Page 25

“While you were napping the past few days.”

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” No sooner had he set me down on the bed than another pain came on. “Alpha, you’d better call, or Quinn is just going to be coming here to see how we did with the delivery.”

It wasn’t as quick as I’d feared. Quinn arrived just in time to catch Aurora as she slid into the world. He didn’t even scoldme for waiting, and neither did Pascal, although they probably should have. But everything worked out in the end, and our daughter was born in our bedroom where she’d inhabit the bassinet next to our bed for a few months.

After Quinn left, we cuddled together in bed, watching our perfect daughter chest feed and loving one another as much as anyone ever could.

Epilogue

Pascal

My omega had kicked up a fuss about the fancy hotel I took him to the first time we made love, worried that I wanted luxury in every aspect of my life, but that wasn’t true. Or rather it wasn’t the kind of luxury that I wanted.

For me, waking up with Rue sleeping beside me, our baby’s soft breaths mingling with his was the ultimate luxury. And when she cried, I’d get up and change her diaper before bringing her to the one of us who could give her the rest of what she needed. I didn’t want him to lose any more sleep than necessary.

He’d taken longer off for paternity leave than planned, but Alfred and his other assistant were checking in daily—so maybe he wasn’t really off. In fact, we were working on setting up Trash Pandas in other towns like ours, filling a need both for the local people who shopped there and for a charity of the manager’s choice. They might not all be profitable, but that didn’t matter to me, or to my omega who finally accepted that what was mine was ours and we could use it to best advantage to help others. Even the staffs of the new places would be people who had been overlooked and needed work.

But that was all still on the drawing board for another month or two. My omega and our daughter were my priority, and the future I’d never imagined was laid out before us, a gift of Fate I hadn’t done anything to deserve. But grateful?

Oh yes. How I’d ever imagined my life to be full before I met my omega, I’d never understand, but whatever made me realize it wasn’t, had led me here. To this moment. To a loving family and a whole bunch of dads about to descend on us for the weekend. Our fathers had all met Aurora, but they hadn’t met each other yet.

For the moment, I would enjoy our peaceful life, but I also looked forward to our little one being the superstar she was with all her grandpas.

“Alpha, are you up?”

The phrase I’d used when flirting with him way back at the beginning. “Quinn cleared you, right? For lovemaking?”

“Last week.” He rolled to face me. “Why are you making me wait?”

“I’m not anymore.” I kissed him then propped myself up on an elbow. “And this weekend, when the dads are all here…maybe we’ll even get some sleep.”

“A raccoon can dream.” He reached for me, wrapping his arms around my neck. “If we want to waste our time in bed doing that.”