Zinn laughed mirthlessly. “This is so wild. So perfectly fucked up!” He looked at Wes and Assa. Then back at Valentin. “And you’re dating Ryde’s fathers.”
“Until fifteen minutes ago, I was dating a couple with a son I hadn’t met yet. But yes. It appears so.”
Valentin turned to the betas and quirked an eyebrow. “Our date is going well, don’t you think? Injury, drama, family secrets revealed. It’s going to be tough to top this one.”
Wes’s lips turned up. “Meh. We unknowingly hired our son’s omega father to bake his birthday cake.”
Assa smirked playfully. “I met Calder eight years ago when I arranged a phone call for a stranger with his dead husband’s parents.”
Zinn finally felt like smiling. “The universe certainly put us all on a collision course.”
“And with that—” Calder laughed lightly. “I think it’s time we goteverythingout in the open.”
Valentin explained to Zinn about being thrown in prison based on his parents’ false testimony. Zinn was disheartened to learn that Antoni knew about the plan, even if he didn’t help facilitate it.
“He could have told me after the fact,” Zinn grumbled. “It’s not like I could have done anything about it. But at least I would have known.”
“Asher mentioned you were pretty belligerent with your parents after the baby was born, especially since they kept gaslighting you,” Valentin said. “It’s why he didn’t tell you who Ryde’s adoptive parents were, knowing you’d move mountains to find them. He was worried Keyes might hurt you. Antoni probably thought keeping you in the dark about me made you safer.”
“When did you talk to Asher?” Zinn asked.
Valentin shook his head ruefully. “Another insane coincidence. He rescued me from some guys who tried to jump me outside my club. We’ve met up a few times since then. He’s been looking for you.”
“Wes and Assa told me.”
Valentin eyed the couple. “You talked to Asher?”
“Mm-hmm,” Wes replied.
“But you didn’t tell him where Zeller—I meanZinn—was?”
“When he first came to us, we didn’t know. After we met Zinn, he asked us not to.”
Valentin returned his attention to Zinn. “If it helps, Asher was clueless about me going to prison.”
“He wouldn’t tell us anything about Ryde’s alpha father,” Wes added. “Same as Zinn. That’s why we didn’t recognize your name.”
Valentin nodded. “And until Asher found me a month ago, I didn’t know about my son. When I got out of prison, Antoni strongly implied that the baby had never been born.”
“Motherfucker!” Zinn cried.
“I’m not excusing what he did,” Valentin said quietly, “but again, I doubt that he acted out of malice. I think he was trying to keep me safe, knowing you’d want that.”
“You’re probably right,” Zinn agreed. “If you had tried to find me or the baby, and gone to my parents, they would have done worse than locking you up.”
“Antoni did what he thought he had to. More than anyone, he’s afraid of your parents. I suppose we should be grateful that he found enough courage to go along with Asher’s plan to get the baby to the Pashuks.”
“Yes.” Zinn reached out and twined his fingers with Assa’s. “Thank stars for that.”
Valentin stared at the place where Zinn and Assa held hands. The visual must have sparked something in him because he looked at Wes and Assa and said, “Asher mentioned you were worried Ryde’s alpha father might try to mess things up for you… I will not.”
Assa engulfed Valentin in a quick hug. “Thank you.”
Zinn had been so focused on the shock of seeing his first love that it only slowly dawned on him how much affection there was between Wes, Assa, and Valentin. They had been on a date. Just as he’d been on a family outing with Ryde and Calder.
There was so much to unravel. Valentin had mentioned his club, but what did that mean? How tight were he and Asher? And Valentin knew nothing about Zinn’s life. About Felton’s and the cake decorating.
Valentin didn’t know that Zinn was pregnant with Calder’s baby.