Chapter 16
I had been cursing my stubbornness from the moment it stopped me from going to New York with them. Being alone in the apartment, knowing no one was coming home, was a mind trip I hated more with each passing hour. When I was still young and at home with my mother, the alone time was a blessing, but now it felt weird. Wrong .
The first day I had cleaned the apartment top to bottom, scrubbing nooks and crannies I was pretty sure hadn’t seen the light of day since the place was built.
The second day I picked up some essentials for Ava and the baby: a pregnancy pillow, a humidifier at the insistence of one of the staff members, some slippers, and some cozy house gowns. The crib was ungodly expensive and a bitch and a half to put together by myself, but it looked great when it was done. It was weird to think it would be occupied in a few short months. I packed all the things I had gotten for Ava into the crib to await her return.
On the third day I took a gamble.
“This has everything you’re looking for,” said the perky realtor. “Full omega suite with attached bath and kitchenette, bedrooms for every pack member, plus an extra for the nursery. The kitchen has been upgraded recently, the pool is heated for year-round use, and they just put in the fence for the yard. What do you think?”
“It looks incredible.”
If I wanted Ava to stay, she needed somewhere she could call her own that wasn’t Jesse’s room. I’d been looking at places all day and made sure everything was big enough to fit all of us and was within the pack’s budget. I had no idea what the hell Bryce made so I estimated based on what the rest of us brought in. Ava would be off work as long as she wanted so I didn’t worry about anything she might eventually make. I still didn’t love the idea of Bryce, but my whole pack leaving Vegas to go with him to New York had hammered in painfully hard that if I didn’t accept him, I was looking at the very real possibility of our pack cleaving. Ava wouldn’t choose me over a bondmate, no matter what our history might be.
Whatever differences Bryce and I had, we could work on them later. For now I needed to make the gesture, to show Ava that I could get over myself.
I couldn’t lose her now that I had found her again.
If I had to suffer Bryce to keep her, I would do it.
“Do you like it enough to put in an offer?”
“I can’t do that without talking to the pack. Could you let them know I’m interested and make an appointment for us to view it tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” The realtor grinned. “I’ll contact them right now. Time preference?”
“Afternoon.” The time difference between Vegas and New York was negligible, so I wasn’t worried about jet lag, but they would probably be tired from the travel and appreciate a decent rest before I brought up my suggestion.
I’d been expecting all of them to be gone for a full week, but then Jesse had messaged me to say they were coming home tomorrow morning. At first I wondered if they were bailing on Bryce, but I had no such luck on that. I wasn’t privy to whatever had happened, but I knew something went down if Bryce was coming back to Vegas in the middle of a work week.
I slept like shit that night in the oppressive quiet. It was strange how empty the apartment could feel even though on the other side of the walls were more people in the rest of the building.
Waking bright and early didn’t put me in the best mood for the day, but I compensated with a double espresso before driving to the airport to collect everyone. Arrivals wasn’t that busy, but I still navigated close to the doors so I wouldn’t miss them.
Ava came through, flanked closely by Jesse and Bryce, Micah trailing after them, all four looking half-awake. I braced myself for the moment Ava noticed me, expecting derision for how I had behaved. Instead, her expression brightened and she waved to me. I took it as an invitation and wrapped her up in my arms. The universe put itself to rights again now that I held her.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you at the airport.” Ava nuzzled her face against my chest.
“No sense taking a taxi when I’m right here. I’m sorry I didn’t come to New York.” Sharpness seared through me, Ava’s fingers pinching my nipple hard enough to make me yelp.
“You should be sorry, you jerk. Don’t do that again.”
I cupped a hand protectively against my chest, bursting into laughter. “You haven’t done that to me in about fifteen years.”
“I never thought I would need the skill as an adult.”
I extended a hand to Bryce, an olive branch handshake. He stared at it for a moment before putting his hand in mine.
“I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole. Ava deserves a whole pack.”
Bryce was hesitant, and I didn’t blame him. “I agree.”
“Do you all want to rest for a while?” I asked.
“I could use a nap.” Ava leaned heavily against Jesse. “Planes are exhausting.”
“Your wish is my command.”
I took Ava with me to the vehicle while the others waited for their baggage. “How was your flight?”
“Pretty decent in business class. I like having room to stretch out.”
“And how was New York?”
“Not what I expected,” she replied. “I had fun with everyone, but it wasn’t really my vibe.”
Relief washed over me. If she didn’t like the city, that was a mark in my favor. “Did something happen?”
Ava quirked her head, watching me carefully. “Bryce quit his job. He’s going to be staying in Vegas with us.”
That wasn’t what I had expected at all, though I shouldn’t have been surprised, given that they were flying today. That left Jesse as the only steadily employed one of us. Hopefully that didn’t fuck up our housing opportunities too badly.
“I really am sorry,” I said, leaning in her open window while she sat and I waited for the others. “I know saying it doesn’t mean much, but I got some fresh perspective while you were all away.”
