“I’m bored, Daddy,” she replies.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Talia is annoying,” she says. Interesting, because that’s her twin. But I let it slide.
“All your cousins will be here later today,” I reply.
“But waiting is the worst part. Plus, Sylvie only wants to play with Theo and Easton,” she says.
“Well, you know all the others are your cousins too,” I say.
“Nu-uh. Theo said Sylvie and Elliot are our only true cousins,” my seven-year-old daughter says. I roll my eyes. Sylvie and Elliot are Smith and Cami’s kids. But just because it’s Kelsey’s biological brother doesn’t mean that Emily and Liv’s pack haven’t become family.
“Well, it sounds like your brother needs to be spoken to. They are all your cousins, even if it isn’t by blood,” I reply. “Family can be anyone as long as you love them enough. That’s what a pack is.”
“Hmm, okay. In that case, Wyatt and Claire should be here soon!” she cheers, excited for the kids near her age to get here, and she rambles out of my bedroom. I think that I’m about to get some more sleep, knowing that today is going to be hectic. I went to sleep between Emmett and Shyla, but it seems like they’ve already gotten a head start on the day.
I cover my face with the blanket and sigh until I hear the clicking of more tiny human footsteps.
“Daddy, Lana is being mean,” the other twin, Talia, comes into the bed and sits next to me. She lies down, cuddling near my chest.
“What happened, Talia?” I ask. When I look down at the girls, I see a perfect mix of me and Kelsey. They have light brown curly hair, deep green eyes, and a light brown complexion similar to my own.
“She doesn’t want to play with me. She said I’m acting like a baby,” she says.
“You’re not a baby. Come here.” She lies down next to me, snuggling into the blankets closely. Out of all of our children, I would be shocked if Talia didn’t designate as an Omega. She and Lana are fraternal twins, as well as our older sons, Theo and Easton.Those two are getting close to the age designation reveals and have been more than a handful lately. Jacob is the only child we have that was a solo birth, and that probably has to do with Kelsey carrying mine and Shyla’s embryo. We debated for so long if we would be done after the girls, but Kelsey said she wanted to give us that gift. I fucking love that woman.
“At least Claire will be here soon. She’ll play with me.”
“Of course they will, that’s what cousins are for.”
She nods her head, basically burying herself into the blankets more as she yawns. “I think I’ll take a nap before they get here.”
“Sounds like a great idea to me,” I say, smiling. Hating how fast she’s growing up, but loving being a part of every moment. Kelsey, Emmett, and I all stay home with the kids while Shyla and Dom continue to work. Kelsey still has her art on the side. I continue to do creative things as needed, and honestly, Emmett has completely thrived in being a father. It’s been an unimaginable experience I wouldn’t trade for the world.
“Theo, you can’t go to your girlfriend’s house,” I hear Emmett say as I stumble out to the kitchen. Talia wasn’t there when I woke up, so I assume she and her sister made up, or she’s getting ready for the party.
“Why not, Dad? It’s just a stupid party,” Theo says. Theo is a handful, that’s for fucking sure. When I see him and Emmett standing next to each other, they’re basically like mirrored images. The boys turned fifteen a few months ago and have been very hormonal recently. We’ve all been on edge to see if they designate.
“It’s not just a party, all of your family will be here. It’s important. If anything, just invite your girlfriend to the party,” Emmett tries to reason with him.
Easton walks in. He’s already taller than Emmett, at fifteen, and has dark brown hair and brown eyes, just like his Alpha father, Dom. I guess Emmett’s theory of Dom pushing his cum inside Kelsey and knotting it in there could be valid. Apparently Kelsey releases more than one egg during her cycle, so we now have two sets of fraternal twins.
“Please don’t invite Jenny,” Easton grumbles.
“Why not?” Theo snarks back.
“’Cause she’s annoying as fuck,” Easton says.
“Hey, language,” Emmett says. Easton turns to him and gives him the look that says ‘I hear you say fuck at least five times a day.’ Emmett doesn’t say anything but just turns toward the coffee machine. Not wanting to deal with the boys’ drama again.
“Ugh, where’s your mother?” Emmett says.
Soft footsteps enter the kitchen. Shyla still looks regal. I don’t know how she does it, even after taking care of Jacob most of the night. Her hair is in a high ponytail and she’s already dressed for the day with a sleeping baby on her chest. I can’t believe he turned one two months ago.
“Hopefully, this one doesn’t have such a foul mouth on him,” Emmett says, taking the baby from Shyla’s arms and cradling him against his chest.
“Growing up in this family, unlikely.” Theo huffs.