“Hi,” the man I recognized as Scar said. He reached out a hand - the one that wasn’t a prosthetic - and I shook it. Both of our palms were clammy. “Um, I’m Scar. And this is my mate, Ryu.” He gestured to his mate, who smiled back at me. In his lap sat someone I recognized, too. “And - well, um, you know Angel.”
At the sound of her name, which she was now old enough to recognize, she glanced in my direction. Her eyes widened in strange wonder and her jaw dropped.
Ryu stood awkwardly, still holding Angel. He didn’t seem to know if he wanted to hand her to me or not. When I hesitated, a sorrowful and protective glance flickered across his expression.
“Ah…” I said. I lifted my palm, a peace gesture. “I told you already, it’s not like that. We’re not here to take her away.”
A collective sigh of relief rippled across the table, even among the people I didn’t know. It seemed like with those simple words, the strange tension in the air shattered.
“Were you all… worried?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable.
“Worried?” One young man muttered. “Hell, I was almost ready for a fight.”
The man next to him elbowed him in the side - his mate, I assumed.
“Sorry, uh, maybe I should introduce everyone first,” Scar mumbled.
He went across the table, and each pair - I recognized they were all couples now - introduced themselves. The man who got elbowed and his partner who elbowed him were Dante and Gabriel, who smiled politely now, and the older alpha and darker skinned omega next to them were Lorenzo and Raja.
Kass raised a hand to wave at Dante and Gabriel, who he had met a few months earlier. “Where’s Noah?”
“We had to leave the kids with sitters, otherwise it would be chaos,” Gabriel said with a shy grin.
“I’m pretty sureourswould incur a ton of damages to the bar that won’t be covered by insurance,” Raja mumbled, but he was grinning too.
Kass stepped up to my side and suggested, “Maybeweshould introduce ourselves properly, too.”
“Oh. Right.” I cleared my throat a little as all eyes were on us. “I’m Halo Fire-Eater. Some of you, er, might know me as the Cinderhollow barrier… creator.”
“It was amazing, what you did,” Gabriel said, gratitude and awe in his voice.
I blushed. Hearing someone in the present day actually say those words filled me with pride. “Thank you. And, um, this is my mate.”
Kass normally wasn’t shy, but even his cheeks turned pink when the attention shifted to him. “Hello, everyone. I’m Kassius Pax. I’m Halo’s mate and… Angel’s biological alpha-father.”
Still in Ryu’s arms, Angel stared at me. I blinked back at her, my eyes filling with tears. She grumbled something and outstretched her arms.
I gazed at Ryu, begging him silently.
Ryu stepped forward and handed Angel to me with a sympathetic gaze.
“Hi, Angel,” I murmured, “how are you?”
Kass gazed down at her with a bittersweet smile. “She’s still beautiful.”
Ryu and Scar exchanged a glance - somewhat sad, but full of pride.
“Is that…?” Ryu asked gently, gesturing to our newborn.
“Oh - yes,” I said. “This is Lucius, Angel’s new baby brother.”
The omegas in the room let out a collectiveaww.
I felt a strange but pleasant kinship with these people, like our fates were intertwined now. I knew I had to say something.
“Ryu and Scar, I… This isn’t easy for me. Not for Kass, either,” I admitted. “But we want… We want you to keep Angel.”
The two men held their breath as intense emotions flashed across their faces.
