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Dale shoved the paper back at Ronan. “You can have him,” he hissed.

“And you can take this fucking duplex and shove it. We were getting tired of your all-night sex fests anyway. It’s disgusting.

All those noises through the wall.” His nose tipped up prudishly.

“No skin off my back. Besides, Sorcha’s always been a curse. It’s his fault my brother died.”

“That’s a foul thing to say about your nephew,” Teal rebuked him. “His parents and brothers died in a boating accident. That’s not his fault.”

Dale huffed. “The stars it isn’t. They wouldn’t have been on that boat except for Sorcha’s bellyaching.”

Ronan hesitated to allow the beta to elaborate, but to protect Sorcha, he needed to know what stories Dale might tell people. “What do you mean?”

Dale stretched a hand behind his head, running it along his neck. He flashed beady eyes at Ronan. “The ‘boating accident’ my brother died in, along with his omega and two alpha sons, was the ferryboat sinking on Wide Mile Lake eleven years ago.”

A ping of recognition went off in Ronan’s mind. “I remember that. It was a tragedy, a mechanical failure. Hundreds died. Sorcha would have been, what? Ten at the time? Pretty sure he didn’t cause it.”

“No. But if he would have just shut up and let his fathers and brothers go off in the morning without a fuss, they would have been on the earlier ferry that day. The one that didn’t sink. Then my brother would still be alive.” Dale’s eyes teared up, but Ronan had little sympathy.

Abe elaborated, “That weekend, we needed Sorcha’s help with a project. I’d been teaching him woodworking skills for a year by then. His fathers decided to drop Sorcha off with us, since short visits to beta neighborhoods are allowed, so they could take a mini vacation with their older sons—”

“Sorcha has always been a handful,” Dale interrupted bitterly. “Never known his place, always wanting to do things only alphas and betas should be doing.”

“Right,” Abe said, slightly more diplomatically.

“He tried to swim and play sports like his brothers, though he’s clearly on the small side, even for an omega.

When his family dropped him off on their way to the ferry dock, he cried and carried on.

Sorcha’s alpha father tried to leave, let him cry it out, but of course his omega father had a softer heart and wanted to soothe him before they left.

They ended up getting out the door later than planned. ”

“Let me get this straight,” Teal said, barely controlling his anger.

“A little boy was sad because his family decided to go on a fun vacation without him, while he was being forced to do manual labor for his uncles, and somehow, a ferryboat accident that occurred later that day is his fault? That’s insane.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe if his parents had taken Sorcha with them in the first place, if they hadn’t treated him like a second-tier member of the family, like a fucking afterthought, they also wouldn’t have been on that ferry? ”

“It’s absurd to blame Sorcha for a tragic accident,” Ronan seethed.

“Have you been upset with him this whole time because of that? You truly are pieces of shit. He lost his family. Even if they hadn’t treated him very well, they were the only family he’d known.

You could have been good to him, made him feel cared for and welcome.

Instead, you’ve been treating him like the hired help. And fueling your misplaced resentment.”

Ronan thought about the docile omega he knew Sorcha to be.

But it sounded like he hadn’t always been that way.

Apparently, years of neglect at the hands of his family, and then his uncles, had made him quiet and unobtrusive.

He pictured Zayne, whose brothers always included him in their activities.

His heart broke for little Sorcha, ignored and resented by the adults who should have cared for him.

Ronan planned to spend the rest of his life making sure Sorcha never felt unloved or unwanted again.

As though reading his mind, Teal whispered in Ronan’s ear. “Never again, my love. He’ll never be abandoned or made to feel less-than ever again. Sorcha is ours now, and we will be the family he’s always deserved.”

Ronan squeezed Teal’s hand as he glared at Dale and Abe with revulsion.

“You don’t deserve him. You let your bitterness keep you from knowing your nephew, knowing his sweetness and his goodness, his resiliency and his big heart.

” He rolled up the emancipation papers. “Get the fuck out of here. Be gone by midnight. And don’t you dare show your faces again. ”

***

Sorcha slept the entire day and into the evening, rousing only long enough to drink some protein shakes and use the restroom. Ronan was grateful they’d been able to discuss his uncles before he fell asleep.

