Page 5

5

LEWIS

A penguin shifter’s paternity leave starts when his eggs are lain. It isn’t as easy for Todd, who runs his own business, so we have to ask for help with warming the eggs sometimes. Todd suggests buying a heat lamp, but I calmly tell him that no egg of mine will be warmed by a lamp.

My father spends a lot of time with our eggs. Todd’s omega mother offers, but she seems very perplexed by the whole thing. Surprisingly, it’s Ansel who seems to enjoy egg warming the most. He cuddles under the blankets of our bed with his bear arms wrapped around the eggs. He licks them and sniffs them, much like Todd.

One night Todd and I come home from a rare dinner date to find both Ansel and my dad in our bedroom. They’re kissing. Not just a peck either. My dad is shoving his tongue in Ansel’s mouth, and Ansel is moaning.

Gross. I didn’t need to see or hear that.

Todd clears his throat loudly.

Ansel jumps, and my father pulls the egg bundle to his chest, like we’re a dangerous intruder. “Lewis! I didn’t… I’m sorry…”

Ansel jumps off the bed.

“Wait…” Todd says, as Ansel squeezes between us and bolts for the front door. Todd dashes after him.

My father’s face stays beet red for a full minute after Ansel and Todd leave. I wait for him to talk, until it becomes obvious that he isn’t going to.

“Dad, how long have you been… what is going on with…”

“He’s too young for me, isn’t he? I’m being foolish. When he first came on to me I thought he was messing with me, but after a while I…”

My dad is nearly vibrating with nervous tension. I’ve never seen him this shaken and vulnerable. After everything that happened with my alpha father, I never thought he’d let a man get under his skin like this again.

I sit down next to him. “Ansel’s a great guy. If you have some kind of relationship with him, it’s genuine. He wouldn’t mess with you.”

“You don’t think I’m too old?” he asks.

I smile. “Ansel doesn’t seem to think so.”

My father hugs the eggs tighter to his chest. I try to see him the way Ansel would. He’s still slim with a sharp jaw. He’s been buying new clothes lately and getting his hair cut more often. Is that because of Ansel?

“A man like that wouldn’t… most polar bear shifters don’t… they don’t mate for life,” He’s clearly anxious about this. I don’t blame him. Giving a polar bear shifter your heart is a risk.

“You could ask him if he’s interested in that,” I say. “You never know.”

“But how would I do that? He wouldn’t want a pebble, would he? I don’t want to screw this up.”

My dad is kind of adorable when he’s obsessing about a guy.

“You could be like, ‘Hey Ansel, I’m in love with you. Would you ever want this to be permanent? And if so, do you want a pebble?’”

He swallows hard and looks away from me. Maybe it will just take time.

“I didn’t know you were into omegas,” I say. Because we should probably talk about that at some point.

He shrugs. “After your alpha father I couldn’t… all the humans I’ve been dating have been omegas too. I don’t want to be with an alpha again.”

That makes a lot of sense.

“I think it’s great. Really.”

He gives me a tentative smile. “Yeah?”

“You deserve to be happy, Dad.”

He’s been alone for a long time.

I’m glad he’s not alone anymore.