Chapter 25
Aiden
Pulling my hard hat off, I wipe at my forehead. I’m sweating like a damn pig, but as I stand back, observing all our hard work, I’d say we did a pretty damn good job.
For bigger jobs, I contract a crew of men and take on a supervisor role, like with the extension on the ski resort. But for smaller projects like building a new home, a place for a family to live and make memories—those are my favorites—the ones I like to be hands-on with. Typically, it’s just me and a few of my local employees.
We were hired to do a custom build for a couple with two little ones. My favorite part will be handing over their keys and seeing the joy on their faces. By the looks of it, that should be in about a week or two.
The house is almost done. The only thing we have left to do is install the wiring and make sure the plumbing is good, and once the shipment for the kitchen cabinets comes in, we just need to get them into place.
Grabbing a bottle of water, I take a drink just as my phone begins to ring. Pulling it out of my pocket, I see Nolan’s name.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?”
“Are you able to come home?” His voice sounds panicked, and the sobs in the background have me freezing.
“What’s wrong?” My whole body tenses as I wait.
“I don’t really know. Violet showed up at the cafe. I saw the Jeep outside, so I went to check on her, and she was crying. I haven’t been able to get anything out of her.”
“Fuck,” I hiss, blood pounding in my ears. “Is she hurt?”
“No. I don’t think so. I asked her, and she shook her head.”
“Okay.” I toss the water bottle into the trash and rush over to my things. “I’m on my way.”
“Aiden.” The way Violet says my name, as a heartbreaking sob, nearly sends me to my knees.
“Put me on speakerphone,” I rasp.
“You are,” he tells me. “The car speaker.”
“Violet, baby. Are you okay?”
“No. I need you. I need Thomas. I need my Alphas. My pack.”
“I’m coming, baby. Just breathe. You need to calm down, okay? Think of Little Bean. They must be so worried with their mama this upset.”
“Okay,” her voice cracks right along side my heart.
“I love you, Omega. Do you hear me?” I growl into the phone.
“Yes. I love you too, Alpha,” she whispers, her voice still raspy as she hiccups.
“That’s a good girl. Breathe. In and out.”
I can hear her taking a few deep breaths. “She’s looking better,” Nolan informs me.
“That’s my girl. I’m so proud of you. Just close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and I’ll be to you as soon as I can.”
“Please, hurry,” she whimpers.
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Nolan?”
“Yes?”
“I love you too.”
There’s a pause for a moment. “I love you, Aiden.”
“Take care of our girl. I’ll see you soon.”
Hanging the phone up, I head over to the first crew member I can find and let them know I have to leave.
Then I’m in my truck and pressing Thomas’ name on the car screen.
I don’t even give him the chance to speak when he picks up. “Get home. Now. I have no idea what’s going on, but Violet’s upset, and she needs us.”
“I’m on my way,” he responds without any hesitation. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The drive to the house feels like the longest fucking time. Every second that passes, I get more and more worked up.
My Omega is in need; she’s hurting, and I’m not there to help. Just like I wasn’t there for the three months, she was gone.
Shaking my head, I try to pull myself out of that mindset. It's in the past, something we can’t change. I need to think of this moment.
She was with Nolan and in good hands. He can take care of her.
It still doesn’t lessen my Alpha instincts any. The need to get to her, to tear the world apart until she’s safely tucked in my arms, is what's driving me right now.
Just as I’m about to pull onto the road that leads to our place, I see Thomas’s truck approaching at the same time. We lock eyes, a moment of understanding, and something inside me settles just a little. He goes first, and I follow after.
The Jeep is parked in the driveway when we get to the house, and the moment we park, we’re out and racing up the stairs.
Bursting through the doors like the damn Kool-Aid Man, we look around frantically and find Violet on the couch. She’s curled up in Nolan’s arms as he murmurs to her, almost rocking her body as he rubs his hand up and down her back.
She looks up, locking eyes with us before breaking all over again.
It’s like someone shoved their hand into my chest, wrapped it around my heart, and squeezed.
