After locating the diapers in Barric’s bag, I gave the little man a good wipe down to ensure he didn’t have any nasty diaper rashes popping up later. Then I put on the only other onesie Barric packed. It was yuletide red with two little snowmen on the front complete with coal eyes and big goofy looking carrot noses.
“Now that you’re all clean let’s get you some breakfast, baby,” I cooed to Baby Max.
I wrapped him in a handknitted blue blanket I found in the bag and padded around the kitchen sniffing out the baby formula. It was nowhere to be found in the cabinets. I glanced out the window considering making a dash to the store. It was twenty minutes away. By myself, I wouldn’t mind driving through the aftermath of a blizzard with more snow on the way, but I didn’t even have a car seat for the baby. There was probably one in Barric’s car, but I wasn’t sure.
“If he drove all the way here without a car seat for that pup, I will eat him, and Alpha will just have to find a new apprentice!” My wolf growled.
“Luc’s magical helpers? Can you hear me? Are you around?” I called out and looked around the kitchen.
I wasn’t even sure they could talk or had physical forms of their own. Baby Max whimpered and I tried again.
“Hey, magical helpers? Servants? Minions?” I said a little louder this time. “Where’s the formula? I’m not trying to work you to death. I just have a hungry baby here and really need to know where the formula is.”
Something bumped behind me and I spun around ready to face the servants I’d yet to meet. No one was there, but a can of baby formula set on the kitchen table.
“Thank you!” I called out and set about making a bottle for Baby Max.
When his bottle was ready it took two trips to get everything to the living room. The first trip I took his bottle but forgot my coffee and had to circle back.
“I need this, baby boy. I really do. This is my ba-ba. Without this I might join you in the fussiness,” I laughed to the baby as we settled in on the sofa.
Reading had taught me some infants have trouble latching on for a feeding. Fortunately, Baby Max had no such problem. He latched on and drank his milk like the hungry little wolf cub he was. After his breakfast and my coffee, I stretched out on the sofa with him laid on my chest. Luc would be up soon and there was no good reason to take Baby Max back upstairs and wake him and Barric up.
Baby Max squeezed my finger. A second later he shifted into his furry little pup form. He was gray, white, and tan with a white little nose. He pressed his little forehead against my chest and whined calling out for his parents. Some folks think babies can’t tell the difference between people. Those folks are crazy. Babies know their parents. They lived inside their carriers and smell more like them than anyone else in the world. As happy as I was to have Baby Max around it broke my heart to hear him whine for parents who might not want him at all.
I stroked his little head with a single finger and rested my other hand on his back trying to comfort him. I wasn’t his carrier, but hopefully he realized he wasn’t alone in the big scary world. Eventually, Baby Max’s whines eventually subsided as he drifted off to sleep. Sleep still clung to my brain and it didn’t take me long to fall asleep in the now quiet house.
For the next couple of hours Baby Max and I slept like rocks. Footfalls on the steps woke me. Sometime during our nap, I shifted into my own furry form and curled around the little sleeping pup. My eyes drifted closed before the owner of the footsteps ever made it into the living room.
A finger brushed against my belly. I jarred awake snapping and snarling at the pup thief. Barric yelped and jumped back nursing a skinned thumb.
“What the hell, man?” Barric growled.
I shifted back to human form and scooped up the pup. After I blinked the sleep away and I looked at Barric sheepishly.
“Sorry,” I said and bit my lip. “He was crying earlier. He was soaked to the gills and you didn’t wake up. I got him cleaned up and fed him breakfast.”
“That doesn’t explain why you tried to take my hand off when I went to pick him up.”
“Tensions are high this morning,” Luc said yawning and stretching his muscular arms high above his head as he walked into the room. “You’re on edge about your parents trying to take the baby back just to give him away. That has Aidan on edge too. We’re all on the same side here, but it would be wise to announce yourself before reaching towards a sleeping wolf’s stomach, Barric. You know that.”
“He’s my brother,” Barric said.
