Quiet snuffling sounds wake me from my dreamless sleep. Tiredly, I stretch before throwing back the comforter and climbing out of bed, being careful not to wake my mates. The early morning sunrise shining in through the large window above the bed is casting bright orange light throughout the room, making it easy for me to find my way over to the wooden crib against the wall.

"Good morning, Matty," I whisper, leaning down and carefully picking him up.

Grabbing his blanket and his pacifier, I make my way out of the room, giving him soothing kisses on the back of his head. He turns his face into my chest, crying when he is not able to find what he wants, telling me that he is hungry.

After I quietly walk down the stairs and into the living room, I sit down in the cushioned armchair placed next to the fireplace. Meeka lifts her head to watch us, making sure there is no threat, before relaxing back into the rug lying between the fireplace and the armchair. The heat from the dying fire is enough to break the chill of the early morning air, and I do not feel quite as sad to take off my baggy t-shirt.

"It's okay, Matty," I hush, sitting back in the chair once I take off my t-shirt.

I grab a blanket and pillow from the adjacent couch before settling into the comfortable cushions. The blanket gets wrapped around the both of us, and I set the pillow on my lap, making it a soft place for Matty to lay while nursing.

"Here you go, little love."

Carefully, I guide him to my nipple, smiling once he latches on and starts sucking in earnest. He acts as if he has not eaten in days, even though it has only been a matter of hours since his last feeding. It does not take him long to place his small hand on my chest, only about an inch from his lips. Rubbing my finger against the back of his hand, he wraps his tiny fingers around my own. This has quickly become a habit of ours, not one feeding passing without him wanting to hold my finger.

"It's a little chilly out today, isn't it?" I tell him, pulling his lavender blanket over his body.

He is wearing a light blue onesie that has a little black bow tie printed on the front, and striped socks cover his feet. Ethan had dressed him last night after Matty had spit up all over his other outfit.

"How did his much liquid come out of a little baby?" Ethan questioned, gently pulling Matty off of his shoulder and laying him on the bed.

Erik handed him a baby wipe. "I have no idea. But here you go."

Ethan shot him a mock glare over his shoulder before taking the wipe and starting to wipe off all the spit up from Matty. Thankfully, there was a huge stockpile of baby supplies in the basement of the house. There was everything that one may need for a child, and we had been using them a lot for Matty.

"He eats a lot, so some of that has to come back up," I had said, smiling over at them from my spot on the bed.

My stitches were almost fully healed, only taking a few days compared to the weeks it can take a human to heal, but my mates had insisted on me being careful until Taylor says it was safe for me to move about.

"You're lucky you are cute," Ethan mumbled, no chagrin in his voice. Carefully, he wiggled the dirty onesie off of Matty and slid on a clean light blue one.

Matty started protesting, not liking to be out of someone's arms for too long. He was already quite a cuddler, just like his daddies.

"It's okay, little love," Erik said from next to Ethan.

He picked up Matty's pacifier and slid it between the baby's lips. As soon as Ethan finished snapping closed the last button on the onesie, Erik swept in and picked Matty up, placing a gentle kiss on his small nose before cuddling him into his chest.

"Hey! I changed him, so I get to hold him!" Ethan had said, chasing behind his brother.

Erik had just laughed, and both of them walked out of the bedroom, closing the wooden door behind them. Smiling, I laid back into the mattress and pulled the blanket over my body. It only took me a few minutes to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow, the exhaustion of taking care of a newborn weighing on me.

Small feet pitter pattering on the hard wood floors snaps me back to the present. Olive and Grace run into the living room and stand next to the recliner I am sitting in.

"Mo'ning, Li-li," Olive says.

I scoot over slowly, trying not to jostle Matty too much. Hearing someone else's voice, he is startled so much that his mouth falls off my nipple, causing him to start fussing.

"Morning, sweets," I say.

Quickly, I help her and Grace climb into the chair, getting them situated underneath the blanket. Matty nuzzles into my chest, finding my nipple again on his own. He starts sucking quickly at first but then falls into his usual sleepy rhythm.

"Baby?" Grace asks, pointing at Matty.

"Yes, baby."

