"Why not? Do you have a driving need to control the area surrounding the only highway to Vegas?" Tucker grinned, then looked down as he considered the offer. "You know what? I like it. Not only will it give the city wolves a way out of their urban hell, but it keeps all of us within shouting distance." He nodded to Ash. "I'll do it. I officially accept what's rightfully mine."
"Sounds good." Ash took a moment to shake each of their hands, saving Matt for last. He held on to Matt's hand longer than the others. "I have to tell you, Matt. I like having you around. You make my job easier than it's ever been. Be careful, though. You might get marked to take my place one day."
As if scalded, Matt yanked his hand back. "No thanks, Ash. There's no political aspirations here. I'm a small-town alpha who wants to live a peaceful life with my mate and raise a family within a loyal pack."
Seventeen
Matt
Two weeks to the day after those rat bastards tried to come after me, Elisha went into labor. I woke to find him growling and covered in sweat, sitting in a puddle where his water had broken.
When the contraction making him bite his fist and growl through the pain finally subsided, I stupidly asked why he hadn't gotten me up sooner. His snarled response—I could fuck off because he thought one of us deserved to sleep as long as we could—still made me chuckle when I thought about it.
No one but my always-sweet-but-sometimes-grouchy little wolf could consider my needs while also telling me to fuck off. As much as I wanted to shake him for going through pain alone, I wisely kept my mouth shut and called the doc instead.
He arrived in record time, thank fuck. Elisha was having a lot of pain, but the delivery itself was apparently one of Dr. Diego’s faster ones because Elisha was already fully dilated and crowning upon his initial exam.
Dr. Diego turned out to be a true godsend because Steven’s umbilical cord was looped around his neck. Thanks to his quick reaction and years of experience, the doc was able to save him. The idea of my cousin-son—Elisha's favorite thing to call him—not surviving his own birth gave me chills.
From the moment I laid eyes on him, I loved that boy. He'd been shy in the womb and never kicked when I tried to catch him at it. No matter what Elisha did, the little shit wouldn't perform. He'd kick for the boys, for my buddies, hell... he kicked for Jared. But not me.
He'd made up for it since he met me, though. When he was crying, nobody could calm him but Daddy. Elisha could come close, but I was the only one he wanted during the hardcore middle-of-the-night screamfests, where he was dry, fed, and still pissed as hell. I told Elisha it was a Longclaw thing. He might not biologically be my son, but he was blood, and I was his daddy. Anyone who said otherwise could fight me.
Based on his attitude and bloodline, I was pretty sure he was an alpha. Alphas tended to run in my family, to tell the truth. However, if he turned out to be a regular wolf or one of the stronger deltas, I would love and accept him just the same. He didn't have the smaller genitals or telltale dark line along the center of his scrotum marking him as an omega, so we could rule the idea out.
As for the other possibilities, we'd have to wait and see when he was strong enough to shift in a few months. His scent would tell us the answer in shifted form, even as an infant. I smiled down at the baby, nestled in the crook of my arm and staring at me like he wanted to share the secrets of the universe but couldn't since he lacked the power of speech.
"What's on your mind, Stevie? I gotta tell you, I like these quiet one-on-one times at three in the morning. It's good bonding. But do you know, if you'd sleep like a normal person right now, we could have this same bonding session while also enjoying watching the sunrise? Something to think about, tiny dude."
As Elisha slipped into the room, the nursery light clicked on. "Are you in here pretending to have a conversation with your cousin-son again? I'm starting to think you wake him up somehow so you don't miss this time together."
I snorted, shaking my head at my little wolf. "Elisha, I swear on my mother's grave—you've got to quit calling him that before it becomes a thing. It's funny, especially because it's true, but maybe we could be like normal folks and sweep our circular family tree under the rug?"
He knelt beside the glider, brushing a kiss over the top of Stevie's head before smiling at me. "Okay, I'll stop teasing you. Mostly because I don't need a reminder of Horace. But when I do quit, it might also have something to do with Noah asking me what it meant yesterday. I didn’t know what to say, so I gave him a cookie and changed the subject. It's probably best not to remind him."
Elisha reached over my arm to pull the blanket back, unzipping Stevie's jammies just enough to rub his fingertip over the small X over his heart. Eyes filled with devotion, he looked back up at me. "He's your son in every meaningful way anyway, so forget Horace."
"Hey, it's like I said when I sealed the scratch mark after I claimed him. I licked him, so he's mine. Your brothers are my kids too. And whenever you're ready to go again, I'm going to fill your belly with our next pup." When his eyes narrowed, I was quick to backtrack. "Only if you want more. I mean, I'm good with the three boys we already have. But you're young. Hell, so am I. We have plenty of time. You could do it like your papa and space them out six years. Since Stevie is six years younger than Noah, you're already on track."
He watched me struggle through the last part, then laughed. "Wow. I'm... wow. Is my big, strong alpha afraid of little ol' me? I must be meaner than I thought when I get grumpy."
"Actually, you're super cute. I didn't want to sound like another toxic alpha who wanted to keep his mate pregnant. I don't need a bunch of pups to show I'm a man. You know what I do need? You. Our family. The rest of the West Coast Wolves. Everything else is gravy. I'm proud of our pack and what we're building here, and I treasure every member. But if it all went away tomorrow, I'd be okay as long as I had us."
Elisha studied me. "The funny thing is, I know you mean every word. As long as you could still provide for us, you really wouldn't care if it all went away. Even though you're arguably one of the best pack Alphas in the territory."
I carefully leaned over Stevie to touch my forehead to his. "I do mean it. I love our pack, don't get me wrong. But I don't need the A in alpha capitalized, if I’m making any sense. In my book, an alpha is a man who keeps his word, takes care of his responsibilities, and uses the strength and power he was given to protect those who need it. Who could possibly need it more than my own family? I get everything I could ever want by looking in your eyes. When you're proud of me, I know I'm living right."
"Then you must feel like the most righteous man alive because I'm always proud of you, my love. Now how about you rock back and forth in the glider and see if you can't get our son to go back to sleep? At the risk of sounding selfish, I'd like a turn being held by those powerful alpha arms."
Holding my other arm out, I nodded toward my lap. "Stevie doesn't take up much space, and neither do you. Also, I'm a big guy with a big lap. Stevie thinks Papa should come cuddle with us, and I agree."