My Mate....The Alpha (new version)

33. Preston

I didn't sleep after that.

How could I?

I'd spent the rest of the night with Ajax cradled against Ryker's chest and my arms wrapped around both of them. My heart beat so fast and hard I was sure it would wake the entire cottage, but neither of them stirred. Ryker had fallen asleep again with a hand on our son's back, his face buried in Ajax's curls. I watched the steady rise and fall of his chest like it was the only thing holding me together.

"Dada."

That word. That tiny, whispered word.

It echoed in my head like a bell ringing down a cathedral corridor, shaking loose all the silent prayers I'd whispered over the last few months. I had worried Ajax would never speak. That something had broken in him during my pregnancy. That maybe I hadn't been enough to keep him safe from whatever pain the world already tried to place on his tiny shoulders.

And then—just like that—he looked at Ryker, reached out with his little hands, and gave him a name.

Dada.

There was no question. No doubt. Not a sound he was mimicking, not a garbled string of syllables. No. That was our son choosing his first word. Choosing his father.

And it undid me completely.

By the time the sun rose, I was still wide awake. Beau kicked beneath my ribs like he knew something had shifted, like he'd felt the joy that bloomed across my chest and wrapped around every scar, every ache, every fear that had festered in me.

I turned my head and pressed a kiss to Ryker's shoulder. He didn't stir, which meant he'd finally found rest—and gods knew he needed it. He'd been running himself ragged these past few weeks, splitting his time between patrols, preparing for Beau's arrival, keeping the pack border secure, and then coming home and pretending he wasn't exhausted because he knew I'd notice and worry.

I pulled the blanket a little higher over both of them and slipped out of bed.

The floorboards creaked under my weight. I was thirty-three weeks pregnant, and nothing about me moved quietly anymore. I walked past the window where the first light streamed in, touching everything with a golden blush. Ajax's wolf toys were scattered across the floor in a halo around his little reading chair, the moon nightlight still glowing beside it. The house smelled like lavender and oatmeal and the faintest trace of coffee from Ryker's thermos yesterday morning.

I moved slowly through the living room, past the little bassinet we'd just finished setting up by the fireplace. A soft onesie with tiny mountain wolves printed on it hung from the side—Ryker had picked it out on a supply run last week, grumbling about the lack of neutral options and then proceeding to buy four of the same design once he found it.

My hand found its way to my belly, tracing a soft path over the tight skin.

"You're going to love your big brother," I whispered to Beau. "He's magic."

A flutter, then a strong kick. I smiled.

I stood at the kitchen counter, making a slow pot of tea when I felt a presence behind me.

Warm arms wrapped around my middle.

"Should've known you wouldn't sleep," Ryker murmured against the back of my neck, his voice still rough from sleep.

"I tried," I said honestly. "But it's hard to come down after a miracle."

He chuckled. "Is that what we're calling it?"

I turned to face him and cupped his cheek. "Ryker... that was a miracle."

He folded into my hand like he needed the contact to believe it, to anchor him to what had happened. "I didn't even hear it the first time. You did."