Captive Mate BL-Chapter 637: - - -

The emotions at the table varied; Nikolai’s cold eyes held some warmth, unbothered by the showing of affection in front of him.

You would think he would have gotten used to being treated as someone worth something by the other Mafia Kings.

The end of another year was here; it was supposed to be just like any other year, but he had somehow managed to find someone willing to choose him and stay by his side, and friends who did the same.

He glanced at Angelo, absently clapping when a cheerful applause swept through the dining table, entrance by the Omega smiling wide enough to show his dimple, his attention fixed on the happy couple at the head of the table.

Caspian was the happiest at the table, rising to his feet when Lake came over to give him a hug. He pulled back to hold Lake’s face, "I can’t wait to go shopping for the baby..."

Asher was the only one who couldn’t even manage warmth. From the moment he figured out what was going on, his tortured hazel eyes had been fixed on his mate.

Caspian’s happiness showed no cracks even though this was one thing he really wanted. His mate’s perfect smile burned his eyes, but he couldn’t look away, blood churning.

When the initial wave of congratulations and cheering had passed, Rosie put away the camera and returned to the table to join them for dessert.

"Doctor Perez’s report reads that the baby’s secondary gender is likely an Alpha," She added, reaching for a blueberry pie with greed shining in her eyes.

She would be returning the baby’s gender report to the original owners after dinner, so they would get to see the full report anyway.

Lake had already sat down again, he turned to Davian, placing a comforting hand on his mate’s arm. He knew that Davian had been looking forward to a baby girl.

Even though his mate kept his disappointment off his face, Lake knew him well, and he could easily sense that he was a little dejected.

And even though the hardest part of the pregnancy was right around the corner, Lake nearly found himself promising to try again for a baby girl.

Dessert was cheerful, the falling snow completely ceasing. The gray clouds parted to reveal a nearly full moon, it glowed silver, brightening up the dark blue night.

Lake couldn’t help but show a little reluctance about sharing the chocolate cake, eliciting laughter from Caspian.

He still made the effort to offer everyone a slice of cake, but they all silently agreed to turn him down.

Lake did a terrible job of hiding his happiness when he realized that he would be getting all the cake to himself, digging right into it.

Davian was indulgent, letting his mate gorge himself on as much chocolate cake as he wanted.

The guests lingered long after dinner was over, chatting at the dinner table until the night grew late.

Only when Lake started to doze off did they call it a night. The pregnant Omega insisted on walking them to the foyer, where everyone parted.

Rosie had stayed behind in the kitchen to clean up, not wanting to leave it all to her Mafia King after all the hard work he had put in.

It was easy enough, the table had mostly been cleared while the guests were still around, so she just rinsed the dishes and tossed the appropriate ones into the dishwasher while settling in to handwash the rest.

Downstairs, the group split up, the Knights as well as their second-in-command heading out into the cold night while Nikolai and Angelo said their goodbyes and started down the hallway to their wing.

This left only Davian and Lake standing in their foyer, the warmth that community brought lingering between them.

Davian pulled him into his arms, intending to carry his mate to their room. "Tired?"

Lake completely leaned his weight on the Alpha, sinking into his arms. "I ate too much cake," He admitted drowsily.

He really wanted to try to walk to his room himself, he knew how hard Davian had worked to prepare dinner, his wonderful mate should be the tired one.

But when Davian picked him up into his arms, he didn’t protest, curling up contentedly.

"We can try again for a baby girl," He mumbled sleepily as they approached their joined rooms.

Davian paused for a moment at that before continuing with a rare smile on his face that he only showed to his mate. "Don’t worry about that just yet," He said gently, placing a kiss on Lake’s forehead as he gently placed his mate down on his gold sheets.

Lake was already fast asleep a few moments after his head touched his pillows.

Davian’s smile didn’t fade, his chest filling with pride and warmth as he watched his pregnant mate sleep deeply. He got Lake comfortable, and although he would have preferred to join him right away, he needed to put his kitchen in order.

So he slipped away to briefly stop by the kitchen, only to find Rosie behind the scene, indie music playing softly as she hummed to herself.

She turned around when she heard the doors open, a smile on herself. "Go back to Lake, don’t worry, I’ve got this."

Davian usually didn’t like anyone meddling in the kitchen, but he really did want to get back to Lake. "There are more blueberry muffins in the fridge," He said instead of ’thanks’, waving her off as he walked off.

Lake was bundled up in thick blankets just like he left him, he quickly got ready for bed, slipping under the covers as well.

As soon as he got on the bed, Lake rolled right over to him, even though he couldn’t be as warm as the little pocket of body heat his mate had created by curling on the bed for a while.

He wrapped his arms around Lake, needing to exert effort to keep himself from holding the Omega as tightly as he wanted to.

Lake buried his face in his neck, the tip of his nose cold as he sought out his Alpha’s scent and warmth.

Davian had turned the heat up, so much so, that it was a little uncomfortable under all the heavy blankets, but it was just the right temperature for Lake, so he didn’t change it, preferring to take his shirt off instead, before settling back into their previous position.