Epilogue 2
Olly
The bell rings, pulling me from my attention on my whiteboard. I turn, hoping to catch Mishka, one of the omega males we’d rescued from Sneed’s compound. His grades are good, but he’s been getting into all sorts of trouble lately. Mostly it’s just fights with the other alphas, but Auryn told me this morning Gage caught him and Calvin Roan, the academy’s top alpha, bloodied with their hands around one another’s throat.
I know it’s killing her not to be here, not to have checked out the guys herself. She’s been restless since having our daughter, Linnea, but she still has at least another month before she can come back. Though I miss having her close by during the day, I remind her it’s important for her to rest, too. But my stubborn hybrid mate reminds me almost nightly there is a difference between rest and becoming stir-crazy. Which is exactly how I’d let her talk me into speaking with Mishka.
“For science, Olly. Please…”
she had pleaded, letting out those strategic little omega whines that always have me caving so easily. I hate to hear her whine. Hate when she doesn’t have everything she wants. It’s been years, and still the desire to give my mate everything she wants is as loud and strong as it was the day I watched Emmett carry her back to the Jeep.
“Mishka, can you, uh…hang back a moment?”
I ask, feeling the nerves start in my stomach. I hate getting in the middle of things. Especially things that are certainly not my department, but if Auryn thinks there’s something to be found out, I suppose whatever it is could help Mishka. And I want to help my students, so I suppose it needs to be done.
“Yes?”
he asks as he slowly heads to my desk.
I wring my hands, not sure what exactly to say. Talking has never been my strong suit, but when I look into the young man’s blue eyes, I sigh with relief.
I recognize the tiredness, the restlessness. Auryn had the same look when she came to us.
It’s been four years. Four years since we brought the rescued omegas from Sneed’s basement dungeon to The Delta Institute. Four years since Auryn put an end to Sneed and his operations.
In many ways, Mishka looks like the same young man we rescued—he’s got the same blue eyes full of emptiness, the same messy brown hair. But his shoulders hunch more now than they did when he came here. He keeps to himself most of the time, which is why the fights are concerning. Auryn says he’s internalizing. What, I’m not sure, but I guess that’s what I’m supposed to figure out.
Why did I agree to this, again? Oh, yes, because my mate and the mother of my child asked me so nicely.
Not that it would have taken much…
“If this is about my report,”
he starts, and I shake my head. I think of what I should say, chewing my lip, then realize as he stares at me, I’m being awkward and have been quiet too long. I sigh, figuring it is probably just best to say it concretely. That way there can be no misconstruing my words.
“I hear you were found this morning in the woods…”
His shoulders tense, and he stands up straighter as I press on. “With Calvin.”
The sound that escapes his throat is not a growl or a whimper, but some angry amalgamation of the two.
“I already told Dean Hoffield what happened, I—”
“I don’t need the details,”
I say, holding up my hand. “I just want to know if you are okay.”
I figure this is a good place to start.
His shoulders loosen. “I’m fine; he didn’t hurt me.”
It’s the way his voice cuts through the air with sharpness. Defense.
He’s not okay. I know this in my bones. Auryn is right. Something is going on.
“You were found bleeding,”
I say, crossing my arms. “I would say that is a defining symptom of being hurt.”
Mishka shakes his head. “Pain and blood don’t hurt me,”
he says, and I am pulled back to a different place. A different time. A different omega.
“Yes, well, wounds can be deeper than flesh, Mishka. Which is why I just want to say—”
“I’m fine, Professor Montgomery. Really, I appreciate your whole—”
he moves his hands in front of me. “I know this is like your dad hormones or whatever, but I promise you I’m fine.”
My face flushes with heat because even though my pack and I work at the institute now, and even though we don’t keep things a secret, we try to keep our personal lives out of the mouths of the professors and students. But I suppose people talk, anyway. That’s apparent.
“Well, if you find that you are not—”
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll make an appointment with the counselor when she gets back,”
he says. I blink. He straightens his stance, offering me a smile that I know isn’t genuine, but that tells me he’s done with this conversation, nonetheless.
