Hidden Alpha [Alpha Mates] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (21 page)

Gavin hugged her. “Baby doll, I want to help. If you don’t want me to help you, I won’t, but I meant it when I said I want to learn to take care of all of the kids. I want to contribute to this family.”

She shook her head. “I just don’t want you thinking you have to help to stay with us. They are a lot of responsibility.”

“As I said before, I know I don’t
have
to. I
want
to. I want to get to know the kids and help you raise them.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She laughed as she opened the door.

Gavin discovered why she had laughed when she opened the door. The sound of two babies crying wasn’t muffled any longer. He wasn’t sure how two tiny little girls could make such a loud sound. He barely resisted the urge to cover his ears. He watched Amalya pick up one of the little babies with great gentleness. He thought how natural she looked with a baby in her arms. He always knew she would make a good mother and had hoped to have a few children of their own someday. That got him wondering what the story was. “Where is their mother? How did they end up living here?”

Amalya handed him the little baby and showed him how to hold her right and cradle her head so as not to hurt her. “This here is Anya. Take her over there to the changing table while I get Katrya.”

He carried Anya to the table Amalya had pointed to as she picked up the other baby and answered his question. She told him the whole story of Anya and her death.

Gavin had to fight back tears. Not only was he getting two more mates than he had planned, but he was now getting four children, too. It was slightly overwhelming, but the happiness he was feeling outweighed any worries he had. He placed Anya on the changing table and admired her.

“She sure is beautiful. I would be honored to help raise them and be part of their lives.” He sniffed and quickly detected the reason the little girl had been crying. “Um, Amalya, now what do I do?”

Amalya laughed as she laid Katrya on the other end of the changing table so the little girls were feet to feet. She handed him a fresh diaper and placed a tub of baby wipes in front of him with a smirk.

“You change her diaper, sweetie.”

Okay, I can do this, he thought as he tried to figure out where to start. Amalya took pity on him. “Just watch and do what I do.”

With that, she showed him how to change his first diaper. He wasn’t as good at it as she was and used about a million wipes to get the little girl clean, but when he was finished he had a happy baby grasping his finger in her tiny hand. She lifted Katrya and told him to bring Anya so they could go feed them. It took him a little while to get the hang of holding a baby while feeding her a bottle, but he soon got the hang of it.

They were sitting on the couch in the living room, holding the babies that were dozing off again, when Devlin and Chase came down the stairs. Devlin sat next to him and put his arm around his shoulder saying, “You look good with a baby, mate. You’re getting the hang of it much faster than I did. It took me a week to get down the feeding and burping. They both spit up on me more than I care to remember because I was being too gentle, and they wouldn’t burp for me.”

Gavin watched Devlin softly stroke the baby’s head and couldn’t image Devlin not being a natural at taking care of her. “I’m sure you are a wonderful fath...um...uncle?”

Devlin smiled at him. “Uncle Devlin. While we all are going to raise them, I can never take the place of their father. So as they grow up, we will tell them about their parents. They will call us Uncle Devlin, Uncle Chase, Aunt Amalya, and Uncle Gavin, if you would like.”

“I would be very happy to be Uncle Gavin. Thank you for sharing your family with me, Devlin.”

Devlin kissed him. “
Our
family now, Gavin. They are our family.”

Gavin felt the tear flow down his cheeks as he leaned his head on Devlin’s shoulder.

* * * *

Devlin held Gavin in his arms, stroking the top of Anya’s head carefully, making sure to avoid her soft spot. Each of the little girls was born with a full head of dark hair just like their mother. They also had denim-blue eyes that Devlin had shared with his sister. While Devlin was the blond one, his sister had raven-colored hair. The twin girls already looked so much like their mother that some days Devlin had a hard time looking at them. Other days he sat and stared at them for hours, hoping to be closer to his sister.

His thoughts drifted to his sister. They were very close growing up, and when he left the pack with Chase, she had agreed to come with them. She had had a rough life, and he wanted to make her happy and keep her safe. Two years before they left the pack, she was kidnapped and raped. Devlin and Chase had rescued her but not before she became pregnant with Dmytri and Adryk. Once their father found out that she had been raped, he had disowned her and kicked her off pack lands. He was there the day that Dmytri and Adryk were born and had helped raise them.

When his and Chase’s fathers found out about them, he knew they were going to have to leave and get as far away from the pack as they could.

They had traveled to the new pack, and Devlin had challenged the alpha. Successful in the challenge, he took over the pack. Every time a male would come over, she would hide herself and the twins away in her bedroom and not come out. She was still scared of every male except for him and Chase. One day, two years ago, she must not have realized that there was someone there to visit and had come out of her room to get something from the kitchen.

Devlin remembered the day like it was yesterday. He thought he was going to have to kill the male, Brandon, that was there speaking to him from the pack to the north of his. As soon as Anya had entered the room, Brandon had stood up spun toward her growling, “Mine.” Anya had screamed and ran for her room.

He had explained to him that she had reason to be afraid of males and that he would need to be patient with her. Devlin was sure she would come around. The mating bond was too strong to deny for long. They had gotten Brandon to agree to leave her alone and let her come to him.

A few days later, Anya had called and talked to him over the phone. Two weeks later, she finally felt comfortable to meet him face-to-face but had asked him to come to the house so that Devlin and Chase would be close by.

After a few dates she had felt that she could safely go out with Brandon alone and went on an official unchaperoned date. Within a few dates, they had mated, and Brandon had claimed her. After a year of living with them, he and Anya had moved out and into a home he had built for them.

