38. 10 years later- Jade
thirty-eight
“Hey, tiger, keep your damn feet on the ground, and do not bite anyone!”
My son, Andre, grins widely, unrepentant. I narrow my eyes, wondering what devilry he can get up to at the Knight Manor. He’s only three years old, but he’s got his father’s belligerence down to a tee. We weren’t planning on identifying whose child was whose, but my son looks exactly like his bio-father, Adrian.
He’s also a little menace. I swear, he absorbed that part of Sven. Osmosis or magic?
We’re standing on the new addition to the Knight Manor, a large paved and shaded area at the back of the estate, with plenty of room for all of us. There are a half a dozen stairs that lead down to an open lawn that’s surrounded by trees, and a lone white gazebo. There’s food on trays and drinks in coolers with ice. And all our friends and family everywhere. We come here every year on this date, it’s one of the few times we’re really able to get everyone together. My pack looks forward to it a lot.
Kandi hands me the baby, and I immediately coo at her precious little face. Kandi birthed our daughter, and she is the sweetest, most precious darling on the planet.
“Luna, my own little moonglow,” I sing to her.
“Oh, you have the baby, give, give!”
I turn, finding Onyx beside me. I pass her the baby and watch in awe as she expertly cuddles the child close, but is it any wonder? The beta has four, count them, four boys. I’m exhausted just looking at her. My son runs my pack in circles. I can’t imagine four.
Her sons race onto the lawn, chasing a girl in a red dress. My son naturally toddles after them, determined to keep up. I glance around and find that Acton Knight’s mother is following the children. She looks up and waves at me.
Luckily, I can lip read her well enough to translate. I’ve got your son. I hold my hand up in gratitude and a lot of relief. With a lot less weight on my shoulder, I turn and spot Kandi and Sunny’s parents with Adrian’s mother down there, too, and let myself relax for two minutes. He has an army of grandmothers watching him…nothing will happen, right? It’s hard to be reassured. There are so many variables.
“Your sons are trying to win over Ruby?” I point out to Onyx.
“Trying and failing. That girl is too smart. She’s a little combination of the whole Knight pack, but around my sons, she is Taylor’s daughter. Mercurial and full of haughty disdain.”
“That’s because your sons are little beasts.”
I turn towards the voice and find Scarlet sipping a glass of wine. She moves towards us with that confidence I’ve long admired. There’s a softness about her now, though. I think it’s happiness.
“My sons are not beasts. You just don’t like that you already have to worry about boys,” Onyx shoots back.
Gold and Barren appear behind Scarlet and, with a gentle touch, they communicate without words, something I don’t understand. Scarlet’s eyes soften.
“There will be no boys. Ever,” Gold growls deeply. Vetoing the future, and sentencing his daughter to never-ending arguments with her father.
It’s softened by Scarlet leaning up and kissing him softly.
“Win for me.”
“Always,” Gold murmurs. He kisses her with enough passion that I look for my pack.
Kandi spots me and lifts a hand. Missy turns and beams. The omega hasn’t changed much in appearance in the last ten years, but she’s certainly grown into herself.
The pack’s reputation grew and grew. The company is now the biggest security company in the city and all the surrounding areas. They never had any children, but Missy told me once that her pack never wanted children. They were happy with just themselves.
I spot Darion, who smiles far more than he used to, Lukas, who is just as reckless, and Sebastian, still strong and sturdy, huddled together. Which is just plain weird.
And suspicious.
“What’s going on?”
Onyx follows my gaze. “Football, pack style.”
I groan. The game is the same as you’d imagine, just with multiple teams on the field. It’s pretty much a free for all for the alphas to beat on each other.
Falcon brushes past us. “Excuse me, Omegas, Alpha.”
“You, too?” I yelp out. There’s no way I would have thought the always immaculate pack Treyfield would take to the field.
Falcon turns, walking backwards as Silas, Dylan, and Gray reach him. “What can I say? We like to win.”
I gape at them as Falcon pulls off his suit jacket and shirt. “No way-”
“Hello?”
I turn and find a beautiful beta. She smiles nervously but relaxes into the arms of the alpha behind her.
“Hi, I’m Jade,” I say with a smile. She has long blond hair and blue eyes. She looks older than me, but I’m sure I’ve seen her around.
“I’m Echo. This is Xander, Dex, and Chance.”
I nod to each of the other alphas. They are clearly well off. Their clothes must cost a fortune, but they are all handsome, with laugh lines. I notice the way they hold her and smile.
An alpha pack with a beta. I love that idea. She’s going to fit in perfectly.
“Come and sit with us. Your alphas can join us or, if they are as dumb as the others, go play-”
“We’re playing!” Dex shouts. “Sorry, love, but this is for the pride of the pack.”
Echo laughs.
Scarlet returns and throws herself at the blonde woman. “I didn’t think you’d make it!”
“I almost didn’t.” Echo laughs. “Last minute emergency at the shop. But I fixed it just in time.”
“Oh, what do you do?” I enquire.
