Chapter 25 After Dinner
After Dinner
Knox
The sink’s already full when I roll up my sleeves. Greasy plates are stacked haphazardly, forks tangled together like they’ve gone to war. Alex hands me the sponge without a word, as the water grows hot, steam curling up into my face.
On the other side of the house, I can hear Dakota’s low voice, softer than usual, edged with that sly sweetness he pulls out when he’s trying to make someone laugh. Skyla answers with words I can’t catch, but from the rise of her tone, it’s light. Maybe even happy.
The sound of them chatting while she takes her bath knots something in my chest. Our sweet girl has survived hell. She’s been marked over and over and over again by a violent, unhinged alpha. But she’s safe now, and I’ll burn the fucking world down before I let anyone hurt her again.
Alex snorts as I finish cleaning a plate then hand it to him. “Jesus, Knox. You scrape at dishes like you’re trying to skin them alive.”
“Gotta make sure they’re clean.” I grin sideways at him, suds dripping off my knuckles. “You want food poisoning?”
He dips his fingers into the stream running from the faucet, then flicks a bead of water at me. “I don’t want to do dishes at all. It’s Dakota’s turn.”
I chuckle, low and easy, letting it roll out. “First of all, Dakota can’t be trusted near wet glass. Last time, he broke two plates. And second, he’s in charge of Skyla now. He’s got a lot of chores after dinner.”
“Fair.” Alex shrugs, drying the plate with exaggerated care, like he’s showing off.
We fall into an easy rhythm—scrub, rinse, wipe, dry—working our way through the pile of dishes.
After a few minutes, Alex starts humming to himself, swaying as he works, but my mind drifts.
I can’t stop replaying Skyla’s doctor’s appointment.
How fragile our little omega looked in Dakota’s oversized clothes, swallowed up by the fabric.
And how scared she seemed—and apparently it was for a good reason.
The second Dr. Mara pulled me into the hallway, she launched into a long speech about Skyla’s hormones being out of balance.
The fingerstick showed that the omega’s hormones were dangerously low, indicating that her last heat hadn’t been in months, and it didn’t seem it was going to happen any time soon.
The doctor conveyed how concerning that was, but it was Skyla’s rejected status that really scared her.
“Her mental bond with her old pack is already severed,” the doctor said.
“It’s only a matter of time before the fallout hits her full force.
” She stared me dead in the eyes, making sure I understood.
“For omegas, their mental bonds are a lifeline. They anchor them, regulate hormones, emotions, everything. Skyla got used to her pack being in her head, and now she’s all alone.
Omegas like that are at high risk for illness, death, or even—”
A soapy dish slips from my fingers, clattering loudly against the soaking pan beneath it.
“Break all the dishes you want.” Alex shoots me a playful glare. “But if I’m still stuck on dish duty, so are you.”
I try to grin back, but the thought of Skyla maybe wanting to hurt herself sits too damn heavy in my chest to play along.
“Hey.” Tadeo strides into the kitchen, and I seize the distraction, turning to look at him.
His rolled-up sleeves and loose, crooked tie make the alpha look like he stepped straight out of some brooding romance drama. He’s all dark hair, smolder, and has the faintest scowl.
“Everything good?” I ask as he shoves his phone into his pocket.
Tadeo exhales sharply through his nose, rolling his eyes as he tugs his tie even looser.
“Yeah. My boss wanted to verify some numbers.” He shakes his head.
“A veces me mata, carajo.” His accent slips thicker when he’s annoyed, Spanish curling through the words like smoke.
“Sometimes it’s like I’m the only one who knows how to add in that place. ”
“Sorry,” I say, stacking another plate for Alex to dry.
“Where are Dakota and Skyla?” Tadeo asks, glancing past us at the kitchen table.
“Sky’s taking a bath,” Alex says as he drops the towel on the counter, clearly looking for any excuse to abandon the dishes altogether.
My eyes cut to the towel, then to him.
Alex huffs, but he snatches it back up and dries the next plate like it personally wronged him.
“Do you need cash to take Skyla shopping?” Tadeo leans his hip against the counter, arms crossing over his chest. “I’ve got some money stashed in my room.
It’s not much. It’s a little emergency fund.
I know we poured through our savings…” He trails off, not saying out loud that I dropped every penny we had to win Skyla.
“Nah.” I shake my head, rinsing off the last plate. “I’ve got some squirreled away, too.”
Alex nearly drops the glass in his hands. “Wait—what? You guys are hiding secret money? Where?” His voice lifts in disbelief.
Tadeo smirks. “It wouldn't be a secret if we told you.”
Alex gapes between us. “Unbelievable. I thought we shared everything.” He tsks, his words far too exaggerated to be really offended.
I chuckle, stacking the plate onto the drying rack. “Don’t get too excited. I don’t have enough to take Sky to some fancy boutique. But it’s more than enough for the basics and some nesting materials.”
