Winter's End

by Rebecca James

  “I’ve always been wise, you guys just didn’t notice,” Josh teased, sitting opposite Emory at the table with a cup of water.

  “I was thinking,” Josh said, then stopped, leaving the words hanging in the air.

  Emory looked up from his plate. He’d almost eaten all of the food, and there had been a lot. He was always hungry these days.

  “Thinking…what?” he prompted.

  Josh bit his bottom lip, then met Emory’s eyes. Emory got the feeling the young omega was putting on a casual air. “Just that maybe I’ll go see if Dad needs any help at Ace’s.”

  The two omegas looked at each other and burst into laughter.

  When Josh had gone, Emory picked up his knitting and sat in the comfortable chair by the window in the living room. Josh hadn’t been kidding—it had snowed several feet during the night, blanketing the compound in glittering white. The branches of tree looked like they were coated in diamonds.

  The knitting needles clicked in the quiet as the omega worked. The baby blanket was solid yellow without any details, making it easy for Emory’s thoughts to wander.

  He wondered what the baby would look like and hoped it would have Roanan’s curly hair and brown eyes. Maybe it would be an alpha, too.

  Emory looked up from his knitting when he heard a knock at the front door. “Come in,” he called, voice cracking. He cleared his throat.

  The door opened, and the pack alpha peered in.

  “Hi, mind if we come inside?”

  Emory smiled and shook his head, and Grey, Ian, and Gabriel walked in.

  “Hi. Wh’ are…the pups?” Emory asked.

  Gabriel grinned. “You sound so good!” He crossed the room and hugged Emory. “I can tell how hard you’ve been working at getting your voice back. Fin and Forrest are at the nursery. Ian and I are making the rounds with Grey this morning. You’re our last stop.”

  “We saw Roanan and Josh at Ace’s,” Ian said, sitting on the couch beside Grey.

  Emory nodded and said, “Tree fell.”

  “They’ve got most of it chopped into firewood now,” Grey said.

  “We also saw Lake and Landon skating on the pond. They came in for hot chocolate when we stopped at Kale’s,” Ian said.

  Emory nodded and smiled.

  “Let’s see your blanket,” Gabriel held out his hand, and Emory passed it to him. “It’s beautiful.” The first omega fingered the yarn. “And so soft. You need to teach me how.” He smiled brightly. “Guess what? I’m carrying again!”

  Emory’s eyes widened, and sudden fear pierced his heart. “But…”

  Gabriel covered Emory’s hand. “It’s okay. We didn’t mean it to happen. We got carried away.” He glanced at his mates and blushed. “But I’m feeling so good, Em. Not at all like before.”

  “So it…worked?”

  Grey nodded. “It seems the antidote has helped him.”

  “It makes me wonder about Christopher. I wish I could ask him if it worked for him as well,” Gabriel said.

  “I’ll find out soon.” Grey turned to Emory. “I’m going to River’s compound tomorrow to meet some rogues who want to join our pack.”

  Emory nodded. Roanan had mentioned that to him.

  “Is everything okay here?” Grey asked, although Emory was sure Roanan had answered that question when they’d gone to Ace’s. He nodded at the pack alpha.

  “Gabe, would you like to stay here with Emory and visit some more while Ian and I go get the boys?”

  “Sure, if that’s okay with you, Em,” Gabriel said, looking at him.

  Em smiled happily. “Stay.”

  So Gabriel did, and for the next thirty minutes Em demonstrated to his friend how to knit. Gabriel was getting pretty good at it by the time his family returned, and Emory sent the other omega off with a skein of blue yarn and two knitting needles.

  Alone again, Emory felt himself drifting into one of several naps he was sure to have that day.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Keith

  Grant had Keith pressed against the wall as the alpha drove his cock into him from the back. Sounds of their coupling filled the room along with the lingering scent of Keith’s heat, which was ebbing. But Keith still needed the fullness of his alpha’s knot inside him.

  “Knot me, please,” he begged, and Grant growled and crammed the bulbous protrusion at the base of his dick past the omega’s rim. “Gods, yes,” Keith whispered. “It feels so good. Fill me up.”