“I make jewelry. I own Echo’s Charms.”
My eyes widen. We buy our jewelry from there. I think my ring is from their store. Oh, wow. “Wait, you’re the woman who helped me all those years ago with jewelry for that night, I was in the purple gown shouting about being a siren!”
Echo’s eyes sparkle. “How’d it work?”
“He was on his knees before dinner.”
Echo, Scarlet, and I throw our heads back and laugh. It feels so good, too.
Before I can interrogate her further, I hear loud laughter and turn. Hazel races out, gripping me and spinning me between her and the door.
“Hazel!” Demon growls. “We need to talk about this.”
“We really don’t.”
“Your preg-”
“LALALALA, I can’t hear you!”
“You’re welcome to go beat up some of our alphas in the football game, if you’d like to be a little more productive,” I offer in solidarity with the omega pressed against my back.
Demon glowers over my shoulder and, I admit, the alpha is terrifying. But Hazel just laughs and pulls me in front of her.
“I’ve been resorted to shield. How – Andre Levin Porter Mortenson. You put that down right now.”
“Holy shit, that was impressive.” Sunny chortles and slaps my upper arm. “You want a job? Sing out. I’ve got an entire school of kids that need to hear those terrifying dulcet tones.”
I realise almost everyone is watching me. Demon blinks and takes a step around me.
“We’ll be on the field, working off some of the nagging,” he says with deep caution. “But you and I are talking about this today, Omega.”
Hazel beams. “Good plan, lover.”
“Tease,” Angel hisses on his way past. “Don’t make him work too hard for it, love.”
Carson simply slaps her ass and gives her a heated look. Soren climbs up on the rail and sits there.
“You don’t play?” I ask with a laugh.
“Fuck no. I’ve got artists’ hands. I’m not risking them for a bit of mud and some bruises.” Hazel moves to lean on her omega.
They look so good together. It took a while for the packs to get this comfortable seeing them together. I think everyone expected them to suddenly attack each other, but their love just grows stronger.
Hazel and Soren understand each other, and you don’t get one without the other. It’s like they are two halves of the same whole.
To my surprise, Ruby brings my son back to me. Holding his hand and leading the four Treyfield scions who have thunderous faces.
“What happened?” I ask, but I’m hit with three mini alpha glares that look far too much like their fathers. Leo, Kest, and Ash stare straight at me. But it’s the sweet Drake that catches my eye. He’s staring at Ruby with adoration.
“How did you do that?” I ask the girl suspiciously. “Do you have your mother’s magic?”
Ruby laughs, and right then, at eleven years old, I can see that she is going to be an almost perfect replica of her mother. Well, these kids are in for one hell of a ride, but then again, so are the parents.
“He said he’s mine and just followed me.”
I choke. My son, no, he’s got years to go before I need to worry about girls. “Did he now?” I make a mental note to speak to his fathers about this and warn Kandi.
Scarlet puts an arm around her daughter and whispers something.
The girl nods, her eyes shining.
Onyx and Hazel just stare at me with laughter in their eyes. I snarl at them, but it doesn’t stop them at all. Evil cows.
“Oh, look. Give me my daughter back and go greet your sister,” I bare my teeth at Onyx, who lets out a squeal when she spots Silver.
Soren laughs softly and jumps down from the rail, sweeping Hazel into his arms.
“Let”s go watch from the sidelines.”
“Ew.”
Soren whispers in Hazel’s ear until her face gets slack, and she turns red. She nods frantically.
“We’re going to watch from the sidelines.”
“Yeah, okay, bye.” I do not even want to know.
Onyx hands me my daughter and skips down the steps and across the grass, leaving Scarlet, Echo, and I standing under the shade. I coo at my daughter as she shakes her tiny fists. She’s going to be as beautiful as her mother.
No, she is as beautiful as her mother.
Silver and her pack are hesitant as they approach. But that changes when they get pulled into the mass of alphas. It’s the first year I”ve been able to make Silver attend. Silver’s pack are some of the most popular alphas around. They make friends wherever they go. Silver not so much, but our friendship has only gone from strength to strength. We hang out with pack Vore more than we do Raptore. Adrian and the twins especially get along really well.
I wonder how many of us are here because we got second chances.
I don’t realise I’ve said it out loud until Echo answers me.
“I got a second chance,” Echo says softly. “Xan was my childhood love, and we reunited years later.”
“I got a second chance. The pack I was in didn’t want me, they just wanted what I could do. I didn’t think anyone would want me. Then I found them, the Knights.”
Scarlet smiles down as Taylor, Acton, and Jet look up. “How strong the bonds are between us that just a change of emotion alerts us to each other.”
People start arriving in groups. Simon and his husband arrive. Moira, who worked with Onyx at the Omega Meet. People from Raptore Security. I spot Rayne with his new girlfriend. Jenny Lathem from the Omega Refuge. Captain Bordy, who is now retired, goes straight for Adrian’s mother. The two are good friends, and I think we’re all waiting to see if the widower and Adrian’s mother will end up as something more. I spot some of the locals from town and smile as the yard fills with people. Friends, family. Friends of friends. Our circle is large and sprawling now, always room for more.
