SAM POV

At the grand old age of twenty-three, Sam and Markus had decided the time had come. They were ready. Caia had been their training wheels, and now it was time for them to two-wheel together as a bonded couple. They had spent endless nights discussing their apprehensions and their excitement. The decision was made; the announcement given, and the appointment booked. It was time to choose their first child.

It was a four-hour drive to the orphanage, or as they liked to call themselves, ‘The Family Centre’, a centre that creates families through adoption. There were only a couple of centres in the UK due to the nationwide shortage of pups without parents. That was the thing with werewolves and their soul mates: the only pups born without parents who wished to keep them were the product of affairs (incredibly rare), rape (also pretty rare), or the death of just about every relative who could take the role of care-giver. The last item in that list was the reason Sam ended up in one of these very same centres for a brief time as a baby before he was transferred to the nearest pack that didn’t already have an omega.

Upon arrival they were greeted by the head carer, a soft-spoken woman commanding a team of nurses and attendants to give all of their wards the highest quality of care possible. She led them into the baby room, where their youngest infants slept. She gave them a well-rehearsed speech that advised them to take their time, think carefully, and if they found a child they wished to make a genuine request to adopt, that they only need call on her and she could get the child’s file for them.

The baby room contained two rows of cots, six on each side. When making their appointment they had been informed over the phone that the centre had two alpha pups in their care, one around three months old and the other a toddler. Once they were left almost alone in the room (there were still two nurses tending to babies and going about their duties), they agreed to take the head carer’s guidance and meet all of the babies rather than rush straight to the alpha pup, who stood out by a mile on the other side of the room with his chunky body. It would do no harm to take a peek and they had plenty of time.

The first baby was snoozing silently, his tiny nostrils flaring when he took a particularly deep breath. Sam pressed a hand to his chest and pulled an adoring expression at Markus who replied with a silent grin. Why were babies so darn cute?

They continued to sidle along the row, smiling and waggling their fingers at each infant as they went. Some smiled gummily; others blinked up curiously, and one was fighting against her eyelids as her nap time approached.

They were one crib away from the alpha pup when Markus halted suddenly, staring at the baby in front of him. After a few minutes he still had not moved.

Sam glanced between them; there was no obvious difference between this baby and the others, and yet his mate was utterly enraptured. The tiny baby’s full body vest had ‘Mason’ stitched across the middle and the placard on the front of his cot stated that he was three months old and his parents were both deceased. Sam could smell that he was a submissive and that he probably needed a change of nappy soon.

“Sammy,” Markus mumbled.

“Hmm?”

“Can we talk outside for a second?”

“Sure,” Sam said with a gentle nod, a tickle at the back of his neck telling him he already knew what was coming. He could sense his mate’s emotions, the pure, barely contained love that had begun to bubble inside of him once he had locked eyes with Mason.

They slipped back out of the main door leading into the nursery room and out into the foyer. Markus leant his head down to Sam’s.

“We have to take him home,” He said quietly.

Sam knew exactly who “him” was but still he asked. “Mason?”

“We have to,” Markus repeated.

“We haven’t met all of the pups properly yet; you heard them tell us not to make a rash decision.”

“But he’s so little,” Markus whispered.

“He’s a baby. He’s supposed to be little.” Sam laughed quietly.

“Please.”

“I thought we were planning to pick a dominant for our first? They said they have two alpha pups, and you know how rare it is to get an alpha. We have a pack to be thinking about too; your family line needs to continue to hold Scarlett Moon together.”

Markus pouted silently and looked away.

Sam sighed. What was he going to do with his childish mate? And now that he had watched Markus fall in love with him, the thought of leaving without Mason shot a bolt of pain into Sam’s heart. He was so small and sweet, and Sam definitely shouldn’t argue against being able to outnumber Markus within their small family with two subs to one alpha.

At the exhale of exasperated breath, Markus looked up hopefully, his eyes twinkling. Sam let a small smile slip out and nodded.

They returned to the head carer’s office to let her know their decision.

“I am very pleased to hear you have taken a shining to Mason,” she began, “but you should be aware that he can only join a family who would be able to take him as a pair.”

“A pair?” Markus blurted with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, the funny thing is that usually it’s Mason’s brother that attracts potential parents!”

“Brother…” Sam repeated in a whisper.

His mind was already racing at the implications. This could be an older child who needed extra care, who had been traumatised. Were they ready for that? Would it be wrong of them to take him as well, knowing they might not be equipped to give him the best support?

“Yes, Mason’s twin brother Seth is an alpha.” Her smile was straining as her eyes flickered between them, clearly awaiting their reaction before she continued, “We can’t separate them even at such a young age. I hope you can understand, and we will understand, too, you know, if you can’t take on two at once. It’s a lot of responsibility and-”

“And we would be thrilled to take both of them home,” Sam cut in.

There was no question about it. They had journeyed to the centre with the expectation to leave with an alpha pup. Now they would - with the bonus of a son they had already fallen in love with. If Seth was anything like Mason, they would adore him at first sight too. Sam secretly hoped he was a fat version of Mason… Ooh, he loved a chunky baby…

Markus squeezed his hand, a relieved smile beaming out of his face as he nodded enthusiastically at the woman in agreement with his mate.

“You don’t have to decide right away,” she assured them with slightly raised hands as though attempting to calm a pair of rabid dogs. “It’s a huge step and we are happy to provide master-classes and training in all aspects of childcare.”

Sam and Markus shared a look. A look of love and excitement and anticipation.

“Thank you,” said Sam, turning back to the kind woman. “We’d appreciate any resources we can get. But we are also definitely, absolutely, very sure.”