Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

Vincent     

~~     

I smiled like a loon while I got dressed that day. I smiled like a loon throughout the short drive from my home in the compound to the castle. And I was still smiling like a loon when I rode the elevator up to the tower.     

I was doing my best to reign in my emotions, but I just couldn't. My weekend had been pure perfection, and I wasn't able to stop that from showing. I knew though, that the others would see it, and that they were likely to ask me questions about my long weekend off. That was why I was trying to school my features into something that was a little less conspicuous.     

I was one of the last ones to arrive that day, even though I lived so close. When I walked off of the elevator, Reece, Shane, David, Shawn, and Dietrich were all there. The only ones missing were Gabriel and Trinity, and I knew that they were working on some of the logistics of that college course that Amadeus was going to teach this fall.     

It happened almost the moment that Reece saw me. He looked up and gave me a once over, something that said he knew that something was off. Before he could say anything though, Trinity came walking through one of her magical doors from her office.     

"Oh, good morning, Vincent." Her face was calm and didn't sense anything off at all. Reece on the other hand, wasn't holding back at all.      

"I know that look." He grinned at me.      

"What look?" I asked him, confident that I hadn't given anything other than happiness away.      

"We all know that look." Shane laughed as he walked up next to me and clapped me on the back.      

"What are you two on about?" Trinity asked as she went to pick up the baby from her bassinet. She had woken just a moment before and was starting to fuss.      

"That look on Vincent's face." David said as he joined in with the others.     

"He looks normal to me." Trinity commented as she cradled the baby in her arms. Seeing the baby made me think of my baby on the way and I grinned a little more.      

"That look is definitely not normal." Reece said. "And I know that look well." He was coming over toward me as he spoke.      

"I don't get it." Trinity shook her head at him. "What is so special about that look? He just looks happy. He had a long weekend off, anyone would be happy after that time to rest and relax."     

"Ha ha ha." Shane laughed at her words. "I don't think that he rested all that much, judging by that smirk."     

"Yeah, I agree." Reece told her confidently. "I know that look on his face, I have had it myself several times before."     

"You're often happy, Reece, so there is no need to say that." I could tell that Trinity was not getting it, although the others had obviously understood the moment that they saw me. Knowing that, I smiled and blushed some more. I couldn't help it.     

"This is a certain kind of happiness though. And I have had it several times. Let me see, hmm, I would say that it's happened to me five times in the past. Yup, that sounds about right."     

"Five times? What has happened five times that would-." She stopped then and actually started to think about it. "Oh." She grinned about as wide as I had when she looked at me then. "Well, I guess that a congratulations are in order." She looked extremely happy when she said that.      

"I was going to tell you right away, but it seems that they all noticed it before I could." I laughed serenely. "It's true. Heather and I are expecting a baby. He or she will be due in November." I beamed proudly as I looked at them all. "It's been a long time for us. Almost twenty years, so I am very excited about this."     

"As you should be, man." Reece pulled me in for a hug. "Trinity and I will be here for you whenever you need us. And we can't wait to meet the new little one."     

"Congrats, Vincent, this is wonderful news." David shook my hand and pulled me into a hug next.     

"We are so happy for you." Dietrich said as he and Shawn came in for the next hug together.     

"This is truly good news. More little ones are always a good thing. Give Heather our love as well."     

"I will." I said as I hugged them back.      

"Ha ha ha, this is great man. You go away for a weekend and come back expecting a baby. Who would have thought that would happen?" He laughed as he too hugged me.     

For the rest of the morning, everyone was in a good mood. Even among the men in the pack, babies were always a happy topic. Well, at least for the mated men in the pack. We were settled and knew the value of adding to our families.     

At lunchtime that day, Heather called me and said that the kids would all be there that evening. There wasn't much else for them to be doing, and they were all free at the moment. I guess that this family discussion was going to happen sooner rather than later.     

I did my best to wrap up everything with Trinity early that day. I wanted to make sure that I was off work by five so that I could help Heather prep the meal. The kids would be there around seven that night, and I wanted the dinner to be perfect.     

I got home, kissed Heather on the lips, rubbed her belly, and cleaned up. We were making shrimp scampi, garlic butter and thyme steaks, homemade scalloped potatoes, bacon wrapped asparagus, baked zucchini and squash, fresh Caesar salad, apple treacle tarts with vanilla ice cream, and some homemade rolls that Heather had already prepped earlier in the day.     

Now that I was home to help her, we were getting the bulk of the menu prepared. We needed to make sure that we had everything ready and perfect for the kids, not that they would mind if it wasn't. This was just something that we wanted to do for our own benefit. We liked to have special and near formal family dinners on a regular basis with the kids. This allowed us to stay consistent in their lives, even though they were all grown and out of the house now.     

The food was prepared, the table was set with the best cloth, dishes, and flatware, drinks were prepared for them all, nonalcoholic of course, and dessert was chilling in the kitchen. They all arrived within minutes of each other, hurrying inside to give hugs like they hadn't seen us in a long time. That was what I loved about our family so much. We were so open and affectionate with each other that even as adults, our kids didn't hesitate with hugs for us, or kisses to the cheek. We were a close family. We always had been and we always would be.     

The meal started soon after the kids arrived. The food was a hit, as I knew that it would be. And we enjoyed a lot of great talk about what the kids were up to in their lives. Tyler and Charlotte, the youngest at the moment, had just recently come back from their first year away at college. They told us all about the classes they had taken and what they planned to do the next semester. Conner talked about his work with Reece's company and how happy he was to be somewhere that he didn't need to worry about what he was.     

Renea was starting out as a teacher in the school in the fall. She had just finished her internships and she was a full-fledged teacher now. She loved kids and would be working with the kindergarten class in the fall. Faith, who was entering her senior year of college, was telling us how she wanted to move onto medical school and pursue a career in medicine to help the humans of the world. She was passionate about caring for other people.      

They were all doing so great in their lives, but it was bittersweet for Heather and I. They were moving on, moving away, and becoming their own people. I loved that, but I was also happy that we had another that would be here with us soon.     

"So, Mom, Dad, what was it that you wanted to tell us?" Faith, the most observant of them all, asked with a knowing look in her eyes.      

"Well, sweetheart, there is some special and wonderful news that we have to share." Heather took my hand and looked into my eyes before continuing. "We found out this weekend that we are-."     

"PREGNANT!" They all said at the same time. It was comical, but also heartwarming. And they all said it with such warmth and happiness.     

"This is wonderful." Conner beamed. "It might seem a little weird later on, but for now I am happy for you two. And I can't wait to meet my little brother or sister." He was currently holding Hope in his arms, beaming proudly at us. The rest had similar reactions to the news and that just made it all that much better.      

Our happy little family was not so little anymore. It was also so full of love that we couldn't help but smile as it carried us along on the path to the future.      

We found out later that it was another little girl that we were having. She would be a year younger than her niece, but she would still grow up able to play with her. We decided that we were going to name her Grace.