Everett

Felix left and once I picked up Griffin, he quieted. I was left with the time and quiet to think for the first time since this morning when Penny approached me about adopting Griffin.

I looked down at the little boy in my arms and felt a rush of love for him. My son.

"Felix and I, we're your daddies now," I told him. It didn't matter if he didn't understand. We would show him what it was to be a family, and he would grow into his role within ours. Tears flooded my eyes and I reeled, trying to process such a monumentally life-changing day and utterly failing.

Tomorrow I would take Griffin to the daycare and I would sign him in as his father. His name was officially changed, too. It had been important to me that Felix had a tangible connection to him since Griffin and I already had an emotional connection, so Griffin was now Griffin Holt. It would take a while to get the change legalized on his human documentation, but as far as werewolves were concerned, the change was finalized already. I supposed I would take on Felix's last name at some point, too, so I could match the rest of my little family.

I took Griffin into the kitchen to look for something to feed him when I realized I had no place to set him down. With one hand, I texted Felix to make sure he picked up a high chair. Then I opened the refrigerator and pulled out applesauce. It would hold Griffin over for now, then he could eat some of whatever Felix and I made for dinner later. I set Griffin up on the floor since I didn't want to get applesauce all over our furniture and was spooning a bit into his mouth (after texting Felix to make sure he picked up plastic toddler spoons) when someone pounded on the front door.

No one knocked that hard other than Meleri or Magnus unless there was an emergency.

I froze, remembering for the first time that we were supposed to have dinner with Felix's siblings tonight. After the whirlwind day we'd had, it had been the last thing on my mind. And now, Meleri was here and Magnus would arrive soon, and they had no idea Felix and I had adopted Griffin. This was something they should really hear from their brother. The loud knocking scared Griffin into crying and he scrambled into my arms, tripping over the bowl of applesauce and spilling it onto the kitchen floor in his haste.

"Um, Felix isn't home yet!" I called. But of course, that didn't deter her. Why would it? And what was I supposed to do, make her stand outside waiting for him?

I heard the front door open as Mel entered and answered, "No worries." She came into the kitchen and stopped abruptly when she saw me holding a sticky Griffin. "Everett?" she said, eyes wide. She didn't voice a real question, but then again, she didn't need to.

I sighed. Nothing for it but to tell her. "Meleri, this is Griffin. Felix and I adopted him today."

She continued to stare at us, and I had spilled applesauce to deal with. I set Griffin down and made quick work of the mess. I had just finished cleaning up the floor and turned around to throw away the paper towels. Before I could turn back, Griffin was wailing.

I dropped the paper towels on the ground and whirled to see Meleri with a sobbing Griffin in her arms. I reached out for him and she passed him over without complaint.

"Ssh, ssh, I've got you. It's okay, Griffin," I said in the most soothing voice I could muster. I didn't know if Griffin could even hear it over his crying, but it didn't take more than a couple of minutes for the tears to stop. He leaned against me, exhausted, and I turned to Mel.

"Griffin doesn't like when strangers touch him," I said. My tone came out brusque. "We'll work up to getting him to let you hold him, but it might take a while."

"I'm sorry," Mel said. "I didn't know." She looked guiltier than I knew she was capable of.

"It's okay," I assured her.

Griffin was sucking on his fist and didn't seem too upset to have lost his snack, so I wondered whether he was even hungry. "Do you want more applesauce, Griffin?"

He looked up at me with his beautiful blue eyes and smiled. I could have melted on the spot. "Yeah!"

I carefully set Griffin back on the floor and got him a new bowl of applesauce. Mel sat nearby, her eyes fixed on his cherubic face.

"He's beautiful," she said softly. Her eyes met mine and they were glistening. "I'm an aunt!"

"Aunt Mel," I mused. "It sounds good."

"It does sound good," she agreed. Her features were softer than I had ever seen before. Meleri always looked sharp and ready to fight unless she wanted something from you, when she pouted and played nice. I liked seeing this side of her.

"I bet he'll let you hold him when he's done eating. He's usually okay as long as you let him come to you." Besides, she smelled similar to Felix. It may help.

"Remember you said that, Everett," she said. "Magnus will be here soon and I want dibs on holding Griffin."

