Page 189 of Let It Snow
"You know, I can’t blame Snow for coming back to you all those years ago. You’re… kind of cool," I say, or maybe it’s more like a murmur.
Theo blushes. "Thank you. And I understand why you two are fated mates. I feel your energy, and I see why destiny set you on the same path. You… you just quietly make sense."
"The most beautiful way anyone could sum up our love," I laugh heartily. "We justquietlymake sense."
???
And then spring comes, and the Nolan family starts to shift again. News spreads that more of Snow’s brothers are expecting children. The difficult season his family went through seems to be coming to an end.
One day Snow tells me he’s certain that River, the eldest, their only omega brother, has finally found his fated mate too. That means that the only brother still without one is Bay.
My relationship with Bay is… well, complicated. I avoid him most of the time because… I know he knows stuff about me, and he knows I know he’s watching me.
At the same time, I can’t help but feel sorry for him, being the only Nolan who hasn’t found his destined partner.
Even their cousins have started to find their perfect mates one by one, but not Bay.
Everyone deserves love and closeness, but maybe not everyone is meant to have it?
Once I mention to him that he should visit his purple alpha brother, Storm, who’s known for his matchmaking magic, Bay just laughs, takes a drag from his vape, and walks off.
Well, you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.
???
About a week before Theo’s due date, Snow and I decide to go sailing on his cousin Veyron’s yacht.
After months of putting it off, we finally accept his invitation, the one he offered as an apology for how he treated me during the beginning of my heat.
Even though we don’t know the first thing about sailing, we rely on my abilities to… direct the pulls of water and air… let’s call it that. For three days we sail along the coast, relaxing, aware that huge responsibilities are about to crash into our lives, that soon it won’t just be the two of us anymore, that new energy is about to enter our world.
I feel myself buzzing with growing excitement. I prepare in every way I can, reading terrifying amounts of material about caring for newborns, about everything new parents eventually have to learn: babywearing, co-sleeping, colic, burping, rashes, and all the odd little facts every first-time parent has to stumble through.
Here again, Lake turns out to be incredibly helpful, and he does it with so much tact. He gives me the space to figure out everything I need on my own, but steps in with small, practical hints whenever he senses that it all might be getting too overwhelming for me.
The signal that Theo has gone into labor comes in the middle of the night.
Snow’s phone buzzes, waking us both, and we jump up instantly. I feel half-conscious, dragged out of deep sleep, and that’s why the whole thing seems unreal. We throw the essentials for the babies into bags and rush to the car. Even Snow looks a little tense. From the day Theo came to tell him about the pregnancy, Snow hasn’t seen him once.
Sometimes I wonder why he chose to cut off all contact, but a part of me understands and even supports it, because I know he did it for me.
Watching him interact with a pregnant Theo, maybe touching his belly, showing concern, would have been too much for me to handle emotionally at that time. I don’t know if I would have had the maturity for it, and Snow seemed to know and respect that.
He never forces me to confront feelings I’m not ready for, especially since I’m already dealing with so many difficulties from the hormones I was taking.
I know this is an experience he and I will never share together, and that’s why he doesn’t want me to see him living through it with another omega. It’s a kind of loss for him, but at the same time it’s a gesture for me, showing me that we’re in this together. That missing piece is something we share, spread fairly between us.
When we get to the hospital, we learn that Theo has decided on a natural birth rather than a C-section. This is his sixthpregnancy, so the doctors agree with his choice, saying it should be relatively safe and quick.
When we walk into the delivery room, set apart, a private room reserved away from the rest of the hospital, we find Theo there, and also… Tim.
It’s the first time I have seen him in person. I’m surprised that even though he’s an omega, he’s tall and well-built, looking more like a beta than an omega. Of course, I’ve already seen him on campaign posters and in post-election TV appearances, but he has an even more charismatic aura in person. He’s undeniably handsome, and visually he and Theo make quite a striking pair.
I find it a bit annoying, knowing that Snow helped not only Theo but also Tim through his heats, that they spent that time together in a cozy little threesome. But luckily, I don’t see any emotional connection between them. They greet each other like two indifferent acquaintances. From what I know, Tim and Theo have a really good relationship now, Snow’s magic fixed it and even made it stronger. And thanks to that, I can let out some of the jealous sparks buzzing in my aura.
As we are already in the room, I can feel a faint tension in the air, which is, I guess, natural for births. Snow goes up to Theo, only briefly, offering his hand. Theo takes it, and for a short moment they exchange one serious look. Then Snow pulls back with a slight nod and sits against the wall, careful not to intrude on the delicate process. Tim does the same, retreating to the opposite wall and pulling out his phone.
In the end, it’s only me who stays at Theo’s side, which might feel odd since we don’t know each other all that well, but at some deeper level it makes sense.
