Chapter Seventeen
Rafe
"Alpha, you don't need to take him," Colby protested with a laugh. "I mean, seriously, I'm fine." My Omega wiggled his backside and his fingers and then shook his wrists. "I'm conscious and everything."
I rolled my eyes and continued strapping the baby carrier that held our sleeping Nolan into the van next to Leia's toddler seat. "I know that. I also know that it's only been two days since you gave birth and you could use some rest. As long as I'm heading to Coruscation territory, I may as well take the kids." I raised a brow. "Unless there's some reason that you don't trust Trevor to watch them?"
"Of course not," Colby snorted under his breath. "That's bullshit and you know it."
"Language, daddy," Leia admonished from her seat.
"Yes, princess," Colby agreed, shaking his head. "I'll put a quarter in the swear jar. Sorry."
"That jar is gonna break us," I snickered, giving the seat belt strap one last tug and turning back to my Omega. "Now, you get some rest. The kids and I are fine." I hugged him close and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Alpha," Colby murmured back, one of his naughty hands creeping down to cup my ass. "I think I know exactly what I'll do to relax."
That was all it took for me to spring a chubby as I climbed into the van. "Bastard."
Colby's laugh was drowned out by Leia's singsong voice. "Papa owes the swear jar, too!"
"When we get home, princess," I agreed, glad she couldn't see me flip my mate off with a grin as we started off down the road. "As soon as we get home."
When I pulled Fugly to a stop in front of the werewolves' pack house, Clint was leaning against the wall by the door, waiting for me.
I stepped out of the van, leaving my sleeping pups lie as he cleared the wooden steps in two strides and grabbed me in a hug.
"Congratulations," he said, the grin I couldn't see evident in his voice. "Sorry I couldn't be at the hospital with you, man."
"It's all good," I assured him. "Truthfully, I was in the delivery room the entire time. I wouldn't have even noticed you were there."
Clint chuckled and squeezed me again before releasing me. "How's Colby?"
"He's fine," I answered, unable to stop a grin from flitting over my lips. "Sassy as fuck."
Clint's grin matched my own. "Glad to hear it." He made a show of peering over my shoulder. "Where are my kiddoes?"
"Fast asleep, as far as I know," I chuckled, turning back to the van. "Let's take a look."
Once Clint had ooh'd and ahh'd over Nolan, he swung a sleepy Leia up onto his shoulder and headed for the door. "Let's get these two settled in with my brood and then I'll let Colt know you're here."
~*~
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the living room of Colt's cozy little house was that he and Sky were tucked up close together on the couch. Seriously, there wasn't an inch of couch showing between them. It struck me as odd because I couldn't ever remember a time when Colt and Chloe had seemed that comfortable in the same space. Starting immediately after they'd mated, she'd regularly flown into jealous fits if Colt wasn't heaping attention on her – and Gods help anyone who was the recipient of his attention when she wanted it – but she was never actually affectionate toward him.
The same couldn't be said about Sky.
There were small touches and quick smiles as they sat snuggled together, tiny sidelong glances when he didn't think Colt was watching and faint flushes when their skin accidentally brushed together.
Sky had it bad.
And from the territorial pheromones that Colt was flooding the room with, it seemed that Sky wasn't the only one.
The second thing I noticed was how much improved Sky seemed.
His skin had lost the pale, pasty tinge. The wounds on his cheeks where Doc had removed the insidious bolts had healed into barely-there scars. He was speaking clearly, and when he stood up to get Colt a bottle of water from the kitchen, only the slightest hint of a limp remained.
Whether or not the inside was healing as well as the outside, only time would tell.
