A knock comes from behind me, causing me to turn my head in that direction. It is a little confusing as to why they are even knocking, seeing as I am in the living room, a public space. But when I see Ethan standing there, Matty holding onto his hand as he toddles into the room, it makes more sense.

I haven't really talked to either of my mates since the argument. Well, more of a confession than argument, but it still had the same effect. I had taken to sleeping in one of the empty rooms on the same floor, so the only times I have seen either of my mates has been in passing.

Matty is babbling to himself, not minding when Ethan picks him up and carries him over to where I am sitting on the couch.

"Dad wants my help reinforcing a weak part of the fence, and Liam is busy helping Taylor with something. Could you watch Matty for a few hours?" he says, meeting my eyes.

He doesn't look away, making me the first one to break the stare, looking at Matty instead. He is his usual happy self, trying to chew on one of the throw pillows and looking in between us with his big blue eyes.

"Sure," I croak, clearing my throat. "Yeah, that's fine."

Ethan gives me a tight smile, handing Matty over to me. He leans over to give Matty a kiss on the cheek, completely surprising me when he does the same to me before standing up and walking out of the room.

Matty looks up at me from where he is perched on my lap, not making a sound as we stare at each other for a few seconds. It seems as we are both confused, and maybe even a tad bit uncomfortable, about being left alone together. The last time this happened he was only a few months old.

"Well, Matty, what do you want to do?" I ask, despite knowing that he can't understand what I am saying. It seems as if I broke the silent trance he has been in, because his bottom lip immediately starts to wobble, and he starts hiccupping in a way that tells me he is seconds away from crying.

My heart starts to pound, and I pull him closer to me, arms a little awkward with the movement but I manage. He snuffles at my neck, and this seems to only make him more upset, and his hiccups turn into cries.

"It's alright," I say, patting his back. He wiggles against me, so I reluctantly put him down on the carpet. The sudden movement catches him by surprise, making his crying stop for all of four seconds before he is crawling towards me and pulling himself up by my pants, gripping onto my leg as tightly as he can as he continues to cry. It seems that the need to be held is more important than who is holding him.

Picking him up again, I settle him against my chest, watching as his hands tighten in my shirt as if afraid I might put him down again. Not wanting to sit around any longer, I push myself away from the couch, walking over to the toy box.

Matty shakes his head when I try to hand him a few toy cars but happily takes the stuffed bear I offer him. His cries turn down into snuffles, so I continue to walk around since he seems to like the movement.

It is drizzling outside, a side effect of the coming autumn, so we have to stay inside. This is the first time in weeks that there has been rain, and the first time in months that it is something more than a few random drops from the passing clouds.

Almost everyone is inside. The sound of running feet on the floors above tells me that Avery and Nik are watching the little ones on the top floor, the one that was converted into a play room. The laundry machine is going in the basement, so someone is probably down there working on it. Other sounds filter through the house, but it is impossible to make out who is who.

This house is ancient, having been built over two hundred years ago. It had started as a one story home, with only the kitchen and a few bedrooms. Over the years, it was expanded as the pack grew, until my grandfather halted the further expansion of the house. Instead, he decided to focus on building separate homes for families on the land, which many pack mates agreed with. It allowed for greater independence but being on the same property still allowed for the closeness of pack.

Besides, most of the humans just left us alone. They did not know what we were but seemed to think we were some sort of cult. We didn't dispute the claim, instead using it as a way to keep our secret and keep them away from pack lands.

It wasn't even like we stayed on pack lands our entire life. Most of us went off to college or trade school since we had to support the pack. It was all fully funded by the collective pool kept by the elders. It was believed that investing in the next generation was the best way to foster growth, and it really did.

Ethan and I had plans of going to the state college a little over an hour away. But seeing as the whole apocalypse happened before we even had a chance to graduate high school, that didn't happen.

Matty curls closer to me, drawing me out of my thoughts. Looking down at him, I see that his eyes are half lidded, meaning he is close to falling asleep. Peeking at the clock on the stove, I see that it is almost his nap time.

No wonder he had a melt down.

Or it could have been the fact that he was left with me. I try not to dwell on that thought for too long, too painful.

Opening the fridge, I see a bowl covered in saran wrap with a sticky note with Matty's name scrawled on it. Grabbing it, I see that it seems to be applesauce with some blackberries mixed in.

Matty perks up when he sees the bowl, looking over at me with wide eyes and a small smile. He goes easily into his high chair but refuses to let go of his bear. Wanting to avoid another tantrum, I let him hold onto it, keeping it tucked at his side.

The sticky note is written in Liam's neat print, explaining to mix some of the baby cereal into the applesauce and heat it up before giving it to him.

