32. Sunny
Chapter 32
Sunny
“ Y ou shouldn’t have talked to him!” I hissed, grabbing my yoga pants.
I couldn’t believe these alphas, confronting Gregory without me. He was my ex, and he’d been looking for me.
By the time Blaze’s knot had deflated, Walker and Rune had already dealt with Gregory.
This was karma, or the universe smacking me down for grabbing life by the balls and getting naked with Blaze and Rune.
Deep down, I was glad I didn’t have to see him, but there was no ignoring the unease swirling in my gut.
“He came storming in here, demanding to see you. What did you want us to do? There was no way in hell we were going to let him anywhere near you,” Rune said softly.
I sighed. “I know. I’m grateful you took care of it, but I know Gregory, and I know this isn't going to be the end of it. Seeing you guys is only going to anger him more.”
From his position lounging on the bed, Blaze spoke. “Let him get angry, sunshine. He's not going anywhere near you or Luka. He can be angry from a distance. We aren't going to let him touch you.”
Walker pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Look, we're going to have to face the problem together. I think the next step for us would be contacting lawyers—Blaze, can you do that?”
“Sure, I’ll call them after I shower. Then again, maybe I shouldn't shower, because I'm covered in sunshine’s slick.”
“You can't go out on calls smelling like slick,” Walker grumbled. “As much as I see the appeal.”
“Why do we need lawyers?” I asked, pulling back and looking him in the eye. He gazed down at me with a serene smile, gently brushing hair out of my eyes.
“To get our bond verified. At the moment, Gregory has no claim to Luka because he isn't on the birth certificate, right?” I nodded. “Well, if he gets lawyers involved, he could probably try and push for a DNA test and thus be on the birth certificate, giving him rights.”
“But we're bonded, doesn’t it negate that?” I asked, eyes widening. Was there still a way that Gregory could gain access to my son? Shit. Maybe I needed to grab my baby and run far, far away. If I moved to another country, there was no way in hell he was going to find me. It would be too much effort for him. He would rather knock up a new, unsuspecting omega.
Walker’s hands rubbed up and down my forearms as he tried to soothe me. “I can see your mind running a mile a minute. Yes, our bonding means he has no claim to Luka, but at the moment, our bond isn't verified.”
“Verified?” I asked, frowning.
Why would a bond need to be verified? They just…were.
“In situations like this, a pack can go into a lawyer's office and basically sign documents saying that they walked into this bond of their own volition. It's just a legal protection for our bond, so Gregory can't claim that we coerced you into this.”
“But you didn't coerce me into this. If anything, I coerced you into it!” I cried, running my hand through my hair.
All the alphas chuckled.
“Trust me, I wasn't coerced into this,” Walker said.
“But it wasn't really an active decision on your part, either. Would we be lying by signing those papers?”
Walker shook his head. “No, because I was already falling for you when the bonding happened, and I am more than happy to sign. It's an added layer of protection for our family.”
Our family.
“But if we sign those papers, does it officially mean you’re stuck with me?” I asked.
Rune laughed, and Blaze groaned, throwing his head back.
“Sunshine, we want to be stuck with you.”
“He’s right,” Rune agreed. “We know it's taking some time for you to come around to the idea, but we're going to spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much we want to be with you.”
“Sign the papers,” Walker said, kissing my forehead.
I took a deep breath. “Okay…”
It shouldn't have surprised me that Blaze had a lawyer on speed dial. The next day, we were all standing in Walker's office as the nice, older gentleman talked us through the paperwork.
“So, just so I have everything straight. You're currently only bonded to Walker, but you intend to bond with the other members of the pack?” he asked, looking at me.
I nodded, but before I could speak, Blaze opened his mouth. “We are taking things at her pace.”
The lawyer nodded. “Okay, these papers will suffice, then. But I will say, if this comes to a child custody case, the more members of the pack you're bonded to, the stronger your case will be.”
I gaped at him. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “It's basically a lot of politics, but it's the way the legal system works. Honestly, though, I have no concerns about this. You should be able to retain complete custody of your child. The single bond you have with Walker is enough. Now if you sign here, I will notarize it, and it will all be official. Also, a proper address wouldn’t go amiss. The courts wouldn’t exactly approve of a child living in a firehouse.”