  Grant stroked Keith’s rigid cock, the entirety of it fitting in the alpha’s hand. Keith loved his mate’s hard grip on him and moaned loudly before coming hard, closing his eyes and letting the waves of pleasure overtake him as Grant continued to thrust inside him.

  A couple of years ago, Keith never would have believed he’d be where he was at that moment. In Angel Hills, mated to a strong young alpha who made Keith so very happy.

  “Give me a pup,” Keith murmured. “Breed me.”

  Grant growled even louder, pounding into his mate harder until his knot broke and filled Keith with warm seed.

  Grant panted into Keith’s shoulder, close to the mating bite, and Keith groaned, another spurt of cum blasting from his cock onto the wall.

  “We’re going to have some cleaning to do,” he said with a chuckle when he’d caught his breath.

  Grant eased from his body. “It was worth it.” He kissed Keith’s neck. “Let’s clean up and go for a walk, want to?”

  “Sure.”

  They showered together. Keith had been noticing lately how much broader and bigger Grant was getting, as though once the young alpha had mated, he’d blossomed. No, that wasn’t the right word, but it was the only one he could think of. Grant was filling out. Maturing. And it turned Keith on.

  Dressed, they walked hand in hand through the compound. The sliver of moon was high in the sky but lent very little light to their path. Keith thought about humans and how they had to use flashlights to move around on dark nights like these whereas werewolves had excellent eyesight.

  “I wish we could go for a run together,” Keith said.

  “It’s too dangerous. But River told Grey the Congress is getting close to stopping it all with a law to keep the humans away from us along with a task force to enforce it.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Keith said. “The Congress is doing so many great things under the new president.”

  “I agree,” Grant said.

  They walked around the frozen lake. A couple sat on the dock in wolf form. Keith couldn’t tell who it was—he still didn’t recognize everyone one on sight, particularly in their wolf forms. He and Grant walked on, passing the small houses where Vaughn and Vince lived with their mates. Inside Vince’s house, Keith could see the omega sitting at the table with his two mates, Craig and Kale and their children, Ryan, Jasper, and little Avian. They looked very happy together. It brought a question to Keith’s mind.

  “Have you ever thought of having more than one mate?”

  Grant flashed a smile at Keith that made Keith’s stomach jump with excitement. “I barely had time to think of having one when Grey asked if I wanted to mate you. Why?”

  Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think it would be nice having a big family.” He glanced at Grant. “As long as the other mates weren’t omegas.”

  “Don’t worry, I can barely handle my one omega.” Grant leaned in and kissed Keith softly on the mouth. “But, yeah, maybe that would be nice. I’m definitely not against taking another mate down the road, although I don’t have anyone in mind.”

  “Neither do I. And I want you all to myself for a while first.” Keith took a deep breath of fresh, cold air. It wouldn’t be too long until it was spring, and then he could plant a garden in the back with Grant’s help. Maybe he’d have a pup on the way by then. He hoped so.

  When they came back around the lake, Grant said, “Well, would you look at that.”

  “What?” Keith looked around. The two wolves were st
ill on the dock, but he didn’t see anything else.

  “Up on the hill.” Grant pointed.

  Keith looked, but all he saw was two adults pushing a baby in a sack-like swing. “What?”

  “I can’t believe that’s Duncan, but it is. He’s pushing a baby on a swing.”

  Keith made a face. “I don’t get it.”

  “Duncan is a confirmed bachelor. He did have a mate years ago who died, but they were only together because the beta got pregnant. Rumor has it that Duncan wouldn’t have mated him if the beta hadn’t gotten pregnant. Ever since then, Duncan has stayed to himself. Then, out of the blue, he started seeing Canaan—another odd duck—and now Canaan’s adopted Joey.”

  Keith had been at the adoption ceremony. It had been sweet. “I thought Canaan was going to raise Joey on his own.”

  “That may be the way it is on paper, but it isn’t the reality,” Grant said as they rounded the corner and out of sight of Duncan’s house and the swing. “It looks to me like Duncan’s finally fallen in love.”

  “That’s so romantic,” Keith said, and Grant squeezed his hand.