“Alright, then,”
I say, and he gives me his back. Only when he’s gone do I breathe a sigh of relief. But that relief will be short-lived, because I realize I didn’t get much information for Auryn.
Oh, well. Hopefully, it will be enough for now, and if it is not…there are plenty of distractions I can use to my advantage.
When I finally make it to the compound, I’m met by two speedy alpha boys who nearly knock me over before going on their way, barreling down the hall. I open my mouth to tell them to slow down when I see Emmett is at the other end of the hall, and I ease up.
“When did you get in?”
I ask, closing the door.
Em picks up Kendal, spinning him around in the air before setting him back down on the ground. Riley begs to be spun, and he obliges without a second thought, shooting a sly grin at me.
“This afternoon.”
This afternoon…That means he’s been here for at least five hours. Gage won’t even be home for another hour due to practice. The wafting scent from the kitchen tells me Diego is home early, and I feel a sense of relief. Not that I don’t want him to be home alone with Auryn, Lord knows there’s no issue there, but more or less because I thought he would have told me he was coming home, period. We talk every day for goodness’ sake. He could’ve said something.
I scowl. He grins as he puts Riley on the ground. Both boys stumble around, likely from dizziness. I shake my head, knowing the argument is not worth it. There are other ways to punish Emmett. I will find a way to push his buttons. I always do.
I shrug, feigning indifference, but we both know I’m just biding my time.
“Whatever,”
I say. He smirks as he passes me in the hallway, chasing after the boys, stopping just for a moment, placing his hand on my chest.
“Missed you, too, Olly,”
he says, patting my chest.
I growl at the touch, but it doesn’t last long. Because just as he removes his hand, I hear the high-pitched wail of Linnea coming from down the hall.
I stand, frozen, and Emmet purrs. “It gets easier,”
he says matter-of-factly.
I’m not sure what he means, but before I can ask, he heads off for the boys, leaving me alone in the hallway. I take slow, calculated steps towards our nest—which has seen substantial renovations in the last four years. What once was a bedroom with pushed together beds is now a whole suite. Gage knocked out the walls between the adjoining rooms, and Diego and Em built a much bigger nest. It was more than needed during Auryn’s first pregnancy with the twins.
I’m still shocked that this is my life. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the changes this compound has seen, or the changes I have gone through with my pack by my side.
When I enter the nest, I settle my gaze on Auryn. She’s doing her best to shush Linnea, but my girl looks irritated as hell. Her face is all pink, and her wail is hitting a pitch I can only assume dolphins can understand.
Auryn’s hair is a mess, falling out of her ponytail, thick strands falling over her exposed, swollen breasts. She’s topless, likely from a recent feeding, and her own cheeks are flushed, but the moment I look at her, everything around me slows down.
It takes her all of two seconds to look up at me and realize I’m here, and my momentary stare of appreciation dissipates.
“Hey,”
she says, her lips turning up into a smile. Linnea must scent me too, because she squirms to turn herself around, but she can’t yet. I make my way over to the two of them, and she squirms some more.
“Hey,”
I say with a smile. I reach for my daughter, leaning into Auryn’s space to kiss her as I sit on the ledge of the bed. Linnea’s wails soften, and Auryn’s hand finds my neck. Her cinnamon-sunshine scent hits me along with Linnea’s lemongrass and lavender.
There’s no way yet to know what her designation will be. Not until she’s a teenager, anyway. With alpha-omega and beta DNA, she, like her mother, is an enigma. We’ll have to watch her for what types of behaviors she exhibits. Her scent is still very much reminiscent of her mother’s, but it can change as she gets older, which will be another indicator as to what her designation will be.
But regardless of what science tells us, nothing can refute the fact that she is ours. Auryn’s, mine. My pack’s. And truly, that’s all that matters to me.
“Did you talk to Mishka?”
she asks, letting go of me. I kick my shoes off, getting comfortable on the bed beside her. I shift Linnea onto my chest, running my hand up and down her back like the books say I should do. I’ve read almost every book on omega pregnancies and birth at the institute library and every one we have here. Still, everything seems to be trial and error. I know everything I should know, but when it comes to what works…
Auryn says I just need to trust my instincts. I’m trying to do that, but it isn’t easy. I want things to be right. For Auryn, for Linnea, for the other alphas, too.