I’m over to her in three steps, pulling her from Nolan’s arms and placing her in my lap. She clings to me like a koala, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist before burying her face into the crook of my neck.
Deep, heavy sobs leave her as she blindly reaches for Thomas. He’s on his knees, wrapping his body around her from behind, sandwiching her between us.
We say nothing, knowing if we try to get her to talk in this state, it’s only going to make things worse.
So we do what our instincts tell us to do and purr. Deep rumbling purrs leave our chests and vibrate through our bodies to her.
After a minute, her sobs slow to crying, then to little whimpers before her breathing finally evens out.
For a moment, I think she’s fallen asleep.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
Hearing her voice, I let out a relieved breath. This whole time I’ve been in Alpha mode, the only thing on my mind was getting her to relax. My emotions haven’t hit me much until now.
Fear, worry, panic, everything I feel any time she’s out of my sight hits me like a Mack truck. But she’s here, in my arms, and she’s okay.
At least, I think she’s okay.
“Little One, do you want to tell us what got you so worked up?” I ask her, kissing the side of her head.
“And who we have to kill,” Thomas growls.
A shiver runs down my spine, and I can't help but grin. He’s normally the more peaceful one of us Alphas.
She lets out a deep, exhausted sigh. “It’s just all so fucked up,” she whispers. Thomas moves from his position at her back to sit next to us on the couch. She whimpers and wiggles her way over to his lap. I feel a moment of possessiveness, but I know I have to share. He needs to comfort her, too.
Violet snuggles into Thomas before blinking her big baby blues over at us. Her eyes are puffy and red. I hate that she’s upset, and I’ve never hated hearing her cry more than I do now.
“I wanted to get out of the house for a bit,” she murmurs, her eyes moving down to Thomas’s shirt as she starts to pick at his sleeve. “So, I went to go pick up some things for the party this weekend,” she sighs. “Everything was going fine. Despite my shitty morning, I was actually feeling better and enjoying myself the more I shopped. I’m excited, you know? To find out what we’re having. But, of course, things can’t go well for me for too long.” I can see the shift in her mood, going from neutral to pissed off again. “Sylvia was there.”
All three of us stiffen. Violet doesn’t need to say anything else before fury comes bubbling to the surface. Just the mention of that bitch’s name makes me angry.
“What did she do?” Thomas growls.
“Let me tell you this, that woman is fucking bonkers,” Violet seethes, shooting into an upright position, eyes wild as she gets a burst of energy. “This crazy bitch asked to buy my baby!”
“What?” We all shout at the same time. I must have heard her wrong.
“Oh, yeah.” Violet nods. “She said a bunch of bullshit that you’re all going to leave me when you find someone younger and hotter like you did her. Then she switches it up and tells me that you belong to her, and she’s going to get her pack back.” Violet shakes her head. “Her pack. Ha. You’re mine!” Violet growls. I know it’s the wrong time for this, but any time she gets possessive over us, it makes my dick hard, and now is no different.
“Anyways,” Violet mutters. “She went on about me being a homewrecker and her son deserving his daddies.” She rolls her eyes. “But then!” Violet leans forward the best she can, but the adorable baby bump is in the way. Does she have any idea how sexy she looks pregnant? I mean, she’s sexy all the time, but this, this is different.
“Hey, you.” Violet snaps her fingers. “Eyes up here.”
“Sorry,” I mumble. I have no idea what is coming over me right now. She’s upset, and here I’m thinking of ways I want to bend her over and knot her.
The others chuckle, but my Omega just looks angry.
“Keep going.”
“Like I was saying,” she huffs. “She then tells me she will pay me two hundred grand if I leave you three, give her the baby, and never. Come. Back!”
“Fuck's sake,” Thomas hisses.
“Are you kidding me?” My eyes widen in horror.
“Something needs to be done about her. How can someone get away with that!?” Nolan asks, raising his voice.
