Chapter 38
The bond was the most relaxed I’d ever experienced. That probably had something to do with the whole pack getting fucked silly, followed by a very crowded shower and soak in Alve’s giant tub before passing out in the nest in a giant, naked cuddle pile.
I was purring when I woke, and everyone else was, too, though they were still asleep.
Spin the bottle had escalated way faster than I’d expected. That seemed to be our speed, though. We were always racing past nerves to crash into one another’s arms.
I stayed cozy, buried beneath a tangle of limbs.
Poppy was curled around Alve’s head like a little hat, and Pepper sprawled on the edge of the nest, one tiny paw outstretched to rest on my shoulder.
Once she noticed I was awake, she meowed and yawned at the same time, stretching luxuriously before walking across my pack as if they were mere terrain.
Nathan blinked open bleary eyes. “What’s happening?”
“Just Pepper using you as a bridge to cross the nest.”
“Morning, Peps.” He held out a hand and Pepper rubbed her face on it, elongating her neck like a baby giraffe to reach. “I suppose I should get up and feed them.”
“I can do it.” I tried to sit up, but couldn’t move an inch. “Or maybe not.”
“Shhhh.” The sound was followed by Jude’s fingertips against my lips. “Sleeping time.”
I nipped him playfully. “Try convincing Pepper of that.”
Nathan stretched slowly with sleepy groans and deep sighs, running his hand over Leo’s arm before gently moving it so he could sit up. “I’ve got them.”
Poppy jostled Alve awake by rocket-launching from her sleeping spot to follow Nathan. Alve groaned and burrowed harder against Jude.
“You guys, you have to let me up, too. I have to pee.”
Jude relinquished his hold on me and I climbed out of the nest, grabbing my phone from where it was charging to scroll through my notifications.
I used the bathroom and froze halfway back to the bed. “Oh my god! She had the babies!”
My pack perked up, ruffled heads lifting and turning in my direction.
“Charlotte?” Leo asked.
“Yeah, she had them during the night.” I scrolled through the photos of three little bundles wrapped up tight and cuddled by their dads. “Emilia Elizabeth, Marcelo Nicholas, and Dylan Bryce Junior.”
Leo let out a sharp laugh. “I’m not even surprised Dylan named his kid after himself, but I’m a little surprised Charlotte let him.”
“It’s cute. They’ll probably call him DJ to avoid confusion.
It sounds like they’re keeping everyone until tomorrow, and then they’ll be staying at a postnatal facility for a week before going home.
Dylan’s parents are at their house with the boys and helping to take care of the horses in the meantime.
They’re going to settle in for the first month before they start having visitors. ”
I showed the babies to my pack. Undoubtedly most of them had the same photos waiting for them on their own phones, but I was too impatient for that.
“That’ll be us in a few months,” Leo commented.
“Hopefully not with triplets.” I laughed. “That might be a bit much to start with.”
Nathan wandered back in with a yawn. “Pep and Pop are inhaling their food.”
“You’re a good cat dad.”
He grinned. “Not as good as Alve, but I try.”
“Are we staying awake?” Jude asked, rubbing his eyes.
Nathan shrugged and scrolled through his phone. “Ava wants to know if we’ll come for brunch today. She’s getting impatient to meet everyone when we’re not sprinting around robbing assholes.”
“I could do brunch.”
“Who am I introducing as my boyfriend?” Nathan asked.
I couldn’t stop a delighted laugh as three hands lifted into the air. “You guys are too cute.”
Nathan climbed into the empty spot in the nest, gesturing for me to follow. I sprawled on top of him, swallowed up again by my pack pressing close.
“Are you going to work at all today?” Nathan asked. “I know Leo has his show tonight.”
“I should go for a few hours. We have move-ins starting tomorrow.”
“Want me to spritz on some de-scenter and help out?”
“I’m surprised you can even walk today.”
“Oh, I feel it, but I kinda like the reminder. Every time I move, I think about the double cuties who fucked me into next week.” He grinned, cupping my ass with both hands. “I’m happy to be free labor if you want to boss me around.”
“Why do I feel like getting bossed around would be something you’d enjoy on a less-than-professional level?”
“Listen, if I revealed anything about myself last night, it’s that I get turned on by authority and a guiding hand.”
Alve’s gentle smile turned mischievous. “Yes, I did find that revelation rather fascinating.”
“You can fuck me too,” Nathan promised. “I’m not gatekeeping the booty.”
Alve’s cheeks were adorably flushed. “I’ll give you a few days to recover first.”
“Appreciated, but unnecessary. I’m a little rusty, but it won’t take me long to get back into the swing of it. Anyone want to come shower with me before brunch?”
Jude went with him. Leo had already fallen back asleep, and Alve lay quietly with me in his arms while he scrolled on his phone.
Knowing I’d have socializing and work soon, I savored the silence.
It didn’t last very long before Jude and Nathan returned, and we very slowly got dressed to head to Ava’s.
Lucy practically flung herself out of her mother’s arms to get to Nathan when we arrived, and he kissed her little cheeks while she shrieked with laughter. He hugged his sister with his free arm and she aimed for me next, squeezing me tightly around her very pregnant belly.
“I’m so glad you guys could come.” She greeted the rest of the pack with hugs, too.
“Bryce and Jesse are finishing everything up. Micah and Luke are on a grocery run for berries because Lucy ate all of them yesterday.” Ava booped her daughter’s nose.
“The berry phase is going to bankrupt us, but at least she’s cute. ”
“Berry phase?” I asked as Ava ushered us farther inside and toward the open concept kitchen and dining space.
