The Unexpected Yuletide Baby (Starscale Mates #3)

Chapter Eight

Medwin

Baby Acadian’s first Yule was an eventful one. Indigo and Cobalt arrived to brunch on time, but down one partner and getting a silent treatment from the other. Apparently, the link between the triplets was always wide open. The other two had heard the news before Teal or I had a chance to tell them in person. Cobalt’s boyfriend wasn’t fond of the idea of spending the next few months in London or without him. If anyone had consulted me, I’d have told Cobalt not to toss away a relationship if he wanted to go back to New Hemlock with his boyfriend.

“It’s not that big of a deal. I want to be here. I wanted a break from New Hemlock,” Cobalt said, as I took his coat. “I enjoy traveling more than he does. It was never going to last forever anyway. He and Teal didn’t get along.”

“You can spare us why you were with him then,” Clarence said before the conversation turned to romping.

Indigo and his boyfriend had already disappeared into the dining room. I pressed my lips together trying not to be the nosy one, but I couldn’t help myself. If that wolf man was about to eat at my holiday table, I needed to know why he was giving my Indigo the cold shoulder.

“Indi asked if he was going back too,” Cobalt filled me in without my having to ask. “Indi was planning on breaking up with him after New Years anyway. So, I think he hoped he would.”

“Sheesh,” I said, under my breath as Clarence took their coats from me and hung them in the coat closet. “Here I was ready to boot that poor man out of my house and it’s my grandchild acting like a fuckboi.”

“Fuckboi?” Cobalt blinked.

“Yes. I curse. You all are grown now, and Baby Acadian is down for a nap. If you’re going to live here you’re probably going to hear me say a lot worse than that. What about you? Were you going to break up after the holidays too?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, flashing me a sheepish smile. “It would make us giant assholes to break up with them before or during, right?”

“Sheesh,” I said again in lieu of another curse word. “Did you plan this together? Should I be scouring the globe looking for a set of triplets for you three to true-mate respond to?”

“Probably,” Clarence said, coming out of the coat closet.

“I’m sorry,” Cobalt frowned at me.

“It’s alright. I mean, I’m not going to stay mad at you today. It’s Yule but I don’t think you should base your relationship statuses on holidays or whether or not your brothers are single. I think that’s a dangerous way to break hearts. Hell, maybe your own hearts someday. Hearts aren’t anything to play with.”

“I know--- but breaking up during December? Really?” he sighed.

“I’d rather be broken up with than have a boyfriend who acts strangely because he plans on breaking up with me soon,” I frowned.

“Me too,” Clarence nodded. “You probably would too. I’m going to peek in on the baby and I’ll meet you guys in there.”

Before Clarence had the chance to turn to go deeper into the house, Indigo’s boyfriend (Frank? Or something like that. Maybe. It was hard to keep names straight when they dated so many different people) barreled into the corridor with Indigo on his heels.

“Fuck you and your holly jolly balls!” ee yelled and Indigo cringed.

“There is a baby in---” Indigo said, wincing and trying to defuse the situation.

“Fuck him too!” The wolf man growled.

A high-pitched wail broke through the house and my mate growled. The sound threatened to turn into a roar of fire and Cobalt stepped between his grandfather and maybe-Frank. I grabbed Clarence’s arm and dragged him toward the nursery. Better than him yeeting the omega wolf out of the house or burning him to a crisp. I didn’t imagine burnt wolf tasted very good.

“He didn’t mean that,” I said as I left Indigo to clean up his own mess. “He’s heartbroken.”

“Acadian didn’t do it,” Clarence said, his voice taking on that too-calm tone I’d heard him use once too often before a battle.

“Yes. I know that. He knows that. Acadian even knows that but heartbroken people say weird things.”

“You should eat him too.”

“I’d just puke if I did,” I shook my head and led him into the nursery.

“It’s okay,” Clarence said, his tone softening as soon as he laid eyes on our newborn. He scooped him up from the crib and put him to his shoulder. The baby fell silent and nuzzled in against his sire. Any other day, I might’ve eaten maybe-Frank but Indigo had been an asshole. I’d be done with us all too if he’d been my boyfriend.

“It’s all okay,” Clarence continued to coo to our baby.

I left him there to cool off and trusted that he wouldn’t fall back into battle mode while holding our newborn. A sigh of relief fled my mouth when I heard him take a seat in the rocking chair. The tongue sparring was still in full swing when I made it back to the corridor. Cobalt and Teal watched on as if maybe-Frank might attack their brother and he’d need back up.

“Boys, dining room, please,” I said to the first two.

Teal flashed me a sheepishly apologetic smile and tugged on Cobalt’s arm. When they were gone maybe-Frank fell quiet.

“Indigo, please join your brothers,” I said, putting on my best patient, first-mate voice.

“Grandp---”

“Go, please,” I said.

Maybe-Frank wasn’t sure where to look once his now ex-boyfriend was gone.

“I didn’t mean---” he started but I shook my head.

“No one’s angry with you,” I said.

That was a bit of a white lie. Clarence was furious but Clarence was taking care of our baby and didn’t get a voice in this particular arrangement.

“Well, perhaps Indigo is, but from what I understand, he’s done this to himself. I’m sure you’re a fine, upstanding young man and I do apologize for the youthful idiocy of my grandson. Do you have a way to get back home?”

“I do,” he nodded.

“Would you like a to-go plate? We have plenty to go around.”

Much to my surprise, Maybe-Frank took not one, but two plates. One for himself and one for his dumped friend waiting back at the hotel for him. After he was sent off with one of our drivers, I took a deep breath and reminded myself chewing on my grandchildren wouldn’t do anything good for the wolf pup growing in my belly.

Instead, I joined them in the dining room and spared them the lecture for now. Later, they’d regret how they treated others. It always happened that way. Usually, it happened to alphas when they met their omegas and heard their horror stories. It could happen the other way around too. Not every omega was a shining example of how to treat other people. Usually, alphas, though. I’d leave that particular lecture up to Clarence.

“Would you have broken up with Roget after the holidays too, Teal?” Clarence asked when he finally joined us in the dining room. We had finished our salads and moved onto the potato soup course.

“No,” he shook his head. “I was in love with him.”

Cobalt rolled his eyes.

“Am in love with him,” Teal added, ignoring his brother.

“Should we expect any assassins coming after those two?” Clarence asked Teal, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

“I don’t think they have those sort of connections. One of them might stop by to kick them before they leave, though,” Teal grinned, enjoying being included in his grandpa’s jokes.

“Wear shin guards and cups then, boys,” Clarence said, starting in on his soup.