Niall brought the twins home from school and ordered pizza for dinner. Ronan asked the nanny to stay, since he and Teal planned to explain the situation with Sorcha to the boys that evening.

“Are you sure you want me here?” Niall asked, alone in the kitchen with the couple while the children played outside. “I don’t want to intrude on such an important family matter.”

Teal rolled his eyes. “Can you please stop being ridiculous? You’re part of our family too.

You know that. And this is going to affect all of us.

Having you here will make the adjustment easier for them.

The boys love you so much. If they can see that you’re understanding of this huge change, it will help them come to terms with things as well. ”

Niall twisted his hands together. “To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what the situation is with Sorcha. Only what you’ve told me. Obviously, I’ll do whatever you need to help the boys.”

Ronan exhaled deeply and faced the beta. “Niall, you of all people know that Teal and I have always been open to the idea of bringing other people into our marriage.”

Niall released a puff of air. “Uh-huh.”

Ronan cleared his throat, oddly unsure. “Teal and I have known for a while that we felt a profound connection to Sorcha. Something well beyond being neighbors. His heat may have upped the ante and driven the point home sooner, but we both believe this is where we would have ended up, eventually.”

“Ended up…with Sorcha.”

“Exactly,” Teal affirmed. “He’s part of us now. We aren’t letting him go.”

“Oh,” Niall said flatly. “Um, of course.”

Teal circled his arms around the beta from behind. Surprising Ronan, Niall leaned into the embrace, pushing the omega’s hands against his abdomen.

“We felt this way about you,” Teal said fervently into Niall’s ear. “You know Ronan and I would never disrespect your relationship with Jax, but we learned our lesson about not being honest about what we truly wanted when we let you go. We can’t repeat the same mistake with Sorcha.”

Niall looked up at Ronan for confirmation, and Ronan nodded with more than a hint of melancholy.

“We’re so grateful for your friendship, Niall. Yours and Jax’s,” Teal continued. “And maybe things worked out the way they’re supposed to. Because you have Jax, and you’re still a part of our lives. But we’ll always miss the piece of you we don’t have anymore.”

Niall’s eyes closed. “I made my choice. And I don’t regret it,” he said.

“I don’t want to be jealous of Sorcha. Heck, I care for Sorcha too.

But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like I’ve been…

replaced. I know it makes me an asshole to think that, and I promise I’ll get over it. ” He blew out a long breath.

The sadness and longing in Niall’s tone shot straight to Ronan's core. An instinct to ease the man surfaced. With reverence, Ronan placed his hands over Teal’s on Niall’s stomach. “My beta—”

Niall and Teal startled at the unexpected alpha voice, and Ronan flinched. “Shit, sorry, it just slipped—”

“It’s okay,” Niall murmured.

Ronan nodded. “Alright then. Niall, my friend.” He moved his hand to the beta’s cheek. “Our relationship with Sorcha takes away nothing from what we had with you. You need to understand that you are absolutely irreplaceable.”

Niall turned his face to the alpha’s palm and the three men stilled, letting Ronan’s words sink in.

The beeping of the microwave broke the moment. Niall pulled out some broccoli he’d heated to go with the pizza. Teal called the boys to come inside and wash up.

“Niall, we realize this will be a big adjustment for everyone,” Ronan said.

“But Teal and I wouldn’t pursue this if we didn’t think it was the best decision for our family.

We don’t know yet how Sorcha will fit into our sons’ lives, only that he will, and we feel strongly that they will be better people for knowing him. Just as they are for knowing you.”

“Thank you,” Niall replied as the twins trooped in with their brother trailing behind.

Once the kids sat down, Teal said, “We want to talk to you boys about Sorcha.”

Garin, Kino, and Zayne listened with interest as their fathers told them that Sorcha would be living with them for the foreseeable future, that he was joining their family.

“Families can have lots of different people in them,” Ronan explained. “Kind of like how Niall is a part of our family.”

“Is Sorcha going to be our nanny too?” Kino asked.

“No,” Teal said gently. “This is the part that’s difficult, so I’m going to ask you to be very grown-up trying to understand. Right now, the best way to explain it is like this. You know how Papa and I are husbands?”