  “It really is. What do you think they’re doing out this late with the baby?”

  “Probably soothing him on the swing,” Keith said. “It’s a good way to get a baby to sleep.”

  They arrived at their house and went inside, hanging their jackets on the hall tree before going into the kitchen and making some chamomile tea. Keith found a little at bedtime helped him sleep at night, and he’d gotten Grant drinking it.

  “Tell me the truth,” Grant said, pulling Keith into his arms while the kettle heated. “Do you like living in Angel Hills?”

  “Of course.” Keith was surprised at the question. “I’ve never regretted coming here. Not once. And I’ve never regretted mating you.” He wrapped his arms around his mate and kissed him lingeringly. Grant ran his tongue through Keith’s mouth and held the omega tighter, and they didn’t break away until the tea kettle whistled.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Canaan

  Canaan looked up from where he sat on the bench of the playground watching Joey play in the sand. The baby had grown so much of the past couple of months. He could stand now, and when in wolf form he could run.

  “Look!” Joey said again. Canaan smiled at the boy, thinking Joey was showing off his lump of sand again, then realized the baby was pointing behind Canaan.

  Canaan turned to find a strange alpha standing there. Immediately, he jumped up and grabbed Joey up from the ground.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, looking right and left, but no one was around. “Where did you come from?”

  The alpha, who was tall with sandy-colored hair and brownish-green eyes, nodded at him. “My name’s Arch. I’m one of the new pack members from Cascade City.”

  Canaan relaxed a bit. “Oh. Okay. Sorry for the reaction, but you startled me, and since I’d never seen you before, I thought maybe someone had gotten onto the compound somehow.”

  “I doubt it could happen with the guards you have. They seem to really be on the ball.”

  Canaan nodded. Joey patted his head with sandy hands, so Canaan set the boy down.

  “What’s your name?” Arch asked.

  “Canaan. You guys got here the other day, right? I’ve been so busy, I haven’t even been out of the house until today.” He reached forward and shook the alpha’s hand. “Again, sorry for the less-than-enthusiastic greeting. How are you liking it here?”

  “So far so good. Mind if I sit?” He indicated the bench, and Canaan sat down with him. “We’re all living together for now. There are three betas and two alphas, and Grey gave us a large house. I’m going to apprentice with Ace starting tomorrow.”

  “At the schoolhouse?” Canaan asked, confused. He didn’t think they had need of another teacher.

  “No. Tattooing. I did it a little in the city.”

  “That’s right. I forgot Ace did that. As I’ve never killed anyone, I’ve not had a reason to get a tattoo.”

  “Sometimes it’s fun to get them just for looks, but yeah. I hear your pack uses them as a symbol. I may need to find something else to do on the side, like Ace did.” He scratched his head and settled more comfortably on the bench. “Looks like spring’s just around the corner.”

  “I’m so glad,” Canaan said. He looked away from the newcomer to check on Joey, and startled to find the little boy wasn’t there. “Joey? Joey!” He turned around but didn’t see the child anywhere. “Did you see where he went?”

  “No, but he couldn’t have gotten far,” Arch said, standing. “He doesn’t look very old.”

  “But he can shift. He could be anywhere. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off him!”

  “Whoa, come on, it’s all right. We’ll find him. You go that way, and I’ll go this way.”

  Canaan set off, calling Joey’s name, getting more and more worried as he went. Could he have run into the woods after a squirrel or rabbit? Canaan’s heart clenched with fear. He was only a baby. Something awful could happen to him. He continued walking fast and calling, looking everywhere he thought might hide the child, but without any luck. Finally, he turned back.

  Relief poured over him when he spotted Arch holding Joey near the edge of the woods.

  “There he is, little guy. There’s your Daddy.” Arch bounced Joey, who was whining.

  “Where did you find him?” Canaan asked, taking Joey from Arch’s arms. “Oh, wolf gods, you scared me to death, Joey.”

  Joey patted him on the face.

  “He was a little ways away looking at some horses in a corral.”

  “I should have known you’d go after Tarz’s horses,” Canaan said, hugging the baby. “Don’t you ever run off like that again.” He looked up at Arch. “Thank you so much for finding him. He could’ve gotten into the fence and gotten hurt.”

