Then he says, "Hey, don’t worry about it, I’m sorry too, for all the times I roughed you up. I could have been a better brother. A lot of things could have gone differently, and… more importantly, I’m sorry about, you know… the thing with your exes. That was a shitty thing to do. I hope you forgive me."
He looks genuinely ashamed. I can’t believe this conversation is actually happening. A perfect moment too, River’s wedding, the whole family together, but I never thought my sons would ever reach this point! The conflict, especially between Rain, Skye, and Storm, seemed deeply seated.
Suddenly I notice Winter walking over.
"As for the ex thing," he says, "honestly, no harm done in the end. Finn found his True Mate, his story had a good ending too. Everything fell into place like puzzle pieces, Storm."
Storm scratches the back of his head, embarrassed and a bit flushed.
"So what, should we do a cheesy group hug now? Kumbaya and all that cringe?"
Skye laughs, but interestingly, both he and Rain step forward and hug Storm from both sides. Winter joins too, a little awkward since it’s not his style, but Storm pulls him in by the arm.
"Oh, brothers," Storm says, voice a little rough. "Congrats on all your badass True Mates. And on the kids. And mine is coming soon too to join the tribe!"
"We need to see each other more often, like a real family, not only for weddings," Rain adds firmly.
"I’m in, especially since we all live so close," Winter adds with a smile.
I stand a little distance away, my heart swelling with pride and joy, watching my sons finally find their way back to each other. Maybe to anyone else this group hug and kumbaya stuff would look funny, but to me it means everything.
Then someone else approaches the group… Sun.
He stops shyly, like he’s embarrassed to attach himself to their cluster of happiness.
"Hey, perhaps you guys can pull me into that cringey group hug too?"
Storm laughs out loud.
"Of course, little bro, come here," he says and wraps his youngest brother into his arms too, the group hug a massive constellation now.
Then a moment of silence falls.
"Wait, what’s that smell?"
Storm’s nose is the best among all of us since he’s a purple alpha, so I’m not surprised he’s the first to catch it. I noticed it earlier but held my tongue.
"What smell? Did someone fart?" Little Lake asks, staring up at them with a face covered in glitter he smeared on himself. "It wasn’t me, I swear!"
Everyone laughs except Sun, who’s blushing.
Storm zeroes in on him.
"It’s you. You smell like vanilla."
Now, a heavy silence falls. All the brothers look at Sun with wide eyes.
"Seriously?" Winter raises his brows.
"For real?" Skye asks.
Sun nods.
"Yeah."
"Wow. A real miracle. Turns out True Mates can make anything possible, even between two alphas," Rain murmurs in awe.
"Damn," Skye says. "That’s awesome! And here I thought a pregnant beta was the rare thing."