It is obvious that Liam and Ethan were both planning on having me watch Matty, but I can't find an ounce of irritation inside me. Exhaustion, maybe, from feeling so disconnected from my own family.

It is simple enough to prepare, and once again, I give silent praise to the push for our pack to use all sustainable resources for energy. The only renovation to the house that my parents did was hooking up the solar panels and adding the windmills.

Matty bounces in his seat when he sees me stir together the warmed up food, his little mouth falling open when I offer him a bite. Somehow, he still manages to get some on his shirt. It's impressive, really.

It is like he is a baby bird, mouth dropping open when he wants another bite. He bounces in his seat the entire time, only giving a small complaint when the bowl is empty. There had been a bottle in the fridge as well, so I decide to set a pot of water on the stove, placing the bottle inside to warm up.

Matty protests when I wipe him down but lets out a happy squeal when I strip him of his food crusted shirt. He is left in just a diaper, his skin just as pale as Liam's, but a with a dusting of freckles that definitely did not come from the omega.

"Come on," I say, picking him up out of the highchair, "time for a nap."

Matty comes easily into my arms, watching as I check the temperature of his bottle and turn the stove off. Seeing as the living room is not a reliably quiet environment, I take Matty up to the bedroom. It is where he is used to sleeping anyways.

The bed is a mess, blankets pushed down and all the pillows on one side. With the blankets pulled up, it would almost be like a cocoon around Liam.

Unease settles in my stomach when I sit on the bed, a voice whispering in my head that I don't belong here. It takes a lot of effort to ignore it, settling a little stiffly against the headboard once I kick off my shoes.

Matty settles against my chest easily enough, eyes fluttering once again as I give him the bottle and wrap his baby blanket around him.

There are only a few ounces in the bottle, so it doesn't take him that long to finish. But by the time he does, he is completely passed out, not even noticing as I pull the nipple out of his mouth.

The only time he makes a sound is when I stand up to put him in his crib. It is only a few feet from the bed, easy enough to set him down without him noticing.

Oh, how Matty proves me wrong.

His eyes pop open the second I pull him away from me. Thinking that he will just end up falling back asleep once I set him down, I lay him down in the crib.

My heart clenches when his bottom lip starts to tremble, his hands lifting up and his fingers grasping towards me.

"Pa," he warbles, eyes starting to glisten with tears. "Pa Pa."

My breath whooshes out of me when I realize what he is saying. It takes a few seconds for me to make the connection, that I am the one he is calling Papa. This is the first time I have ever heard the words from him. And it isn't even like I can attribute it to random babbling.

He is staring me straight in the eyes, saying the words with intent. My arms move without me even thinking, scooping him up and pressing him tightly against my chest. He snuffles against me, not stilling until he has his nose pressed up against the junction of my neck. His hands are tight on my shirt, a quiet little "Pa," coming from him once he is comfortable.

My legs are shaking as I walk back over to the bed, easily sitting back down on the mattress.

There is wetness on my face, and reluctantly, I pull a hand away from Matty, reaching up to brush it away. My hand comes away wet, and that's when I realize that I must have started crying at some point.

Not sad tears. For once in a long time, not sad tears.

The happiness is radiating inside me, making me feel like I am about to burst. Instead, I somehow remain in one piece, moving until I am laying down against the mattress, Matty fast asleep on my chest.

I don't dare move, afraid that the moment will shatter if I do. At some point, I must have fallen asleep, as well, because the sound of the door opening rouses me. Not enough to make me open my eyes but enough to know that someone else is coming into the room.

The footsteps are nearly silent as they cross the shag rug placed in the middle of the room, pausing once they reach the side of the bed where I am sleeping. A hand reaches up, brushing over Matty and making the little boy snuffle before going back to sleep. The hand eventually makes its way up to me, brushing my curls away from my face before leaning down to press a kiss against my cheek.

The scent is one that I know well and something inside me curls in delight. Liam steps away again, the footsteps making their way over to the bathroom before the shower is turned on. While he is in there, I rouse myself enough to wiggle out of my jeans, finding them uncomfortable, before pulling the covers up and stealing one of the pillows that Liam has obviously been hoarding.

The shower cuts off, and I find myself in that light doze again. Liam is walking around the room as quietly as possible, just barely making a sound as to not wake us. It is to my absolute surprise when he settles under the covers next to me, his body radiating heat under the covers.

"Love you," he murmurs, still thinking I am asleep. "And so does your son."

With that, he moves closer, leg just brushing against mine, as if afraid to touch me but not quite able to help himself. It's comfortable, something that I haven't been able to have while sleeping in one of the empty rooms.

And something settles warmly inside my chest. Something that I just barely manage to recognize before falling completely asleep.

Something like hope.