  “It was no problem.”

  A snarl from behind them had Canaan whipping around. Duncan stood a few feet away, nostrils flared and teeth showing.

  “Duncan, fuck.” Canaan laid his free hand on his heart. “I’ve had about enough terror this morning, thanks.” When Duncan didn’t say anything, just narrowed his eyes, Canaan introduced Arch. “He helped me find Joey. He ran away from me.”

  Duncan stepped forward, and to Canaan’s surprise, threw an arm around his shoulder before shaking Arch’s hand with—from Arch’s wince—looked like a little too much pressure.

  “Good to meet you. Thanks for your help finding our son.”

  Canaan’s eyes widened at that, but he didn’t say anything.

  “We have to be going,” Duncan said and steered Canaan away from the new alpha toward home. Joey reached for Duncan who took the boy and settled him on his hip.

  “Do you have a problem with that?” Duncan asked after a moment.

  Canaan looked up at him. “With what?”

  “I said Joey’s our son.”

  Canaan’s heart was beating a mile a minute. In the past couple months, he’d dared to hope, but…

  “No problem at all,” he said, and Duncan nodded once.

  Nothing more was said about it as Duncan helped bathe Joey and feed him dinner.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Duncan said as he rocked Joey to sleep with a bottle. He didn’t look at Canaan, but the beta could see the alpha’s eye twitching, a sure sign something was bothering him.

  “Did it hurt?” he asked.

  Duncan looked up. “Huh?”

  Canaan smiled. “You said you’d been thinking. I was wondering if it hurt.”

  “Smart ass,” Duncan grumbled, but a smile played on his full lips.

  When Duncan didn’t immediately continue, Canaan started picking up toys and putting them in the box. His hands were shaking, he was so nervous.

  Duncan cleared his throat. “I’d like you and Joey to move into my house.” When Canaan stopped and looked at him with shock, Duncan continued, “It’s larger. And we have the swing.”

  Canaan
blinked.

  “And I want Grey to make it official that I’m the boy’s father too.”

  Canaan wasn’t sure what to say. He was totally on board with everything Duncan was saying, but where had it all come from? And what did it mean?”

  Joey released suction on the nipple, jaw going slack in sleep, although every few seconds his lips would work as though he were still sucking. Duncan kissed his dark head and laid him in the crib. Canaan quickly chucked the last toy in the box and headed for his bedroom, where Duncan shortly joined him.

  “I’m a little confused,” Canaan said, unsure.

  Duncan huffed, hands on hips, and stared at the floor a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, “I want you to mate me.”

  Canaan’s mind stopped working. He stood staring at the alpha. When he realized his mouth was hanging open, he closed it.

  “Did you just say…uh…”

  “That I wanted to mate you. Yes.” He made an impatient noise. “Is that so difficult to fathom? We’ve been spending every moment together for over a year.”

  Canaan started to argue because no, in the beginning it hadn’t been like it was now, but Duncan interrupted.

  “You know what I’m trying to say. Don’t make this hard, Canaan. Do you want to mate me or not?”

  Dumbly, Canaan nodded. He wanted it more than anything in the world. Here was Duncan, giving him all he’d ever wanted in his gruff, unromantic way, and Canaan couldn’t think of a thing to say or do.

  “Okay, then. Well.” He stepped forward and laid his hand against Canaan’s cheek.

  “Why now? Why today?” Canaan asked before the alpha could kiss him.

  Duncan looked thoughtful. “Why not now?”

  Canaan shrugged feebly. “I mean, this has just come out of nowhere. You suddenly want to mate me? You’ve always said you don’t want to mate anyone.”

  “I changed my mind, okay?” Duncan’s voice rose. “Can’t a werewolf change his mind?”

  “And I’m the one you want to mate,” Canaan said, stepping closer to the alpha, who nodded. “And you want to officially adopt Joey like I did.” Another nod. Canaan rested his hand on Duncan’s chest and was surprised to find the alpha’s heart beating so fast. “In that case, yes. It would be my pleasure to mate with you, Duncan.”