"I tush?" Her hand hovers over the baby, wanting desperately to touch him. With a small smile on my face, I nod my head.

"Just be gentle, remember," I tell her.

Her eyes do not move from Matty as she carefully lays her hand down on his back, copying mine as it rubs up and down his blanket covered back. Olive quickly pats his back before climbing down off the chair and running back to her room.

"Bye-bye, baby," Grace says happily, giving him a wet kiss on his cheek before sliding off the chair and running after her sister. Matty becomes startled again but continues to eat as I wipe the slobber off his cheek from the kiss.

"Those are your Aunties," I say to Matty.

We sit there for a little bit, him content to eat and me happy to relax. When I know he is no longer getting any milk, I slide my finger between his mouth and my nipple, causing him to unlatch. He is not too happy with me, his little face wrinkling in distress.

"You're okay, little love." I lay him on my shoulder and pat his back, giving him kisses on the back of his head as he continues to whimper. As soon as he lets out a nice burp, I slip the pacifier between his lips, instantly soothing him as he starts to suck.

Warm arms slide on the chair next to me and a quick kiss is pressed to my cheek. Startled, I turn to see Erik standing behind the chair, his hair sleep rumpled and creases on his face from the sheets. "Morning, love."

"Morning."

"Morning, little love," Erik says, rubbing the back of Matty's head.

The baby does not seem to mind, not even opening his sleep heavy eyes. Erik turns his attention back to me. "Cold?"

"A little," I say, wrapping the thick blanket tighter around me and Matty. "I'm surprised it is this chilly. I thought it was supposed to be summer by now."

"I think it is just a cold year," Erik tells me, stepping over Meeka's sleeping form to put another log onto the fire.

"Hopefully it will get warmer soon."

"It will don't worry," a voice says from the doorway to the living room.

Turning my head, I see Micah standing there, a smile on his face and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "This is the normal weather for Olympia."

"Olympia, Washington?" I question, the surprise clear in my tone.

We have come all the way from Southern Oregon up to the middle of Washington. That is a lot of ground covered.

"Yeah, my hometown," Micah says, settling into the couch. He lifts his feet up and wraps his arms and the blanket around his knees.

"How far away are we from the Warrior's camp?" I ask.

Erik sits on the other side of the couch so that he is only a few feet from the armchair I am sitting in. Ever since Matty was born, they have become even more protective than before, not liking me to be out of their sight for long periods of time.

"A full days walk, so I would say about thirty miles," Erik says.

"That doesn't seem that far away," I say, worry creeping into my tone. "What if some of the alphas come after us for destroying their camp?"

"Oh, we don't have to worry about that," Ethan says, walking into the room.

He walks over to the armchair, giving both me and Matty a kiss on the cheek before plopping down onto the couch next to his brother. "All of them were killed when we ambushed them."

"How do you know?" I ask, doubtful that they could have killed everyone. There were way more of the alphas than us, so it is not like I am being unreasonable.

"Half of them were on guard when we attacked, and we took them all out before we infiltrated the camp. The rest of them were demolished by the infected they were holding in cages on the edges of the camp. We had slipped something into their water supply that made them really delirious. They had no possible way of fighting back."

"And I knew every one of those monsters' face, and I saw each of them die," Micah says, an eerie flatness to his voice.

"Oh, okay," I say, and we all fall into silence. Matty starts snuffling again, and I can feel the other omega staring at me.

"C-can I hold him?" His voice breaks, and looking up I see tears in his eyes.

Nodding my head, I carefully stand up from the arm chair and walk over to him. Gently, I lower Matty into his arms. He does not even question how to hold the baby, his arms automatically wrapping around his body as he cradles him in his arms. Micah smiles down at Matty, who seems content to stare at the other omega. His pacifier moves as he sucks on it, and he blinks his blue eyes tiredly up at Micah.

"I-I think I am ready to tell you what happened to me and Allie," he says with tear filled eyes.

"Okay," I say with an encouraging smile.

I walk back over to the recliner and sit down, my eyes never wavering from my baby. Micah seems to take comfort in holding Matty, seeing as his body relaxes into the couch as he stares down at the little boy.

"Whenever you are ready."