“She wouldn’t leave me alone. I kept telling her to go away and that I wasn’t selling my damn baby.” She snuggles back into Thomas’ arms. He holds her tighter, kissing her head as I grab her legs and pull them onto my lap. Rubbing my hands up and down her calves, I wait for her to continue.
“She followed me out of the store. I didn’t even get a chance to buy the things in the cart.” Her eyes start to water. A growl bubbles in my chest, but I hold it down.
“Did she touch you?” Nolan asks.
“No.” Violet shakes her head. “But I was honestly afraid. I panicked, and I didn't know what to do. I was also so fucking pissed off she wouldn’t just go away. That she wouldn’t stop spewing the lies from the delusional mindset she’s in. So, I, ahh...” Violet bites down on her lower lip. “I went to the passenger side and pulled my gun on her.”
“What!?” My eyes widen in surprise. I sure as hell didn’t expect her to say that.
“I’m sorry!” she rushes out. “I said I panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”
“But you didn’t shoot her, did you?” Thomas asks.
“No. Just scared her away. I just wanted her to let me leave.”
“Shame,” Nolan mutters, and I can’t help the snort that leaves me.
Violet looks at me with wide eyes. “You're not mad?”
“Mad? Yes. At you? Fuck no, baby. I’m pissed that we’ve brought this on you, that our baggage has been pulled into your life with us.”
“Don’t be,” Violet insists. “You didn’t ask for any of this. She’s crazy, and she’s using her money to justify her behavior. She’s only going to be able to get away with it for so long before people start to see they can’t cover up for her forever.”
“We’re going to figure this out,” I tell her, my eyes finding Thomas’. He’s pissed, we all are. Our Omega shouldn’t have to suffer because of a girl who can’t take rejection.
I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to get this whole Sylvia bullshit taken care of one way or another. Starting by getting a restraining order for Violet. You would think four of them would be enough for the judge to see something's wrong with this woman. Sadly, they’re not the sole ones who are responsible for doing something about it, the police need to investigate and charge her—only they won't because they're in her mother’s pocket.
I don’t get it. I know my pack and I are good men. We work hard and have earned everything we have. We’re not badly off. But we’re not some prize pack who’s worth billions, and we didn’t even date Sylvia long enough to really show who we were apart from some small flirting.
Was the one night of okay sex really that life-changing? Because I know for a fact that the guys and I don’t feel that way. She wasn’t anything special. We knew right away she wasn't for us.
And if she didn’t keep popping up in our lives, we would have forgotten about her pretty fast. Not to be a dick, but the spark wasn’t there. Nothing about our time together was memorable.
Now, I want more than anything to be rid of her and never see her again for the rest of my life.
We talk a little bit longer before Violet falls asleep in Thomas’ arms.
“I’m gonna go put her to bed,” he tells us.
“Make sure to take her out of those clothes.” He shoots me a glare. “Sorry,” I chuckle. “I know, I know. You know how to take care of our Omega.”
“Damn right I do,” he mutters, carefully shifting Violet.
“Hey.” He pauses to look at me. “I love you.” I remind him, grabbing the back of his head to pull him in for a kiss. He groans against my lips, and my cock stiffens.
When Violet first came back, it took weeks before life settled down enough for us to start having time alone with one another.
We’ve made her our top priority, and she will always be first. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t make time for one another.
“I love you too.” He nips at my lips. “That ass is mine,” he growls.
I smile against his lips. “Fine, but our Beta’s is mine.”
“Don’t I get a say?” Nolan protests playfully.
“You're telling me you don’t want me?” I ask him, raising a brow.
He looks at me with lidded eyes. “I always want you.”
“Good answer,” I reply, my voice raspy.
Leaning forward, I press a kiss to Violet’s forehead. “Sleep well, baby,” I murmur.
I get up and follow the two of them until I reach the kitchen. Stopping, I watch them go, Nolan coming up to join me at my side.
“Want a coffee?”
