Chapter 31

Wren

T he past seven days have been pure bliss. I could feel the bond flowing through my veins, the undercurrent of my mates’ presence always with me now.

My body was tired but not overly exhausted, thanks to Braxton, always making sure that I took a lot of breaks in between… even if they had to distract my omega to let me do it.

Devon had been insatiable and absolutely delicious. I’d enjoyed every moment of that heat, and the bonding was just the icing on top.

When I checked my phone this morning and saw Avery’s message along with pictures of the rings, I knew that Devon would be just as excited when he woke up.

His heat had started to break last night. He slept longer, his skin wasn’t as flushed, and I hoped that today, after a shower and some coffee, he’d start getting back to normal.

The poor alphas needed a break.

Shepherd set me up cutting fruit for breakfast while he and Nash handled the stove. It was a small sign of trust I was determined to not break. Maybe they’d let us try cooking actual food again soon.

Braxton was still upstairs with our omega and would call if he needed us, but I had a feeling we’d see both of them make an appearance soon. Not to mention, this farmhouse was old enough that it kept nothing to the imagination. The moment I heard the rattling of the pipes, I knew that they were showering off the week of debauchery.

“I guess it’s over,” I said. “Is it weird that I’m kind of sad, but also happy?”

“No,” Nash said. “I’m exhausted, and it was amazing, but I’m also ready to get my sassy omega back.”

“It was kind of strange to have a submissive, docile version of my firecracker,” Shepherd agreed. “To be fair, he was still just as demanding as he always is.”

We just laid out breakfast on the table, or brunch, really. It was late in the day when they padded downstairs. Poor Devon had circles under his eyes, but his smile was bright and cheerful.

“It’s good to be back,” he teased, coming over and wrapping his arms around me, patting my stomach gently. “How’s my omega and our sweet baby? Was the heat too rough on you?”

I put down the container I was getting ready to carry to the table and turned around in his arms, my hands sliding up his neck as I kissed him. “We are perfect, and you are perfect. Don’t worry, our beta took care of me, too.”

“Thank you,” he told Braxton, sounding relieved. I hated that he was worrying about this. I would have reassured him sooner if I knew it was an issue.

“Speaking of,” I said, leaning in to whisper in his ear, disguising it as a hug. “Avery sent me a message. The rings are in, and I have pictures. They’re absolutely perfect.”

“Good,” he responded back, his voice just as low. “Well, we can conspire against them later. I’m sure our poor alphas are going to need a good nap.”

“Mama Whitaker offered up her kitchen in case you needed to prepare for anything.”

“Awesome,” he said, giving me a wink before helping carry the dishes to the table. Nash pulled our omega into his lap while he and Shepherd fed him bites of food. Devon soaked it in.

It was funny. I could see how this would be something that would rock most omegas, freak them out, and make them jealous. For me, seeing my alphas take care of our omega so well just filled me with happiness. I could feel his contentment in the bond, and it was everything.

Omegas might not mix together when they’re not a pack, but when they were, it was perfect.

My phone rang, and I hurried over to the kitchen island where I left it. I pulled it from the charger, expecting to see Avery or someone checking in. Instead, I nearly dropped it when I saw my lawyer’s name.

After everything that had happened, I’d forgotten all about it, especially after I had sent the message about our confrontation outside the pregnancy clinic.

“What is it, baby?” Devon asked, pushing himself out of our alpha’s lap and rushing over to me. I guess they felt the instant panic through the bond. That was going to take some getting used to. I wasn’t used to feeling so seen .

“My lawyer,” I said.

“Answer it,” he encouraged. “You’ll want to know the answers.”

“Hello,” I answered, my voice shaking slightly. I hated how pathetic I sounded and how quickly it felt like I was falling back into that old anxiety.

“Wren,” my lawyer said, straight to business. Generally I loved how up front and honest he was. Right now, I was nervous as hell. “We’ve had some major developments. I’m glad I caught you.”

“What’s going on?” I questioned.

“It seems that it wasn’t a court official or lawyers that had broken the contract, but the abusers themselves. They worked with their family to spread the word as a type of revenge. To say the judge is unhappy is a vast understatement. He has asked that you come in to speak with him at the courthouse, and they plan to pursue additional repercussions after speaking with you. I know that we told you this was all over, and I am so sorry to have to ask you this, but do you think you could come in?”

“When?” I asked, letting my eyelids flutter closed as I tried my best to steady my racing heart.

I could face this. One final time.

“A week from now,” he said. “He’s hoping next Thursday.”

There was a sick part of me that wanted to confront them to show them that they didn’t break me.

The other part of me wanted to hide, like it always did, to wrap myself in the sweet life that I’d built and pretend they didn’t exist anymore.

But if they were attacking me, they likely were going after the others, too. I couldn’t let the other omega suffer the consequences, especially when I was the one who had the direct confrontation in court.

“I’ll be there. I promise.”

