Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“Speaking of Ryan, Henry, and Luke… what’s going on there? Do I have a wedding to look forward to soon?” She grins, giving me a playful wink.
I laugh again, but this time, it’s brief and strained. The worries gnawing at me refuse to be pushed aside, and despite my best efforts, it shows. Cassie notices immediately. Her eyes narrow slightly, her smile fading just enough.
“Lei, what’s going on?” Her voice is softer now, a touch more serious.
Just as I’m about to open my mouth, the phone beeps. An incoming call from Danae.
I pick up the call, adding Danae to the video chat with me and Cassie. Her face appears on the screen next to Cassie’s, both of them now watching me, their collective presence a wave of comfort. It’s in moments like this I realize just how much I need them.
“Hi there, Danae… perfect timing,” Cassie says, her voice full of warmth.
I can't help but smile, listening to how she speaks to her. It still feels good, knowing they’ve clicked so well.
I introduced them at one of the galas, not long after Cassie’s identity as the White Wolf had been revealed to everyone.
Since then, they’ve gotten along like they’ve known each other for years.
There’s something comforting about watching my sister and my best friend build their own connection.
“Hello, Cassie,” Danae replies, her eyes flicking between us.
“Lei here was just about to tell me, well, now us, why she’s got that long face,” Cassie adds, her tone light.
Danae’s eyes narrow slightly as she looks at me through the screen, her concern clear. “Hey, girl, I’ve seen some of the things they’re saying in the tabloids. Wanted to check in on you. Is that what’s on your mind?”
I sigh, a slow release of breath, not just from the weight of my thoughts but from the quiet relief that comes from being able to share them with these two. Just seeing their faces makes it easier somehow, though the knot in my chest still lingers.
“No… it’s not the tabloids,” I begin, feeling the words come slowly at first, heavy as they leave my mouth. “It’s… it’s Henry, and Ryan, and Luke. They all asked to be in a family unit.”
I watch as both Cassie and Danae’s expressions tilt instantly, a shared excitement lighting up their faces.
“That’s great,” Danae says, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm. But then she catches the look on my face. “Isn’t it great?” she asks, her tone softening.
“I don’t know if I want to accept,” I admit, the words falling out, quiet but loaded with uncertainty.
Cassie’s smile dims just slightly, and Danae’s brow furrows. The excitement on their faces tempers as they wait for me to say more. And now, with their eyes on me, I feel the weight of my own hesitation pressing even harder.
"It’s just…” I begin, sensing their eyes waiting, patient yet probing, as though they can feel the gravity of what I’m about to say.
“…I keep thinking about how marriage changes people. Not just the ones who enter into it, but everyone around them, everyone they care about.” My voice falters, the thoughts threading together faster than I can articulate.
“I think about my mom, my dad, and how many lives they shattered because their marriage didn’t work.
I think of you, Cassie and everything you went through, everything your mom endured.
The blockers… the sickness…” My words catch in my throat, but I force myself to continue.
“None of that would’ve happened if my parents had never married. I don’t want to make the same mistake.”
Cassie’s face tightens. I see it, the way her features clench, the ghost of her own past appearing briefly behind her eyes. She understands. Of course, she does.
“My mom and I,” I go on, my voice quieter now, as though speaking aloud makes it real, “we had such a strained relationship, especially when I was a child. I don’t want to do something that will hurt the people I love.
” Instinctively, my hand moves to my belly, cradling the life inside me.
And in that moment, the realization dawns with a startling clarity, I’m afraid.
Afraid of repeating my mother’s mistakes and fracturing something before it even begins.
I cannot imagine being anything but whole for this child, and yet, that fear gnaws at me.
Danae nods slowly, her expression soft and understanding. “We’re here for you, Lei,” she says, urging me to continue. She knows there’s more.
Cassie nods, too. They’re waiting.
“…And then,” I continue, the words spilling out now, “I just don’t know if I deserve any of this.
I keep asking myself, why? Why would these men want me?
It made sense when everyone thought I was the best Omega and I was at the top.
