Chapter 59
Milton
Waking up this morning as a completed pack feels like home.
The morning is quiet. There are no alarms or urgency to make sure our omega is okay, because she’s here with us.
Now. Forever. Who knew bonding would feel this amazing.
Our bodies are tangled together in her nest. Lincoln was supposed to have her last night, alone.
But after we bonded, we knew that wasn’t happening.
The three of us all needed to be near her.
So he got a raincheck for tonight. He’s still a lucky bastard. I’m going to have to make sure to ask Bayleigh for my night. But I’m going to plan something fun and intimate. More than just being in bed with her soft body wrapped around mine.
My dick immediately goes hard, and I have to think of pounding my coach’s head in for it to go down.
It’s not an easy feat with Bayleigh’s scent everywhere—soft and sweet—no longer sharp with need but rich with contentment. Our bodies are bathed in it. Our house finally feels complete with her mint tea scent mixed with our sandalwood, citrus, and honeydew, making this truly feel like home.
I lift my head and gaze around for the first time, catching how entangled our bodies really are.
Lincoln’s arm is draped over Bayleigh’s waist, possessive even in sleep, his face buried at the nape of her neck like he’s guarding her from the world.
Korbin is sprawled on the other side, one long leg thrown over hers, a hand resting on her thigh as if he’d reached for her in the dark and refused to let go.
And me, I’m in my favorite place, buried between her legs. The four of us in bed together is like playing a game of Tetris.
And Bayleigh—well, she’s right where she belongs, tucked in the middle of the three of us. Marked and safe.
I don’t move, even though I desperately need to piss.
I just take this moment of peace to watch her.
I want to commit every scar, freckle, and little twitch she makes to memory.
My eyes drift, moving up to the marks on her neck.
They’re faint in the morning light, soft shadows against her skin instead of the vivid proof they were placed there just hours ago.
But seeing them still makes something in my chest ache—in the best way. Pride. Reverence. Awe. Happiness.
Of all the people Bayleigh could choose, she chose us.
We’re a full pack. The thought nearly knocks the air from my lungs. God, I love her.
Not in the wild, reckless way I used to think love felt.
This is different. Like standing in a room that’s finally the right size after years of trying to shrink to accommodate the miniature space.
Everything finally feels right, and I’m at peace.
The only thing that will make life even better is when Kor and I are traded to a new team.
Fuck, we don’t even care who as long as we’re away from the Scorpions.
Carefully, I shift my body so as not to wake them and slip out of the nest.
Lincoln grunts but doesn’t wake. Korbin’s fingers tighten reflexively, then he relaxes when Bayleigh sighs and nuzzles deeper into him.
I can’t help but grin. “Guard dogs, already,” I mumble softly.
After heading to the bathroom, I pick up my shirt from the floor and pull it over my head before picking up my jogging pants and putting them on.
I take one final look at my pack before quietly leaving the room and making my way to the kitchen.
I need coffee, and once the three of them wake up, they’ll need it too.
I move through the kitchen as if I’m on autopilot.
Coffee first. Always coffee. Then breakfast. French Toast sounds delicious, and after careful inspection of the fridge and cabinets, I’m happy when I find we have all the ingredients needed.
I decide to make some eggs, too and I’m halfway through cracking them into a bowl when I hear the phone ringing.
Not my cell. But the house phone.
I freeze.
No one ever uses that number. Hell, there’s only a few people who have it, and it’s strictly for emergencies if they can’t reach one of us.
My heart races, fearing that something must be wrong.
It keeps ringing, disrupting the calm silence within the house. I don’t want it to wake the guys; it might cause Bayleigh to stir and she needs to rest, so I rush to the living room to answer it.
I trip over a lone shoe on the floor, but catch my balance only for the phone to stop ringing when I get there. I turn to head back to the kitchen when it starts again. I quickly pick up the receiver and answer.
“Hello?”
There’s a pause on the other end before a deep voice speaks.
“Yes, can I speak with Milton Grady or Korbin Brooks, please?”
I know that voice, but I just can’t place it.
“This is Milton. May I ask who’s calling?” I ask, making sure to use my most adult voice.
“Hi Milton, this is Gary. So sorry to call you so early in the morning.”
Gary is the GM for the Scorpions. Why would he be calling us? My mind starts to race to figure it out.
“No problem. I was up. How can I help you?”
“Well,” he pauses, and instantly something in his voice hits me wrong.
“I was hoping to have the both of you come into my office, but I can tell you now over the phone and that leaves us more time for what I need you to come in for.”
Something about the tone hits me instantly. I know something is up.
“Okay.” The word drags out of my mouth as I head over to the coffee pot and start making myself a cup. Something tells me I’m going to need it.
