Revolting

William and Heath each took a turn holding Baby Gabe before they stepped out and left her alone with Nina and her new mate. Heath had a big sloppy smile on his face. He had looked a little green during the delivery, but once he held that little bundle in his big hands, his heart had melted. Outside of the room, he circled his arms around William and sighed. "That was the most intense thing I have ever witnessed."

William leaned into his partner and nodded in agreement. "Daisy was amazing." He looked up into Heath's eyes with a troubled expression. "It's going to be different now. Daisy's found her second-chance mate. She doesn't need Daddies for her baby any longer."

Heath stroked William's cheek tenderly. "I know. I thought about that. But when I held that little boy, I knew... There is a reason for everything. We will all love him. He will be the kid with three dads." William's worried expression melted into a smile, and he leaned in to kiss Heath lightly on the lips. "How did you get to be so amazing?"

Heath was not satisfied with a light peck, not when he was so full of emotion. He pulled William back and kissed him deeply, sweeping his hands down his back, pressing William's lean body against his how. He smiled against William's mouth. "I was born that way."

"Mmmm," William agreed. He was ready to drag Heath back towards their bedroom, but Heath had other ideas.

"I want to show Hannah the pictures." Heath said excitedly. "Let's bring some dinner down to the house." He took William by the hand and dragged him back toward the kitchen. They packed up dishes of potato salad, fried chicken, coleslaw and hot fresh rolls, enough to feed four, and then headed out the door.

Heath hated that he had to knock on the door of his own house, but he politely lifted his hand and banged on the door. To his surprise, Hannah yanked open the door with a wide smile. Her long red-gold hair had been pulled back into a sloppy braid. Something about the crookedness off it made Heath think that Michael might have made some attempt at styling it. She was wearing what appeared to be one of Michael's t-shirts, as the sleeves hung past her elbows, and the hem fell around her knees. She seemed happier and more relaxed, and even gave Heath a hug before she slipped away to the back room.

William and Heath busied themselves placing plates on the table. Heath immediately stiffened when Hannah pulled a shirtless Michael into the room by his hand. He didn't think he would ever feel at ease being in one room with the man who had tried to kill him. His eyes trailed over the bigger man's impressive chest, and came to rest on the fresh bite mark on his neck. "Fuck no," he swore, his hands immediately balling into fists.

His eyes went to Hannah's marking spot, which was on full display as the too-large t-shirt threatened to slip over her shoulder. Apart from a couple of suspicious looking hickeys on her neck, her smooth white skin was unblemished. A little bit of the tension drained out of his shoulders, in part due to William stroking a calming hand down Heath's muscular forearm.

Michael gave Heath a look, and then settled himself into one of the kitchen chairs. "I will not mark her until she can give me her consent," Michael said in a low voice. Hannah ignored the empty chair and slid comfortably into Michael's lap. She looked across the table at Heath and gave her brother a look that seemed to hold a lot of meaning. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table as her throat worked with difficulty. "Mate."

Heath jumped, startled to hear his sister's familiar voice forming intelligible words. He looked from Hannah to Michael and back again. "She's talking? Hannah?" His fingers twitched, he wanted to grab his baby sister out of Michael's lap and hug her, but he restrained himself.

Michael nodded his head and reached for the bowl of potato salad. "Just words, here and there," he glanced down at Hannah, giving her a soft smile before he spooned a big mound of food on the plate for them to share. "But it's progress." William grinned widely, "That's awesome! Hannah, you are doing great! Oh, Heath! Show her the photos! Daisy had her baby today."

Heath fumbled in his pocket for his phone, while William served their plates. He passed the phone to Hannah, but she only looked at it curiously. Michael ended up taking it from him, holding it so that Hannah could see the pictures. Hannah's eyes widened, and she squirmed on Michael's lap as she gazed intently at the photos of the newborn. After several close-ups of his crumpled little face, there was a shot of Daisy cradling the infant to her chest, while Boyd was behind her, looking down at them both with a look of wonder and worship on his face.

Michael did a double-take. "Is that Boyd?" He held the phone to his face and then looked back at William and Heath in surprise. Hannah made a sound of approval in her throat.

William nodded with a small smile and picked up his fork. "Yes. When we went to deliver some food to your friends, Daisy found her second-chance mate." He speared his piece of chicken and pried off a piece of meat. "I'm sure they still have a lot to work out, but he was there with her when her water broke, and he didn't leave her side through the whole thing."

"Well I'll be damned." Michael nodded thoughtfully and continued scrolling through the pictures slowly until Hannah had seen them all. He tried to hand the phone back to Heath, but Hannah grabbed it back and grunted, clearly indicating that she wanted to see the pictures again. Michael chuckled and found the first picture again, and then showed her how to use her finger to swipe through them.

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After she had studied the photos for the third time, she finally gave her brother back the phone, and focused on eating the delicious food from the plate that she and Michael shared. The three men ate in an uncomfortable silence until William cleared his throat..

"There's uh, something else, Michael."

Michael paused with his fork half-way to his mouth.

"The Alphas will be meeting next week to discuss your case." Heath stiffened beside him, his silverware clattering against the plate.

"Alpha Shane has requested that the Alphas hear testimony, and he believes that they will agree. Nina has suggested that your rogue friends be invited to speak on your behalf. But the people you have harmed," William's gaze slid to his mate, "will also be given the opportunity to speak."

Michael finished bringing the fork to his mouth, and chewed his food slowly and thoughtfully. "I've never seen them do that before." He said when he had swallowed. William shrugged, "Things are changing."