Chapter 34
HAYES
Epilogue
“Ouch,” I groan as Hailey holds my chin still.
“Don’t be such a baby,” she says as she attacks my face with the tweezers again, a headlamp on her forehead.
She says I have an ingrown facial hair, but I think she’s lying and just wants to torture me. I can’t complain too bad, considering she’s straddled in my lap, drowning me in her scent, even if it’s while she’s picking at my skin.
“Got it,” she says.
When she pulls the tweezers back, the world’s smallest hair on the end, I glare at her and she just grins at me.
“See, I told you there was an ingrown hair.”
“Uh huh, you done torturing me now?”
She squints her eyes, as she shifts my face, looking into the depths of my pores from the looks of it.
“You’re just stalling,” I say and she gasps, pinching my side.
“Am not.”
“Are too.” I swat at her ass and tilt my head. “What are you so worried about?”
“What if none of them sell?” she says, her computer sitting there, waiting for her to hit the button to activate her site.
“Then none of them sell, but you know that’s not going to happen. Your stained glass is amazing, and you’re taking commissions too. You love making them still, right?” I clarify.
“Yeah, I still love it.”
“Then who cares if you sell anything? At least you enjoy what you do.”
She turns so that she’s sitting next to me, my arm resting over her shoulder as she takes a deep breath and hits the live button.
“Sweet Cherry Stained Glass is officially open,” she says with a relieved sigh, just staring at the screen.
“We’re not going to sit here all day just staring at your orders,” I tell her and she groans.
“You’re right. I need to distract myself.”
I grin, kissing her throat. “It just so happens that I’m a very good distraction.”
She softens against my touch, some of the tension loosening as I kiss Nate’s mark. Like the touch summoned him, he comes storming into the nest, a wide grin on his face.
“Your website is live. Were you going to tell us?” Nate says, plopping down next to her, scrolling through the site on his phone. Smokey trails behind him, jumping on to the nest bed and plopping down on Nate’s lap. He pets him absentmindedly.
“Wait, scroll up,” Hailey says, leaning over Nate’s phone. He does as she says and Hailey gasps, grabbing the device out of his hands. “Holy shit, the honeycomb sold!”
Her excitement has Smokey startled, and he skitters out of the room.
“Told you. You had nothing to worry about,” I tell her, and Nate kisses the side of her head.
With all the commotion, a sleepy Sterling stumbles into the room. “What’s going on?”
“I sold my first piece,” she says excitedly. “I should go pack it right now. We can drop it off at the post office.”
Sterling grins at her. “Go pack it up and we’ll go celebrate after,” he says and Hailey springs off the bed, grabbing her laptop, before heading downstairs to her work area to pack her first order.
“Thanks a lot, Nate, I was about to get laid before you came in here,” I complain and Nate rolls his eyes.
“I’m sure if you play your cards right tonight, you’ll be just fine,” he says.
He’s not wrong. I thought we had a good sex life before Hailey came into our lives, but the fact is, our Omega is insatiable. I suppose I can have some patience.
Sterling rubs his chest next to me and there’s no doubt that Hailey’s excitement is overwhelming him down the bond in the best way. His smile is wide and while I might not feel Hailey as strongly down the bond, I can absolutely feel this.
“Is it everything you ever hoped for?” I ask him and he nods.
“Having the three of you connected to me in this way is the most important thing I’ve done in my life.”
Nate, of course, is giving him a tight hug as soon as he says the words and I’m patting Sterling’s thigh. He’s not wrong though. I knew I’d thrive in pack life, but damn, I never expected it to be this good.
We got brunch to celebrate Hailey. She’s all smiles, a sense of radiant confidence oozing out of her. I love seeing her like this, sure of herself, happy.
The mid-day sun beams against her burgundy hair as Sterling holds her hand and Nate and I walk alongside them to get to the car.
Hailey suddenly stops mid-stride and tilts her head.
“What is it?” Sterling asks.
“Is that Riley?” she questions and we all look to the left.
Sure enough, it looks like the male Omega is tucked in an alcove with a woman.
“Who’s he with?” I question.
Hailey winces. “Well…that would be Riley’s stepmom.”
All I can do is laugh. “Of course it is. The Omegas at Lavender Moon sure like to keep it in the family.”
That earns me a smack to the chest that’s light as a feather. I kiss her knuckles after, anyway.
“Come on, we’ve got even more celebrating to do back home.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s no heat to it, because down the bond I can feel her excitement.
Her next heat is going to be any day now, and I can’t wait.
Not only will a taser not need to be used, but I know it will be an enjoyable experience for everyone.
We’re bonded, in sync with each other in a way that can’t be explained.
She’s ours and we’re hers.
Who knew that my pride would be the reason I walked into Lavender Moon that day looking for an Omega to be my arm candy that I’d find the center of our whole world?
Maybe Nate put in some of the work, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m the one who really made this happen, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m the luckiest motherfucker who ever lived.