Devlin and Chase had traveled to visit her several times a week. She had called them in September and asked them if they could come for the night and watch Dmytri and Adryk so she and Brandon could go out. She had just found out that she was pregnant again and wanted to surprise him with a romantic dinner and a night away from the house. When they had pulled into her driveway, a police car pulled in behind them. They had met the sergeant and acting alpha Garrett a few times and knew from the look on his face something was really wrong. He told him that Brandon had been in an accident while on duty and taken to the hospital.

When they had arrived at the emergency room they were told that they doctors had done everything they could, but his injuries were too severe, and they lost him.

Looking back, Devlin realized that was what doctors always said. ‘We did everything we could, but it wasn’t enough’. It never seemed to be enough when it came to someone’s loved ones. He had held Anya while she grieved in the waiting room of the hospital. He and Chase had stayed with her for a few days and helped with the arraignments and the boys. They had asked her to come back and live with them, but she had told them that she didn’t want to leave her home and the boys’ school. They had respected her wishes and made sure she knew that she always had a place with them if she changed her mind. At the time of her death, she was a nurse in the maternity ward at the very hospital she died in.

Devlin couldn’t help but think that if he had made her come home with him that she would still be alive. He knew the truth, though. She would have still died. She still would have gone into labor, and he still would have lost her.

Devlin was dragged out of his thoughts by Chase standing and taking the baby out of Gavin’s arms.

“I’m going to go put the babies down and let them sleep. It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t you and Gavin go outside and sit? Amalya and I will make dinner, and we can eat out on the deck tonight and enjoy the weather.”

When Chase used his thumb to rub at Devlin’s cheeks, he realized he had been crying, and Devlin knew that Chase could read his emotions. He loved the way his mate always knew the perfect things to do and say to make him feel better.

“Thank you. I love you,” said Devlin.

“I love you, too. Now head outside. We’ll be out with dinner in a little while.”

Chase left the room carrying both babies. Amalya stood up and kissed both Devlin and Gavin before going into the kitchen.

Devlin stood and offered his hand to Gavin. “Would you like to join me on the deck?”

Gavin took his hand and stood wrapping him in his arms. “I would love to join you. Are you sure you’re okay? Is there anything I can do?”

Devlin choked back a sob. “Just being here and promising never to leave us is enough.”

He led Gavin out to the back deck and sat down next to him at the glass-top patio table where they waited for Chase and Amalya to finish making dinner.

* * * *

Dinner was going well. Amalya and Chase were talented cooks. Although Chase gave Amalya all the credit, she had insisted that desert was all Chase. Dmytri and Adryk had joined them for dinner and had watched Gavin with suspicion for the entire meal. Gavin was starting to get nervous that they would never accept him and wasn’t sure what that would mean for him. He was worried that Devlin, Chase, and Amalya would ask him to leave if he couldn’t get the twin boys to accept him. He needed to break the ice with them, so he decided to tell them some stories about when he and Amalya were little. He wanted them to realize that he had known and loved her forever and that he wasn’t there to take her away like they thought.

After the third story he told of their adventures from childhood, the boys started asking questions and opening up to him. By the time dinner was finished and he and Devlin were clearing the table, Dmytri and Adryk both offered to help. After all the dishes were in the dishwasher, Dmytri pulled a chair up to the sink to help Gavin wash the pots and pans. Gavin washed, Dmytri rinsed, and Adryk came over to dry them.

While Devlin was busy putting away the leftovers, Dmytri confronted him. “So you’re going to be my new uncle, huh?”

Gavin nodded his head.

“You’re not going to take Miss Mc...I mean Aunt Amalya away from us, right?”

Gavin shook his head.

“Are you her other mate?”

Gavin looked down at the little boy and asked, “What do you know about mates?”

“I know that Uncle Dev, Uncle Chase, and Aunt Amalya are mates. It means that they all love each other and live together. It also means they sleep in the same bed. I don’t think the bed is big enough for you, too. Are you going to sleep with them, too?”

Gavin wasn’t sure how to answer and was thankfully saved by Devlin, who
was
paying attention after all. Devlin mussed the little boy’s hair. “Yes, Gavin is our mate, too. We are going to love him like we love each other, and, not that you need to know, but yes, he is going to sleep in our bed, too. If we don’t all fit, we’ll just have to buy a bigger bed.”

“Okay, but I hope he doesn’t snore,” Dmytri said with a shrug as he got off the chair. Grabbing Adryk’s hand, both boys headed off toward the toy room.

Gavin turned toward Devlin. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure what to say. I’ve never been around little kids before. I don’t want to screw up and say the wrong thing.”

Devlin placed his hands on Gavin’s hips and kissed his lips. “You will be fine. Just be honest with them, but remember they
are
children. If you have any problems with them or really don’t know what to do, just asked me or Chase. We have been with those boys since they were born. We raised them with Anya for the first two years of their life.”

Devlin looked like he was lost in thought, and Gavin could tell the thoughts were a mixture of happy and sad. He wanted to know all about Devlin and Chase’s past, but didn’t want to push them into telling him. They had many years together for him to learn all about them. Gavin settled his hands on the back of Devlin’s neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Gavin lost track of time and was submerged in a world filled only with Devlin, until he was brought back to reality by Chase standing in the doorway, clearing his throat to get their attention.

“If you two are done with the kitchen, I thought it might be a nice time for a walk before it gets dark. Or maybe we can just go outside and work with Amalya on shifting. Then tomorrow we can find a sitter and all go for a run in the woods.”

Gavin thought that was a brilliant idea. He wanted to get the lay of the land if he was going to be living here. “Maybe we can work on her weather-control power a little, too, while we’re out there. She needs to learn to control it so that she doesn’t accidentally strike someone with lightning if she gets upset or angry with them.”