gaius

"Gaius, stop. There's no time," Onyx whines and pushes me away from him.

It had been four months since he's joined the pack. In that four months, we hadn't heard anything about the trial. Foster and Gray said that they probably wouldn't go through with it and I definitely wasn't complaining if that was the case.

After we Onyx and I marked each other, Onyx's memories came back. Ever since then, we had gone to visit his parents and other family multiple times. His Mom was happy to see him and that he was doing better. His Dad eventually came around. After multiple phone calls and visits, Onyx's parents decided that they wanted to transfer in order to be closer to him. Today was the day they were arriving and we're supposed to meet them at the border.

"Gaius," Onyx glares slightly when I move towards him.

"Alright, Alright!" I raise my hands in surrender.

Onyx shakes his head, but I can see the small smile forming on his face. He walks past me and outside. Laughing slightly, I quickly move to follow him. It's no surprise that he was ready to leave; he's been excited ever since his parents told him of their plans to transfer.

The two of us shift and begin to head into the woods. Memories of the day I found Onyx flash in my mind. It was a good thing I took on those extra shifts, otherwise I may have never met him.

Right before we reach the northern border, Onyx and I stopped to shift and get dressed. Once we were fully clothed, we walked the rest of the way until his parent's car came into view. A smile broke out on Onyx's face and he ran towards it. His mom, Octavia, climbed out the car and pulled him into an embrace.

"I'm glad you're here," I hear Onyx tell his mother.

Her grip on him tightens and I smile at the two of them. I was happy that they were able to mend their relationship despite all the years that passed.

A hand on my shoulder causes me to turn around. Onyx's dad, Zander, is standing there and he nods in greeting. One of the things I had learned was that Zander wasn't much of a talker. Even though he didn't speak much, you could definitely see just how much he cared by his actions and the way he looked at his family. As he stared at Onyx and Octavia, love shined in his eyes.

"Come on, we should go," Onyx tells his parents. "There's so much I wanna show you!"

...

Walking into Quinn and Gray's home, the first thing I heard was Foster and Ocean. Unfortunately for Taylor, Ocean was definitely a loud baby like his father. I don't think he minded too much though, seeing as the baby was always smiling.

Onyx had stayed behind with his parents while I decided to come see Layne since today was her fourth birthday.

Pack children were running all around the back yard and playing together. Quinn sat in a chair with the other parents and smiled as she watched them play. It wasn't hard to locate Foster who was playing with Ocean.

"Gaius," Quinn called out as she stood up. When she made her way over to me, she pulled me into a hug. "Thanks for coming!"

"Of course," I smiled at her and looked around. "Where's Gray?"

Quinn sighed. "Most likely arguing with Cloud."

I frowned at that. After being discharged from the hospital, Cloud was staying with Gray and Quinn for the time being. It seemed all they managed to do was argue though.

Gray wanted to make sure Cloud was getting better. To Cloud, he was being nosey and overprotective and because of that, they were always fighting. Something told me there was more to Cloud's anger, but the boy practically refused to talk to anyone outside his immediate family.

As if on cue, I see Cloud storming out the house and Gray's head shaking. Gray looks back at us and I offer him a smile. He makes his way towards us and opens the screen door before taking a seat beside Quinn. Layne runs up to him and Gray picks her up before setting her on his lap.

"Layne, how old are you?" I ask her.

Layne grins widely at me. "Four!"

Gray shakes his head. "You're still three."

Layne's brows furrow and she turns to Gray, raises four fingers and shoves them in his face. "I'm four, daddy!"

The rest of the party goes by rather quickly. Layne had a blast playing around with all the other kids and opening her gifts. I knew it made both Gray and Quinn happy seeing Layne with her friends. When we were growing up, it was usually just Foster, Gray, and I. Gray was a lot more quiet when we were younger whereas Layne talked to everyone.

After the party is over, I return home and find Onyx in the kitchen. Over the past few months, he's been trying to learn how to cook.

"How was the party?" Onyx asks when I step into the kitchen.

"Loud, but fun. Layne had a great time," Onyx smiles at that. "Did you enjoy spending time with your parents?"

His smile grows and he nods. "Yeah, I'm happy that they decided to transfer!"

Walking towards him, my arms wrap around his waist and I pull him towards me.

"I love you, Onyx," I tell him before placing a kiss on his mark.

He turns around and leans in to kiss me. "I love you too, Gaius." We stay like that for a minute before he moves out of my grip and waves me off. "Now go shower and let me cook before the food burns."

I shake my head at my mate and move towards our room. Stopping right before I enter, I look back at him and grin. A lot may have happened, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our life together was just beginning and I couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for us.