“The baby?” Jake made big eyes.
“Yes, you’re going to be a big brother today.”
“Cool!”
I smiled. “Do you see now why we have to hurry?”
“I’ll be quick!” And with that said, he dragged me in the direction of the gift shop. I groaned. As much as I was looking forward to the baby, it had the worst timing! And wasn’t it too early anyway? The doctor had said it would be another three weeks.
Should I be worried?
I bit my lower lip while Jake ran to one of the shelves and grabbed a red dinosaur plushie from it. “I want this one!”
“Fine.” I paid for it. At least he’d decided quickly.
Jake grabbed the plushie back from the lady working the register once I’d paid and took my hand. “C’mon, we have to hurry.”
I almost laughed. Almost. But he was right; we did have to get back to Oceanport quickly. Griff had sounded as if the baby would be there any second, and I didn’t want to miss the birth for anything. I knew that Eli had been in labor for a long time with Jake, but the second time was supposed to be faster, right?
In normal traffic conditions, it took nearly two hours from here to Oceanport. In normal traffic. But that day, traffic sucked. Of course it did.
It was all I could do not to start cursing every other driver while I had my son in the car with me.
“Can’t you go faster?” he asked.
But no, I could not. It seemed everybody wanted to get out of the city.
I let Jake sound the horn, though. Not that it did anything.
All in all, it took us the better part of an hour just to get out of the city, and then we still had to get back to town. It was around this time that I started getting agitated phone calls about what was taking me so long.
“I’m doing the best I can,” I told Eli on the cell.
“Yeah? So am I, but this baby isn’t going to wait forever so you better get your ass here.”
I grimaced. “Just so you know, I put you on speaker and Jake’s in the car.”
“Hi, Daddy!”
Eli groaned, but switched to a friendlier tone of voice. “Hey, kiddo. Tell Matt to hurry up, okay?”
“I will!”
“Good! See you soon.” Eli ended the call, and I stepped on the gas a little harder.
We made good time too, until Jake decided he really, really needed to go. And no, it could not wait.
Oh, the joys of being a parent.
Swallowing down some curse words, I stopped by the side of the road where I spotted some trees that would obscure us from sight.
“But there’s no toilet here,” Jake complained.
“That’s okay, buddy, just try to aim for that flower.” I pointed at some weed with yellow blossoms.
“Can I really?” He shifted his weight rapidly from one foot to the other.
“Of course you can.” And please don’t pee yourself.
I looked aside as he pulled his pants down and went to business. Of course my phone chose that moment to ring again.
“Hello?”
Eli’s voice greeted me, sounding even more irritated than before. “You’re still not here! You promised you were going to be here!”
“Jake needed to water some flowers.”
“Don’t tell Daddy!” Jake shouted.
“What was that?” Eli asked.
“Nothing. Listen, I’ll be there in twenty minutes!”
“You better be! They want me to push this thing out already. And honestly, I’m tempted!”
“Right. I’ll get back in the car.” And I did, just as soon as Jake had zipped his pants back up.
It took me another half hour to get us to the hospital, and once I’d parked the car, I grabbed my kid, who was still carrying that stupid plushie, and sprinted inside. I was not going to miss this birth. I’d missed too much of my time as a parent already. Yeah, being a parent could be tiring some days, but I loved being there for my son, and I wanted to be there for this child too—from the moment it came into this world.
And I was going to make it, damn it.
Nothing was going to slow me down.
Until something did.
“Dad!” Jake yelled, trying to get my attention.
I stopped immediately. “What?”
“They have flowers!” He pointed to another damn gift shop while all I could think about was what he’d just called me. “We need to bring Daddy flowers.”
“Okay.” Like in trance, I set Jake down and walked over to the gift shop with him, where I quickly grabbed a bouquet of their prettiest flowers and paid for it. Then I gave them to Jake to carry. And I decided not to comment on the fact that he’d just called me Dad for the first time. I didn’t want to make him feel awkward about it.
But I was pretty damn happy.
I was still grinning when we finally made it to the delivery room. Griff was standing in front of the door, waiting for us. I left Jake with him and hurried inside.
“Oh God, you’re finally here!” Eli was red in the face, already pushing. “Come here!”
I ignored the doctor and the nurse in the room and went to stand by Eli’s bed. He grabbed my hand and squeezed so hard I thought he might just break it. But I was so relieved that I’d gotten here in time that I didn’t mind. “Thanks for waiting.”
“I wasn’t waiting! I’m hard at work!”
“And almost done here too,” the doctor chimed in. “The baby’s crowning.”
Wow. Sounded like I really had gotten here just in time.
“Keep pushing!” the doctor said.
