"Our pack lands were about twenty miles from here, and the Alpha of our pack was one of the kindest wolves I have ever known. He never let anyone fall behind or go unnoticed, and because of this he not only allowed me and Allie to stay in the pack, but he helped us to thrive. He even helped me send in my college application," Micah says, leaning back into the overstuffed couch.

He readjusts Matty, laying him against his chest as soon as the baby falls asleep. They both seem comfortable, and even though Micah did not want to tell us his story at first, I am happy he finally is comfortable enough around us to open up.

"He wasn't even upset when I ended up being his oldest son's mate," he says, a wobbly smile on his face.

"You have a mate?" Ethan asks, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Yeah, you have actually met him," Micah says, not looking up from where his fingers are rubbing along Matty's back.

"What? Who?" Erik says, looking around the room.

I roll my eyes, reaching my hand over to my mate to flick his ear. Sometimes my mates could be so dense and unobservant. I love them, but sometimes I question their observation skills.

"Jessie, right?" I ask, giving Micah a reassuring smile.

The omega looks up at me, his blue eyes meeting my own before he gives an almost imperceptible nod. He goes back to rubbing the baby's back, the motion seeming to calm his nerves.

"Jesse the beta? Why aren't you guys completely mated? You know, with the bite and stuff," Ethan says, motioning at his own neck to indicate his own mating bites.

Before Micah can answer, though, the beta we are discussing walks into the room. We all fall silent, watching as he walks over to the recliner adjacent to the corner of the couch where Micah is sitting.

"Because I am too old for him, that's why," the beta in question says, meeting all of our gazes before finally stopping on Micah.

His breath seems to catch as he stares at where Micah's hands are holding Matty's sleeping form to his chest. Micah does not seem to notice that his mate's eyes are on him. He just pulls the blanket he has around his shoulders off, maneuvering it so that it covers both him and Matty.

"You don't want to be with your mate because you think you're too old?" Ethan questions. With a heavy sigh, I collapse into the chair I am sitting in. It seems as if my mates are only capable of asking questions.

"I am too old for him. He is only seventeen, and I am twenty-four."

"Well, actually I am eighteen now, seeing as my birthday was sometime during the awful winter we had," Micah mumbles, finally looking up at his mate.

"Micah, you're still so young," Jesse says, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"I am technically an adult now, so I can make my own decisions. Besides, your father approved of us as soon as he found out," Micah says, his voice hard as he meets his mate's gaze.

"We both know your own parents didn't approve of it."

"Don't you dare bring them into this. You know they were awful. All they wanted was to control me and my siblings. You were best friends with Levi for Christ's sake. You saw how they were with us."

Jessie does not say anything, just grinds his teeth in agitation before breaking his gaze from his mate and turning to look at the logs burning in the fireplace.

"Levi?" Erik tentatively asks.

"My older brother," Micah answers for him. Now that he is not having a stare down with Jessie, his gaze is once again fixed on Matty. The baby twitches as Micah pets his soft hair but does not wake up.

I do not want to even touch on the subject of his brother, seeing as both Jessie and Micah tensed up when Erik said his name. That would most likely be a long and emotional story, something we do not need to approach quite yet.

Micah sighs before continuing on with his story. "Anyways, as you can see, we do not really agree on the subject of us being mates."

"I never said-" Jessie tries to say, but Micah interrupts him, not allowing him to finish his sentence.

"So, during one of my crying spells, the Alpha sent me to this small meadow we had on the edge of our territory, saying that it would help me to clear my head. I didn't want to go alone, so Allie came with me, knowing how I like knowing someone is beside me. It's weird, I know," Micah says, trailing off a little bit off the end.

"No, not at all. I don't really like to be alone either. While my mates can drive me crazy, I still like to be near them. Most of the time," I say with a smile.

"Hey!" my mates say at the same time. Fondly shaking my head, I motion for Micah to continue.

"While we were out there, the Warriors took us. They came out of nowhere. We had absolutely no warning before they closed in on us. We were with them for a total of probably five months. I am not really sure, honestly. You lose track of time when you're confined to a ten-by-ten-foot shack."

