and eat with the rest of us.

When the food was ready, we ate at the picnic table Auden had built years ago.

Everything tasted better when shared with people you loved. Creven stood and raised his glass of iced tea. “To us. We are creating a legacy, not just for us but for generations to come.”

“To us.”

Auden filled us in about a new pack member that was arriving next week and two more the following week. He’d put that in motion while he was still Alpha, but Creven had to okayed it. He wasn’t sure if they’d be here long term, but our pack didn’t demand loyalty from birth to death. He and my mate would be fixing up one of the remaining cabins to make it habitable as one of the newcomers had their own trailer.

Before we went inside I looked up at the stars, wondering if my folks were looking down. Wherever they were, I hoped they were proud of me and happy that I was safe, loved, and about to become a dad.

“What are you thinking?” My mate was at my side.

“About how fate put me in that trap so you could find me.” I'd have preferred a less owie introduction but it was memorable and I bore the scars as a reminder.

22

CREVEN

When I became Alpha of our pack, it hadn’t really been a choice. Accepting the responsibility had been the only way to keep my mate safe. And while I’d have loved for there to have been time to really think about what my decision would mean for my mate and I and what it would look like, I didn’t regret taking on the role. Auden had been right. If we were going to be a pack, we needed to not show weakness and sadly, in shifter politics, age was often a weakness.

In a lot of ways, I assumed my life was going to look exactly like what I’d been living and the pack would be the same as when we arrived plus two. Auden had just kind of been living his life in his own little sheltered world and I was happy to be part of that.

Only now it would be the three of us officially, so much had changed. We were a new family and that took adjusting to. All packs were families of sorts, of course, but with Auden, it went deeper than that.

My mate and I were both orphans, and Auden took on, not really a fatherly role, more like a grandfatherly. It was both beautifuland frustrating, depending upon the day. And if that didn’t shout family, I wasn’t sure what would.

For the most part, life did go on as normal, as normal as it could be when your omega was expecting your first child. It was to be expected. Pregnancy hormones were no joke.

The one change that caught me off guard since becoming a pack was the way the Alpha bond connected me. Auden and I were able to get each other’s attention no matter where we were in the pack lands through the bond. That was helpful, especially if one of us dropped a tool while we were on a ladder or were announcing dinner was ready. It took a little to get used to, there was a sense of invasiveness that came with it, but the pros outweighed the cons.

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