Missy leans on the rail beside me. I shake my head at her super stealth skills.
“Sven has been teaching you how to stalk ninja-style, huh?”
Missy scoffs, “I taught him.”
We both chuckle at the obvious lie. She brushes her hair back as I adjust my hold on my daughter, who has finally fallen asleep.
“I’m really sorry about Oma,” I say softly. “I think she would have loved it today.”
“She would have loved it. She’d be down there orchestrating the football domination.” Missy smiles, but there’s a hint of sadness. “She’s still here with us. I can feel her in every moment of the day. She’s not gone, not yet.”
I reach out and cover her hand with mine. She’s Kandi’s sister, and I love her, too, now.
She puts her arm over my shoulder. “I forget how short you are. And how is my little princess, mooney?”
I giggle as she takes my daughter out of my arms. “Hey, do you have a bootcamp I can enroll my son in?”
“No.” She frowns. “We could start one, though. Onyx’s little beasts could use it, too. And Hazel is about to spit out her own little hellion. Can you imagine how much of a tyrant that kid will be?”
I glance around, trying to spot my son. There’s a sudden chill when I realise I don’t know where he is. Has he destroyed something? Is he still here? Do I need a search party? Do I need to bury a body? But I see him running out onto the field of war.
It’s almost worse than all my other thoughts.
I picture the big alphas stomping my poor little boy to death and curse my distraction. I’m a terrible mother.
“You’re a wonderful mother. Hazel took him down with her and Soren. She called out, but you must not have heard.”
I gulp air and watch with gigantic eyes.
“Trust them. Those alphas would rather cut off their limbs than hurt your kid.”
“I know,” I say huskily. “He’s just so little.”
It takes me a minute to spot the omegas of Pack Montford. Hazel is shouting from the sidelines. I don’t know how I missed her.
My son, the little demon, giggles as the huge alphas run past him, but then Sven snatches him up, throws him through the air to Lukas. I swear my heart is in my throat, trying to burst out.
They charge up the field after the other alphas. And then four more alphas are carrying children, who are cheering and chasing the ball.
“You started something there,” Scarlet murmurs. “I’m not sure I approve, but luckily, my daughter is into less dirty activities. Her words, not mine.”
Echo joins us and laughs. “This is wonderful. Look at those big guys playing. Oh, look, Xan has a kid. Whose child is that?”
“That’s Kest. One of Onyx’s sons.”
“That kid is giving me gray hair.” I moan as I watch my son laughing and demanding to go again.
“But isn’t it wonderful?” Echo sounds so wistful.
I peer out, seeing all these familiar faces. People who are unapologetically themselves. People who love and are loved. Kandi blows me a kiss before she brings Darion to his knees with one swift move. The alpha crashes to the ground and lays there while the rest charge up the field. Sven, Lukas, and Adrian bounce my son around from the sidelines.
Kandi’s playing on her own? Bet she wins. I don’t even try to fight back the smile.
I look at the huge crowd of alphas, betas, and omegas. At all the people that I now consider my family.
“It really is wonderful.” I look down at my daughter in my friend’s arms. The next generation won’t have to face what we had to. My daughter has cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, brothers, and sisters. She won’t ever feel what I felt.
She won’t ever hurt like I did.
I silently make that promise. To her and my son, and then all the children here.
Kandi grips my jaw and slams her mouth down on mine. I curl around her instinctively.
“Where did you come from?” I ask. “You were playing on the field.”
“Yeah, you were thinking about things that were making you sad,” Kandi whispers and tugs my hair. I groan softly. “Who cares about football? I just want to see you smile.”
When she pulls back, Adrian steals me out of her arms.
“What’s wrong?” He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip and kisses my cheek.
Sven appears on the other side, our son in his arms.
“Nothing,” I say and have to clear my throat. “I’m happy. I’m just so happy.”
The harsh glow in Adrian’s eyes eases, and he smiles slightly. The lone alpha has friends. He’s not alone anymore. My soldier is no longer fighting. And my beta bodyguard found herself.
“I’m happy,” I say again softly.
Missy drops Luna in my arms. “On that note, have your daughter back. I’m going to introduce Echo to everyone. Come on, Scar, let’s go give these kids some space.”
Missy’s voice is far away, I barely hear her. I’m wrapped up in the scents and touch of my pack. Lost in the feelings of love that ricochet through our bonds. I cuddle my daughter close and sniff back the happy tears that want to slip free.
Love isn’t something I thought I could have. It’s not something I believed I deserved. Love is something that I worked for, I fought for, and now I live for it.
This world we’ve created, with these tiny humans, this huge extended family, this community. This is the magic that our love has birthed.
It’s in the choices we made, that we choose to keep making. We choose our packs. I choose love, joy, them, and I choose me. And that is our happily ever after.