Chapter 5 CRUZ.

"Hell no, Coach," I call out, encouraging the others to join in.

"That's damn right." Vaughn nods at me with a grin. He knows he can count on me to keep the guys enthusiastic and focused, like a true Alpha. That's part of why I've kept my shoulder issue to myself all season. Admitting to an injury-especially one that I can still play through at this point-would bring down the team, and I refuse to do anything to upset the great dynamic we've got going on at the moment.

We all pack up together, bantering and talking friendly shit, but out of all my teammates, only three join me on the walk to the car: my pack. Knox, Miles, and Lawson.

These three men are the most important people in my life. They're my brothers in arms and my best friends.

"You four going to spend your evenings watching Bluey?" Jax teases us as we head out of the arena.

"You wish you had an excuse to watch Bluey," Lawson shoots back. "Don't worry, we'll be sure to remind the Omegas in the area you're interested in starting a pack-oh, wait, you scared them all off."

"At least I tried," Jax replies. "When was the last time you even struck out with an Omega, Hunt? Too busy changing diapers?"

"Ben's too old for diapers."

"I was talking about Ashford's diapers."

I flip Jax off with both hands, but I'm not really upset. That's just how it is with our teammates, the typical chirping and locker room banter.

For all that Jax was teasing us, though, he is right about one thing: we are going home to see Ben. He's Knox's nephew, but ever since he came to live with us, he's become our whole world.

Sure, we love going out and getting a couple beers, playing darts and pool, shooting the shit with pals as much as the next guy. We're still adult men who like to hang out with other adults, after all.

But since Ben arrived... most of the time, we just want to be with him. None of us expected to be parents so soon, especially when we don't even have an Omega yet, but it's how life's worked out, and while the circumstances of how Ben got to us hurt, I know we're all grateful he's in our lives.

The moment I open the front door, I have an armful of dog. "Winston!"

Winston barks and licks my face, slobbering all over me with happiness and excitement.

"I think someone needs a walk," Miles notes.

"I think someone else needs a hug," Knox says, crouching down right as Ben enters the room.

"Uncle Knox!" Ben runs for him and jumps into his arms, letting Knox hug him tightly.

"Were you good for Angelica?" Knox asks, standing and holding Ben up braced on his hips.

"He was," Angelica confirms, hurrying into the foyer. "And I'm so sorry to cut and run, but..."

"No, no, we were late," I reply, already digging into my wallet for the cash. "Here you go. Thank you so much."

"Of course. Thank you. Bye, everyone. Bye, Ben!" Angelica waves and then she's out the door, and Winston starts barking to get attention.

"I'll take him for a walk," Miles volunteers, already reaching for the leash that hangs by the front door.

"I'm hungry," Ben declares. He rests his head on his uncle's shoulder. "Sooooooo hungry."

"Uh huh." I grin, skeptical. "Let me guess, you're hungry for Uncle Miles's pancakes."

"No," Ben lies, badly.

"You can have some apples." Knox carries him into the kitchen. "I'll cut them up for you."

I watch them go with a fond smile on my face. Ben is only three, and it was a serious adjustment for him to come and live with us after his mother died. I just hope that he understands how much we love him. We want to be there for him, but we can't just let him do whatever he wants either. We need to give him discipline.

Lawson sighs and looks over at me. "Angelica's schedule really doesn't leave a lot of leeway."

"I know, I know. We were late, though."

"Not by much. It's happened before and it'll happen again." Lawson shrugs. "I think we should consider something more... permanent. Like a nanny. Someone who can live here and take care of Ben no matter what's going on with us."

I jerk my head for Lawson to follow me and then head into the kitchen. "Knox, can we get your thoughts on this?"

"One sec." Knox finishes cutting up the apple and then hands it to Ben, who's sitting on his booster seat at the table. "Okay."

"Lawson was wondering if we should find a permanent version of the... situation that just walked out the front door." I hedge a little so that Ben doesn't realize we're talking about him. I don't want him alarmed. He really likes Angelica.

Knox frowns and folds his arms. "You mean bringing someone into our home? Living here?"

"We need more structure," I point out, tilting my head toward Ben. "And we can't keep rotating babysitters. Today it was Angelica, then we have Mary, and Ophelia can do every other Saturday... we've had to find a lot of subs last minute."

"And our schedule is only going to get more intense from here," Lawson adds.

Knox blows out a breath. I know that he knows that we're right. Knox is just stubborn and slow to trust. "I'll think about it."

"Good." I walk over to the fridge and open it, then wince. "I'll run to the store."

With four athletes and one voracious toddler living in the house, we go through food faster than you can blink. I feel like one of us is running to get groceries every single day lately.

I clap Knox on the shoulder as I walk past him. "I know this is hard," I say, my voice quiet. "But really think about it. We have to do what's best for Ben, even if that's something uncomfortable for us."