“And Aidan’s my mate,” Luc said. “Calm down. No one’s hurting him or trying to take him from you, but you did spook Aidan.”
Luc glanced at his apprentice’s thumb. The scratch had already healed.
“Go wash your hands and then come get your brother,” Luc said.
Barric took off grumbling and Luc sat down next to me on the sofa. Still holding the furry baby, I leaned into his side and he wrapped his arm around me. He scooped up my half full coffee mug and took a swig.
“You use a lot of sugar,” he laughed and shook his head.
“It got away from me this morning. It’s hard to make coffee with one hand.”
“It’s good practice for when we have our own,” Luc said and reached and gently ran a finger across Baby Max’s muzzle.
“If this is our practice run you need to practice waking up, Alpha, because Max was screaming bloody murder and I was the only one who heard him,” I laughed.
“Sorry, mate. I didn’t hear a thing. Though, if he was as loud as you say I’m surprised Barric slept through it.”
“I’m not so worried about him. I’m not having a baby with him. Not now. Not ever.”
“You could’ve woken me up,” Luc said and kissed my forehead. “I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I know. I didn’t mind so much this morning either. Max is such a sweet boy. I can’t imagine anyone trying to give him away for any reason.”
“Me neither,” Luc frowned.
He finished the rest of my coffee and headed upstairs. A second later he came back down with his phone pressed to his ear. He was trying Barric’s parents again. Sighing, he hung up and tried again.
“Still no answer?” Barric asked coming back into the room with two mugs of coffee.
He handed one to Luc and I set a death glare on him as he started to raise the other to his own mouth. I got up at the tail crack of dawn and took care of his brother. The least the man could do was pour me some damn coffee. He stopped short of drinking it and offered it to me.
“Thanks,” I grinned.
“I’ll be right back,” Barric barely swallowed and irritated sigh as he headed back into the kitchen.
“The pecking order has changed, and it’ll take him a while to adjust to it,” Luc hung up the phone again and sat down next to me.
“I don’t want him to be my servant, but if he’s going to bring everyone else coffee, he shouldn’t leave me out. I made him a lot of tea yesterday.”
“There’s always an adjustment period when someone new is added to the group and Barric isn’t his usual self either.”
Luc was right, but I needed him to be on my side. I was still a bit tired and more than a little worried that someone would show up to take Baby Max. Then there’d be a fight and my near perfect life would break open at the seams. I usually wasn’t a worrier but having a baby around changed that. With a baby in the house every little incident felt like life or death.
The next few days passed more or less the same way. Except, Baby Max woke up several times a night and neither Luc nor Barric stirred. I slept less than I had during the launch of my business and was hungrier than ever. Every time I made Baby Max a bottle in the middle of the night I ate too. Leftovers, snack cakes, chips, anything I could get my hands on. It was like my wolf was trying to force feed me enough to produce milk for the strange little pup who I adored. My favorite snack without a doubt were these little chocolate cracker things Luc stored in the back of the pantry. I
dipped them in a can of store-bought frosting while holding Baby Max’s bottle in place with my chin.
After a week of playing surrogate carrier something had to give. Exhaustion pulled at my limbs and even the holiday decorations annoyed me. The blinking lights and dancing fat elves were no longer entertaining. They were downright obnoxious. Barric’s parents wouldn’t answer their damn phones and Barric slept soundly why the baby he claimed to want to save wailed loud enough to invoke the ancestors.
After a week of crappy sleep, I fed Baby Max and put him back in the bassinet in Barric’s room. Then I marched back into the bedroom I shared with Luc and flopped down next to him. The bed shook from the sudden weight and Alpha opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” he grinned.
