Page 25 of Santas' Elf

“I almost died,” I replied. “It was horrible.”

Our sweet omega burst into laughter. “Dork.”

I grinned. “You know it.”

He grabbed my shirt and pulled me in for a kiss. “I love you two so much.”

I grinned against his lips. “I love you too.”

“I love both your asses,” Warren chimed in from his seat.

Benny laughed, and our conversation turned into increasingly obnoxious declarations of love until the doctor walked in.

“Who’s ready to learn the gender?” the doctor asked once he’d gone over the more important information: that both Benny and our baby looked good and healthy.

The doctor pointed to shapes on the ultrasound. “Arms, legs, and…” he smiled. “No dingaling. Congrats, Dads. You’re having a girl.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. We were having a little girl.

Our girl.

Chapter 15 - Warren

~July~

Iforced myself not to glare at Pete’s cousins. We hadn’t spent much time with his extended family since that year when he’d been denied the chance to dote on the babies—using the Santa excuse at the holidays, and coming up with other reasons to avoid them the rest of the year.

I still hadn’t forgiven them for hurting him, but he had argued that there would be family drama if they weren’t invited to the baby shower. However, we had no intention of letting them back into our lives in any meaningful way.

They’d burned that bridge once they realized that Pete really was good with kids, and several of them had asked for free babysitting. They’d been adamant that alphas without kids couldn’t handle them… until they saw a potential benefit.

Luckily, my Pete had seen through the bullshit, and they’d quickly changed their minds when he asked to be paid for babysitting. Only he and I knew he would have done it for free, as long as it was because they were ready to make amends and accept us, not just because he was convenient.

“Go on boys,” Pete’s mama said, shooing us out the door. “I’ve got this handled. I won’t let anybody give your Benny any grief, and I’ll kick out anybody who says anything nasty. Get to your diaper party.”

I growled slightly, still uncomfortable about leaving Benny with Pete’s cousins at the party, but I trusted his mama. Mama Jean was tough-as-nails and didn’t take any shit. She’d been on our side regarding how Pete had been treated, and I knew she’d protect our omega from those toxic people.

“Thanks, Mama,” Pete said, giving her a hug. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

I hugged her as well, then we were on our way to the restaurant where we’d meet up with friends and coworkers.

Both Benny and Pete’s mama had been ok with the idea of an inclusive baby shower, but I’d made the decision to have a diaper party instead.

Pete wouldn’t have been the one to say it, but I knew my husband. He’d invited his cousins to prevent drama, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to be around them.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek once we got into the car. “You ok?”

He nodded. “Fine.”

I chuckled and started the car. It was only after we were on our way that I pulled out my trump card. “You want to know something?”

“Hmm?”

“All that bullshit? The way they treated you? If that hadn’t happened, we probably would never have met Benny.”

I kept my eyes on the road, even as I felt his stare.

“What?” he asked.