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“Yes!” Poe held up his hand, Harden frowned at it.
“You go like this,” Brayden held him, smacking Poe’s upright hand with his own so their palms slap together. “It’s called a high-five. It’s meant to be like a congratulatory gesture.”
“Oh, I see.” He did the same thing, and Poe laughed, obviously amused. He tried to learn the things that were important to Brayden.
Poe nibbled a bite of cheese himself. “Well, perhaps you and I can trade for a dafydd, and then I will trade up on the mountain for a goat, and we will attempt this.”
“Of course, I—”
“Papa, can we please get in the water?”
Tanya was obviously getting bored with all of the adult discussion. It was hard for her, being the only child of her age here. Soon she would be able to fly either up the mountain or down. She would be free to visit with her schoolmates when it was summer and no one wanted to be indoors learning things.
“Of course. Boys, do you want to get in the water?” Cade looked over at Brayden and Sloan both. “I require help.”
Poe winked at him. “It is good to be the omega.”
Yes, he could agree to that. “Some days it is better than others. “
Tyr’s soft laughter filled the air. “True, but right now there are four active children and three unoccupied alphas.”
Harden chuckled. “I’ll hold Melissa.”
“Thank you. I would love to go and have a little swim as well. Then we can trade.” Tyr handed off the little one, who immediately cooed and reached up to pat his cheeks. She was a joy, and he adored her so much. Cade’s boys, on the other hand, were like a force of nature. They immediately caused trouble by finding a current in the stream and trying to ride it while sitting on their butts.
Cade waded after them, and Sloan managed to find his way downstream to catch one of them, which then became a game.
Poe shook his head and grinned. “They’re wild, but they’re not going to be. I think they’re going to grow up and be amazing.”
Harden chuckled. “Babies are babies. They are going to be amazing. They have each other. They will always have each other. Think of Tyr and Tor — how much more settled everything is now that Tor is here, and the brotherhood has been repaired.”
Poe glanced at him, his body relaxing. “You do have a point. Cade says it was very hard on Tyr.
“Yes, Cade is not my brother, and it was very difficult for us to not be friends when we were fighting.”
“Yeah, I’m glad you’re not. You’re a good friend, and it is amazing to learn about the animals with you.”
He covered his eyes with his hands and bent forward in a sign of thanks and welcoming, Melissa giggling on his lap. “It is good to hear, friend Poe.”
Poe reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to be friends.”
“You should go swim. I will change out with Tyr when he’s tired.” He waved to Brayden, who had glanced up to check in on him, he thought.
He rocked little Melissa, who stared at the water, then put her forehead next to his. Waves of disappointment from being left out hit him.
“Well, do you want to go in the water? It’s a little chilly, but we can go be in the stream.”
Wadee. There was a huge sigh of relief, her body relaxing and then starting to wiggle. Wadee.
“Of course, come on, you. Let’s play.”
No one should be left out on this bright morning. No matter how small they were.
Chapter
Twelve
Brayden soared up above the village, gaining height as he caught a thermal. He could say this was because he was running patrols, keeping everyone safe, and it was absolutely, but he could not deny the fact that he loved to fly.
