Page 12 of The Alpha: Part Three
Seth leans close to whisper into Dutch's ear. “Remember what we talked about?”
Dutch gives a solemn nod. “Be quiet. Be slow. Be soft.”
“Good man,” Seth hugs the little boy and puts him on the ground.
Dutch tiptoes across the floor and very carefully climbs onto the bed with his parents and new sibling. The scene is so sweet and just adds something new to my list of wants and needs.
“Would you like to see him, Seth?” Talia asks. “You can hold him.”
Seth's head is shaking before his mouth opens to respond. “No, no. He's too new. He doesn't need me stinking him up. I'll meet him in a few days.”
Talia's smile fades a little, but she nods and kisses the top of Dutch's head. Seth can make light of how he feels all he wants, but he's my alpha and I know the truth. Seth is afraid. I can feel it trickling down our bond like ice water.
I put the stack of paperwork I was organizing on the dresser for Talia to work through when she's ready and go to my anxious alpha. He bends down to wrap his arms around me when I get to him, breathing in my scent and pressing his forehead against mine.
“Hey you,” I whisper. I do and do not understand why he's so nervous right now. It's natural to be worried about handling a brand new baby, especially if you're not used to them, but it seems more than that.
“Hey,” he whispers back.
“You smell really good, Seth.”
He smiles for me and brushes his nose against mine.
“Want to go home?”
He nods.
“Okay. I'm basically finished here. I'll do one more check and then we can go.”
“I asked Mateo to stay a while longer. They're here until Kaleb gives them the okay to leave. Amber is in the kitchen with the girls making oatmeal bars, I believe. She is very patiently waiting for permission to see the baby.”
I laugh. “Very patiently, huh? Amber doesn't have a patient bone in her body.”
Michael and Ben aren't patient, either, and they start complaining and badgering as soon as we get into the car to go back home.
“We didn't even get to see him,” Ben pouts. “Seth got to see him.”
“I saw a blanket from the doorway,” Seth corrects.
“You didn't get to hold him?” Michael asks.
Seth sighs. “Talia would have let me hold him. I wasn't ready. He's too little. I didn't want to hurt him.”
“They're a lot more sturdy than you think,” Ben huffs. “Who does he look like? Talia or Corso?”
“Corso,” I confirm. “You can see some of Talia's features, but he looks more like Corso. He's beautiful.”
Michael grins and pulls onto the street. “Of course, he is. I can't wait to get my hands on him. We're coming with you to check on them tomorrow. Think she'll let us hold him?”
I shrug. “I think she will.”
When we get home, I go straight to our nest. I keep tweaking it and I'll have to completely redo it before my next heat in a few weeks, but it's such a comfort to know it's here waiting for me. After a while, Michael comes in and lays down next to me and I curl myself against him. Today was good. The baby came easy and Talia is amazing. Everything was so perfect.
“Can I ask you something without making you feel weird?”
I glance up at him. “Since when do you worry about asking me questions?”
He raises a brow. “Since all that shit happened and then even more shit happened.”
