Alec was his, had always been, and Liam had almost lost him because he had been too afraid, and had ignored things for far too long.
There is no going back, he reminded himself. And as he looked at Alec and Mili, he knew he never wanted to.
Chapter 6
Alec fisted the sheets, sweat beading on his brow as he groaned, pushing back into Liam. Liam gripped Alec’s hips so hard that Alec knew there would be bruises in the end, and he didn’t care.
Another thrust, another shout, and they kept going, moving as one, Liam filling him up so completely that he knew he wasn’t going to last long.
And then Liam was reaching under him, gripping his cock, pumping hard.
He came on a shout, Liam following right after, and then he was boneless, unable to even keep himself up on all fours.
They lay there, sweat-slick and laughing because they weren’t really on the bed anymore. Somehow, they had rolled off to the side of it, sheets on the floor, pillows on the side table, barely missing knocking over the lamp.
“Well, then. That’s one way to start the morning,” Liam said, kissing Alec’s shoulder over their mating bite.
They had been back in Alec’s home for two days, and Liam was fully healed. News of their mating had already spread throughout the Pack. The den was excited, awaiting their mating ceremony later that night. First, they needed to finish another ceremony.
Later today, they would officially be given their titles, having fought in the circle the day before.
Only it wasn’t what anyone had thought.
And that just made Alec grin.
“We should go, Mili’s going to wake up any second.”
At the sound of Alec’s voice, Mili let out a sharp cry, and Liam chuckled.
“I swear, it’s like you’re attuned to her.”
“You’re the same way, Papa.”
“I don’t know if I want to be called Papa,” Liam said as they cleaned each other up.
“I think Dad and Daddy work. Or maybe Father?”
“We’ll work it out.” Alec smacked a kiss on Liam’s lips, loving the way his mate blushed.
He liked surprising Liam with small displays of affection, little tastes.
They had a long way to go to figure out how they were going to work as a couple, but in the end, they would find their path. After all, they had spent far too long hiding from it. Except that meant that they had years of learning each other’s secrets, needs, and desires.
Now, they would put them to the test.
Alec quickly pulled on some pants and went to pick up Mili from her crib. It was a borrowed one from Becca’s stash, and right now, the kit was in Alec’s office rather than her own room. But the den was already building a house for them, and he had a feeling it would be done within a week, given how quickly they were working. It was a little ridiculous how fast they were getting everything done. With a little touch of magic, anything was possible.
“Well, hello there, Mili girl,” Alec said, picking her up. He nuzzled the top of her head, and she snuggled right back.
Mili. His daughter.
He hated that she had come into their lives in such a way. And that she had been abandoned by her own kind. Sometimes, fate happened for a reason, though, even if he didn’t like the thought of that. So, he would take what he could, and give her everything that he was able. She would be cherished, loved, and his.
Thanks to Dante, and the rest of the lightning-struck, there were plans in place to never let this happen again. The lost would be found. At least, that’s what he hoped. There were so many realms, so many children without homes, hidden away and scared.
And Alec had already offered his services to help in any way he could. They were just far-fetched plans at the moment, but he trusted the dragon to get it done.
He fed Mili, changed her, and got everything ready for the day. They didn’t have a routine down—not in the slightest. That would come later. With two men who had never lived together before and a baby, as well, things were a little complicated.
Today, however, was mating day, and their mating ceremony would occur as soon as the moon rose.
He couldn’t wait.
First, though, came the big news.
“Ready to go?” Liam asked a little bit later, and Alec nodded. “I and the pumpkin are ready,” Alec said, jiggling Mili a bit so she laughed.
“Pumpkin?” Liam asked, brow raised.
“What? At least we’re not calling her Kit all the time, right?” he asked, kissing Mili on the nose.
“I kind of liked Kit,” Liam said, kissing Mili on the cheek and then Alec on the lips.
“Let’s get there.”
They headed to the circle where the rest of the den was already waiting.
Today was a big day for more than one thing, and he was more than ready. It was past time, and the den felt it.
It wasn’t only the den and the Pack there. All of the lightning-struck had shown for the occasion, and they would stay well past the mating ceremony, according to Hunter. They had been instrumental in keeping the Pack healthy and safe, as well as saving the world more than once. Dante and his mates were there, as were a couple of angels, a demon or two, a lion, a pixie, a wizard, and a few others.
Everyone had brought their children, as well. Today was a fantastic day. Everyone was excited, laughing, and there wasn’t going to be any bloodshed.
Because Alec and Liam had already stepped foot into the circle.
They didn't need to fight, the magic of the stones had already done the work for them.
And it was nothing like they had planned or imagined.
“Quiet down,” Hunter said, their Alpha’s voice booming.
The crowd quieted at once.
“For the past few years, we have all known that we would have a Beta and a Tracker when the time came. We all knew that I would be Alpha, and I fought in this circle, bled for you both here and in hell itself to make sure that happened.” There were murmurs, memories whispered, yet no one spoke too loudly. They all knew the story.
“We all thought we would have our Beta and Tracker in the positions we’d always placed them in.” Hunter raised a brow at them, and Alec and Liam just shared a look. No need to get in trouble again, they had wasted enough time on too many things.
“We were wrong.” Murmurs, mostly because nobody knew what was about to happen next.
“We thought that Alec would be our Tracker, the one who would find those rogues, the one with the best skills for the scent. We thought he would be the one to stand apart, to keep our Pack safe from outside forces that came against us. But we were wrong.”
More murmurs.
“And we thought Liam would be our Beta, the one right under me, my second in command. The one to handle the Pack’s needs, to find the threads within our Pack and balance those ideals. But again, we were wrong.”
Now there was full-out talking, speculating.
Alec held back a smile.
“So, we don’t have our Beta and Tracker?” a woman asked, and Hunter shook his head as everyone shushed her. They wanted answers, and they were about to get them.
“We were wrong because our own biases got in the way. The goddess has spoken, and so have we. Meet our new Tracker, Liam.”
There was silence and then shouts of happiness and surprise.