Words spilling too fast, Gary immediately launches into apologies layered over explanations layered over stress. He talks about numbers. Cap space. Long-term planning. Future direction.
I grip the counter as I drink my hot beverage. My brain is already feeling like it’s going to combust. Gary keeps talking in circles like he’s afraid to just get to the point of why he called. And the longer he talks, the harder the pounding in my head gets.
I’m about to interrupt him when he finally gets to the point.
“All that mixed with the blatant disregard the two of you had with the matchmaker has led us to make the decision we did.”
Ahh, the matchmaker. I should’ve known that would come back to bite us in the ass. But neither of us cares because we wouldn’t change a thing. Bayleigh was and is meant to be our omega.
“Because we had our own omega and chose to add Korbin's brother to our pack?”
“Yes, well, it had a large impact. The two of you, for lack of better words, just aren’t meshing well with the Scorpion franchise any longer.”
I just nod my head as if he could see.
“So, what’s the real reason that you called?” I finally blurt, fed up with this whole thing.
“We’ve finalized a deal,” Gary says. “It came together late last night.”
I swallow. A deal. Fuck. It can only mean one thing. A trade. But this isn’t how me and Kor planned it. We wanted to be in charge of every aspect of a trade to ensure we stayed together. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I hate it.
“Okay. What kind of deal?”
Another pause. Then he speaks.
“We traded you. Well, both of you.”
The words land heavy, and I have to close my eyes to process what he’s saying.
It hurts. It always does. Even when you expect it. It’s an extra sting to the ego since we wanted to be the ones breaking the news to them. We wanted to be the ones who initiated the trade. Not them.
“Where did you trade me to?” I ask, voice steady and cold.
“To the Krakens.”
My breath stutters.
The Krakens.
Bayleigh’s team.
But that’s me.
What about Korbin?
Before I can think more about it, Gary keeps going.
“And—you weren’t the only one; Korbin was traded there as well.”
“Both of us?” I ask again, wanting to make sure I heard him correctly, while hiding the excitement that wants to bubble up.
“Yes,” Gary confirms. “You and Korbin. Package deal. They wouldn’t have it any other way. Gave us a trade deal we couldn't refuse. Now you’re going to be their headache. I need the two of you in my office at two this afternoon to go over everything formally and for the press release.”
“We’ll be there,” I tell him, then hang up.
I pick up my coffee cup and step over to the table, breakfast forgotten about, and drop down into a chair.
We got just what we wanted. Off the fucking Scorpions, both of us on the same team and one that can win. Best of all, we have Bayleigh.
The relief hits me like a wave—so sudden, so overwhelming, it nearly pulls me under. My chest heaves. A sound breaks free from me, a mix between a laugh and a sob.
“Oh my God,” I mumble.
All I can think is that we’re not being split up. She’s not going to lose any of us.
Korbin chooses that moment to step into the kitchen, and he stops dead in his tracks when he sees me sitting in the chair, the food left unattended and the state of my face.
“What happened?” he demands, already moving toward the stove to turn it off and move pans off the burner. Only then do I smell the awful burned smell.
I can’t speak. Still too shocked that everything we’ve wanted is happening.
“Milton, what the fuck is going on? Are you trying to burn the house down?”
I shake my head, still unable to form words. Then it’s like something clicks into place and my mouth opens.
“We’ve been traded.”
Korbin’s face drains of color, much the same way mine must have when Gary told me.
“Are we on separate teams?” It’s the only question I cared about too when I heard.
“No, we got the same team.” The corners of my mouth turn up, and I can’t help the excitement in my next words. “The Krakens.”
“No fucking way. We’re both going to the Krakens?”
I nod.
"We have to meet with Gary this afternoon and do a press release.”
Korbin exhales, dragging a hand down his face. “About damn time we’re off this sorry-ass team. And together. It wasn’t our doing, but it’s still what we wanted.”
Lincoln enters the kitchen, hair rumpled, eyes still heavy with sleep. He stops dead when he sees us.
“What?” he asks. “What happened?”
“We got traded,” Korbin tells him. “To the Krakens.”
Lincoln stares at us. “You’re shitting me.”
“It’s true. I just got off the phone with Gary. We have a press conference this afternoon. We’re moving to a better team. And we’re still together.”
The weight of everything crashes over me all at once.
No more toxic locker rooms.
No more biting our tongues.
No more matchmaker vultures circling us.
No more pressure to bond with someone else.
We’re going somewhere safe.
My eyes drift out of the room. I can’t see her, but I remember how she looked, curled up in her nest with our marks now on her, our scents wrapped with hers. She’s still resting so peacefully, totally unaware of the amazing news that just shifted our world right under our feet.
Lincoln smiles softly. “Let’s go wake up Bayleigh and tell her.”