“Good morning at two this morning? Or at four? Or now that it’s six?” I asked him. “If this is how it’s going to be when we have a baby, I’m keeping my legs crossed. I understood Barric not helping for the first few nights. He was emotionally distraught! What’s his excuse now? I love Baby Max! Who wouldn’t love that sweet little boy? But I can’t raise him alone. Raising a child is supposed to take a village not one worn out man doing most of the work. Like yesterday afternoon when I was already tired you and Barric disappeared downstairs and I had to stay up because the baby wouldn’t go to sleep. Luc, either Max needs to go back to his parents, or I need help. I don’t mind helping, but I’m not doing all the work anymore.”
“Sweetheart, you should’ve woken me up if you needed help,” Luc said.
“I shouldn’t have to wake people up. That’s what Max is trying to do. I swear the damn house could fall down around you and you wouldn’t hear a damn thing as everyone else was squished!”
“I’m sorry,” Luc reached out to kiss me.
I pushed him away and sat up.
“Either fix the situation or I’m going home to my sister! I don’t mind helping, but you two get all buddy-buddy and I’m left doing all the heavy lifting. This isn’t going to work.”
“We’ve been working on the manor’s security,” Luc said.
“With him? So, you work on home security with your apprentice who doesn’t even know how to cleanse his spells, but totally ignore your Gilmore Witch mate.”
I turned my back to him intent to slide out of the bed and storm out of the room. Luc slid across the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist. I was frustrated but didn’t want to show up crying on Gloria’s doorstep like a teenager stood up at prom. Luc’s emotions flooded onto our mate link. He was tired, a bit confused, and more than a little worried. He scooted up behind me until he could sit up with me between his legs. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I begrudgingly leaned back against his chest. Sex was something else we hadn’t partaken in since the arrival of Barric and Max. I was lonely and exhausted. I blinked away tears. I was tired, but that wasn’t a reason to cry.
Luc kissed the top of my head and inhaled my scent. Then he smiled into my hair.
“What are you smiling about?” I growled.
“I love you, mate.”
“I love you too, but you have to do something about this baby. Barric’s not much younger than me. I don’t think he fully understands the responsibility he put on his own back when he decided to kidnap a baby and hide with him.”
“Kidnap, huh?” Luc laughed. “I wouldn’t think of it that way. If Harvey listens to his voicemail he knows exactly where Max is. He just doesn’t seem to care.”
“That pisses me off too!” I growled and swerved to look at him.
His dick hardened under me.
“Nope!” I slid off his lap. “I’m exhausted and no one’s getting laid at Montero Manor until the problem is fixed and I get some sleep.”
I wrapped up in all the sheets and blankets and snatched up all the pillows too. Luc had them to himself for long enough during my all-night babysitting sessions. It was my turn.
“I’ll get things worked out with Barric,” he said. “You get some sleep.”
“Damn skippy you will,” I grumbled. “How is his magic even awake? He’s an omega and he’s not thirty.”
“It wakes up earlier in non-shifting humans most of the time.”
“Well, tell it to go back to sleep. He has a pup to raise.”
Luc kissed my forehead and some of my anger melted away.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too, Alpha. Even if you shift into a rock when you sleep.”
Laughing, Luc left the bedroom. The bed was big and empty without him, but after everything I said I couldn’t just call him to come back to bed with me. Exhaustion made me bratty, but even I wasn’t sure that was all it was. Most of my life I was a pretty levelheaded man, but since meeting Luc sometimes logic flew out the window.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Luc
Barric was still asleep when I peeked into his room. I leaned over the bassinet to check on Baby Max. He was out cold with his little fingers wrapped around the blanket as if searching out a hand to hold. Barric burrowed deeper under the blankets away from the first morning sunrays shining through the window. I left the boys to sleep and snapped a photo of the sleeping baby. Sending it to his parents made the whole situation feel a little more kidnappy, but they hadn’t left me much of a choice. Baby Max’s life was in limbo and that was no way to start off in the world. They needed to show up and decide either to be his parents or to officially resign from that post. I sent the text to both of their phones and started the coffee pot. My servants had adjusted their schedule to Baby Max’s multiple nighttime feedings and a plate of breakfast waited on the table next to a warm bottle of formula. I suspected the food was meant for Aidan but didn’t think he was getting out of bed anytime soon.
