When he blearily opened his eyes, we had an extra surprise. One was golden-yellow like Remington’s, and the other was pitch black like mine.
“Oh, wow,” I murmured in awe.
“He’s a special boy, all right,” Morgan said. “He’s got heterochromia.”
“Morgan, he was just born. You can’t decide his sexuality for him,” Sage argued.
The buck shifter’s brow raised in amusement. “Heterochromia means he has mismatched eyes, Sage.”
Sage blushed in embarrassment. “Oh.”
Len’s eyes watered as he glanced at our newborn. “He’s so beautiful, you two.”
“Does he have a name yet?” Sage asked enthusiastically.
Remington beamed down at our son, lovingly brushing a damp piece of hair out of the baby’s face. I’d never seen him look so happy. My heart swelled full of joy.
“He does,” Remington said. “His name is Zakariel. After my father.”
“Aw!” Sage cooed. “Welcome to the pack, little Zak!”
Remington smiled at his friend. “Hey, you rhymed again.”
Sage’s face lit up in return. “I did!”
“Why don’t you guys go tell the rest of the family about Zak? I think I need a minute to rest.”
A slow smile spread over everyone’s faces, like the warm rays of the sun poking out from behind gray clouds. I noticed it, too. Remington hadn’t just called themthe pack.
He’d called them his family.
20
Remington
Zak’sfirst shift happened two months after he was born.
Unlike the other kids in the pack, he’d taken his sweet time deciding to show his dads what his animal form was. I was starting to wonder if he never would—and if that were the case, I’d still love him no matter what.
Zak had been a normal human infant for the most part, except his slightly accelerated growth, until the day the pack took a trip to the nearby river together. It was blazing and the kids wanted to splash around on such a hot day so we made it a family affair.
I sat on the grass with Nero beside me. He’d barely left my side since the incident with Klimt, which I didn’t mind. He made me feel safe and happy. I let out a content sigh as I leaned against him. But Zak wasn’t content. He fussed in my lap, grunting in his little baby voice. He did that a lot and often tired himself out in the process, so I didn’t pay him much mind.
“Uncle Red, I wanna play Chase-the-Fox again!” Lupa cried.
“Yeah, Uncle Red!” Ashe said.
Ashe was exuberant for a young fawn shifter. I wondered if Lupa was rubbing off on him or if it was his alpha father’s wolf genes acting up. Would Zak have some shark traits too? I dismissed the thought. Just because Ashe liked playing hunting games didn’t mean he was a wolf. Zak would be one species or the other.Ifhe ever shifted.
“Uncle Red! Uncle Red!” Leveret and Starry chimed in. Starry’s vocabulary wasn’t great yet but she sure knew how to chant “Uncew Wed” menacingly.
Nero chuckled beside me. “What would the pack ever do without that guy?”
“Find a new babysitter,” I said. “But I dunno if we’d find one that we like as much as him.”
My mind wandered back to my conversation with Red months ago and I smiled. He’d been the one to encourage me to go out and seize my own destiny. If it weren’t for him, who knows when I would’ve reconnected with Nero?
“FINE,” Red announced with a sigh. “We can play Chase-the-Fox, okay? But then one of you’s gotta volunteer to braid my hair.” He picked at a split end. “It’s getting worn out dealing with you little munchkins.”