Eli looked like he wanted to throw some profanities at him, but instead he let out a sound that was very nearly a scream. And then soon after I heard a different cry.
The first cry of my newborn child.
And it took my breath away.
“It’s a girl!” the doctor pronounced, holding her up.
“Wow.” It was all I could think to say while Eli let himself fall back on the bed, clearly exhausted but with a smile on his face.
“We have a little girl,” he muttered.
“Yeah, we do.” I leaned down to give him a quick kiss. “You did so well.”
“Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” the doctor addressed me.
“Of course.” I took the scissors from him and made a clean cut. Then the nurse took my little girl away to get her wrapped up.
“Have you decided on a name?” Eli asked.
Since I hadn’t been given a say in Jake’s name, Eli had said that I could pick this time. It was a generous offer, and I was a little nervous to screw it up, but once the nurse laid the baby on Eli’s chest and I got another look at her beautiful face, I knew I’d made the right choice. “Olivia,” I said.
Eli’s lips curled up as he stroked our daughter’s cheek with one finger. “Welcome to the world, Olivia.”
“You’re okay with the name?”
“I love it.”
“I’m glad. I love it too. And you. And her.” So much. I’d been a little worried about becoming a full-time parent, but once Eli handed Olivia to me, all my fears vanished into a puff of smoke. Natural child rearing instincts or not, alpha or omega, it didn’t matter. This was my family now, and I’d made the right decisions.
“Where’s the baby?” Jake asked, bouncing into the room alongside Griff as soon as Eli and the baby had recovered a little bit.
“Come here,” Eli said, waving the boy toward him while still holding Olivia.
“I brought presents!” Jake said proudly. “For the baby and for you!” He held up the plushie and the flowers. I’d no idea he’d wanted to give the dinosaur to his new sister, but now I was glad we’d stopped at the gift shop.
“Thank you,” Eli said with a smile. “The flower are lovely, and I’m sure your sister is going to love her new toy.”
“It’s a girl?” Jake peeked at the bundle in Eli’s arms while I took the flowers from him and put them into a glass with water.
&n
bsp; “She’s beautiful,” Griff said. “So cute.”
I grinned to myself. She totally was.
“We’re going to have so much fun!” Jake announced, and the level of glee in his voice promised me a world of trouble and shenanigans. But that was okay. I loved my mate, and I loved my children, and no amount of schoolboy mischief or toddler tantrums could keep me away from them anymore.
This was all so different from everything I’d ever imagined—and everything my parents had ever wanted for me. And yet, I felt like this was the best day of my life. And I couldn’t wait for the rest of it.
Epilogue
ELIAS
Eight months later
Thirty minutes before the wedding ceremony, Jake came bursting into the dressing room where I was checking my white suit in front of the mirror. “Daddy!”
“What’s up?”
“Dad asks if you’re ready yet.”
I tried to straighten my hair a bit, but it was no use. “Almost.”
“You look funny in that suit,” Jake said.
I chuckled. He was right. I did look a bit different from usual, but it was customary for omegas to marry in white. I didn’t care about the tradition so much, but Matt said he liked the color on me, and after I’d made him wait this long to get married… he could totally have me whichever way he wanted me.
“Do you have the rings?” I asked Jake.
“Of course I do!” He puffed his chest out, ever so proud that we were trusting him with this task. And he was so cute in his navy suit, trying to look important.
“Good.” I went down on one knee to hug him. “Now remember what I told you.”
“I know! Walk slowly with the rings to the altar. No running. No jumping.”
“Good boy.” I kissed his hair and let him go. He was getting so big now. I couldn’t believe he was eight already, soon to be nine.
Which meant this wedding was nearly ten years overdue.
When it was time for me to walk down the aisle, my brother walked with me, giving me away in place of the parent I hadn’t spoken to in forever. But it seemed only fitting that Griff should be here with me. I owed so much to him. I couldn’t wait for the day I got to return the favor.
“Good luck,” Griff whispered as he let me go.
But who needed luck when he had the most handsome man waiting for him at the altar?
Matt’s whole face lit up as he met my eyes. “You look stunning.”
“So do you.” I gave the compliment back with a smile. Matt was wearing black today, and I’m sure we contrasted nicely. The wedding pictures would be beautiful. Actually, everything looked great.
Matt had rented the town hall for this wedding, and Griff had been in charge of the decor. He had a real hand for it, using bright flowers and pastel colors to transform the hall into something that looked straight out of a fairy tale. Only the best for my brother, he’d said, even though he wasn’t the one paying for this.