“Yes,” all three boys answered.

“Well,” Teal ran his hands over his thighs. “Sorcha is going to be like another husband to me and Papa.”

Ronan held his breath as he viewed his wide-eyed sons.

He and Teal had agreed earlier that being as honest as possible would be better than having the boys wonder what was going on or needing to guess at it.

The kids were too young to know much about sex, but he imagined they’d notice if their fathers were touching and kissing Sorcha the way they’d only seen them do with each other.

And, of course, Sorcha had had a breeding orgasm. There was a chance he would be connected to their family in a much more meaningful way soon. But they’d agreed to wait on revealing that possibility until they knew for sure.

Besides, the boys were already dealing with enough, taking in the information they’d just received.

“Three husbands?” Garin scrunched his face. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s not very common,” Ronan said seriously.

“And we don’t want you to discuss this with anyone at school, at least for now.

There’s a lot even Daddy and I don’t know yet.

We’re taking it day-by-day. All we’re sure of is that Sorcha will be a part of our family, so we’re asking you boys to be kind to him and get to know him. ”

“I like Sorcha,” Zayne chirped, apparently now able to pronounce his name correctly. “He can stay in my room if he wants.”

Ronan’s lip twitched. “Sorcha is going to stay in the spare bedroom for now. This will be a big change for him. A big change for all of us. And like I said, we don’t have all the answers yet.”

“Do you smell Sorcha, Papa?” Kino asked. “Like the way you smell Daddy?”

Ronan smiled at his perceptive child, recalling that most of what passed for sex education at the elementary level was rudimentary information on scenting and the biological differences between the genders.

The twins would have learned by now that one way alphas and omegas knew they were compatible was if they smelled extra good to one another.

“Yes,” Ronan replied. “As a matter of fact, your daddy can smell Sorcha too, even though they are both omegas. Which is very rare, so they’re lucky it worked out that way.”

“Sorcha can smell me as well,” Teal added with a measure of pride.

Kino nodded pensively, as though attempting to line up this information with what he’d been taught.

Ronan sighed. He’d known this would be the toughest part.

It was certainly a big lift to ask three little boys to make sense of the situation when the adults were essentially improvising as they went along.

Niall piped in his support. “Gents, I’m looking forward to getting to know Sorcha better. I’m a beta, so you know I can’t smell anyone, but I still think Sorcha is one of the coolest omegas I’ve ever met. In fact, I’m going to ask him to teach me about making furniture.”

“I wanna know too,” Zayne said. “I like making things with my hands.”

“Maybe he can read books with me,” Kino said.

“I bet he’d enjoy that.” Teal smiled. “I’m sure there are lots of fun things you can do with him.”

Garin’s doubtful expression remained. “I don’t know,” he said. “It still seems weird to me. And our family is already super weird, having such a famous omega daddy.”

Teal’s face fell, but before Ronan could take his oldest twin to task, Garin followed his words up quickly with, “Sorry, Daddy. That’s not how I meant it. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I love that you’re so smart and important. Just sometimes I get tired of having to…having to…”

“Stick up for me?” Teal asked.

“Yeah,” Garin said, contrite. “Sorry.”

“I understand, son,” Teal hushed out, petting Garin’s head.

“And I appreciate you being honest about how you feel. But I’m going to ask you to be extra mature and take me at my word that bringing Sorcha into our family right now isn’t really a choice.

I don’t expect you to fully understand, but please believe me when I tell you that Papa and I need to do this.

We know it affects everyone in this room, but we honestly think it’s for the best.”

Garin’s lips pursed. “Okay,” he conceded, still seeming skeptical.

“Son, you know that Daddy and I always do what we think is best for you boys, and that we love you very much, right?” Ronan asked.

“Yes, Papa.”

“Then I’m asking you to trust us, and to try and see Sorcha coming into our family as a good thing, even if it’s tricky. Can you do that?”

Garin nodded his head, looking first at Kino and then at Zayne before shrugging and speaking for all of them. “Okay. I guess we can just be even weirder.”

Ronan snorted as Niall and Teal cackled. The boys joined in their laughter.