Chapter 26 #2
Every item will mean something because it has Nina’s personal touch. We’re building our lives together now. A purr of happiness rumbles my chest, and Ethan grins .
“Did it just hit you how fucking lucky we are?” he asks.
“It really did,” I rasp. “You work toward a goal, and then finally achieve it. Now what?”
“Now we remind Nina of this until she believes it,” Riley says, parking outside of the realtor office. “Here’s to hoping I’m in and out.”
Watching as he walks into the office, I get lost in how pretty Nina is while she sleeps.
Nina
I vaguely remember Cooper helping me into bed last night, but then I was knocked out again.
Yawning as I open my eyes, I smile as I look around.
I’m in a bed that’s much smaller than we were using in Colorado, sleeping next to Ethan.
Cooper is asleep on the floor on one side of the bed, while Riley is on the other side.
They aren’t going to be happy when they wake up with knots in their back. Ethan’s arms tighten around me as he kisses my temple, his breaths still steady as he sleeps.
There are boxes all over the place, and I wonder why. Are they moving in or out?
There’s a lot I’m confused about, or I don’t have all the answers to things. Now that I’m bonded, I think it’s about time I got some of those. Elbowing Ethan, I grin as he grunts awake.
“Little Queen, you woke me up,” he says, rubbing his cheek against my forehead. “Do you have to pee? Am I holding you against your will?”
Giggling, I shake my head. Ethan is really cute in the mornings.
“I realized I have questions, and you seemed like a pretty willing victim to get them answered,” I say .
“That’s fair,” he says, turning to his side to wiggle down until he can use my breast as his pillow. “Fire away, baby.”
“Where are we right now?” I ask, choosing a safe question. I have to ask about my mother, but I don’t know if I can jump into that.
“We are in what equates to an apartment,” he says. “It’s a little bigger, but still as you can see, not ideal. It’s close to where Riley has clinical rotations at the hospital, which was the main reason we decided to lease it.”
“Okay,” I say, letting my fingers play in his hair. I love the purr deep in his chest as he sighs happily. “Why are there so many boxes in here?”
“Two weeks into your fake courting, we decided to pack everything up so we would be able to pivot in any way needed,” he says. “Whether that meant buying a house with you or chasing you to another part of the country. Your mother was very volatile, and anything could have happened.”
“Was?” I ask, biting my lip.
“Nina,” he whispers, looking up at me. “Fuck, we should have woken you up to tell you yesterday. Yes, the packs killed her for what she did to you. Dad and Riley were there as well, while I kept watch. Afterward, we burned the house down. Abbott made sure the fire department got an anonymous call to come put the fire out. I haven’t heard anything else since. ”
“Nina?” Cooper asks, sitting up. “Good morning, baby.
“Morning,” I say with a smile. “Ethan is filling me in on things that I need answers to.”
“Good, you should ask whatever you want,” he says.
“How did you get the packs to agree to all of this? I know that no one wants an omega who is already promised to someone else, but they could have made it really difficult for you guys,” I say.
Riley sits up sleepily, pushing his brown hair off his forehead.
“I have friends who have connections here,” he mumbles. “They made sure to put in a good word for us. ”
“Easy as that?” I tease him.
“Yes, Baby Girl,” he says. “Just like that. Oh, we bought a house yesterday. Want to move in with us?”
“Of course!” I squeal, enjoying their laughter. “Today?”
“Yes,” Riley says. “I’ll break the lease, and we’ll move in today. We don’t have any furniture, we can either go shopping at the stores in Savannah today or order online?”
“I kind of want to touch things,” I confess. “There’s certain materials that make me grossed out.”
“Like that fucking bedspread,” Cooper groans as he stands to stretch.
“Yes,” I say with a shudder. “That thing is going to give me nightmares.”
“I guess we’re going to have to make new memories fairly quickly so we can keep that from happening,” Ethan says with a smirk. “We have your bag that we packed from Colorado. Get dressed and we’ll have a quick breakfast.”
“I want omelets,” Riley mumbles as he gets up and stumbles away.
“Is he like that often?” I ask with a giggle.
“Sometimes,” Ethan says with a shrug. “You’re going to have to discover all of his quirks with me.”
“Why don’t you know them all?” I ask, watching as Cooper chuckles under his breath and walks out of the room.
“Between his busy schedule and mine, we haven’t seen each other often,” he admits. “I also haven’t slept in the same bed as he does until now with you. Remember, I was an idiot. That’s why Dad was laughing at me.”
“Oh,” I murmur, scratching his scalp gently. “Well, you should stop being an idiot then, huh?”
“Yes, Little Queen,” he says, his eyes fluttering as he enjoys what I’m doing. “Please keep me in line.”
“I promise,” I say, smiling. It feels as if I’m saying a lot more than I am, but I’m full of love for these men.
I can’t wait to move in with them .
“Oh,” he says, turning to place his chin on my chest. “I’m claiming my own damn date, Nina Marie Thornefield. I’m tired of sharing.”
“Thornefield?” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes as he pulls me up with him.
“Fuck yes,” he says, walking me out of the bedroom. “It’s all official. Do you hate it?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head violently. “I love it. And you.”
His smile says everything as he pushes me against the wall.
“I love you,” he says, kissing me slowly and thoroughly. “I plan to tell and show you often.”
“Ethan, please don’t fuck her before breakfast!” Cooper yells from the kitchen, making me giggle.
“Cockblocked at every turn,” Ethan says woefully. “My time will come, Little Queen.”
I just bet it will.