"Why didn't you rescue him?" Ethan asks, looking over at Jessie.

Jessie turns his steely gaze to lock eyes with my mate. "You try to track someone who is being held captive by a pack of rogue alphas who move every day. As soon as I figured out he was gone, I started looking for him. Alexis helped, seeing as Allie is her best friend, but still. It took me months to catch up with them, and when I finally did, there was no way I could wipe out their entire pack. I just had to wait for others to turn up who could help us. Those others were you guys."

"Y-you did all that f-for me?" Micah stammers, looking away from Matty's sleeping form in order to look at his mate.

"Of course I did, Micah. I would do anything for you," Jesse murmurs, eyes locked onto those of his mate.

"And that is our cue to leave," I say, standing up. Quickly, I pick up Matty from Micah's chest and snuggle him against me. My mates follow behind me, bewildered looks on both of their faces.

"I have no idea what just happened," Ethan mumbles as we walk into the kitchen.

"Oh, love."

*****

"Taylor, you up?" I ask, knocking on the door. My dark curls fall on my face, and I brush them away, irritated by the way they always seem to be in my way. I think it is time for them to be cut, but every time I get close to chopping them off, Taylor gives me puppy dog eyes and begs me not to.

"Tate?" I hear Taylor's voice asks. A smile spreads across my face as I hear him say my name. It always causes my heart to leap whenever he says it.

"Yeah."

"You can come in, you know. You don't have to lurk out there like a creeper," Taylor says, humor in his voice.

With a fond shake of my head, I turn the knob and step into the minimally lit room. The only light in the room is creeping in from the edges of the curtains covering the windows. Taylor lifts his head out from under the pile of blankets on his bed, looking over at me. His hand pats on the empty space of the bed right next to him, motioning for me to join him.

Quickly, I cross the room and slip under the covers next to him, allowing myself to be cocooned in the many layers of blankets. Taylor lays facing me, a smile on his face as he leans across the small amount of space between us to place a kiss on my lips.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I missed you so much," I whisper, reaching a hand up to brush it through his brown locks. "I was so worried."

"I know, lovely. I missed you, too," Taylor says, cuddling into me.

Our faces are only a few centimeters apart, allowing me to rub my nose against his. He scrunches his nose, placing another kiss on my lips before relaxing into the bed. We lay in silence for a little while, basking in each others presence.

"Tate?" Taylor whispers, his brown eyes flicking up to my blue ones.

"Hm?"

"I think I want a baby." That snaps me out of the sleepy daze. Blinking a few times, I look over at the wolf in front of me. By the look on his face, I can tell that he is serious.

"A baby?" I ask with a shaky voice. Very intelligently, I ask, "Why?"

"When I first found out about Liam being pregnant, it brought back awful flashbacks of, you know," his voice breaks at the end. I place a kiss on the tip of his nose and wrap my arm around him, pulling him closer to me. "But ever since Matty was born, it has been on the forefront of my mind. I want a baby of my own. I want to try again."

"B-but with who?" I ask, genuinely confused. We have been close lately, but I cannot give him a baby. We would have to be mates.

"You, lovely," Taylor says with a fond roll of his eyes. "Who else?"

"B-but I thought only mates could have children together?" I stammer.

"That's an old myth. It was told to try and keep teenagers from having sex. In the older generations, pack elders seemed to believe that this lie would keep teenagers from having sex. The whole 'only having sex to procreate' mantra. It didn't work too well, but somehow the myth still survived."

"But I thought you said that the moon alignment or whatever allowed the Warriors to force Omegas to have children?"

Taylor stiffens a little at the mention of the Warriors but relaxes once I start to rub his side with my thumb. "It's a myth, remember? All of the Warriors were pretty old, part of the generation who were taught that lie. They completely believed it."

I nod my head in understanding.

"So, do want to have a baby?" Taylor asks, a smile spreading across his face. "With me?"

*****

End of Book One