Mika laughed. "Already wishing for a wolf shifter instead of me?"
I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him in for a hug. "Not a chance. I love my meerkat muse."
"Jett will have a new friend by morning." Talia sidled up to us and plopped our son in my arms. "Time for Mears family photos!" She kissed my cheek with a resounding smack as Mika's siblings gathered around us per the photographer's directions.
Off to the side, my dads waited their turns. Mr. Bartleby held his own with the other alphas, even though he was the shortest man in their foursome.
Talia patted my arm and nodded in their direction between flashes. "They look happy."
"Yeah." I still had so much I wanted to say to both my dads, but it could wait.
They surprised me by sticking around after the photo shoot. Mr. Bartleby had left for the home he now shared with my omega dad, and Talia had taken Ross back to the main house, where he and my dad were now guests in what had been our bedroom until a week ago.
Mika took Jett from me and mumbled something about getting the passed-out tyke to bed. "Coward," I whispered so only he could hear me. He grinned over his shoulder before disappearing down the hallway and leaving me alone with my parents.
My dads had each taken a side of the corner sectional. Not wanting to pick a side, I shoved the ottoman back a few feet so I could face them both. "What's up?"
My omega dad pursed his lips, but my alpha dad leaned back in his seat and spread out, never taking his gaze from his former husband. Finally, my omega dad spoke. "I owe you an apology. Both of you. I thought the truth was too embarrassing to admit, so I lied about the reasons for our split."
"I thought you knew about me and Ross," Dad said to me. "When you came to stay with us, I thought you had accepted us, but then we argued the entire time, and it was clear Jerry had never—" He broke off with a sigh and leaned toward my omega dad. "Thank you for the apology, but I'm not ready to forgive you."
"I'm sorry, too," I said. "I should have known. You two were too close to be just roommates, but I was still angry about you leaving. I said some horrible things, and I'm sorry."
"When you said you hoped my next omega treated me the same way I treated Jerry, all I could do was laugh. That's when I knew he didn't tell you." His chuckle sounded bitter to my ears. "You were just a kid, and you're my kid."
He glanced up, an unspoken plea for forgiveness in his gaze. Now that I knew the truth, I had already forgiven him. He'd chosen to be who he was, unapologetically. I'd lived my life the same way, choosing art over an unsatisfying career, and choosing Mika when my omega dad had disapproved. I was more like him than I'd thought all my life.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, turning to my omega dad. He had balled in on himself, kicking off his shoes and pulling his feet up on the couch so he could hug his knees to his chest.
"I didn't want you to leave, too." His eyes shone before he dropped his head to his knees. His muffled voice sounded thick and wet. "I saw how unhappy you were when we moved to the apartment. Why do you think I encouraged your friendship with Becca? I wasn't enough to make you happy, and I knew it. I've never been enough."
Dad shifted across the corner of the couch, his large frame making it look easy. He draped an arm over my omega dad's shoulders. "You're a good dad. I never once wanted to take Gabe from you. He needed an omega role model."
"He's my omega role model." He sniffled and met my gaze with red-rimmed eyes. "It took seeing you with Mika to understand how wrong I'd been. There is no 'right kind of alpha.' There's only alphas who make you happy, and ones who don't."
Dad nodded. "That's been my experience, too."
I scooted over to the couch and hugged my omega dad to my side, not caring where my tears fell on and between us. "Are you happy with Mr. Bartleby?" I asked.
"His name is Nick," he said, hiding his blush with his knees.
"Does Nick make you happy?" It was hard to see him as anything but my teacher, but I would make the effort for my dad.
"Yes. He's very sweet, and we have a lot in common. He's taking me to Mexico to watch the sea turtles hatch next summer, if we're still together."
"He loved talking about the baby turtles," I said. "Now I know why."
"Ross is a lion shifter." My alpha dad smirked at us when we both turned to stare at him with open mouths.
"Of the three of us, you're the one who ended up with the alpha-i-est alpha," I said.
"It takes one to know one?" He laughed with us before grabbing my shoulders and pulling me in for a group hug.
My omega dad was trapped in the middle, but he turned toward me and kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry I put you through hell. All my efforts to keep you with me only pushed you away."
"We're together now." My throat was sore, thanks to the lump forming there. "Besides, if you hadn't kept on me to pick up after myself, Mika would have had a heart attack by now." My mate was a neat freak, and I was grateful he would never know that I used to be even messier than I was now.
Reminding them of my new husband set them into motion. "We should go." My alpha dad squeezed my shoulders again before standing up. "It's your wedding night, after all."