“You never know when it’s going to start, but suddenly, berries become the best food in the entire world to the toddler tongue, and they’ll demand everything you have and more.
I might have to put in some berry bushes so by the time baby number two hits that phase, the bushes will be producing enough to keep up. ”
“Note to self.” I turned to Alve. “We need a place with room to plant berry bushes.”
Ava stopped short, her eyes laser-focusing on me. “I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that.” Her gaze whipped to Nathan and back again. “Are you planting with a specific, conversationally relevant purpose and timeline in mind, or just because you like berries in general?”
“I mean, I do like berries, but in this case, it’s relevant.”
Nathan swung his arm over my shoulder. “It’s still early, but we’re rolling with fate and heat flares.”
“Oh my god!” Ava burst into tears, hugged me again, and stood on her toes to clutch Nathan’s cheeks. “You’re going to be a dad? I’m going to be an auntie!”
Her two alphas at home were by her side in an instant. I wasn’t sure which was which, but they sandwiched her between them while she got herself under control.
Before I could worry that she might be upset over the news, she turned to me, still sniffling away. “Can I plan a baby shower?”
“You’re more than welcome to, but maybe when I’m a bit further along.”
“Okay.” Ava swiped at her cheeks and counted out something on her fingers. “You’re like, what, max four or five weeks now? Mine is due in about six weeks, so maybe if we plan for when you’re around six months? That’ll give me lots of time to recover and plan.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, and Leo slipped his hand into mine, letting me hold on tight. In all my imaginings of a pack, I’d missed a key component of what that entailed.
Family.
Lots and lots of family. People who loved my pack and therefore loved me, embraced me, drew me into their worlds and treated me like their own.
I sucked in a shaky breath. Ava offered her acceptance so easily, and I hadn’t expected the way it would punch me in the chest. I’d felt the same with Jude’s sisters getting so excited about the pregnancy.
How had I been so alone all of these years and not realized how lonely I was until that feeling vanished?
Ava noticed my sudden emotional shift and tugged me away. “I’ve got emergency chocolate in the fridge. I cry at the drop of a hat when I’m pregnant, and it helps.”
While I nibbled a square of milk chocolate, the packs mingled. Nathan obviously knew everyone, so he took charge of introductions.
“How’re you feeling?” Ava asked. “Did you have a full heat or a flare?”
“A flare, and I’m feeling pretty good so far. I’d never had a flare before meeting my pack.”
Ava nodded sagely. “I never did before mine either. I’m assuming it has something to do with the scent match.”
“That would make sense. I found out all of them were scent matches on the same day.”
“Twinsies!” Ava beamed. “I bet that was overwhelming as fuck.”
“Wee bit.” I took another bite of chocolate. “Everything changed so fast.”
“I get it, I really do. I was pregnant by the man I thought was going to propose, then found out he was a lying cheater, and had four scent matches dropped in my lap immediately, but it worked out for the best. Are you far enough into things to see if that’s the same for you?”
“It doesn’t take a lot to be better than what I had,” I admitted. “They’ve all been so amazing.”
“Good, because I’m not above purple-nurpling Nathan if he needs a talking to.”
I snort-laughed, covering my face with both hands. “He’s been wonderful, too, I promise. No nip abuse needed.”
Ava stole me away to check out the nursery and I followed slowly while she navigated each stair carefully, out of breath by the time she reached the top.
“Is that normal?”
“Oh, yeah. By the third trimester, the little ones are hogging up a lot of where your organs usually go, so stuff gets squished. I miss taking deep breaths, but otherwise, everything is pretty smooth. Just be glad you’re an omega and not a beta.
Our bodies adapt faster, so we usually get to skip a lot of the worst symptoms.”
“I’ll take any blessing I can get. It’s still so weird. I’d really resolved myself to never getting to be a mom.”
“Why couldn’t you be?”
“My last boyfriend had no interest. I didn’t want to do it by myself or bring a child into a home where they weren’t wanted. I had enough experience with that growing up.”
Ava nodded and sat in one of the rocking chairs.
“The nursery is so cute. I love that you went with a nature theme.” I traced my fingers over the mural of orange poppies dotting the cliffside over a blue ocean.
“I wanted my desert babies to still see the ocean. It’s not as good as being there, but we’re planning on a beach trip at least once a year. We went a few months ago and Lucy is a total beach bum.”
We stayed up there chatting, getting to know each other until we heard the sound of Ava’s other alphas returning home.
I helped her to her feet, and we ventured back downstairs.
She was immediately swept into their arms and kissed like they’d been separated for weeks, instead of a simple trip to the grocery store.
Nathan stared at the ceiling until I tucked myself against him.
Lucy was busy styling his hair into messy twists that stuck up like cowlicks.
With the berries restocked, they were washed and sliced while the rest of the food was laid out. Our packs melted together in conversation as if they had known each other forever. Nathan kept Lucy on his lap, feeding her while he conversed with everyone.
Tears snuck up on me again. It was a simple family meal, nothing extraordinary in the grand scheme, but what was extraordinary was that they were mine.
The number of people my pack brought into my life kept growing, and there was still more to come.
Jude’s family had been so welcoming that I wasn’t as nervous to meet the others, and Ava’s warm reception calmed me further.
The Madison from two months ago felt like a stranger. She wouldn’t recognize the life I had now, and while I ached for all I had gone without, I was so happy that my life had crumbled to give me this. Jude was right. Maybe the universe had shaken everything loose to make space for something better.
Trusting in fate hadn’t led me astray yet, so I would keep doing that. No matter how uncertain the future could be, I had a foundation to build on, one crafted with compassion, care, and a belief that we were meant to be. How could I go wrong when I trusted in that?