Page 26

Oren

“Thanks for doing this.”

We were taking a detour on our first family vacation to stop at the town where my uncle had spent his teen years. I discovered, during my searches, that not only was my uncle older than I realized, at least compared to my dad, but that he had a different alpha father. They weren’t brothers but half-brothers.

Growing up, I thought my grandparents referred to each other as mates, and I’d always assumed they were fated mates, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe they were simply a love match. That would explain a side omega, right? If that’s even what he was. There was so much I needed to learn.

And I’d learn soon enough because we were on our way to meet my uncle’s omega father—the closest thing I had to a living relative. I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about meeting this new quasi-grandparent, but Archer had encouraged me to at least find out all that I could. What better time than while we were on our first vacation? We could stop in, chat, then be on our merry way. Easy peasy.

Heath was driving the bus, Archer was co-pilot, and I sat right behind them with Silas. We’d had to redo the bus a little bit to make it possible to safely transport our son, but it had been worth every hour spent and every penny poured into it to be able to do this.

We’d already stopped at two places on our trip. One was a campsite for shifters, and that had been a lot of fun. The other was a state park where it was just the four of us. Both were a lot of fun and really highlighted how important this vehicle was for us. Sure, sometimes we’d want to stay at a hotel, especially when Silas got a little older and was interested in things like pools, but this bus had its place in our life as well.

“It’s the next exit,” Heath called back. “And for the record, I’m more than happy to help you learn what you can about your uncle. But, if you’re having second thoughts, I can find a place for us to hang out instead.”

I let out a long breath. “This is good. This is what I want.” I might sound unsure, but I wasn’t. I needed the answers and maybe, just maybe, a connection to my past. I’d figure out which soon enough.

Ten minutes later, we were pulling up to a house in a cul-de-sac—or at least I thought it was a standard cul-de-sac. I later found out that it was part of the herd and how they organized their housing, where all the houses could see each other.

“Come on, Silas, it’s time to get out.” I unbuckled him and changed him quickly before coming out of the bus to meet my mates. I hadn’t realized there was already a man on the front porch watching us. I gave a little wave, and he waved back.

“I’ve got Silas,” Archer said, grabbing my shoulder. “I’ll give you a few minutes, and if you want us to join you later, just say the word, okay?”

I nodded, letting him take the baby as I walked up to the front steps.

“Hi, I’m Oren,” I started, but before I could say more, the old man’s arms wrapped around me.

“You can call me Pop-Pop. I always hoped you’d come around. Want to come inside for some tea, or would you rather stay out here with the breeze blowing and your mates in eyeshot?”

“Tea is good.”

He led me inside and told me how he had loved the man I knew as my alpha grandfather, but that it wasn’t a true mate situation. And when my grandfather met his true mate, they settled down and had my dad, leaving my uncle and his father mostly out in the cold. They hadn’t been dicks about it, letting the brothers spend summers together, but it was hardly what anyone would call a typical situation.

For a few seconds, I worried that my existence would be upsetting for Pop-Pop but soon saw the truth of it. As much as he was my only sort of relative, I was his.

He treated me like I was his grandson, telling me all about my uncle, about the summers they spent with my dad, and how it broke his heart when the family severed ties. I had a ton of questions but already had far more answers than I could process.

In a weird way, we both kind of needed each other. We were the only family each other had, even if we were relatives of relatives.

“Do you want to meet my mates?” I asked.

“More than anything. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a little baby cuddle.” He got up from his seat. “I’ll make them tea.”

My mates came in, and we all talked, sharing bits about our lives together, with Silas taking to Pop-Pop immediately. While I had no interest in being connected to the herd at all, meeting him and spending this time together was pretty amazing. We ended up staying for a few days, camping out in the woods behind the herd. We laughed, we played endless games of cards, and, when it was time to go, there were tears and promises of visiting again in both directions.

“I hope he really comes,” Heath said later that night. “We could even set up a little spot in the back to make him feel welcome.”

“I’d like that,” I replied, snuggling into his side.

“And if you want a connection to your herd, we can arrange that too.” Archer was swaying back and forth in front of us, holding Silas as he was falling asleep.

“I already have my herd—my family—back home.”

And I did too, which made for such a great little community for our family. I didn’t need anything else. I already had everything an omega could ever want—and more.

“I love you both so much, I sometimes fear I’m going to wake up and discover this is a dream.” And if it was, I very much didn’t want to wake up.

“I know the feeling.” Heath wrapped his arm around me. “Fate sure does know what they are doing.”

“You can say that again.” Archer set our sleeping son into his mini crib.

“Fate sure does know what they are doing.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him to us.

“They really do.” Archer got up and held out a hand for each of us. “And I do too.” He winked and led us back to our bedroom where he showed us how true that was.