“Can we handle two babies?” My wolf asked still pondering Aidan’s scent.
Parents handled twins and multiples all the time. Single shifter births happened, but multiples were just as common. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure Aidan was pregnant. He smelled pregnant, but my nose might be a tad bit more hopeful than I was. If we did have a baby on the way Max’s fate needed to be decided soon. Then Barric would have choices to make too. I hoped he didn’t disown his family if his parents made the choice he didn’t agree with. I couldn’t imagine what they must be going through to consider giving up their youngest child as their best choice.
I poured a cup of coffee and stared at my quiet phone. Up until now I only left Harvey voicemails. I didn’t want to upset Scott so soon after giving birth, but surely his missing pup upset him already. Sighing, I picked up the phone and dialed his number. I played out what I might say as the phone rang. I counted off the rings growing more agitated with each passing one.
“Hello,” Scott whispered into the phone. “I’m so sorry, Luc.”
“Hey, you’re alive! I was ready to send the cavalry over,” I sighed in relief. “Scott, what’s going on?”
“I can’t talk about it. I ju.. just… I can’t.”
“Is everything okay? Are you and the girls okay? Harvey?” I leaned forward desperate for more information.
I sniffed the air despite being miles away from him. Old habits didn’t die when you were part wolf.
“We’re okay. We’re all okay. Is… Never mind. I have to stop thinking about him,” Scott sniffed.
“Who? Your baby? Max is fine. He’s keeping my new mate up all hours of the night and he’s growing like a weed, Scott. He still whines for you guys. Are you sure this is what you want to do? If it’s money let me help. If not for you guys for the sake of Baby Max.”
Scott sobbed into the phone and dropped it.
“Hello? Who is this?” Harvey growled into the phone.
“Hey, Harvey. It’s Luc. I was just calling to let you guys know Max is okay.”
He grunted into the phone. Harvey isn’t a stupid man. When I met him he was well spoken and witty.
“We don’t have to talk about him right now, but eventually we need to have a conversation. Usua
lly, I’d say it’s none of my business, but Barric brought Max to Montero Manor. He made it my business. This weekend, my mate and I are hosting a tree trimming party. Why don’t you bring Scott and the girls, and we can talk about Baby Max then? Maybe it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There’s usually a middle ground somewhere if you look hard enough.”
“Please! I want to see my baby!” Scott sobbed in the background.
“Fine! We’ll be there. Text us the time!” Harvey growled and ended the call.
I set the phone down and rubbed the bridge of my nose. If Harvey kept his word and came to the party, we’d have a chance to get to the heart of the matter. Why was he so keen on giving up his youngest son? His mate clearly missed the little boy.
“Maybe he’s not Harvey’s son?” My wolf pondered.
I downed the rest of my coffee and headed back upstairs for a better sniff of Baby Max. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that Scott would be untrue to his mate. Even if that was the case, Scott had the right to be a father to the little boy he carried in his womb.
Barric wasn’t in bed and the shower ran inside his bathroom. Baby Max was awake but quiet alert. He grinned when I leaned over the bassinet. He smelled like Barric. Like a full-fledged sibling. If my wolf was right my nose couldn’t detect it.
Baby Max and I went downstairs to retrieve his next bottle. He drank like a hungry little wolf cub and let out a big belch when I turned him onto my shoulder to burp him. There on the sofa in front of the crackling fire we waited for his big brother to come downstairs. Whatever caused his ability to sleep through a baby wailing in the same room it had to stop. Aidan had sharp ears to wake from the baby crying from the other side of the house. I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t hear the child when Aidan did.
“He’s pregnant. He’s likely been that way since before Barric showed up. He’s listening with a carrier’s ears even in his sleep,” my wolf said. “We have a pup on the way. Maybe we’ll have two if they leave this poor scamp in the lost and found much longer.”
Mated for the Holidays: A Holiday Mpreg Romance in the Hemlock Mpreg Universe Page 12