But now? I can’t understand it. Especially Ryan…
with everything going on, the tabloids saying we’re engaged and that I’ve been unfaithful.
They’re painting him as weak, as if being with me makes him less.
Why does he still want this? Why don’t they all just walk away? ”
My breath hitches as the emotion swells, rising to the surface. “I’ve been a mess for so long. And every time they stay, they help. But I don’t know if I deserve that. It feels like I’m pretending and like I’m just waiting for the moment when they’ll realize I’m not as strong as they think I am.”
My voice cracks. “And when that happens, what then?”
“Oh, Lei,” Cassie’s voice is soft and filled with a warmth that catches me off guard. “you have no idea how strong you are.”
Her words stop me. I blink, not quite sure what I’d expected, but not this.
“You are the strongest person I know, Lei,” she continues, her tone firm. “Do you know how amazed I was when, after everything that happened, you still showed me love? You were a true sister to me.”
I blink again, trying to grasp the meaning behind her words. But Cassie presses on, determined to make me see.
“It would’ve been so easy for you to hate me, Lei.
After I showed up, all those nasty rumors started swirling, calling you rejected, saying you were no longer worthy of any mate.
Those words were venomous, and yet, not once did you let them turn you against me.
Instead, you loved me. You helped me. You taught me how to control my pheromones and how to stand in my own power.
You have been nothing but a great sister to me.
Do you have any idea how much strength that takes? ”
I sit in stunned silence, her words settling into me, filling spaces I didn’t know were empty. I’d never considered any of this before. Never once did I feel anger toward Cassie, and hearing her say this now stirs something deep inside me, a quiet, profound appreciation.
Danae’s voice cuts through the quiet. “Lei… sometimes you forget who you are. You forget how amazing you are. It’s not just the fact that you’re strong, you’re genuinely kind.
I don’t want to even imagine what my life would look like without you, without the friendship that we have.
You’ve stood up for me more times than I can count.
And just like Cassie said, it would have been so easy for you to hate her after everything that happened.
But you didn’t. That’s the kind of person you are, Lei.
And no matter how many times you forget that, I’ll always be here to remind you.
You’re strong and you’re lovable, Leila. ”
Tears well up, blurring my vision, not from sadness, but something else, something close to gratitude. I can’t stop the flood of emotion.
Cassie speaks again. “And I know, without a doubt, that you will make a wonderful mother to that little trickster in there,” she says, gesturing to my belly.
“I’ve felt you, Lei. I know you. Even when you had every reason to, you never turned bitter.
If you’re afraid of becoming like your mom, I know with every fiber of my being that you won’t. You’re good, Lei. And I love you.”
“We love you,” Danae echoes, both of them smiling through the screen.
I can’t hold it in any longer. The tears spill over, and I laugh through them, the release of everything overwhelming me. “You guys…”
Cassie’s voice lightens again, a smile returning to her face. “Now, about the guys and the family unit,” she begins, a teasing note in her tone. “The most important question is… how do you feel about them?”
I pause, the thoughts of Henry, Ryan, and Luke rushing through me. The truth is undeniable. I’ve never been happier than when I’m with them. Their presence, their strength, their love… it fills me with warmth. The smile that spreads across my face says more than words ever could.
“I think it’s pretty clear how she feels about them,” Danae says, her tone playful. We share a brief laugh, but the emotion beneath it is real, tangible.
Cassie leans closer to the screen, her eyes soft. “If you love them, and they love you, Lei, I can only tell you this: being in a family unit with my mates has brought me the greatest peace and joy I’ve ever known. And I know you deserve that same love. That same peace.”
Her words settle over me like a balm, easing the tension in my chest. For the first time in what feels like ages, I feel certain and at peace.
“So,” Cassie says, her smile widening, “I’ll ask again…do I have a wedding to look forward to soon?”
I can’t help but smile back, the certainty blooming inside me. “Yes,” I say, my voice clear and strong. “Consider this your invitation.”
The cheer that erupts from both Cassie and Danae is immediate, filling the space between us with laughter and joy. The moment is light, and for the first time, I let myself truly feel it.
Finally, I’m ready.