“Catsshed, all right?” Crimson blurted. “Everywhere! All the time! The loose hairs are unavoidable and never-ending!”
Now both Taylor and Alaric were glaring at him. I couldn’t suppress a chuckle at my brother’s misfortune any longer.
Disappointed, Crimson shook his head at me. “Unbelievable. I’m fighting for my life, and my own brother is laughing at me.”
I shrugged. “Sorry, Crimson. You’re on your own.”
Crimson gasped louder, now offended for a different reason. “Don’t you even care about your clothes? They’re drenched in cat hair! Your dark jacket is almostwhite!”
“Oh, I’m aware,” I said, stroking Alaric’s fur for good measure. “It simply doesn’t bother me.”
Crimson’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head slowly, as if resigned to his fate. “This is an unprecedented level of disrespect to your clothes... I can’t believe we’re related,” he muttered, then looked me over. “By the way, you look like a super villain right now. Dark suit, glasses, petting a white cat?”
I beamed. His insult sounded more like a compliment. “I’m fine with that.”
Alaric snorted in my lap. As the only person present who knew the depths of my depravity, he likely felt the same way.
“Don’t change the subject,” Taylor growled at his mate, his tiger’s voice emerging from his mouth. “What’s this about me shedding everywhere?”
Crimson went pale. But before he could attempt to defend himself, Alaric suddenly yelped.
“What happened?” I asked.
Alaric’s fur stood on end. He leapt up on all fours like a thorn had poked him.
“The egg stabbed me,” he murmured.
My heart began to race.
Taylor’s eyes widened. He kneeled by the couch. “It’s hatching.”
Understanding dawned on Alaric. He unfurled from the egg, revealing it to everyone. He breathed fast, his fur puffing out as adrenaline coursed through him.
“Okay. Stay calm,” Alaric said, not calm at all. A second later, he cried, “What if it can’t get out?”
“It’ll be all right,” I promised my mate. I’d witnessed the hatching of enough eggs to keep my wits about me, but Alaric didn’t have the same experience.
His spiked fur lowered, but barely. I reminded myself that it was common for first-time omega parents to be stressed during hatching. But Alaric wasn’t a data point—he was my mate. It didn’t matter what the evidence said. He needed reassurance, and it was my job as his alpha to support him. I placed my hand on his shoulders to remind him I was present.
“We’re all here,” I said gently. “If the egg needs assistance for any reason, we’ve got a full house ready to help.”
That calmed Alaric’s nerves. I felt his bristling hackles fall under my palm.
“Okay,” he murmured. “I... I trust you all.”
Taylor and Crimson smiled.
A green chip flew off the egg. We stared at it with collectively held breath.
“It’s pipping so fast,” Crimson pointed out. “Your baby’s in a hurry to meet the world.”
Alaric sat higher, raising his chest. That seemed to hearten him.
The seconds crawled by. Nobody dared to blink.
As the crack grew larger, Alaric kneaded the quilt in anticipation. “Come on. Hurry up!”
A chunk of eggshell skyrocketed a foot into the air.
