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The mumbling is what had woken Sid up. He yawned tiredly as his eyes fluttered open. Right next to him was Geno, sat up fully, with their youngest son, Macklin, sitting in his lap. The light from the hallway lit up Macklin’s face, giving Sid some context to the situation. Tears trailed down the poor boy’s chubby little cheeks as his papa ran a hand through his hair, attempting to soothe him. “Not real, you and me real, not what happens when you sleep,” his mate assured their son, though both of them knew it wouldn’t help.
Their oldest, Aiden, who was five, three years older than Macklin, never really had a preference when it came to his mama and papa. If he had a bad dream, he was satisfied with the comfort that came from whatever parent he could wake up first, whether that be Sid or Geno. However, Macklin was a mama’s boy and could only settle after a bad dream with comfort from Sid. Though, Geno was going to try his hardest to get the kid back to bed without waking up Sid, knowing that his mate needed the rest after the hit he took in last night’s game. It hadn’t been a hit that left Sid injured or anything, just one that hadn’t been expected and that took him off his feet for a few moments.
Even though the alpha was trying his best to comfort Mack, Sid couldn’t just close his eyes and go back to sleep in good spirits, so he reached forward, placing a hand on his son’s cheek, causing Macklin to turn to look at him. “My sweet boy, what’s wrong?” Sid asked gently. Mack didn’t say anything, just sniffled as he pushed him into his mama’s arms, clinging tightly to his chest.
Geno reached over to run a hand down his son’s back as he answered the question for Macklin, “bad dreams, filled with monsters and ghouls. Nothing real.”
Sid nodded his head, putting his hands on Macklin’s cheeks and pulling the boy’s face from his chest. Mack’s eyes were still glossed over with tears, though his shoulders seemed to have loosened up a bit. “Papa’s right. Nothing can hurt you while we’re here,” Sid smiled softly. Macklin nodded at Sid’s words, yawning slightly. Geno and he both knew what was coming next. Macklin was going to attempt to fall asleep in bed with the both of them, which as of late Geno wouldn’t let happen since they agreed that Mack should try to sleep in his own bed, but Sid didn’t have it in him tonight to send Mack back to bed, so he just scouted over slightly, allowing Macklin space between him and Geno. The alpha huffed as Mack moved into the space but didn’t complain much more. Within seconds, Mack was asleep, soft snores filling the room.