Linnea shifts, kicking me in the ribs, but she’s no longer wailing, so I take that to mean this back-stroking thing works. I’ll note that for the future.
Auryn pulls her shirt over her bare breasts, and I have to focus on her face because I don’t want her to feel vulnerable about the fact she’s leaking through her shirt.
“I did,”
I say, clearing my throat. I keep my eyes trained on hers, waiting for the shoe to drop. Linnea settles, burying her tiny face against my neck. Auryn still does that when we cuddle, and I smile when I think about it. Like mother, like daughter.
“And?”
She shifts beside me. Outside the room, I hear Kendal and Riley screaming with laughter as Em yells he’s going to get them. I don’t know what that has to do with anything or why that’s so funny, but I don’t pay too much attention.
“Something’s definitely up, but he was pretty tight-lipped.”
She sighs. “Maybe we should talk to Calvin.”
I purse my lips. “Alphas are not my forte,”
I say. “That’s Gage’s department.”
Auryn smirks at me, and the scent of peppercorn floods the space between us, mingling with spicy cinnamon.
“I don’t know, you seem to hold your own with the alphas I know.”
“You are different,”
I say, leaning into her space without a second thought. “The guys are different.”
“Mm-hmm. So are you,”
she says, finding my hand where it rests against Linnea’s back. I realize she’s quiet. Too quiet. I look down at where her head rests, noting her tiny mouth is open, and her eyes are shut. She’s asleep.
“I have you to thank for that, though. Had you not come here, I’d likely still be cooped up in my office, alone.”
“Maybe that’s what Mishka needs,”
she says softly. She slides her fingers between mine, and we rest our hands together on our baby’s back.
My chest warms from where Linnea lays.
“A baby?”
I tease her. She giggles.
“To know he’s not alone.”
Her words settle on me, and my heart warms. “I’m talking to Calvin in the morning, aren’t I?”
I ask, knowing all too well the answer.
“You can bring Gage with you if you’re worried about it,”
she says with a grin. “Or Emmett.”
Linnea squirms in her sleep, kicking my ribs again.
“Maybe,”
I say as I move my free arm to wrap around her shoulders. I pull her close, and her head lands in the crook of my neck on the opposite side.
Feeling this, my girls like this…it’s more than I could have ever dreamed of. I didn’t think I could ever have this. Love. A family. I love it. This feeling, this bond between us. Auryn purrs against my neck. It makes me feel whole.
“But that’s a problem for tomorrow,” I say.
A moment later, the room turns to chaos. Riley and Kendal dive bomb onto the bed, shaking us apart, and Emmett falls into the center of the bed between them. I sigh, rolling my eyes as I shift Linnea, if only so they won’t wake her.
Just like that, the peace and tranquility disappear.
“I’m hungry,”
Riley whines. Kendal cries in unison as Auryn groans.
“I’m sure dinner will be ready soon,”
I say as I get up, not bothering to give Linnea back. Just as Auryn opens her mouth, Gage appears in the doorway.
“Dinner’s ready,”
he says with a wide grin. “And if you’re both good and eat your whole plate, I have ice cream.”
The kids holler with excitement, and I turn to see Emmett is wrapped around Auryn like a second skin now.
“Better be rocky road,” I drawl.
Gage smirks. “I made sure to pick up some rocky road for you and cherry chocolate chip for Emmett.”
“Sweet!”
Emmett says with excitement. The kids barrel out of the room, and I follow suit. Gage shoots me a grin.
“I’ll be there in a minute,”
I say, and he nods.
I can hear Auryn and Em talking as I head down the hall to the nursery. When we renovated the dorm quarters and built the new nest, we knew the twins weren’t going to be it for us. Auryn and Gage both voiced their opinions on wanting a big family, so we made sure the nursery and the boys’ rooms were adjusted, too.
With one hand I turn the light on while the other holds my daughter’s tiny butt.
She’s still pretty small, despite being three months already. Size alone would be an indicator for an omega, but being as Linnea’s got a lot of variables in her blood, it’s not enough to say she is or isn’t. Only time will tell.
