Chapter 32 Jack
Jack
Dinner in this house had never been so awkward. Mom looked like she wanted to intervene, but she stood strong.
She always made it clear that they’d have to clean up their own messes, and this was definitely their mess.
They may be home, but it was just a reminder of all the time they weren’t.
I think the thing that bothered me most about all of this was that if they didn’t want to be a pack, why did they form one? They could have simply kept to themselves and built their empire.
Mom chose them knowing what they were like. She stayed with them, but we didn’t choose that. What kid would choose to have fathers they barely knew.
My gaze drifted over each person at the table. Cole’s eyes were practically dead, staring at nothing, holding shadows that only I really understood. He looked about two seconds away from starting a fight.
If it wasn’t for Aspen sitting between us, a hand in each of our laps, I might’ve lost my damn mind.
My eyes skimmed over my fathers next. Hayes was sitting there, his thick jaw clenching and running a hand through his dark hair that matched Cole’s.
Ellis had changed, but his blonde hair still hung around his shoulders. His eyes darted from one of us to the next, clearly uncomfortable and likely guilty, because he didn’t get to just pretend that none of this mattered. That our pain didn’t matter.
Their absence had always fucking mattered. Something we’d made clear more than once.
Then there was Julian. His hair that matched mine and he wore an expression equally as uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat and looked ready to run.
I’m not sure what they thought they’d find when they came home, but we were no longer boys who had stars in our eyes and thought they hung the moon. We were angry and done with their bullshit excuses.
All we ever wanted was our fathers.
Hayes was grinding his jaw and glaring at his food. I hated how unapologetic he was. There was no accountability for his effect on our lives. None.
“Why are you really here?” I finally burst out. My breath came out in a harsh growl, one that had them immediately sitting up as if they were ready to face off with me.
They shouldn’t tempt me right now.
“We told you—” Ellis tried to start talking, his voice almost frantic for me to believe him. Too bad I didn’t.
“Bullshit,” Cole cut in, his hand slamming down on the table, making half the table flinch. Karina started to open her mouth, but he shut her up with a single harsh look. “No. I’d like to hear from them, Mom. You’re the one who’s been around. They haven’t.”
“Neither have you,” Hayes said in a plain tone. Always putting on a fucking show of being unbothered.
“Really?” I growled. “You’re going to say that to him? He didn’t even have a pack, and you know what he did the moment he found one? He found a way to be here, to fucking stay. There’s no excuse for the way you disappeared and were never around for us.”
Hayes continued grinding his jaw, but Julian finally cleared his throat to speak.
“You may as well be honest with them,” he said, looking at his packmate before looking back at me, his expression softening slightly. He found nothing but anger in mine.
Hayes waved a hand as if to tell him to go on.
“As we know, this estate has been in the family for generations.” Julian turned to Aspen and North specifically. “The Hawthorne line. That comes with a few stipulations in the deed.”
When no one said a word, he continued.
“When this house is passed down from parents to children, it’s not your typical first born heir. There’s something in the estate’s deed called the Omega Clause. A child may not inherit the estate unless they have found their omega.”
“So, if something happened to all of you, we would have been homeless until we found an omega?” It sounded so fucking ridiculous and archaic.
He shrugged. “As old-fashioned as that is, yes. The clause specifically states that the estate will go to designated caretakers and be uninhabited, until a Hawthorne bloodline can take it over again. A strong Hawthorne pack that consists of at least one alpha and one omega, specifically.”
“That’s ridiculous. Are you even a pack or was it all for the clause?” Cole asked, looking at my mom. There was accusation in his eyes.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I love them, Cole. I’m sorry everything turned out the way it did and affected you so much.”
“We should have done better,” Ellis agreed in a weak tone. Hayes said nothing as usual and Julian just offered a gentle smile that felt forced.
“This is so fucked up,” Aspen said. There was disgust in her tone that she did not bother to hide. That had Hayes’s eyes narrowing.
I let out a soft growl, just daring him to say something negative to my omega. He could fucking try it.
“Watch what you say to her,” I warned him, knowing this man too well despite him knowing nothing about me.
Karina let out a shuddering breath as if this physically pained her.
