"Honestly, Remington," Dax began, "I never expected you to return with a fated mate, much less a baby on the way. I'm proud of you."
Remington's brows raised in surprise, his blush deepening on his cheeks. It seemed like Dax wasn't the type to dole out praise so easily, so to hear it now must have meant a lot to Remington.
"There's something different about you now," Morgan added. "Like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders."
Remington ducked his gaze, scratching the back of his neck. "Really?"
"I agree," Len said. "You seem a lot happier."
By now, Remington's face was completely red. I withheld a chuckle and rubbed my hand on his back. I was happy to notice that he didn't try to deflect the attention or praise like he might've done before, but instead accepted it. Was he finally starting to believe in himself a little more?
“That’s probably thanks to Nero,” Remington said, shooting me a sideways glance from beneath his dark lashes. “I didn’t know finding your fated mate would feel so…”
“Wonderful?” Morgan asked.
“Magical?” Len chimed in.
“Totally epic?” Sage said.
Remington grinned. “All of the above.”
I glanced to the alphas, who all smiled in agreement. Each one of them had an aura of deep satisfaction, like they were content with their purpose in the world. From what I knew of Remington’s stories, these were all great men, and I felt proud to be among them.
As Remington spoke animatedly with his family, I sat back and watched him with fondness. He’d come a long way from being the sour, paranoid omega I’d first met. I still loved his take-no-shit attitude, but Morgan was right about a weight being lifted from him. It was like Remington had been holding in a breath for years and only now was he finally able to let it go.
* * *
We spenta week at the grove, catching up with the pack and hanging out with the children to get an exclusive sneak-peek at parenthood. They were honestly my favorite members of the pack. Kids were so easy to get along with—you just showed up and they acted like you were their best friend ever. Even Leveret, the shy hare shifter who’d been so cautious at first, soon warmed up to me.
That day we’d decided to give Red a break from babysitting duty. I didn’t know him very well, but Remington mentioned that he’d been acting a little strange since our return. He was polite in all our interactions, but we didn’t have many because he always seemed to be slinking off somewhere else. I thought the guy just wasn’t a social butterfly like everyone else but maybe his behavior was unusual.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Remington told me as Red waved goodbye, then popped into his fox form and disappeared into the fields.
I didn’t know if he was trying to reassure me or himself. I suspected a bit of both, but I was proud of him for being optimistic instead of lapsing into pessimism.
I clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s a grown alpha. He can take care of himself.”
“You’re right. Anyway, we have kids to learn from. Mostly you.”
“Me?”
Remington smirked. “I’ve known all the pack’s kids since they were born. How much experience doyouhave?”
I gaped at his boldness, then laughed. “Oh, it’s a challenge now? Okay. Bring it on.”
We faced the horde. Most were in their human forms to match ours—I knew they liked being in their animal forms, but since I was unable to do that on land, they all adjusted for my sake which was nice—except for Starry. Since she was so young, she flip-flopped between human and animal form. I didn’t mind. She was pretty damn cute either way.
“Uncle Remmy, how come you don’t look like you ate a ball?” Ashe asked, pointing to Remington’s belly.
“’Cause he’s not that pregnant yet,” Lupa explained, proud at her helpful addition.
“She’s right,” Remington said. “I won’t look like that for a while, Ashe.”
Ashe looked disappointed, as if he enjoyed watching the mysteries of birth visually unfold. I figured itwasa difficult concept for kids to grasp unless they could see it happening right in front of them.
“Is the baby swimming inside you?” Leveret asked, wide-eyed.
Lupa gasped. “Like a fish?”
