gaius

The moment Onyx and I step into Taylor and Foster's house, I immediately hear yelling. Onyx winces slightly and I shake my head. Foster was a loud person and yelled even if he didn't mean to. As much as I loved him, I couldn't imagine having to live with him. If Ocean grew up to be anything like his father personality-wise, then Taylor was in trouble.

Gripping Onyx's hand, we walk down the hall and towards the living room. Inside the room was Gray, Quinn, Layne, and Foster's parents. Foster's mom was holding the baby and I could see the tears in her eyes. She looked exactly like Foster.

Foster's dad sat beside his mate with a smile on his face as he stared at the baby. Layne stood beside him and looked at Ocean in awe.

Foster looked up when he heard us enter and quickly moves towards us. He pulls both Onyx and I into hugs before backing away.

"Thanks for coming!" He beams.

"You know I wouldn't miss it," I shove him playfully.

That wasn't completely true though. I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider staying home and doing something else...or rather, someone else.

For the past few days, Onyx and I had been getting closer to finishing our bond. But every time we got to a point past kissing, something seemed to stop us. Waiting a little bit longer wasn't the end of the world, but blue balls were.

Onyx and I move to take a seat beside Quinn and Gray. Quinn was talking to Taylor while Layne was talking to Gray and pointing at Ocean.

"Hey," Taylor greets when we sit down.

"Hey, how does it feel to be out of the hospital?"

Taylor rolls his eyes. "I missed my own bed, not that I get to use it though. Ocean definitely took after Foster when it comes to whining."

Hearing his name, Foster frowns. "I don't whine."

"All you do is whine," his mom says as she sakes her head. She turns her attention to me and smiles. "It's good to see you again, Gaius! You've grown a lot since the last time we were here, and who's this?"

She stares at Onyx who looks uncomfortable. Taking his hand into mine, I squeeze it lightly before returning her smile.

"It's nice to see you again too! This is my mate, Onyx," I introduce.

Onyx waves but says nothing. Her smile remains on her face though.

"It's nice to meet you, Onyx. What pack were you originally from?"

Onyx's grip on my hand tightens. "I wasn't in a pack when I came here."

Foster's dad looks over at him and his mom nods. After Foster took over as Gamma and met Taylor, his parents decided it was time to explore outside of the pack. They only really came around for holidays, so it wasn't a surprise that they didn't know about Onyx.

"So, how has your trip been, Marie?" Quinn changes the subject.

Onyx relaxes when she turns away to talk to Quinn and I smile over at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Foster handing Ocean to Gray. Layne's eyes grow impossibly wider and she looks at him as if he's some kind of alien.

"How has your father been, Gaius?" Foster's dad, Marshall, questions.

The question has me pausing. "Not too good," I admit. "He's gotten himself into some trouble and we're not exactly on talking terms anymore."

He frowns at this and stands up before walking towards the kitchen. Before he enters, he looks back at me and gestures for me to follow him. Squeezing Onyx's hand one last time, I stand up and head towards it. When we enter, he closes the door and leans against the counter.

"What happened with your father?" Marshall asks.

A laugh escapes. "Where do we even start? I guess everything went to hell when Onyx came to the pack. He didn't like Onyx or the fact that we were mates."

"Because he was a rogue?"

"Yes and no," I say and he raises an eyebrow. "When we found Onyx, he was practically a feral."

The room falls silent and Marshall shakes his head. "Feral's aren't able to shift, so how is he? And why is he so calm?"

"Onyx was never a real feral. Long story short, someone kidnapped him from his pack and made him appear to be feral."

Marshall is silent for a few minutes before he nods. "What else happened?"

"He was taken into custody for trying to get Onyx killed and endangering the pack. The council ended up taking him since he was connected to the people who kidnapped Onyx," I say before pausing.

In theory, Marshall should know about Faya. He's been in the pack for as long as my Dad so he should know something.

"Marshall?" I call out and he looks up at me. "Do you know anything about Faya?"

Something flashes through his eyes, but it quickly disappears. "Faya?"

"My sister."

He falls silent again before laughing. "He finally told you about that, huh?" He turns to me and nods. "Faya was your mother and father's first child. When they had her, your parent's whole world lit up. She was their world, until her first birthday."

"What happened?"

"Faya was a lot like your dad; she loved to explore. Your parents decided to have a picnic for her birthday and she wandered away from them. A feral rogue managed to catch her scent and attacked her. Your mother tried to save her and was bitten in the process. The wounds Faya sustained were too bad and she ended up dying. The wolf had been carrying some disease and when he bit your mother, he infected her also."

I frown at the new information. Neither Mom or Dad had ever mentioned Faya to me when I was growing up. There was no pictures of her or no sign that she ever truly existed outside of their memories.

"We should head back," Marshall says and I nod silently. "Gaius?"

"Yes?" I turn to him.

"Does Onyx make you happy?"

Does he make me happy? The whole time that he's been here, that's all he's done.

"He does," I confirm.

Marshall nods and a smile forms on his face. "Then don't let others get in the way of that. The only one who can dictate your happiness is you."

I smile back at him before leaving the kitchen. I take my seat beside Onyx and link our hands. He looks at me questioningly, but instead I move and kiss him.

A cough has me pulling away from him and when I look up, Foster is standing in front of me with Ocean in his arms. Quinn scoots over slightly and Foster takes a seat beside me. As I look down at Ocean, I can't help but smile. He looked so similar to Foster, but sweeter and less demonic.

"Do you want to hold him?"

I look up at Foster and shake my head no. The idea of holding someone else's baby always worried me.

"Come on," Foster smiles. "You'll be fine."

After eyeing the baby for a few more seconds, Foster hands him to me and I hold him as if he'd break if I moved too much. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the feeling though, and when I over at Onyx, I knew that I wasn't the only one. Our eyes met and he smiled at me before looking back down at the baby.

One day, we'd have our own.