“Great, and I’m sorry again, Wren. My assistant will be sending along the information.”

After a quick goodbye, he hung up. Devon gently took the phone from my fingers, setting it on the island and pulling me into a hug.

“Talk to me, Wren,” he urged. “What’s going on?”

I gave them the quickest rundown I could, hoping they could keep up with my fast-talking ramble to get it all out at once.

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” Devon said. “Shepherd, go light a fire. Nash, get the couch out there all cozy. Braxton, grab coloring books and markers. Come on, omega, let’s go relax.”

“And just remember,” Nash said, pausing to make sure I was actually listening. “You aren’t doing this alone. Whatever you have to face in that courtroom, it will be with your bonded pack. They can’t deny us entry with you. There are laws that protect us.”

They flooded me through the bond with reassurance. I soaked it in, letting it chase away the darkness that was threatening to come back.

I didn’t speak again until they had me settled on one of our big couches outside, with the fire blazing, adding warmth to the early afternoon.

“I feel so stupid,” I admitted. “I’ve come so far and healed a lot, and now I just feel like that weak little omega that first arrived here in Rockwood Valley.”

“You’re anything but weak. Do you hear me?” Shepherd said on a growl. His brown eyes flashed with fury on my behalf. “The fact that you’re going to face this head-on shows me how strong you are. How incredible.”

His voice was so firm that I had no choice but to believe him, eyes still burning with conviction to emphasize the point.

I swallowed hard and nodded, letting his words fill me, mixing with their love and reassurance.

On the phone, I felt like I was seconds away from shutting down, but now I felt in control.

Balancing my coloring book on my lap wasn’t working. Eventually, I tossed it on the table, but Shepherd wasn’t having it. He pulled his shirt off, plopping a pillow on the ground and sitting on top right at my feet.

“No, you need this,” he said as he handed the markers back over his shoulder. I took them, uncapping one and starting to color. I glanced over at Devon, who was watching with a small smile on his face, and picked a color for him, handing it over.

“Give it a shot,” I said. “It’s really soothing.”

He looked a little skeptical but didn’t hesitate to uncap it, starting on the opposite shoulder.

“How is that not ticklish as hell?” Braxton laughed.

Thankfully, Shepherd didn’t shrug. He just chuckled softly. “It’s actually really relaxing for me, too.”

“Remind me to cover my body in tattoos like this,” Nash said, wiggling his eyebrows to make me laugh. “Every fucking inch of me.”

“You did promise me that you’d do it to your ass,” I laughed, reminding him of an earlier conversation.

Devon snorted. “Okay, now I have to hear this.”

By the time I finished talking, he was cracking up. I had a feeling that in the next month or two, Nash would have a fresh tattoo just for us.

“I think the one thing that we have to remember is to give ourselves some grace,” Devon said, as he took another color, uncapping it, leaning in to start on a new section of Shepherd’s back. “After I left, I had a lot of trust issues. How could I trust anyone with my heart when my parents didn’t even want to keep me around? I always felt like a disgrace, like I couldn’t be myself. Then, of course, I was too much for everyone… too bratty, too mouthy, not submissive enough. Sometimes those insecurities come back, and I have to fight them down. I know these are not on the same level at all with your triggers, but I just mean that we have to remember that sometimes things are going to bring those old feelings back up. It’s just how we handle it that counts.”

“The bond helped a ton,” I admitted, “And this is helping. Not just the coloring, but the whole day spent out here.”

“There’s something about this property,” Nash agreed. “I’m glad that our pack house is here.”

“So, what about the property out at Whitaker Ranch?” Braxton asked. “What are you going to do with it?”

“It’ll always be mine,” he said. “And our kids’ after me. But, I’m not sure yet. We can figure it out after everything settles here.”

“It’s life. Nothing is ever truly settled,” Braxton joked, but he let the subject drop.

I hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until my stomach rumbled.

“That’s our cue to provide for our omega,” Nash said, pulling Braxton with him.

“I’ll grab you guys hot chocolate and give your hands a break,” Shepherd said. He kept his shirt off but stood up, walking away, giving us a view of our artwork.

“He’s like a walking mosaic at this point. I love it,” Devon joked.

Shepherd tossed a smirk over his shoulder but didn’t say anything else.

“We have a proposal to plan,” Devon said. “We need to pick up the rings, pick a location, and maybe I can try out a date on them.”

“That sounds perfect,” I said. “Maybe we can get someone to call them and distract them while we set it up out on the pasture. That way, if it ends up in bed, we are right here.”

“I love the way you think, baby,” Devon laughed.

We fell quiet as Shepherd came out with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. He eyed us curiously but didn’t ask what we were talking about, letting us keep our secrets.

The moment the door closed behind him again, we were back to planning. There was something empowering and bold about accepting your fate and then putting into motion exactly how you wanted it. We weren’t waiting around for others to know what we wanted or asking them to do it. This was us creating our own future.

Now if it could only go off without a hitch.

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