Page 144 of Brutal Reign
“I’ll take a beer,” Gus replies.
She nods, reaching into the ice again to grab a can before knocking the lid of the cooler closed and tossing it over to him.
“Thanks!” he calls out as he catches it, wisely waiting before cracking it open.
River swings her gaze to Gus’ boyfriend seated beside him, arching a brow in question. “Luke, beer?”
“Nah, I’m good,” he answers with a smile, leaning into Gus’ side. “Gotta be up early tomorrow.”
“Shit, that’s never stopped me,” Beau snorts, raising his own beer to his lips and taking a long sip.
“Oh, we know,” Eli laughs.
River steps away from the cooler, making her way back around the firepit to her chair. I reach out to grab her by the wrist as she passes in front of me, pulling her down into my lap and banding my arms around her body. “You should rest,” I grumble.
“I’m pregnant, not an invalid,” she huffs.
“Still,” I growl, placing a hand on her swollen belly. “You should be taking it easy, babe. Doctor’s orders.”
“Gonna have to agree with Seb on this one,” Ace chimes in, pinning our mate with a stern stare. “If you need something, you just tell us and we’ll get it for you.”
She rolls her eyes, though she knows better than to argue. Neither of us are willing to compromise when it comes to her well-being, so she just shifts around on my lap to get comfortable, leaning her head back against my shoulder.
“How’d your last checkup go, Riv?” Hayden asks curiously, resting a hand on her own, much smaller baby bump.
“Fine,” River sighs. “The pups are healthy, the doc just wants me to slow down now that I’m entering the third trimester.”
“Makes sense,” Kendrick says, slinging an arm over his mate’s shoulders. “Hayden’s been having a hard enough time with one pup, it can’t be easy carrying two.”
“Easier than taking care of two babies once they’re born, I’m sure,” River replies with a soft chuckle.
“Good thing you’ve got two mates to handle that,” Hayden winks.
Riv grins back at her. “Exactly! I keep telling them that since I’m doing all the work for the first nine months, they get to handle the first nine after they’re out.”
“Do you really trust Seb to take care of a baby, though?” Eli snickers.
I point a finger in his direction, narrowing my eyes. “Hey, that’sAlphaSeb to you,” I tease.
Eli gives me a mock salute, chuckling to himself as he raises his beer to his lips.
It’s been too long since we got our friends together for a bonfire like this. The past year has been a whirlwind with our fathers retiring and the three of us stepping up to take pack rank in Summervale and Norbury. After a lot of back and forth, we ultimately decided to toss out the traditional structure of pack hierarchy. Instead, all three of us are Alphas of both packs. Though there were some initial growing pains in working out how to jointly lead, the arrangement has worked out even better than we hoped, each pack thriving under our combined leadership.
We also had to deviate from the norm in terms of living arrangements, since Goldenleaf’s territory is nestled right between Summervale and Norbury. A merger didn’t make sense geographically, so mine and Ace’s parents offered to stay in the Norbury packhouse while the three of us moved into the one in Summervale. By day, we spend equal time in both territories, but when we’re away at night, Cal and my dad keep an eye on things. And when we spend the occasional night in Norbury, Theo is all too happy to keep watch on Summervale.
It’s all a balancing act, but we’ve made it work, and once a month, we bring both packs together to run beneath the full moon. I always look forward to those nights. We alternate which packhouse we host them at, and with so many people, the after-party is epic.
“You take good care of our pups while they’re in, and we’ll handle them once they’re out,” I tell River, rubbing my hand over her rounded belly. A little flutter erupts against my palm, a grin splitting my face as I snap my gaze to Ace. “Dude, one of them just totally gave me a fist bump.”
“Fuck off,” he laughs, leaning over to place his hand on Riv’s belly beside mine.
I never thought I’d be raising kids with my best friend, but here we are. Regardless of biological parentage, both of us will equally be their dads; the five of us a family. Hopefully we’ll nail this whole raising pups thing.
The babies move again, and I know from the way Ace’s eyes light up that he felt it, too.
“Wasn’t Ares supposed to come tonight?” Beau asks, furrowing his brow. “Thought he was back in town.”
“He is, and he’ll be here,” I reply. “Brought someone back from Chicago with him, too.”