Page 127 of I Replaced His Husband
Then my father stepped in and hugged Kay too. He was the only alpha whose presence and touch didn’t bother me when it came to Kay.
"Welcome to the family, Kay. You have no idea how happy Lake and I are that Rain found you. Might sound selfish, but this way I know our son’s gonna be happy. I know firsthand how strong that True Mate bond is."
Kay nodded, his blush deepening. His usual proud, aloof aura melted away, leaving him shy and clearly touched. Meeting another True Mate couple really meant something to him. It proved just how real and powerful these bonds were, how they could strengthen each other’s life energy and rejuvenate the bodies.
We all drove to campus together to meet the rest of the family. Dad and Kay sat in the back seat, chatting about the pregnancy, even tossing around baby names. Kay mentioned he was leaning toward the name Ray. He liked that it was short, andthat it felt like a blend of both our names—’Ra’ from Rain, ‘ay’ from Kay.
It was the first I’d heard of it. We’d never talked about names before. Hearing him say that, I was both surprised and a little overwhelmed that Kay wanted to include me in the choice. He even mentioned how names in my family often carried ties to water, nature, and the seasons. Ray, he said, felt like a beam of light, a symbol of hope that brightened his life.
As Kay spoke, my alpha father listened closely, occasionally glancing at me with a warm, knowing smile. Even though I’d always been closer to my dad, my father was the quiet strength in our family, the steady hand, the role model I had always watched.
And then came a little shock. When we pulled into the college parking lot to meet my brothers, I noticed… Storm.
He towered over everyone, standing on the edge of the group next to Nathaniel. Apparently, Skye had invited him too. That stunned me, but he didn’t seem to be blending in well with the rest of the family.
Not sure what to do, I tightened my hold around Kay but figured I might as well start on a high note. We approached them.
"Storm, hey. Nice to see you," I said, forcing my lips into the most gracious smile I could manage, even if I wasn’t sure how real it was.
Kay stared at Storm, eyes wide. Of all my brothers, Storm and I looked the most alike, aside from our eye and hair color. Storm had inherited our omega dad’s turquoise eyes, like tropical seas, though in a much more intense shade, but our faces were nearly identical. Still, it was Storm’s height that clearly left Kay stunned. I was six foot eight, which was impressive on its own, but Storm stood at a towering seven foot two. He looked like a giant, the tallest in the family. Nathanieland I came next in height, followed by the rest, most of whom were between six five and six seven. The only exception was our beta brother Winter, who stood at six one.
Storm greeted me with a slightly predatory grin.
"Hello, tiny brother," he drawled, his gaze sliding over to Kay. His smirk grew more ironic and a little irritated.
There was no way I was going to explain to Kay why he called me ‘tiny’. It was from one ridiculous moment: Storm had walked in on me jerking off to omega-on-omega porn and decided to tell me my ten-inch dick was a ‘dwarf’ compared to his. I didn’t ask for that information, and I sure didn’t want it, but somehow now I had to live with the knowledge that, according to him, mine was ‘tiny’. Sure as hell, I never asked how much bigger his was. Never! Ever!
"And this must be your True Mate. What absolute magic. Some people hit rock bottom, and others rise to the top. And not the ones most deserving of it, for sure… Gotta wonder where the justice is in that?" Storm sneered, unaware of my angry musings.
The envious, venomous tone made me grit my teeth and hold Kay closer.
"Kay, this is my brother Storm. Charming as always! Maybe if you dropped that let's-go-straight-to-attack attitude, you'd be at the top too instead of visiting courts."
Storm snorted with dark amusement. "A lucky guy and a philosopher, all in one deluxe package. Incredible!"
"And… the attitude continues," I sighed loftily, giving Kay a meaningful look that was meant to say,"Typical Storm, just ignore him!"
Storm glanced toward Kay. "Forgive me, my esteemed brother-in-law, I’m just a lowly criminal and a jealous idiot. But hey, even though I envy your incredible luck, I’m not without manners. Welcome to the family, and congrats on the baby-to-be!"
His bizarre, overly theatrical speech was already grating on me, but Kay still reached out, clearly flustered, and mumbled a quick thanks.
Storm gave him an appraising look. "So the rumors about your otherworldly beauty are true," he said with a mock bow, even though he’d already seen Kay’s picture. I guess he just had to say it out loud.
"Thank you," Kay whispered again, clutching my waist a little tighter. Storm’s intense energy was really getting to him.
I was ready to throw out another cutting remark, but luckily Nathaniel stepped in. Picking up on the tension between us, he extended his hand to Kay, greeting him warmly and thanking him for the graphic design work he’d done for his company over the past few months.
Thankfully, that new topic helped smooth things out. I noticed Kay making an effort not to stare at the half of Nathaniel’s face that was covered in burnt scars, a haunting reminder of the fire he’d survived as a teenager.
We chatted for a few minutes about work stuff while Storm stayed quiet, staring grimly over our heads at the crowd of students and parents arriving for the ceremony. Soon, the rest of my brothers and cousins showed up and introduced themselves to Kay, congratulating us on our TM status.
Kay looked a bit overwhelmed by the number of people suddenly taking an interest in him and all the eyes fixed on him. Thankfully, my older brothers were a better-behaved bunch. None of them were married, and they’d all come alone, shaking our hands. Only Winter went beyond a formal greeting and congratulated Kay on the baby while still keeping his usual stiff, official tone.
My youngest brother, Sun, who was eighteen, wouldn’t have come over at all if Dad hadn’t gently nudged him in our direction. He showed up with a moody look on his face.
Kay shot me a quick glance, clearly surprised. Sun might’ve been an alpha, but his beauty leaned more toward stunning omegas than classically handsome alphas. With his long golden hair and angelic features, he looked very much like our dad. Too bad his personality was far from angelic. He was the youngest, the most spoiled, and only dated alphas. Every couple of months, new photos of him with his ‘latest boyfriend’ were plastered all over his social media. He called himself aromantic and treated love and commitment like they were laughably dull, just not fun enough.
Seeing him there, with his nose disrespectfully buried in his phone and completely ignoring us, I was relieved when I finally spotted Skye heading our way, dressed appropriately for graduation.
