“I don’t know… Maybe something classic, like Bartholomew or Horace.”
“Horace? You want to name our sonHorace? That sounds like something a lawyer would be called. No offense, Nolan.”
“None taken.” He sniffed again. “I knew a Horace in law school.”
Wilder’s mouth dropped open in disappointment. “What? I was trying to pick normal names. You guys don’t like it when I name things that sound like wizards. Abryax is such a cool name.”
“I think we need to pick a name that means our sonwon’tget bullied in school,” I pointed out.
“Maybe something cool, like Hunter?” he suggested.
“That’s actually not a terrible suggestion,” Merrick said, the corners of his mouth turning down.
I turned toward him. “What are your top name suggestions?”
“I can’t say I’ve really thought about it. I was going to leave that to you, considering you’re the one going through the effort of growing him. But…I like the names Cole and Jackson.”
“What about you, Nolan?”
“I’m pretty simple. Connor. Lucas. I never thought I’d be naming a child, either. I always assumed that would be your decision.”
“Preston?”
“I’ve only thought of one name,” he said, looking oddly serious.
I furrowed my brow, walking over to him. “And what’s that?”
“It’s a little sentimental,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head. “So, you know… Yeah.”
“We like sentimental names here,” I insisted. “Come on. Out with it.”
“Walker.”
I paused, turning fully to look at Preston. “Walker? Like?—”
“Yeah. That man did a lot for me and kept me alive. He fed me information on what was happening with you, and I owe him a lot. He’s a great man, and I don’t want to name this kid after any of my pack mates that got me through this, so…yeah. It just feels right.”
I paused for a moment to think about it. Walker did feel right. He was a great man, the alpha of one of my beloved friends, and he had done so much for me and my pack.
He was family.
“You know what? I think it would be really nice to name our son after family,” I said softly.
“That man has saved my life more than once in burning buildings. My vote is for Walker,” Merrick agreed.
Wilder sighed dramatically. “Well, it’s not as good as Abryax, but it’sokay.”
“Nolan, what do you think?” I wanted the opinion of all my alphas when it came to this important decision.
He smiled. “I’m all for it. I appreciate that man and everything he did for us. Like you said, he’s family. The question is…doyoulike the name?”
“I think I do,” I admitted. “But would having Walker and Wilder be a bit too similar… What if we used the name Landry? Landry is Walker’s middle name, and a cute name on its own.”
“Actually, that’s a good point—and Landry is cute!” Preston agreed, nodding happily.
“Wait…do we actually have a name?” My mouth dropped open, eyes wide as I stared at my alphas.
“We come for a pet, leave with a baby name.” Merrick laughed. “Maybe we can look at getting a petafterthe baby is born.”
