Chapter 34 Brodie
brODIE
Iwake slowly, my body warm and sated, tangled in the white sheets that still carry Sophie’s scent, remembering how she barely made it through the front door yesterday before she had us all tangled up in her nest, her scent rich and sweet, pulling us in like gravity.
Whatever hesitations she’d been holding onto had melted away by the time she returned from town, her eyes clear, her touch sure. We hadn’t even made it to dinner before she had us wrapped around her, her need for closeness undeniable.
And now, as the golden morning light filters through the frost-lined windows, I wake to find myself still here, a permanent fixture in the space she’s claimed as her own.
My hand presses onto the empty pillow beside me, still warm from where she slept.
I breathe in the lingering traces of her—warm honey, wildflowers, and something uniquely her, a slow smile tugging at my lips.
Beside me, Ethan shifts but doesn’t wake, his breathing steady and deep. He looks peaceful, an arm thrown over his eyes, his usually sharp edges softened by sleep.
A soft laugh drifts up the stairs from the kitchen, followed by the rich aroma of coffee and the unmistakable sound of Tyler. I close my eyes for a second, just listening. There’s something about this—waking up to them, to her—that feels fucking perfect.
I never imagined this. Never thought I’d settle in one place, let alone with three other people tangled in my life.
The scent of pancakes pulls me from bed, and I throw on a pair of jeans before padding downstairs.
Sophie is perched on a barstool barefoot, her hair a wild mess from sleep.
She’s wearing one of my shirts, and nothing else—something that shouldn’t be that erotic.
But it makes me hard and my Alpha growls in approval.
Tyler stands beside her at the range, flipping pancakes with an exaggerated flourish, his grin wide. “You call that a flip?” Sophie teases, giggling as Tyler feigns offense.
“First of all,” Tyler says, pointing the spatula at her, “I’m an excellent cook, thank you very much. Second, if you think you can do better, be my guest.”
Sophie snatches the spatula from him with a triumphant smirk as she hops down from her perch. “Don’t mind if I do.” They haven’t noticed me yet.
Before she sees me, I creep up behind Sophie, moving silently until I’m close enough to grab her around the middle. I dip my head near her ear and rumble, “Morning, beautiful.”
She jumps with a startled squeak, her scent blooming in surprise, sweet and sharp from the sudden closeness. “Brodie! You—” Her words cut off as she spins, glaring up at me with flushed cheeks and wide, accusing eyes.
Tyler snickers, casually flipping a pancake with an easy flick of his wrist. “One day, you’re gonna scare the shit out of her.”
Sophie huffs, crossing her arms, but the small, reluctant twitch of her lips gives her away. “Damn straight. One of these days, I’m gonna make you screech like a little girl,” she says as she pokes me in the chest.
I chuckle, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her flush against my chest, my lips grazing the shell of her ear. “I’d like to see you try, sweetheart.”
Sophie glances up, her smile brightening when she sees me. Tyler rolls his eyes. “He’s just jealous,” he quips.
“Always,” I say, moving closer. I press a kiss to Sophie’s temple, letting her go before stealing a piece of bacon from the plate beside her.
Ethan trudges in next, hair tousled, grabbing a cup of coffee before even acknowledging the room. The way he’s cramming himself into the breakfast nook makes me laugh and reminds me just how much we’ve changed in the short time we’ve been here.
We settle in for breakfast, and I’m more content than I have ever been. Sophie is nestled between Tyler and Ethan at the worn wooden table, Tyler’s hand resting on her thigh, making lazy circles that make her squirm, and Ethan is trying to feed her pancakes.
It’s a sight I could wake up to every damn day. And maybe—I think suddenly, the idea forming like a solid thing in my chest—I should.
I lean back in my chair, watching as she absentmindedly swirls her spoon through her coffee, the steam curling up in delicate ribbons.
Tyler and Ethan are already talking about the repairs we still need to finish, and I hear Ethan say he needs to go back to his house and grab a few personal things, but the thought keeps circling in my mind. Why should we leave at all?
I clear my throat, drawing their attention. “What if we just stayed? I mean, stayed here.”
Sophie stills, her spoon clinking against the ceramic. “Stayed?” she echoes, blinking at me.
Tyler arches a brow. “Like, stay-stay?”
Ethan frowns, setting down his fork. “Brodie, what are you getting at?”
I glance around the table, meeting each of their gazes before settling on Sophie.
“I mean, why are we thinking about this place like it’s temporary? We’ve put so much work into this inn, into making it a home. But what if we actually made it one? Together. The home is large enough to have an owner’s suite of rooms and still have plenty of guest rooms.”
“YES! I’m in,” Tyler says, like he didn’t even have to consider anything. Ethan sits back with a peculiar look on his face.