I carefully lay her down in her crib and turn on the star projector on her nightstand. The sounds of laughter and voices carry down the hall like a symphony all of their own.
“You coming?”
Emmett’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look up, turning around to see him standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets. I notice the thickness of his beard, a testament to how long he’s been gone. My gaze settles on the way his eyes light up and I get a heady whiff of burnt cherries with the faintest hint of vanilla. It’s so faint, it’s barely noticeable, but it’s always there, along with the campfire and smoke. It’s not a bad smell, though. It’s bitter, it’s sweet…It’s undeniably Emmett. And I always miss it when he’s not here.
“Yeah,”
I say as he pushes off the door frame. I turn back to look at Linnea, her tiny fist resting by her head.
“We can grab our ice cream to go,”
he says softly as he comes to stand beside me.
“Huh?”
“After dinner. We can grab it to go. Then we can hang out with our little princess. Sound good?”
I turn to see the warmth of his smile, his mischievous grin.
My heart swells with pride. “Sounds great.”
His shoulders brush mine as he nods for me to follow him. I do without question. All annoyance has faded from earlier. He shuts the light off as we exit the room.
“And I might have a favor to ask you,”
I say plainly. Emmett chuckles.
“Of course you do.”
He wraps one arm around my shoulders. “I’ll do it.”
I settle one hand around his waist. His body feels warm against mine. Comforting. I squeeze his hip lightly.
Emmett shoots me a grin. “But it’ll cost you.”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t remove my hand. “I’m sure it will.”
When we come to the kitchen, everyone’s dishing up their plates, and the air has a heady scent of cinnamon and peppercorn as Auryn orders the kids to stop playing around and eat their dinner, or they won’t get any ice cream.
Emmett lets me go and heads for the table, and I can’t help but smile.
Because whatever the price is, I know it’s worth it.
They’re worth it. My pack. My family.
I find my spot next to Auryn and fix her plate for her. She smiles when she sees it’s full, shooting me a sly grin.
“Beta loves this,”
I whisper to her as she settles next to me. She glances back at me with warmth. I feel her hand on my thigh beneath the table, and she leans in close to my ear, kissing the spot below my earlobe.
“Specimen does, too.”
A soft biscuit hits me in the face, and I look straight at Emmett. He holds his hands up.
“It was him!”
He points to Kendal. I groan, leaning my head on Auryn’s shoulder, and she laughs.
“No, it was Daddy!”
Kendal says with a whine.
“That’s going to cost you,”
Gage says with humor as he stares at Emmett.
“Let los ni?os have their fun.”
I shake my head, pick up the biscuit, and throw it back at Emmett, who looks stunned. But instead of freaking out, he only picks up the biscuit and tears into it with his teeth.
When we’re finished eating and have sufficiently gotten the boys into bed, we’re all too exhausted to do much more than cuddle in our nest. I slide one arm around Auryn, pulling her close to my chest. Diego’s hand brushes mine, since he’s snuggling her on the opposite side. Gage is already passed out beside him, and I can feel Emmett’s dick poking me.
“Really, Em?”
I groan, the exhaustion in my voice prevalent.
“I did say you’d owe me for that favor,”
he says lazily. “Besides, it’s been like three months.”
I sigh in exasperation. Emmett rolls into me, pulling me back against him.
“Please, Olly,”
he murmurs, squeezing me tight. Between him and Auryn, I feel warm. Safe. Content.
Auryn plays with the edges of my hair.
“You have ten minutes before I fall asleep,” I murmur.
I feel Emmett slide his hand between my asscheek and his dick. I stay perfectly still as I breathe in Auryn’s sweet hybrid scent.
“Todo el amor. Toda la lujuria.”
Auryn’s lips find mine, and she kisses me softly. “Such a good beta for your alphas.”
I lose myself in her kiss, her praise. Warmth spreads over my skin as Emmett squeezes my body tight, his wordless thank you.
I close my eyes, nodding off against my mate’s chest as Em cleans me up.
The soft snores of Linnea and the boys echo through the monitors.
And when the sun rises, casting its golden glow on the bodies that surround me, I can’t help but smile at the dawn of a new day.