I had no sympathy left. She was our mother and could have done something to fix it over the years, but she failed to protect us.
The tension rose by the second, a silent standoff as the alphas glared at each other.
Ellis wasn’t sure what to say now. He was flustered, and I could feel my mother biting back her words. They thought what they were doing was right, and I wanted to scream.
“So, that’s it? You’re handing over the estate to us now that we have our omega and leaving?”
“There’s a bonding rule,” Hayes pointed out but his eyes flickered to the fresh marks. “Though, that seems to be covered. But yes, we’ll move out of our wing and establish one of the guest wings as our home base. Karina will finally be able to travel with us.”
Finally. As if we were the cause of her staying behind all this time.
My gaze snapped to her. “Really, Mom? After all this time, you’re just going to leave with them?
What happened to being so happy Cole was home?
To spending time getting to know Aspen? Don’t think I haven't heard you crying at night after hanging up the phone. I’ve been here all this time,” I said, jabbing a finger at my chest to prove it.
“I stayed in this town, tried to take care of you the best I could because they couldn’t fucking be bothered to.
And you’re just going to leave with them? ”
For the first time in her life, my mother was speechless.
Julian’s eyes were now locked on her. “Karina, is this true?”
She looked almost angry that we’d given her secrets away. “Some nights were difficult. But I knew what I was signing up for.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh, seeing right through what she was doing, but I didn’t bother to argue any further.
This was pointless.
“You chose to have not one, but two children, ignored them all this time, and now you want to leave, too?”
“We are going to travel for a bit while your pack settles in here. We’ve had our turn and now it’s time for you to take over,” she said, a watery smile on her face. “I hate the idea of leaving, but it’s only temporary. This is what we all need.”
It was silent as she finished, only her sniffles filling the quiet.
“You told me once,” Cole said, his voice rough now.
“That no one else had to understand your pack and your choices. But unfortunately, your choices had consequences. Now we have fathers who know nothing about us and made us feel like they didn’t care.
I like the idea of having a place of our own, but I didn’t want it like this. ”
“What other choice do we have, son?” Karina pointed out. “If I’m still living here, then it’s still my place, not yours. You would be simply sharing it with me and would never get to truly make it feel like your home.”
I fucking hated that she was trying to make sense now.
“Our lawyers already began the change of ownership. No one is going to force you to take this place over, but look at what we’re giving you,” Hayes said, putting a folder on the table and tapping it in that pretentious way of his. “Sign it when you’re ready and we’ll get the ball rolling.”
Just like that, they were walking away. What a fucking reunion. If we did take this estate over I was changing the fucking deed. We had enough money and contacts to make it happen.
He stood, clearing his throat. “Thank you for dinner, sweetheart, but I think I’ve had enough.” He gave us one last look before he walked away.
“How could you?” was all I said, before standing up and holding my hand out for both of my omegas. They didn’t hesitate to put their hands in mine before we turned around.
“Wait,” Julian pleaded, but it was Ellis that stood, rushing over so he was standing in front of me. I was tall enough now that I had to look down at him.
“What?” I demanded. “What could you possibly say to fix this?”
“I’m sorry,” he said with a sigh. “I never wanted to stay away as much as we did. We let our need to prove our worth and build our finances keep us away from you. I think we, at some point, convinced ourselves that you didn’t need us.
And I’m sorry for that, son. To both of you,” he said pointedly, looking back at Cole.
“Then maybe it’s time you stopped running away and started fixing things instead,” Aspen said, raising her eyebrows.
“Take it from a kid that grew up without parents who cared. It takes its toll. You’ve done damage, and now your job as parents, even though your children are grown, is to show them that you care enough to fix it. ”
She turned and let us guide her away before stopping. “Karina, I’ve enjoyed my time here during the holidays. I hate that it’s ending on this note, and I truly hope you all consider your children for once.”
With that, we left them.
We tried to watch a Christmas movie to distract ourselves, but my mind was latching onto the one thing that could distract me from this entire encounter, and that was the festival.
The Christmas Extravaganza was only two days away, and as much as I liked time at home, I just wanted to make sure that it went off without a hitch.