Sophie’s eyes go impossibly wide, and then, to my absolute delight, her entire face turns red. Deep, blushing, gorgeous Sophie red. “You—you mean, all of you? Here? With me?”
Tyler grins, nudging her with his knee under the table.
“Well, yeah, sweetheart. I can’t exactly have you running an inn by yourself. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t fall off a ladder again. Besides, I’ve been trying to think of how best to convince you to need me here since I first met you.”
She sputters, her gaze darting between us like she’s waiting for the punchline. “But…where would you even fit?”
Tyler hums, feigning deep thought. “Well, the place could use a couple of upgrades. I guess that means we’ll have to build you a proper nest.”
Sophie gasps, looking scandalized. “A nest?”
“Obviously. A pack’s Omega needs to have a room that is hers, with all the best amenities. Big windows, a bathroom big enough for all of us. ” Ethan says dryly, leaning back in his chair. “And a nursery.”
The color in Sophie’s face deepens, and she nearly chokes on her coffee. “A what?”
Ethan just smirks at her reaction, but the suggestion settles something inside me. A nursery. A real fucking nursery, and I’m suddenly lost to the image of a herd of children with her beautiful green eyes. I glance at Sophie, watching as she processes it all.
“You guys…I don’t—” She shakes her head, clearly overwhelmed. “This inn, it’s just—”
She bites her lip, and the hesitation in her voice makes my chest tighten.
“What is it, darling?” I ask gently.
She swallows, looking down at her mug like it might hold the answers.
“I just—Lily will need Ethan now, with the baby. And Brodie…you’ve got places to be, plans.
Tyler, you could do anything, be anything.
Why would you all tie yourselves to this?
To me? To a rundown inn in a nowhere town?
With a clueless Omega.” The last said in a whisper with her head down.
“No way am I good enough for all of you.”
Her words rip my heart out. How can she not see it? How can she look at herself—the woman who’s rebuilding this place with nothing but grit and sheer will, the woman who tamed three stubborn Alphas without even trying—and think she’s not enough? That she’s clueless?
My chest tightens, a fierce ache settling there as I watch her stare into her coffee like she’s waiting for us to agree with her. She doesn’t realize that she’s the reason we’re here.
That none of this—none of us—would make sense without her. It’s not the inn keeping us tied to this place. It’s her. And the fact that she still doesn’t believe that, even after everything, shatters something deep inside me.
The growl builds in my chest before I can stop it, a deep, primal sound that teeters on the edge of something more—something instinctual.
My bark sits heavy in my throat, the need to command her to understand, to make her feel how much she means to us, clawing at me.
My hands curl into fists against the table, my body rigid with the effort to hold it back. She flinches slightly, her eyes flicking up to mine, wide and uncertain, and I force myself to take a breath.
I will make her understand how fucking perfect she is, but not with dominance, not with instinct.
“Sophie, I will spend the rest of my life lying at your feet and treating you like the fucking miracle you are until you never, not even for a second, feel like you aren’t enough. And then, I’m going to go out and murder every motherfucker who ever made you feel like you weren’t worth it.”
She freezes, her breath catching. I see the way her throat works as she swallows hard, the way her pulse kicks up beneath the delicate skin there.
Then, slowly, she sets the mug down carefully, like she needs a second to gather herself. Her hands press into her lap, gripping the fabric of her sweater, grounding herself, but her gaze stays locked on mine—wide and glassy, something raw flickering behind the emerald depths.
For a long, charged moment, she just stares at me, and then, just as I start to wonder if I’ve said too much—if my Alpha scared her—she moves.
Not away.
Not in fear.
But straight into my arms.
With a broken little noise that shatters something in my chest, she throws herself into my lap, her hands fisting in my shirt, her face pressing into my throat as she breathes me in like she needs my scent to keep her upright.
And fuck—if I don’t feel the same damn way.
Tyler moves first, slipping his hand under her chin, tilting her face up toward his. His thumb brushes over her bottom lip before he leans in, scent-marking her with slow deliberation, making her shiver.
“Sophie, I don’t want anyone else. You are it for me.” His voice is steady, sure. “This place, this life? It’s everything.”
She sways slightly, her body instinctively reacting to the strength of his words.
I don’t hesitate. I cup the back of her neck, brushing my lips over her temple. “And me?” I murmur, voice low, rough. “Sweetheart, my life doesn’t work without you in it.”
Her breath catches, and she stares up at me, something flickering in her gaze—hope, relief, love, all tangled together.
Tyler grins, leaning back and stretching his arms behind his head. “So. When are we starting on that nest room?”
Sophie groans, dropping her face into her hands as we all laugh. But the sound is lighter now, full of something real.
Something permanent.