I don’t fight the pull of sleep as it takes me. The last thing I hear is Ryder’s low voice. “We’ll figure it out. Whatever it takes, we’ll do it. She deserves to fall asleep knowing she’ll never wake up alone again.”
I wake up buried under a tangle of limbs, heat, and way too many heavy bodies. For a second, I panic, thinking someone has caught me in some kind of restraint. Then I realise it’s just my mates. My very large, very warm, very sprawled-out mates.
Ryder’s chest is pressed against my back, his arm hooked protectively around my waist. Callen’s leg is slung over both of ours like he’s physically trying to pin me to the bed. Somewhere near my feet, I feel Parker, and Remy has somehow claimed the entire top half of the bed, stretched out like a smug king across the pillows.
They’ve completely boxed me in. It’s a miracle I can breathe at all.
I try to wiggle free, but Ryder growls in his sleep and tightens his grip. “Mine,” he mutters, low and possessive.
A snort escapes me before I can stop it. “Yes, big bad Alpha, I’m yours. But unless you want me to suffocate, you’re going to have to let me up at some point for air.”
Callen cracks one eye open from his side of the bed, his voice groggy with sleep. “Good luck with that. Ryder doesn’t share well before breakfast, not even air.”
“Neither do you,” Remy grumbles.
“Excuse me,” I whisper too loudly, trying not to laugh. “You’re all smothering me. Someone is going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice and roll away.”
“Not it,” Parker mumbles, without opening his eyes.
I laugh at the stubbornness of them all, and Ryder finally stirs, pressing a kiss into the back of my neck. “Fine,” he growls. “But only because I don’t want my mate passing out before I’ve had the chance to kiss her properly this morning.”
He pushes Callen back before he rolls away, which makes Callen swear and Parker chuckle. I sit up, my hair sticking out in about twenty directions, and feel the room tilt slightly. My muscles ache in ways that make heat flood my cheeks when I remember why.
Callen looks at me and smirks. “Blushing already? Goddess, you’re adorable.”
I throw a pillow at his face. He catches it effortlessly, laughing.
Breakfast ends up being chaotic in the best way. Jaxon wakes up requesting pancakes, and suddenly all four men are in the kitchen like it’s some kind of competition. Ryder insists on making the batter, and Parker hovers like a watchdog to make sure he does it right. Callen. flips pancakes with ridiculous flair, nearly hitting the ceiling at one point. Remy just leans against the counter with coffee, pretending he’s not interested, while secretly stealing bites off Jaxon’s plate whenever he thinks no one is looking.
“Remy!” Jaxon squeals, swatting at his hand. “Those are mine!”
Remy ruffles his hair before popping another stolen strawberry into his mouth. “They were yours,” he teases.
Jaxon gasps, but his eyes twinkle with amusement, and Ryder growls at Remy while Callen mutters about bad examples. Parker just shakes his head and slides another pancake onto Jaxon’s plate like it’s no big deal.
I sit at the table, chin propped on my hand, watching them all with a stupid smile on my face. My little boy is glowing with happiness, laughing so hard he nearly chokes on his orange juice, and my chest swells so much it almost hurts. This is exactly what I’ve been craving for me and Jax. A real family, stability and love.
Ryder’s phone buzzes on the counter, and he grabs it. He glances at the screen, then his entire body goes rigid.
~
**Paige’s POV **
“Ryder?” I ask, my stomach dropping as a thousand scenarios run through my head.
He doesn’t answer right away. His thumb moves quickly over the screen, his eyes scanning something. Then he lets out a breath and looks up at me, his eyes shining.
“It’s the DNA results,” he says, his voice low.
My heart stutters. I already know without a shadow of a doubt that he’s Jaxon’s father, but since they took the test, I’ve had this strange anxiety that the results will get messed up somehow. Greg might bribe the lab, even though he doesn’t know we were doing this, and I’m sure he doesn’t even know anyone who works in a DNA analysis lab.
“Well?” Callen says, his tone impatient.
“It’s confirmed, we have solid proof,” he grins, pushing the phone across the table toward me, his hand trembling.
The email is open. The words are formal, but I skip over them, getting right to the important part… Probability of paternity: 99.9999%.
Relief floods through me, not just mine, but Ryder’s, Callen’s and Remy’s too.
“Suck on those eggs, Greg,” Callen laughs as he reads the email over my shoulder.
“We need to forward that to the solicitor and make an appointment to make this official,” Ryder says, jumping straight into proactive mode.
And just like that, we’re pulling out laptops and phones. The men hover over me like overgrown bodyguards while I type in the request for the registry office appointment, Ryder’s hand steady on my shoulder.
“Earliest appointment is next Thursday,” I say, scrolling down the list. “Ten in the morning.”
“Book it,” Ryder says without hesitation.
“Wait. We need to think about this,” Remy says, and all eyes go to him. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it; I’m just saying… we can’t just stroll into the city like it’s nothing. Not with the current threats. We need to plan this first.”
There’s a long silence before Parker nods. “He’s right.”
Ryder growls. “I don’t care if we have to fight every hunter between here and the registry office. I’m not waiting any longer. He’s mine, and I want it official so no one can try to claim him as theirs again. No one is taking him from us.”
“I know,” I say gently, reaching for his hand. His warm fingers close over mine instantly. “I think what Remy is trying to say is, can we risk taking Jaxon out there?”
At the mention of our son, Ryder falters. His eyes flick instinctively to where Jaxon is crouched on the floor, driving his toy truck through a river of spilt water. Completely unaware of what’s going on around him.
Callen exhales, running a hand through his hair. “Obviously, we all have to go to protect Paige. So the question is… do we take him with us, or do we leave him here with the pack?”
The words make me go cold. Take him into danger, or leave him behind. Neither option feels good.
Remy is the first to answer. “Leaving him is smarter.”
“No,” Ryder snaps instantly. “He should stay with us. Where we go, he goes.”
Parker shakes his head. “You know that’s a risk. The registry office isn’t secure. There are too many unknowns. If hunters have been watching, if they catch wind of the appointment…” He doesn’t finish the thought. He doesn’t have to; we all know what could happen.
“You won’t protect him by putting him in a kill box,” Remy adds. “One lucky shot, one good. Hit and everyone in the car is dead or injured. In fact, we should travel there separately in two or three cars.”
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