Claimed (Werewolf boyxboy)

EPILOGUE TWO

JAX

|| 4 years later ||

"Theon, Ecko! Assume attack position!" I whisper-shouted, pressing my back against the wall closest to the front door as I clutched my gun close to my chest.

A bumbling chorus of little grunts responded, and an impish smile pulled at my lips as I witnessed a flurry of black and bright red hair toddle into place from the corner of my eye.

"Ok, daddy!" Once concealed behind one of the other walls in the foyer – or, more accurately, as concealed as two toddlers could be when their crazy hair and giant, oversized clothing constantly stuck out in every direction but up – Theon's high-pitched voice confirmed their completion of the task.

"Good job my mayhem minions! Daddy is so proud of you that once we successfully complete this mission, we'll loot the fridge and eat all of Papa's cheese straight from the bag!" I praised, my chest puffing with fulfillment at how well my babies always took to our daily side quests.

Ever since I'd been practically made into a curly-headed rapunzel, trapped in a tower that I called our family home for the last few months of my pregnancy, I'd been forced to find... unique ways to entertain myself.

At first, it just meant making pillow forts all around the house and watching a million and one movies while my rambunctious, adorable little three and four-year-old sons made my bulging stomach their own, personal jungle gym. But unfortunately, there are only so many movies one can watch before you start going just a little bit stir-crazy.

I tried to wrangle in the inherently inescapable urge to wreak havoc, I really, really did. And for a while it even worked, the bountiful, new vegetable garden that my youngest – Ecko – took to like bread to butter a testament to my herculean efforts to be a model father. But unfortunately for Corey's blood pressure, a pregnant man on medically mandated bed rest can only be expected to remain sane for so long before old habits begin rearing their gnarly heads.

So now, here the three of us all were, much smaller bodies swamped in any and all of Corey's clothing and training gear that we could pilfer from his side of the closet, nerf guns locked and loaded as we awaited the moment that said Alpha would finally walk through that door.

Just the thought of catching him off guard like this had my mischievous smirk kicking right back into high gear.

It was then that my enhanced hearing picked up on heavy footsteps, the telltale sign that Corey's combat boots were busy trudging their way up our roundabout driveway.

It was time.

"Get ready, my munchkin miscreants!" I whisper-shouted once more, shifting my gaze to give a tiny, wide-eyed Ecko and a slightly taller Theon an encouraging wink. "Nerf guns at the ready, our target is almost acquired!"

"Daddy, what does ack-quaired mean?"

"Ecko, we have to stay quiet!" Theon whispered to his younger sibling, and I couldn't help but grin in his direction. What a wonderful accomplice he was turning out to be.

"Really? Why?" Ecko pouted, bright green eyes blinking up at his big brother with confusion.

"Well, because we have to scare papa!" Theon explained patiently, patting the crown of Ecko's bright red shock of hair with the hand that wasn't holding onto his nerf gun.

"But I love papa!" Ecko cried, at which point – lucky me – the front door knob simultaneously twisted, opening up wide to reveal the hulking form of my Alpha.