Tadeo’s sharp features soften at that, and for a moment his eyes flicker toward the hall—toward her. “I have a feeling she’d be happy sleeping on the hardwood floor,” he says as he wrenches off his tie.
I get what he’s saying.
There’s something about Sky that screams “damaged”, like she’s always trying to make herself smaller than she is. I can’t help but think her old pack didn’t want to see or think about her unless they were fucking her.
And maybe I’m making assumptions. But no one rejects something that precious unless they’re completely unhinged.
And I’ll make damn sure she never goes through that again.
“Hey.” I shut off the faucet, shaking out my hands. No sense putting this off. “I want to talk to you both.”
And immediately, my packmates stiffen, every bit of their focus snapping to me.
I take a breath, then let the words barrel out of me.
“The doc recommended that I mark Skyla soon. She said it’d be dangerous to wait for Sky’s next heat, since there’s no telling when that might come.
Given the fact that she’s newly rejected, we have to consider that she’s very susceptible to depression and distress.
But a fresh mental bond would stabilize her and give her something solid to hold on to again. ”
Tadeo drags his teeth over his bottom lip, tie hanging loose against his chest. His brow furrows deep. “Isn’t marking an omega outside of their heat...horrible?” He grimaces like that’s not quite the right word.
“Yeah,” I say flatly, the truth grinding against my ribs. “And I’m not sure what to do about it.”
“You gotta do it,” Alex says. “Right?” He looks at Tadeo, then back at me.
“I’m planning on it,” I say, voice low but firm. “But I’m not doing it without talking to Sky first.”
That makes Alex’s brows snap upward. “Wait—you’re gonna ask her before you mark her?”
“I’m not asking her if I can mark her.” I dry my palms against my jeans, jaw tight. “I want her to be prepared. She’s already been bitten so many times. I feel like it could really traumatize her if I do it without any warning.”
Tadeo shakes his head. “I think that’s a bad idea,” he says simply. “Telling her will give her time to panic about it. No omega wants to be marked outside of their heat.”
I breathe out slowly, nodding once, teeth grinding together. He’s right. Damn it, he’s right. It might be better to do it quick and clean, before she has time to get scared.
A soft murmur of Skyla’s laughter drifts down the hall again, and I draw in a slow breath, steadying myself with the sound.
“Another thing,” I say. “I’d like her to be bonded with the whole pack before I mark her,” I finally say. “So I was thinking, tonight, the two of you should join us in the bedroom.”
Tadeo goes absolutely still. His broad shoulders lock up, tie hanging limp in one hand, and for the first time since he walked in, he doesn’t look like he knows what to do with himself. But the burning intensity in his eyes completely gives him away.
He wants this.
He wants her.
Alex lets out a low whistle, blinking between us. “Tonight? Are you sure?” His brow furrows. “Isn’t that a little fast? Going from you to all of us?”
“If this was about moving fast because one of us got impatient, I’d wait,” I tell him. “But it’s not about us. It’s about her and her health.”
“Is the doctor that worried?” The corners of Alex’s mouth pull down.
“Yes.” I push through the tightness in my chest. “Skyla has lost her pack bonds. She’s been living in silence where there should be voices.
That’s gotta be so isolating for her. And every day without a bond chips away at her, making her weaker.
Losing a mate can kill an omega, and being rejected makes it that much more painful.
” I push a long breath out, sure in my decision. “It would be cruel to drag that out.”
Alex’s frown eases, his eyes going softer.
Tadeo’s jaw is still locked, but I catch the way his throat works, like he’s swallowing hard.
While he’s young and still struggling with all kinds of urges, I know him too well—he’s more controlled than any other alpha I’ve ever met of his age.
He’s strong and tender, and I know for a fact he’d never hurt Skyla.
“She needs to feel all of us,” I go on, quieter now.
“She needs to know she’s safe, claimed, and surrounded by love and affection from her whole pack.
If we wait too long, that hole inside her will only get deeper.
” I shake my head, breathing out. “So no, I don’t think it’s too soon.
I think this is what’ll keep her alive.”
“How…” Tadeo clears his throat roughly. “How do we do this?”
“Has it been so long, you’ve already forgotten how to fuck a woman?” Alex immediately jumps in with a joke, clearly too uncomfortable with the weight of the conversation.
“Shut up,” Tadeo snaps at the red-haired alpha, before turning back to me. “With Dakota, we all went slow. Each of us was with him one by one before inviting him to be with all of us at the same time. Alex and I don’t know her body. What she likes, doesn’t like. How fast, slow, hard or soft.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “Don’t touch her until I give you permission. Then go slow. Skyla is fragile—but she’s strong too. And she’s ours. We need to show her that.” I nod firmly, like I’ve never been more confident in my life, but my chest feels like it’s caving in.
Because the truth is, I’m praying to every damn deity there might be, that this isn’t the wrong call—that showing her all of us at once won’t traumatize her.
The last thing I want is to carve scars deeper than the ones she’s already carrying.