Walker nodded. “That’s already in motion,” he assured him.
I gave him a startled glance. What did he mean, a proper address was in motion?
With shaky hands, I signed the papers, as did every one of the guys.
Once I was done, the lawyer smiled at me. “Congratulations on joining Pack Landry. Now, one more thing before I head to my next appointment. Will you be taking the pack name?”
I paused. The pack name. I hadn't even considered that.
“You guys don't all use the pack name, do you?” I asked, looking at the guys.
“Legally, we all share the pack name,” Walker said. “But here in the firehouse, we use our original names, just because it's easier. Firefighters often get called by their last names, and if we were all named Landry, it would create some confusion during fire situations.”
That made perfect sense to me. “In that case, do you not want me to take the pack name?”
Walker's eyes widened, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his mug of coffee. “I would fucking love for you to take the pack name, if that's what you want,” he said, trying but failing to keep his tone calm.
I bit my lip, considering for a moment. I had always assumed I would take the same name as my pack. It was a pretty normal thing. Then again, my pack wasn't exactly normal. Did I want to remain a Sanderson?
Not particularly.
“In that case”—I turned to the lawyer—“can you file the paperwork to legally change my name?”
The lawyer beamed. “It would be my pleasure.”
I glanced between the guys before addressing the lawyer again. “And our son’s name.”
The hungry look that Walker was giving me let me know that I was going to feel his appreciation for that gesture later, in the best and filthiest way.
As we all settled down in the den for a late lunch of takeout pizza, I watched Rune play with Luka. There was no denying that this pack was my family now.
Somehow, I had managed to land on my feet. I was surrounded by sweet, caring alphas who loved my son as their own. They were kind and considerate, and Rune had made it clear that he would never pressure me for more babies.
“What are you thinking?” Walker asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me in for a hug, kissing the top of my head. “You’re feeling all sorts of things.”
Darn bond. My privacy was probably going to be minimal while I settled into the pack dynamic, and that was both a terrifying and comforting thought.
“Just thinking about us. I still can’t believe you want to buy a house.”
Walker shrugged. “We needed a home. It’ll be good for you and Luka to have space away from the firehouse, even though you’ll always be welcome here.”
I looked up at him, furrowing my brow. “We missed out on so many conversations before we bonded.”
“Like?”
Sighing, I glanced over at Rune and Blaze, who were both distracted helping Luka build a block tower. They were stacking it sky high and then encouraging Luka to destroy it like an adorable little Godzilla. He was toddling around now, but wasn’t the most graceful, so every few steps, he would topple over. Every time he did, one of the guys would scoop him up and help him back onto his little feet, and the whole process would start again.
“Do you want more kids? How will we handle finances? Holidays?” I asked, my mind running through all the things that I had always imagined having in-depth discussions about with any potential alpha.
Walker pursed his lips. “Kids? Sure, I would love them, but I know you’ve spoken about that with Rune, and we are all in agreement.” We had discussed that, but that was just a passing conversation when we were getting to know each other. “If you want babies, we are all for it, but if Luka is all you want, then we are also more than okay with that. Finances? We will pay for anything you or our child needs, but if you want to work and make money, do that, and we’ll encourage and support you. If you want to stay home and look after our baby, well then, that’s what we want you to do—what’s that frown for?” He chuckled, noticing my grumpy look.
Huffing, I slumped down, crossing my arms. Was it a childish move? Maybe. I couldn’t help myself, though. Walker had a perfect answer for everything, and it was utterly disarming.
“Your answers are a little too perfect. It’s like you’re a hallucination or a cyborg,” I grumbled.
A deep chuckle escaped Walker’s chest as he hugged me, one hand cupping the back of my head as he pulled me in for a kiss so soft and sweet, it was almost painful.
“I assure you, I am very real, and you’re very much stuck with me.”
I hummed happily. “Luckily, I happen to quite like that idea.”
It was the truth. I had been so resistant to these men initially, but they had been slowly breaking down my walls one chip at a time. Now I couldn’t imagine a future without being bonded to Walker, Rune, or Blaze. As far as I was concerned, they were mine.
The time had come for me to stop treating this situation as temporary and start being an active partner, worthy of such amazing guys.