“She’s been volunteering.” Wyatt followed Raph off the bed. They dressed by the closet, Wyatt stealing one of Raph’s T-shirts. It fell loosely over his shoulders, whereas it would’ve clung to Raph’s solid biceps.
“Nice shirt,” Raph said, humor glinting in his eyes.
“It definitely is.” Wyatt grinned back. “For something that mysteriously appeared in my closet.”
Raph slipped his arm around Wyatt’s waist. As they stepped out of the room, the low murmur of conversation flowed from the kitchen; Hazel was talking. Wyatt exchanged a look with Raph, quickening his footsteps.
They found Penny at the stove, wearing one of the drive-in’s egg-yellow aprons. She turned at their movement, her eyes growing wide. Then, she looked at the bump of Wyatt’s belly.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” Wyatt said, surprised.
Penny smiled sheepishly. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You didn’t look so great last night.”
“I’m doing a lot better today. Thank you.” After the intense sex last night, the memory of Max seemed so far away. Wyatt leaned into Raph, grateful for his alpha’s presence. He kissed Raph on the cheek, then stopped by the table, catching Hazel in a quick hug. “Morning, hon.”
“Morning, Dad!” Hazel grinned. “Aunt Penny promised to make cheesy toast. For all of us!”
“Really?” Wyatt looked up.
Penny nodded, her uncertainty falling away when she smiled. “And eggs on the side!”
“Thanks, Pen,” Raph said. He angled a smile at Penny, and Wyatt relaxed; things between the three of them were returning to normal. Or more normal than they’d ever been.
“I wanted to mention last night—Dad sent me to ask if you’d attend the Christmas dinner. Raph, too, and Hazel. Dad’s been missing all of us lately. He was upset that we missed the charity audition.”
It was October; Wyatt hadn’t had dinner with his parents in two months, ever since his belly began to show. He hadn’t even apologized to his mom for not sharing the pregnancy news. His stomach turned.“We should probably visit before then, shouldn’t we?”
“Dad was very insistent that all of us show up together.” Penny winced. “I tried to convince him it was better not to, but you know he gets stubborn.”
Wyatt sighed, looking down at his belly. Telling his mom was one thing. But telling his dad? What if Grandma was there? Because of course she’d be, and she’d look down her nose at him, saying people like him weren’t family. If Wyatt could travel back in time and fix her broken heirloom, he would have.
Raph glanced up from his phone, his forehead creasing. “So we’re going?”
Penny shrugged, turning back to the stove. “We don’t have to.”
They owed it to their parents to show up. And maybe Wyatt didn’t have a choice, if he really thought about it. He couldn’t hide the news about the baby forever; neither could he hide his relationship with Raph. “Oh, gods. I don’t want to think about it.”
Over her shoulder, Penny watched them. Raph set his hand on Wyatt’s belly, rubbing him. And maybe that was too intimate for witnesses.
“What d’you think?” he asked Wyatt.
“Sorry,” Penny said, blushing. “I’m still... still not used to seeing that.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Raph said. “We’re bondmates.”
Wyatt still hadn’t bitten Raph. But he carried Raph’s scent, and Raph wore magnolia and honey. It was beyond obvious who they were sleeping with.
Penny nodded jerkily, nudging at the scrambled eggs in the pan. “Don’t mind me. I’ll get better about it.”
It was sweet of her to visit, and kind of her to accept their relationship, however twisted it was. So Wyatt left Raph’s arms, stepping up to their sister. “I’m really glad you’re back with us,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you guys, too.” Penny hugged him back, her expression uncertain. “So... breakfast as an apology?”
Wyatt grinned. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”
Behind him, Raph had settled at the kitchen table across from Hazel. She was coloring in a pond today, on another of the calendar pages.
“Great job with the coloring,” Raph said.
Hazel beamed. “You think so?”
“Yeah.” Raph ruffled her hair. “Need some help?”
“Sure.” Hazel handed him an emerald pencil. “There, you can have the fern at the bottom. Don’t color outside the lines!”
Raph bent over his corner of the calendar, filling in the fern. He looked so intent doing that, as though he was trying his best for Hazel. And he’d make such a great dad, too.
Wyatt had expected Hazel to pout when Raph stepped into their lives, but she’d been a great sport about it so far. Maybe it was because she still had weeknights with Wyatt, when Raph was back in Highton. If they became a family...
“I think I can kind of see it,” Penny said quietly next to him.
“See what?”
“Why you like him. In a bondmate sort of way.” Penny smiled, her eyes soft. “I didn’t think he’d be great with Hazel.”
“Now you know.” Wyatt cradled his belly, leaning into Penny’s arm.
“What does it feel like? I mean, You don’t have to answer,” Penny said, glancing at his abdomen. “I just... I don’t know. It would feel odd to me.”
“Raph’s child?” Wyatt settled against the counter top. “Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was terrible at first. When you said my scent changed.”
Raph glanced over, raising an eyebrow. Wyatt shrugged; it was the truth. He wasn’t going to hide that.
“But I’ve always loved Raph, Pen. Since we were kids. I don’t think you noticed, but Raph and I were always close. After I presented as omega, he just felt... right.”
Penny flipped the eggs on the stove. “That makes sense. It didn’t happen to me when I presented as omega, though.”
Or maybe Wyatt was twisted. And maybe someday, he’d make peace with that.
“Hazel,” Raph said, pausing in his coloring. Hazel looked up. “Your dad and I have been thinking about getting married.”
Penny’s gaze flew to Wyatt’s. Hazel looked at him, too. Wyatt smiled at his daughter, his pulse racing. It was something he’d discussed with Raph, but maybe he hadn’t been prepared for