“Good.” She tugged me in by the collar of my shirt and kissed my cheek. “I’d hate to have to purple nurple you into submission.”
I chuckled. “Someone got more confident and bratty on this trip.”
Her eyes gleamed. “I got spoiled.”
“That’s what you always deserved.”
The others rolled up with a frankly ridiculous amount of luggage.
“Jesus, did you pack up your whole apartment in suitcases?”
Bryce shrugged. “Pretty much.”
“You all take a seat. I’ll load us up.”
Everyone looked at me like they didn’t quite trust my motivations, but if I was going to prove to them I had turned over a new leaf, I need to start acting like it. I loaded up Bryce’s bags first, not even throwing them a little. I stacked all the others on top of them and once they were secured, I took my spot in the driver seat.
I listened to them chat the whole way home, discomfort over their ease with one another turning my stomach. I had missed out on so much.
My fucking fault.
“Where is Bryce going to be staying in the apartment?” I asked.
“With Ava and me,” replied Jesse.
I was never going to get time with her if those two needed an omega wedged between them.
When we arrived at the apartment, we took all of the bags up as a unit.
Jesse froze in the doorway. “Damn, did you hire a cleaner while we were gone?”
“I had a lot of time on my hands.”
Ava was in next, parking herself gratefully on the couch. It only took her a few seconds to notice the crib full of things set off to the side in the living room. “Luke, is that…”
“I wanted to be prepared. I know there’s a lot more you’ll need, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start.”
Her eyes instantly filled with tears and she reached her arms out to me. “Help me up.”
I took both her hands, pulling her back up to standing, and she tucked herself against my chest.
“Thank you. I’ve been holding off on ordering because I had nowhere to put anything.”
“Order anything you want. I’ll bunk in with Micah if I need to and the baby can have my room.”
Ava let out a loud sniffle and burst into tears against me.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
“It’s the pregnancy hormones!” she wailed.
I cradled her in my arms, stroking her hair. If everything went well, I wouldn’t have to be sharing a room with Micah, but I wanted it made clear that even if we didn’t leave this apartment we would make it work.
We got Ava settled in to rest, Bryce going to lie with her. I was only a tiny bit bitter that it wasn’t me instead. Micah and Jesse cornered me.
“What’s going on?” Micah asked.
“I’m trying.”
“You got scared shitless when we left, didn’t you?” Micah said.
“Yep.” No point in hiding it.
“We need to figure out where to live,” said Jesse. “We’re going to be on top of each other if we have a baby in this apartment and Bryce’s place is not remotely set up for an omega or a kid.”
“We still have to get everything from Ava’s old apartment too,” added Micah. “Her lease is up at the end of the month.”
“I can fly out and handle it if she gives me authorization,” I replied. “Hire a moving company to pack and transport.”
“And put her stuff where?” Micah asked.
I pulled up the real estate listing on my phone and turned it. “Maybe here.”
The two of them glanced from the phone to me and back again.
“I’m going to need more context,” Jesse told me.
“We have an appointment to view it later today. It has space for everyone and the previous owners have already moved out so it’s a quick possession.”
“Pretty bold planning for a future you didn’t want to be part of,” Jesse commented.
“How am I going to prove to Ava I’m serious if I don’t? I’ve accepted Bryce isn’t going anywhere, and I’m not losing the rest of you because of that. We can both be there for Ava without me liking him.”
“He’s a pretty cool guy,” said Micah. “If you could pull your head out of your ass for two seconds, I think you would like him too.”
“I’m only worried about Ava right now. We need to get her someplace comfortable so she knows she has somewhere to nest and get through the first year with the baby. That’s my priority. Everything else we can figure out later.”
Micah shrugged. “Fair enough.”
I hung out awkwardly while the two of them managed their laundry from the trip, showered, and ate. Once Ava woke, I made sure she got at least a sandwich into her, and I even made one for Bryce to continue my peace offering, though he looked at it suspiciously before starting to eat.
“Ready to head out?”
“Where are we going?” Ava asked.
“It’s a surprise. I want to get your opinion on it.”
She asked me a couple more times on the drive over, but I kept my lips pressed tight. Confusion painted her features when we stopped in front of the potential pack house.
“Thoughts on the outside?”
The front yard was landscaped with a red stone, a handful of drought-tolerant plants and cacti adding pop of green.
“Very quintessential desert house.”
“Want to see inside?”
“I don’t think people like it when you go inside.” She tilted her head, trying to figure out what I was asking.
“It’s for sale,” I said, pointing out the sign further up the yard.
Ava stared at me for a long moment. “Are you trying to buy me a house?”
“Only if you and the others like it. I mean, I can’t afford to buy it myself, but I figured out what would be a decent price range for us to afford. I’ll live by myself if I have to, but you need a safe home, especially before the baby gets here. Tell me to fuck off if you hate the idea.”
“I don’t hate it,” she assured me. “I’m just surprised you’d want to.”
I scooped up her hand. “I want to do anything that will make you happy.”
Her face softened. “Okay. Let’s go inside and see if this is our new home.”