Pack Plus Three (Pucking Pregnant Book 1)

24. Daisy

Inhaling deeply as I wandered into the kitchen, I moaned. The sweet, spicy smell that was filling the room was delightfully familiar.

Jeremy stood at the burner, stirring a pot while Gilbert lay at his feet. Devon was sitting at the breakfast bar, a bottle of beer in hand.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked excitedly.

“Spicy rice cakes?” Jeremy grinned. “Why, yes, it is!” He grabbed a bowl of shredded cheese and added a liberal amount to the pot.

“Ahh, the dish that started it all,” I hummed happily, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

Devon pulled me in for a quick hug, kissing the top of my head briefly. “I love having you here. Jeremy never usually cooks for us this much!”

“How mean of him.” I laughed, narrowing my eyes playfully at Jeremy as he cooked.

“I thought it best that I break this out. you”ve been more nauseated the last few days and this dish is tried-and-true when it comes to that.”

“You’re right about that,” I mumbled, rubbing my stomach. “Baby is feeling a little cranky at the moment.”

“After you eat, maybe go lie down and rest?” Jeremy suggested.

I groaned. “I feel like all I do is rest!”

“I know, but you only have a few weeks left, right?”

Devon lightly rubbed my back as I looked longingly at the beer in his hands. “The moment I’m no longer pregnant, I’m having a large glass of wine,” I grumbled.

“I’ll get you a fancy bottle as soon as you’re able to drink.” Jeremy laughed as he got plates out. “Also, I stopped by the apartments today and picked up your mail.” He nodded toward the small stack of letters on the counter. I leaned forward to grab them, but my stomach stopped me, so I pouted at Devon, who laughed, scooping them up with ease and handing them to me.

I riffled through the envelopes as Jeremy dished up the food. It was a few bills, some junk mail, and then one large envelope made from a very thick paper.

Frowning, I opened the unfamiliar letter. There was no way it was a bill. Bills didn”t come on expensive paper like that. Pulling out the stack of papers, I read the first few lines and felt my stomach drop.

Petition for sole child custody.

It was a legal document—from Cole, of all people. I hadn’t had a conversation in months, and now he was filing for sole custody?

He was going to try and take my child away? Staring at the paper in shock, I tried to understand what this meant. Cole had been crystal clear that he had no intention of being a father, that he had no interest in it, and he’d abandoned me. So, why the hell would he have done this?

“Duckie?” Jeremy asked, putting his spatula down.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the paper as my breathing increased, spots appearing in my vision as my heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Hands gently plucked the paperwork from my hands—Devon.

”No fucking way,” Devon growled as he looked over the paperwork.

”What the hell is it?” Jeremy asked, abandoning the food to circle the counter to where we were sitting.

My hands started to shake as tears burned my eyes. Surely, he couldn”t just take my baby?

Who was I kidding? Cole”s family was so rich, they could get away with murder if they so wanted.

”T-they want to take my baby,” I stammered as the tears started to fall.

“Surely, they can’t?” Jeremy said as he started frantically reading the papers over Devon’s shoulder.

Devon frowned. “The fucker is certainly trying.”

Warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a chest. Woodsy warmth filled my nose. Jeremy. Sinking into his embrace, the floodgates opened and I started to sob.

Heavily.

“We need to talk to Nate about this,” Devon said as Jeremy rubbed my back, holding me tightly in his arms.

Nate wasn’t exactly my biggest fan, so that wasn’t a comfort.

“Text him—say it’s an emergency, and he needs to come home,” Jeremy instructed.

“On it.”

“Please tell me he can”t just take my baby. It”s my baby,” I sobbed, pulling away from Jeremy.

“There”s no way in hell he”s going to take your child away. We won”t let him,” Jeremy assured me.

As much as I wanted to believe his words, past me couldn”t help but feel the impending dread.

“I hate to break it to you, but he’s got a very good lawyer on this. Wells is well known for being a ruthless asshole of a lawyer with few emotions. He”s also an incredibly expensive one.”

We were all in the main living space, sitting around the coffee table while Nate read over the paperwork. I held Jeremy’s hand tightly in both of mine as I waited for him to finish reading several times.

Nate had been home in less than thirty minutes after Devon called him. I”d expected him to be angry when he realized he’d rushed home for something to do with me, but instead, he had simply taken the paperwork off of Devon and started reading.

“Cole’s family has a lot of money,” I admitted. “They own a pharmaceutical company.”

Devon snorted. “That says all we need to know about them. Money-grabbing shitstains.”

“Why would he do this?” I asked, furiously wiping out the tears that were still leaking from my eyes. “He”s made it very clear he has no interest in being a father.”

Nate grimaced. “If he”s as rich as you say he is, he may be doing this so he doesn”t have to pay child support. Have you filed for any child support yet?”

I shook my head. “That would require money for a lawyer—money I don”t have—and I was pretty sure his lawyers would crush me in court, and it would all be a waste of time.”

“In theory, you should be able to take him to the cleaners. If his family has as much money as you say they do, you could be entitled to thousands per month.”

“Thousands?” I asked weakly.

Nate nodded. “But that would also come with him getting to see the child and having rights to the child.”

“I don’t want that,” I insisted. “He never treated me kindly, and I worry that he wouldn’t treat the baby well, either.”

“Is there anything we can do, legally speaking?” Devon asked.

“I’ll happily find a few lawyers who are willing to work pro bono on this, but...” Nate took a deep breath. “There is one way you can easily cut him out, legally.”

“I’ll do anything,” I rushed to say. I didn”t want to spend my nights terrified that someone was going to come and take my child. I didn”t need Cole”s money. I just needed my baby.

Still, I didn’t expect the next words out of his mouth at all.

“You could bond with either Jeremy or Devon.”

“What?” I gaped at him.

“What on earth?” Devon asked.

Nate shook his head. “I”m not particularly fond of the idea, but if Daisy is legally bonded to someone else when the baby is born, then the father of her child has no legal say, unless they are bonded to the mother or are packmates with someone who is bonded with the omega.”

Jeremy had made it clear he was looking forward to a future with me—one where we were bonded—but this was rather sudden. And it wouldn’t be for the right reasons.

“I can”t ask you to?—”

“I”ll do it,” Jeremy rushed to say, a smile breaking out across his face. He didn”t look concerned or worried. He looked elated.