I winced at the realization that they had another thing to argue over now. Magnus would not be happy with me for letting Mel have dibs, but she was looking fierce again and I found myself nodding. "Hey Mel, have you ever thought about going out looking for your mate?" I asked.

Mel shrugged and looked away. "Yeah, I guess. I didn't really start thinking about it until I found you for Felix... but I visited a lot of packs while I searched for you and I know my mate probably isn't in any of them, unless he was away the day I visited. If he's not in a pack that Magnus checked, then he's not local... and I don't want to have to leave Lakota."

I spooned another bit of applesauce into Griffin's waiting mouth and considered this. "It's worth it, you know. And maybe your mate could move here."

"Maybe. I'm not in a hurry." But her eyes were fixed on Griffin with a hunger and I wondered if her biological clock was making itself known. If spending time with him made her want a child of her own, she might shuffle her priorities.

The door burst open and Magnus's heavy footsteps neared the kitchen. There was a thud and mild cursing. Mel and I shared amused looks. Magnus was incredibly clumsy for a werewolf and had definitely just tripped. He finally made it to the kitchen and asked, "What are you guys doing on the floor?" Then his eyes found Griffin and he squealed.

"Who's this cutie?" he asked.

"No touching," I warned Magnus, who was already reaching for Griffin. "This is Griffin. Felix and I adopted him."

I thought Magnus might honestly faint from excitement. He danced in place and let out a loud celebratory whoop, pulling Mel up so they could spin around gleefully. They got a little too close to Griffin for comfort, so I braced protective arms out in front of him.

"I have dibs on holding him," Mel told Magnus as soon as they were done spinning together and jumping up and down like giddy children.

"Aw, no fair!" Magnus whined.

"You can have a turn afterward. He doesn't trust easily, though, so don't expect too much tonight. You might each get a minute, tops," I warned them.

Magnus' faced fell, but Mel didn't look bothered. She nudged Magnus' arm and said, "Hey, stop pouting. We won't be strangers for long."

That brightened Magnus' expression. Meleri was a closet sweetheart. She acted abrasive and caustic, but I had seen her cheer up her brother loads of times. She loved her family deeply and would be a good aunt to Griffin, I was sure of it.

Griffin finished his applesauce and I carried him into the living room after wiping off his sticky face, hands, arms, and shirt. I sat on one of the big rugs with Griffin between my legs and gestured for Meleri and Magnus to join us.

"Griffin, this is your Aunt Mel and your Uncle Magnus. Could you say hi to them?" I asked.

Griffin looked between them before turning and tucking his face into my stomach. I patted his back and shrugged apologetically at my siblings-in-law.

Magnus was wearing a dopey smile and said, "Aww, he's adorable!" Mel didn't comment, but her expression was still softer than usual.

"They're really excited to meet you, Griffin," I said, trying again.

He looked up at me before ducking his head back down again. I got an idea and stood up, bringing Griffin with me. "Stay here, guys," I said to Meleri and Magnus. I crossed the room and grabbed a big yellow ball with a large red star on it. Since Everett didn't have many of his own toys yet, I had borrowed a couple from the daycare. I sat back down on the rug with Everett between my legs and gave him the ball.

"Let's play," I told him. "Roll the ball to Aunt Mel." I pointed to Mel, who put her hands out, waiting to catch it. Griffin rolled her the ball and she grinned at him.

"That was great, Griffin!" she said.

Griffin smiled shyly back. Mel rolled the ball to Magnus, who said, "Your turn, Griffin. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Griffin said, putting his hands out like Mel had done. Magnus rolled the ball to him and clapped when Griffin caught it.

We passed the ball around in a circle like that for a good fifteen minutes before I stood up and said, "I'll be right back, Griffin. You keep playing ball with Aunt Mel and Uncle Magnus."

Griffin looked uncertain, but then Magnus rolled the ball his way and he had to look away from me to catch it. I quietly backed up a few steps and stood in the doorway to the kitchen, mostly hiding but peeking out so I could watch Griffin interact with them. I thought he might realize I had left and panic, but he didn't. They kept rolling the ball around and Griffin stayed totally focused on their game.

I went back into the living room a few minutes later and quietly sat down on the couch behind Griffin. He looked back at me and smiled before returning to his game. I texted Felix to make sure he bought a ball – we were going to be using this game a lot in the future, I thought.