“Gods, I love all of you,” Wyatt said, hugging them tight. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Raph said, pressing a kiss to Wyatt’s neck. “C’mon, let’s go open your presents.”
“I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me,” Wyatt said, when they released him so he could walk. “And Hazel, too? Hon, you’ve been keeping secrets from me?”
“Dad said it’s okay,” Hazel said, glancing at Raph. “Because it’s a surprise for you.”
Raph grinned, his cheeks turning dark. He still hadn’t gotten over being Hazel’s dad, yet. Two months ago, they’d filed the paperwork for him to become Hazel’s legal guardian. Until now, Raph still wore a huge smile whenever he looked at their daughter. That, in itself, was amazing.
Wyatt followed them to the couch, sitting on Raph’s lap. Hazel knelt by the presents. Penny and Sam hung back behind her, matching smiles on their faces.
“This one’s from Aunt Penny,” Hazel said, handing a lumpy package to Wyatt.
Wyatt turned it over in his hands. “It’s soft.”
“Two hundred percent sure you’ll like it,” Penny said. “I got recommendations from Dr. Kinney.”
He tore the package open, feeling the press of Raph’s solid chest as Raph leaned in, looking over his shoulder. Penny’s gift was a light knitted blanket, all pale blue and gray and white, with a cow’s face for a hoodie. It would be perfect for the baby.
“It’s adorable,” Wyatt said, squeezing the soft fabric. “Thank you.”
Sam’s gift was a framed watercolor painting—of Wyatt, Raph, Hazel, and a newborn in Wyatt’s arms. Wyatt’s heart skipped a beat.
“My brother’s omega paints,” Sam said, grinning. “I commissioned it.”
Wyatt didn’t want to ask how much it had cost Sam—probably a lot. And it was precious, too, looking at the likeness of their faces in his hands. In the corner of the portrait, he found a signature by Felix Brentwood. “It’ll go up on the wall once I finish unwrapping everything. I can’t thank you enough for this, Sam.”
Sam laughed. “You’ll owe me, then!”
Wyatt grinned. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me in the future, when I pay my dues!”
The third gift was a car seat. “From Dad,” Penny said. “He’s all about the road safety.”
Wyatt laughed, and Raph kissed his neck.
The fourth gift was a stack of hand-drawn notes, in Mom’s handwriting. Wyatt flipped through them. This coupon entitles the holder to one free day of babysitting. There had to be sixty of the same coupon in the stack. Wyatt looked up, raising his eyebrows.
Penny laughed. “You can tell Mom really wants to babysit, too.”
Raph chuckled, slipping his arms around Wyatt’s belly. “Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
Wyatt blushed, swearing to himself that he’d visit with his parents more often.
When Hazel handed the fifth gift over, she wriggled, grinning widely. “This one is from Dad and me,” she said. “We spent a long time picking it out.”
Wyatt’s pulse quickened. He looked over his shoulder at Raph, who smiled. “Go on, open it.”
Past the wrapping paper, he found stacks of folded baby clothes—mittens, socks, onesies—all in different sizes, for when the baby grew. Most of them had cow prints on them, and at the bottom of the pile, there were four identical cow plushies.
“One for each of us,” Hazel said, hopping over to grab a cow in the middle. “That one’s mine.”
Wyatt laughed, hugging the remaining three to himself. “I’ve never seen you with plushies, Raph. I might steal yours.”
Raph snorted, grinning. “Go ahead. But I’ve got one last gift.”
He leaned forward, reaching into his back pocket. Wyatt squirmed off his lap, his arms full of cows. A gift that wasn’t wrapped with the rest? “That’s a small gift.”
“Doesn’t make it less important,” Raph said. Penny, Sam and Hazel had fallen silent, watching them intently.
Something glimmered between Raph’s fingers when he pulled it out. Wyatt’s heart stopped.
And Raph slid onto the floor, kneeling at Wyatt’s feet. Wyatt remembered the day Raph had returned to him, kneeling, kissing down his belly. His throat tightened.
Raph caught Wyatt’s hand, stroked his fingers. “Marry me?”
Wyatt’s heart kicked back to life. Raph’s smile had fallen away from his face, his eyes solemn, hopeful.
They were bondmates—they’d already agreed on that. Marriage was a little—a lot—different. They’d have to register it somewhere. Make it public.
With any other bonded pair, marriage was just a more visible layer of commitment. With Wyatt and Raph, it could be risky. But if they registered their marriage elsewhere... the townsfolk of Meadowfall might not even know.
Raph stroked the backs of Wyatt’s fingers. “You don’t have to decide now,” he said. “You could even tell me a year from now, or whenever.”
And that was something else that he loved about Raph. Raph’s patience. His kindness. The way he gave Wyatt space to breathe.
His heart full, Wyatt leaned forward, cupping Raph’s face in his hands. “I don’t know if now would be the best time to get married,” he said, watching as Raph’s gaze grew uncertain. “But yes. At some point in our lives, I want to marry you, Raph. You’ll always be my alpha.”
Raph blinked hard, his mouth curving into a tentative smile. “Can I...?”
Wyatt gave Raph his hand. Raph slid the ring onto Wyatt’s ring finger, and the silver band fitted snugly, like it was always meant to be there.
Wyatt broke into a smile, pressing their foreheads together. Raph kissed him, soft and sweet, tracing his wrist down over Wyatt’s belly. “Mine,” Raph whispered, his eyes warm. “Thank you for being mine.”
“Always,” Wyatt whispered back.
Sam, Penny and Hazel cheered, and Wyatt felt the safest he’d ever been with his family.
An hour later, after the baby shower was over, Wyatt watched as Raph installed the new crib. Raph lowered the side of the crib, then raised it, before locking it in place. The crib fitted in the nursery, with the cartoon cow stickers on its edges, and the row of cow plushies sitting on the dresser.
Later today, when Sam and Penny brought Hazel back, they’d all paint a rainbow
