EPILOGUE
“You need to slow down.” The stern but soft voice comes from my left and cuts right through the accelerated thoughts in my head. My alpha’s baritone pulls me back, but I can still feel the familiar sensation of stress pumping energy in my veins.
“But, they’re going to be here soon,” I try to argue, even though I know I’ll lose. “And I still haven’t made the mac and cheese buffet. Or even cut the vegetables for the tray!”
Sam’s hands go to my shoulders and give the smallest amount of pressure to ease the tension in my muscles. “Thatcher is cutting the vegetables as we speak. And Kit just put the noodles in the strainer.”
“But Thatcher doesn’t cut them right,” I mutter to myself, and Sam snorts in amusement.
“I know you want everything to be perfect,” he says as he pulls me into his body.
His apple scent is anything but muted as it mingles with my own, easing my strain with every inhale.
“But they’re going to be happy to see you no matter what.
Just like your brother was when he came up with his pack last month. ”
My lips immediately purse at that. He’s right to remind me.
I was just as stressed out over Riley’s family coming to visit, but no matter what I did, nothing went right.
His child decided last minute that he was vegan and didn’t tell anyone, so Thatcher went on an impromptu store run.
It took him so long that we all thought he got lost, but really, he was googling everything to make sure it was vegan.
By the time he got back and we started to make dinner, Jemma—despite her aversion to climbing up on the counters in her old age—decided to knock the ingredients right off the counter, apparently offended by the smell of soy cheese.
I was a wreck, but Riley and the rest of his pack thought it was a memorable time, and the children loved Jemma despite her role in ruining our dinner.
In the end, we got subs from a place nearby, so everyone could get what they wanted.
It was actually one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and it was good to finally relax and just enjoy the time I got with my brother.
When they left to go further east to visit the rest of our family, I was emotional, but my mates let me blame it on the hormones.
Which are, by the way, fucking horrible.
I put my hand on my stomach and sigh. “But, you don’t think Stacia will be upset? She just had little Mateo and I don’t want to step on her toes.”
“I think she will be ecstatic. They both will, just like we are.” He puts his hand on top of mine, helping me hold our child in its little cocoon. He has gotten even more attentive and soft since we found out we were expecting, and it’s made me fall even more in love with him.
Of course, I’m trying not to take advantage of my prime’s extensive need to make sure I’m satisfied.
Kit, on the other hand, is enjoying the fruits of Sam’s labor for the both of us.
I swear, anytime I mention anything I want or crave (or even if he’s the one craving it), he is getting Sam or Thatcher to fetch it immediately.
I think he’s loving his omega status right now through my pregnancy, knowing that they have to do all the heavy lifting and he gets to rot in bed with me for most hours of the day.
“I’m so happy that you’re finally telling them. I want the world to know that you’re carrying our child,” he whispers in my ear, making goosebumps form all over my body. I let the shiver through, then I give him a disapproving smile.
“Don’t seduce me right now, we already don’t have enough time to get everything done,” I hiss at him playfully.
He just shrugs, his face taking on that same dominant, cocky look he gets whenever he’s thinking about pleasuring me. “I need to get time in with you whenever I can. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that Kit’s been hoarding you for himself.”
I tsk. “You can always join your omegas, you brute.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “But you always look so happy wrapped up in each other.”
He kisses me then, holding me close. I can’t help the moan that escapes, or the rush of lychee that covers the space.
It’s been even more potent since my pregnancy began, which I’ve attributed to my disorder.
From the small pool of us that have it, apparently, it’s possible.
Our scents just can’t be contained when our hormones are working overtime.
Since college, I’ve found a wonderful online support group for other omegas like me.
Despite now being bonded, my flare-ups can still be unpredictable and the symptoms can still present horribly.
My angst about it can still get to me at times, draw me to negative thoughts and ideas, so finding others who also struggle with HHOS was a blessing.
There are not many of us, and there’s a bit of a language barrier since we’re so spread apart, but it’s amazing to have all the same.
For the longest time, I’ve felt like I was wrong for having it.
Like I was some unnaturally born thing. It didn’t help that I had been bullied most of my life for being redheaded and freckled and finicky, but after being diagnosed, I felt like even my love life was left in a weird, unnatural state.
Now I know that there’s nothing wrong with me.
My body is built differently from other omegas, and that’s okay.
My good days are fantastic, and my bad days are bearable because of the support I have around me.
And that’s something that deserves nothing but appreciation.
Every day for the past ten years, I’ve revisited the girl I used to be.
I remember the fear, the loneliness, the pain caused by my condition.
I focus on all of it, so I can remind myself of how far I’ve come.
My mates focus on who they were, how they settled into a unit that left them all feeling broken and disconnected, not knowing which direction they were supposed to go in, no matter what they did.
They describe how they were floating on rifts, waiting for somewhere to land, and how I came into their life as soon as their rafts were falling apart.
And then Thatcher explained to me that the metaphor actually came from a dream he once had, and I lost my shit with laughter.
Luckily, he was able to laugh with me because he doesn’t take himself too seriously these days.
But the team he coaches is still afraid of him, so I guess he still uses his old tricks sometimes. Just never around us or at home.
“Atlas says they’re thirty minutes out,” Kit says as he enters the room, a dirty rag slung over his shoulder. When he sees us, his lips purse mischievously. “Are you freaking out again?”
I dramatically stomp my foot, but it’s more like a tap since my center of gravity is off. “It’s only been a few months since they wrapped up filming. And Rory’s place looked amazing. We can’t have a slum of a place.”
Sam laughs. “Dax has the best cleaning gadgets. Our floors and cabinets look fine.”
“Fine, but not glossy,” I snap.
Kit moves closer, his scent more prominent with his proximity, and I give him a warning glare. “Do not get any closer. I will not let you seduce me, just like I told this one.” I point at our prime over my shoulder.
He lets out a laugh. “That wasn’t my intention at all. I was just going to rub your shoulders.”
“That… does sound nice,” I say, which earns a chuckle from both of them. Kit’s hands fall onto my sore muscles, kneading them gently, and I finally feel a slight moment of relaxation.
Thatcher walks in, his presence still grand like a moving mountain. He watches the display, and his dominant smile does things to me. “Omega,” he purrs. “Enjoy your time with these two right now, because I’m keeping you for myself tonight.”
“You will not,” Sam reprimands, but his emotions are teasing in the bond.
“Actually,” I start, feeling slightly bashful even though we’ve been bonded for a decade. “I think my omega wants all of us to sleep together tonight. If that’s okay.”
“My omega wants that, too,” Kit whispers as he continues working on my shoulders, while Thatcher beams like he’s never heard a better idea.
Sam cradles my face and makes me look him in the eyes. “Whatever you two want, you get. Always.”
When my two best friends and their packs show up, everything is perfect just like Sam said it would be.
We ate, played games, and watched a holiday movie.
I got to hold little Mateo while Sera ate all of our cake.
And when I finally broke the news to Stacia and Rory, they squealed for the rest of the night.
The anxiety I had been feeling dissipated, long forgotten as I remembered that my friends were loyal and there for me through everything.
Without them, my life would be a completely different picture. Our group, our happiness, has always been linked by the tiny coincidences, and they are what led us here, to this moment.
Despite the misfortune of how our friendship came to be, we have blossomed into a family that’s seen it all.
Every secret, every grievance, every bump in the road.
It was worth it because there is nothing better than being surrounded by people who see you, understand you, and still love you with every atom of their being.