When Remington noticed the baby, he gasped and sat upright suddenly, making the twins tumble onto their backs.
“Oof!” Lupa complained. “Uncle Remmy!”
“Lupa, Leveret, look!” Remington told them. Without waiting for them, he bounded over, wagging his tail happily. “Oh wow. He’s already born! Does he have a name?”
“Sure does.” I lifted Ashe gently so Remington could see him. “Meet Ashe.”
Remington’s ears flicked back, making him resemble a big puppy again. His voice softened. “Nice to meet you, Ashe. Is he a wolf or a deer?”
“A little buck,” Morgan said.
“WOW!” Lupa cried as she ran over.
Before she could get too excited, Len scooped her up. “You have to be quiet around the baby, okay? He’s brand new and fragile,” he told her patiently. “We’re going to be extra careful with him until he’s older. Then you can play with him.”
“Ohh,” Lupa said in a whisper, nodding. “Okay.”
Leveret seemed just as excited in his own way, staring at Ashe with big eyes full of wonder. “Deer…” he murmured.
“He’s so cute,” Remington said. I didn’t know if he noticed, but his tail had been wagging the whole time. He’d been especially sweet with the twins when they were born as well.
He is an omega, after all,I thought.I wonder if being around so many little ones is going to make him want some, too.
I glanced at Morgan, who appeared to have the same thoughts I did. He smiled at Remington.
“Would you like to hold him?” he asked.
Remington’s yellow eyes went wide. “But he’s so small…”
“Yes, babies tend to be small,” Morgan said with a grin. “It’s all right. I trust you with him.”
After a moment, Remington shifted to human form and hesitantly chewed his lip. He held out his hands, and to his credit, they were steady and didn’t tremble. When Morgan handed Ashe to him, Remington’s face lit up. He pressed the baby to his chest like it was the most natural thing in the world. I had to admit, even though he could be smarmy and sarcastic and straight-up rude sometimes, he completely transformed when interacting with kids. Holding a baby suited him.
“He smells so good,” Remington murmured.
Morgan smiled. “I know, doesn’t he?”
Lupa smelled her own armpit. “Do I smell good?”
Leveret giggled. “No!”
His sister growled playfully at him and they dissolved into a game of chase, running around the grove together.
Len sighed. “Sorry, I’ll make sure they’re not too loud. I know Ashe needs his rest.”
Morgan put his hand on Len’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. They’re just kids, too.”
“Here,” Remington said, blushing as he held Ashe back out to Morgan. “I don’t wanna hold him for too long.”
I knew Morgan wanted to let Remington spend more time with the baby because he clearly wanted to. But Morgan didn’t push him. He scooped up Ashe and pressed him gently to his collarbone.
“Whenever you want to smell him, he’ll be here,” Morgan said with a smile.
Remington’s cheeks flushed pink. “Okay.”
After the big introductions, our new little family spent some time alone beneath a patch of willow trees. Their long draping leaves flowed gently in the late summer breeze.
Wordlessly, I leaned over to kiss my mate. Morgan’s lips melded against mine in a slow, passionate kiss.
