She chuckled. “I’ll stop hurting when you do. There’s nothing to apologize for, Raph.”
“But...” He thought about Hazel, and the unborn baby in Wyatt’s belly. There was only moving forward with Wyatt, no going back—he’d already made his choice. “But what if the hurt doesn’t stop?”
Mom raised an eyebrow, her lips curving up. “My previous alpha left me with two young children. There’s very little that’ll hurt more than that.”
“Even if—” His heart thudded. She had to know about him and Wyatt somehow. She’d never mentioned Wyatt’s scent on him, even when Grandma had. And the truth felt like a rock on his tongue, heavy and jagged. Raph breathed out. Counted the strings on the viola. “I love Wyatt. Not in the way I should.”
Just like Wyatt had in front of Penny, Raph’s cheeks burned. He followed the curves of the pedestal’s foot. Then the other foot. Then he chanced a look at his mom, his heart scrabbling against his chest.
She smiled a bittersweet smile. “I thought you might.”
“That’s it?” He stared, thinking she might frown, or swear, or... something. Not shrug and glance at him.
“We love the people we love, Raph. I doubt you’d stop loving him just because I said you can’t.”
“Yeah, no. That won’t happen.” He chuckled mirthlessly, rubbing his neck. “You knew?”
“I had my suspicions,” Mom said. She spread her arms, inviting a hug. “You might not have noticed, but I’d seen the way Wyatt looked at you. Gods, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?”
“It was.” The boulder on his shoulders eased a little. Raph stepped into her arms. Pulled her smaller body close, breathing in her chrysanthemum scent. This, at least, was easier than it had gone with Penny. “Sorry we never told you.”
“When’s he due?”
“February.”
“Another six months, then?” Mom sighed, leaning into him. “I would love to see the baby when it’s born,” she murmured. “Please don’t wait until it’s three years old, like Wyatt did with Hazel.”
Raph froze. “I thought he’d been living in Meadowfall this whole time.”
“He never wanted to see us.” Mom shrugged, her smile falling away, leaving behind wrinkles and a weariness that Raph wished he could erase. “We hardly glimpsed him in those years.”
How had Wyatt even managed, with a newborn and all his jobs? Or had he just been accumulating debts, and paying them off later? How long had Wyatt been hurting by himself?
“I should’ve been there for him,” Raph said. What kind of alpha had he been, hiding when Wyatt needed help? He felt sick then, disgusted with himself.
“You are now,” Mom said. “Don’t let that go to waste.”
“Yeah.” Raph pulled away from her, needing to return to his omega. “You don’t—don’t mind that we’re brothers?”
“I’ve had years to get used to the idea, Raph. This isn’t news to me.” Mom shrugged, the corners of her lips lifting up. “Besides, you may be my son, but you’re still not of my blood.”
He could’ve laughed, then. All that worrying, and Mom had known all along. “I don’t know what to do about Dad. I don’t think the townsfolk would be happy. I don’t... I can’t put my family through that crap.”
And my family sounded good, too. Wyatt was his family. So were Hazel and the baby. I’m really going to be a dad.
“I’m not sure what your dad will think.” Mom winced. “The news wouldn’t be good for him, no.”
The sinking feeling came back, nagging in his chest. “Are you going to tell him?”
“You should be the one.” Mom squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not my news to share.”
Raph sighed. “If Grandma hears, will she kick you and Dad out?”
Mom lifted her chin then, her eyes narrowing. “Your dad and I will manage. We’ve been around a while, Raph. Don’t worry about us.”
But the fact remained that they could put Dad’s reputation in peril. Grandma could destroy their lives. If Raph pursued this relationship... he would hurt their parents. If he didn’t pursue it, he would hurt Wyatt, and himself.
When Wyatt realized the toll their relationship would take, would he leave Raph, just like he’d hidden away for so many years?
Raph didn’t know. Mom had no answers for him, either. He swallowed, trying to push away the unease in his chest.
“Take care of him,” Mom said when he turned for the door, a crinkle on her forehead.
“I will,” Raph said.
He wanted to.
18
Wyatt
“I told Mom,” Raph said when Wyatt opened the front door.
Wyatt’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“Relax. It wasn’t bad.” Raph stepped in, pressing a plastic carrier into Wyatt’s hands. Then he shut the door, locked it, and scooped Wyatt close, pressing a firm, deep kiss to his lips.
But all Wyatt could think was Mom knows.
He turned away from the kiss, his heart pattering nervously. “What did she say?”
“She already knew.” Raph wound his fingers into Wyatt’s hair and held him, his breath tickling Wyatt’s ear. “She asked when the baby’s due.”
“Oh, fuck.” Wyatt groaned. Mom knew? He’d been taking pains to hide their relationship, to keep Hazel distracted during their visits, so she didn’t accidentally mention Raph. “I thought... Hazel’s been doing so well, too.”
Raph huffed. “Mom knows what pregnancy smells like too, you know.”
But of course she did. Wyatt wanted to hide himself in Raph, and never emerge. How could he look Mom in the eye again? She knew he’d been keeping secrets. “Kill me now. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She knows it’s yours?”
“She didn’t throw a fit, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Oh, gods.” Wyatt’s guts twisted. Mom knew. He’d disappointed her, and she knew. He hid his face in Raph’s chest, clinging on to him, wanting to crawl out of his skin. “Does she hate me?”
“No, she loves you.” Raph pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “She says she wants to see the baby when it’s born.”
Wyatt quailed. Would she really? Her own sons were having a baby, and to her, it should be terrible news.
“You didn’t let Mom and Dad see Hazel for three years?” Raph asked, his arm
