Page 13 of The Lab: Rigg

“You’re mine, Niles.” He exhaled deeply, warming my neck. “Always.”

The two of us collapsed with his knot still keeping us locked together.

All the tension and worries and joy and surprise I’d felt during the day disseminated, and I barely had it in me to whisper his name. My heart slammed against my chest as his scent blanketed me like a cocoon that would always keep me safe and warm.

I ignored the wet spots I’d created and closed my eyes, fully relaxed but trying to hang on to the moment forever. When my battle was lost, I drifted off with the hope I'd wake up in exactly the same position.

The sound of children giggling barely registered until I woke up with a knee in my ribs and a chubby little hand under my nose. Two faces peered down at me, nearly identical except for the toothpaste smeared across one of their cheeks. It was the toothpaste kid who was on top of me while the other one poked at my cheek with a sticky finger.

Rigg's breath was slow against my neck, still spooning me from behind. He hadn't left me. Hadn't changed his mind in the night.

I'd fallen asleep on top of the world and was still there when I woke up. “Um, hello.”

Rigg let out a slow groan and turned my body so I could fully curl up around his body. “It’s too early.”

One of the kids laughed, thinking this was some sort of game. The other used their fingers to pry his eyelids open. “You awake?”

They both kept glancing at me, curious about the man still snuggled in bed with their dad, but not afraid in the least.

“No.” Rigg reached out and tickled the little ones, a boy and a girl if their pajamas were used to differentiate them. “We’re sleeping. Where’s Grandpa?”

“No sleeping.” The little girl curled away from Rigg’s tickle attack and fell more solidly onto my chest. “Breakfast time.”

The old man who had been asleep on a chair when we snuck in last night peeked in through the door. Like the kids, he didn't seem at all shocked by the brand-new omega in the house. Apparently, Grandpa wasn’t the meddling type. That was something I’d never experienced before. "We're making pancakes and eggs, but don't expect me to clean up this time." He chuckled and turned away. “It’s basically a crime scene in there.”

The kids hopped off the bed at the mention of food and rushed toward the door. “We clean up, Gran’pa.”

Rigg ran a hand through his hair then pulled me closer. He gave me a soft, sleepy kiss that was as tender as the night before was demanding. "Thought I dreamed you." He buried his face in my neck and inhaled deeply. “But you’re way better than my imagination could ever conjure up.”

I didn't know it was possible to feel so full and complete. "So this is real?" I knew the answer in my heart, and my wolf was howling with joy and contentment, but I needed to hear him say it again. I’d probably need to hear him say it a lot.

“It’s real, hon.” He kissed me again and then murmured against my lips. “So fucking real.”

The sounds from the kitchen were starting to sound concerning, so we reluctantly pulled apart.

"We should—" He stopped mid-sentence and kissed me again, not in any real hurry to get up before they destroyed the kitchen.

"We should stay here all day." I waggled my eyebrows and glanced at the open door, knowing one of us would have to get up to close it. Was there a lock on that thing?

We held each other for another minute before Rigg rolled us both to the side and forced us out of bed. “Can’t let my omega starve on his first morning with me.”

After getting dressed, I wrapped an arm around him, and we stumbled to the kitchen.

The little girl stopped smearing butter on toast and came to my side. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the table. "Come on!"

"Yeah." Rigg kissed the side of my head and winked. "Come on."

I could feel the grin on my face even before the little boy hopped into a chair and waited for me to sit beside him. "They're not afraid of strangers?" I hadn’t been around many kids, but I knew they were usually fearful at first.

Especially of other shifters.

“They don’t remember much from before I found them, so they don’t know to be afraid of strangers.” Rigg fixed plates for each of the kids and waited for them to sit nicely on their bottoms before he put their plates down. “Milk or water?”

“Milk!” They both spoke in unison, and it was cute to hear them in stereo on both sides of my head.

Grandpa sat down at the other end of the table with his own plate. “I’m Grandpa Joel, by the way.” He glanced at Rigg and smirked. “I take it you’re the newest member of this family.”

A ball of emotion filled my throat, and I turned to Rigg to let him respond to that.

---