“Yeah.” He blows out a breath, running a hand through his shaggy locks. He’s let his hair grow out a bit, his beard too. It makes him look like a rugged mountain man, and fuck, does he look sexy. His lips twitch into a smile. “You gonna make it, or am I?”
“Sorry,” I chuckle, shaking my head. “Not my fault you make my dick hard.”
“So romantic. Please, Alpha, talk dirty to me.”
I grin wider, laughing harder as I get the coffee together.
The momentary good mood dissipates as I’m brought back to reality.
“We need to go down to the courthouse tomorrow,” I grumble. Nolan moves up to my side, wrapping his arms around me from the side and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“I hate this, Aiden,” he sighs, his voice shaking. I turn in his hold so I can wrap my arms around his waist, bringing us front to front. “I hate that she has to deal with this. She shouldn’t have to. Sylvia is fucking crazy, why can’t anyone see that?”
“I’m sure they do. But they use money to brush things under the rug,” I growl, my hands gripping his hips.
“How far are things going to go before something is finally done? That woman does not care about the restraining orders. She broke them once, what makes you think she won’t do it again?”
“I don’t know, Nolan,” I sigh heavily, leaning my forehead against his. “Maybe... maybe we should move.”
“What?” Nolan breaths. “No, Aiden, this is our home. We built our lives here.”
“Home is who you're with, not where you are.” My eyes bore into his. “As long as I have you, Thomas, our Omega, and our baby, I don’t care where we are.”
He melts under my touch. “I know you’re right,” he sighs. “I just don’t want to have to sacrifice our lives because of one spoiled woman who can’t handle rejection or not getting everything she wants. I don’t want our Omega getting hurt.”
“I don’t want that either,” I growl insistently.
His eyes start to water, and fuck, my heart is breaking. “Seeing her like that earlier, Aiden... it fucking killed me. I didn’t know what to do or how to help. I had no idea what was going on. All I could do was hold her as she sobbed in my arms, then bring her home. I wasn’t what she needed. You and Thomas were.”
“Hey.” I cup his face in my hands. “Enough thinking like that. Stop it. You are just as much a vital part of this pack as we are. You're the glue, babe. Without you, we would fall apart. Our Omega is crazy about you, and so are we. Don’t even think for a moment that you're not equally a pack member, okay?”
“Okay,” he breathes, nodding.
“Come on.” I grab his hand, pulling him out of the kitchen.
“What about the coffee?” he asks as he staggers along.
“Coffee can wait. I need you, Nolan.”
He stumbles to a stop.
“What?” I look over to find him blinking at me in shock.
I growl, tugging him into my arms. “I. Need. You.” I slide my hands to the back of his head, grabbing a handful of his hair. “I love you. I want you. I fucking crave you, and I need to be inside you. I need to feel your body against mine, to feel your tight fucking hole squeeze my cock while you gasp out my name as I make you cum so hard that you remember who owns you.”
“You mean Violet?” He grins.
“You’re a fucking brat, you know that?” I growl, tugging his hair.
He moans. “What you should be doing is fucking this brat,” he pants out.
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” I reach down, grabbing his erection over his jeans and squeezing him. He gasps, eyes filling with hunger. “My fat Alpha cock deep inside you, filling that hole.”
“Yes,” he moans, thrusting against my hand. “Make it hurt, baby.”
“Never,” I growl, smashing my lips to his. I kiss him hard and dirty before we come back up for air. “I’d never hurt you, Nolan.”
“I know,” he pants against my lips. “Aiden?”
“Yes, baby?”
“I need you too.”
That's all I needed to hear before I’m tugging Nolan down the hall to his room.
Violet is safe with Thomas, and Nolan and I need this moment together.
We all had a big scare tonight, Violet more than us.
I need to have this connection with my lovers, to let them know they’re not alone. That no one needs to suffer in silence. We’re still a family, we’re still a pack, and we’re still lovers. Violet didn’t replace how this pack ran, just added to how amazing it is.
And it’s about time my Beta is reminded that he’s wanted just as much as anyone else. Violet is good at letting him know, but now it's my turn.