Not that money was an issue when you were marrying the richest man in town. Matt might have quit his job, but he still had so much in savings and investments that we weren’t going to be scrounging for money anytime soon. Still, we’d kept expenses relatively low. We had no one to impress. Matt’s family hadn’t shown up, only some colleagues and old friends—and Frederica, who’d insisted on sitting in the front.
And my guests… Well, there was a row of people with cats and dogs from the shelter that made me smile when my eyes wandered their way. Fiona was there too, of course, sitting with some of the friends I’d made at college.
It was perfect. It was more than I’d ever dreamed of.
After all the gossip I’d had to endure, who’d have thought that someone was ever going to make an honest omega out of me? And all while I went back to college and left the child rearing to my mate!
“Ready to get this show started?” Matt asked with a small smile.
“You bet.”
We turned to the officiator.
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the union between an alpha and an omega, to support and love one another in the way only true mates can. But today is not about duties or obligations or fulfilling your role in society. Today is about love, for nothing is more powerful than a bond forged by love. The love they hold for one another as well as the love they show their children every day. It is this love that will carry them through the trials and tribulations of life, and nothing brings me greater honor than joining these two in marriage today. Now let us hear their vows.”
I looked at Matt, taking a deep breath because everything about this ceremony was making me teary. I wasn’t going to cry, though. At least not until we’d exchanged rings! “Matt,” I started, fiddling with the piece of paper in my hand. I’d written down so many words to say to him, but now I felt none of them were quite enough for what I wanted to express. “You have no idea how much I love you,” I said, before my silence grew even longer. “And I don’t have the words to tell you. Growing up, I always had this perfect vision of what my life was going to be like. I was going to be a vet and I was going to show everyone that omegas could be more than parents, and then you came and threw such a wrench into my plan.” I had to laugh and he smiled as well. “It’s because of you that I became a parent, but I also became so much more than that. You showed me that it’s not important what society expects of me as long as I love what I’m doing and I love who I’m with. The only thing I want to prove anymore is my love to you, and I’m going to keep doing that until the day that I die.”
When I finished, Matt actually looked like his eyes were a little wetter than usual too! I grinned at him. Go me, nearly making an alpha cry.
Following my example, Matt didn’t bother looking at his notes either. “You know that I’ve always had everything money could buy. People told me that I was lucky, that I should be happy, but I was only ever really happy when I was with you. I’m a fool, though, and it took me too long to see that. But people are right, and I really am lucky, because we got a second chance. I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to treasure you forever, because I have no treasure greater than you. You’re the bearer of my children and the love of my life, and I promise to never leave your side again.”
Deep breath, Eli, not the time for tears yet.
“Who has the rings?” the officiator asked.
“Here!” Jake walked up to us with a super-serious expression on his face. He held up a small black cushion with both rings placed on it. We’d opted for simple rings, because neither of us had wanted them to get stuck on anything, but they had our names engraved on the inside, and I loved them.
The officiator spoke again. “Do you, Matthew Lowell, take Elias Stevens to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Matt met my eyes with a smile. “I do.”
The officiator turned to me. “And do you Elias Stevens take Matthew Lowell to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
It was a no-brainer. “I do.”
“If there be anyone present who may show just and lawful cause why this couple may not be legally wed, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.”
A second of silence, another.
I smiled at Matt. Nobody could stop us from being married.
“Exchange the rings.”
We did.
“By the authority vested in me by the State of Maine, I hereby pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss.”
Matt leaned in and pressed his lips to mine the moment the officiator stopped speaking. This was it. We were married. From somewhere, I heard barking. Fiona, in the front row. I hoped she was happy now, after getting us together all those years ago. She barked again. And then all the other dogs joined in until the hall was filled with the noise of excited animals.
Hell, even my kid joined the barking after a moment. People were going to be talking about this for days.
I didn’t care, though. I simply laughed and leaned into my husband.
Let them talk.
I c
ouldn’t have asked for a better start into my new life.
About the Author
Ann-Katrin loves to write, read and dream. In her spare time, you can often catch her hunting wild plot bunnies in the fields of her imagination. In her other life, she’s a mother and a translator, but writing about men and the men they fall in love with is so much more fun!
Find her at:
annkatrinbyrde
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebyrdehouse/
[email protected]
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Other Books by Ann-Katrin
Mercy Hills Pack
Mating the Omega (Book One)
Abel’s Omega (Book Two)
Duke’s Baby Deal (Book Three)
The Alpha’s Omega (Book Four)
Legally Mated (Book Five) - Coming Soon!
Fires of Fate
Under the Dragon’s Spell (Book One)
The Dragon of His Dreams (Book Two)
A Dragon’s Love Song (Book Three)
A Dragon’s Miracle (Book Four)
The Omega's Secret Baby (Oceanport Omegas Book 1) Page 20