Chapter 44
T he necklace I had ordered for Ava arrived this morning. I checked over each of the stones, a rainbow of color for each of our birthstones beginning with Ava, then the pack alphabetically, and then Lucy, with room to expand. It wasn’t the most practical, but then luxury had little to do with practicality.
It had only been a few months, but it felt like a lifetime, my existence clearly demarcated into Before Ava and After Ava.
She was the start of something new I hadn’t realized I had desperately needed.
Before Ava had been lonely and regimented, following a precise path that I had hoped would gain the approval I craved. After Ava was like when Dorothy stepped into Oz, the world suddenly awash with color you never knew you were missing.
Everything was different, and it would never be the same again. Finding my omega, joining my pack, and becoming a father had gone nothing like I had expected any of those steps to go, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Ava entered the kitchen with Lucy in her arms.
“I thought you two were napping?” I rose up from my seat to kiss my mate and gather our daughter into my arms. I kissed Lucy’s forehead. “Hello, my darling girl.”
“You’re way too cute with her. And to answer your question, I got antsy. I feel like all I’ve done since she was born is rest. Luke and Jesse are still asleep from Miss Lucy’s fussing last night. Where’s Micah?”
“Swimming laps. I have something for you.” I nudged the velvet box toward her.
“Bryce,” she whispered reverently when she’d opened the lid. “This is beautiful.”
“It has to be to sit around your neck. Any jewelry I put on you has some pretty stiff competition.”
I couldn’t help her put it on with an armful of baby, but I had chosen the clasp to be magnetic with a piece that flipped over for extra security so it was simple for Ava to manage on her own. The stones glimmered against her skin, but they were nothing compared to the smile she gave me.
“It’s perfect.” She tucked herself against my side. “Did you hear from your dad about the birth announcement?”
“There’s something from him in the stack of mail, but I haven’t been brave enough to open it.”
Ava peered up at me. “Do you want me to read it first?”
“I can; I just haven’t worked myself up to doing it. I don’t want you to read anything upsetting.”
“I’m a big girl, Bryce. I can handle your dad being a dick if it means sparing you. I know how much harder it is coming from your own parent.”
“If you really want to read it, you can.” I located the envelope and passed it over to Ava. “Have you heard from your mother and brother?”
“Mom wants to come visit, but I’m going to schedule that with Nathan so he can keep her on a short leash if she’s going to make herself a problem. At least Andrew is waiting for his trial without bail possibilities so she can’t surprise me with him again.”
“Do you want her to be part of Lucy’s life?”
Ava shrugged and sat down on the couch with the envelope. “It’s a weird thought process since I’d already accepted she wasn’t going to be when I decided to move to New York originally. At best I’d have seen her a couple of times a year. We’re physically closer now that I live in Vegas, but I can’t imagine she’ll make that drive very often, or take a flight. I’m willing to give her a chance to prove she deserves to be in her granddaughter’s life.”
“That’s generous of you.”
“My generosity has limits. I’ll protect myself and Lucy if I need to, and there won’t be second chances when it comes to my baby. I made that clear when she called me.” Ava carefully ripped open the envelope and pulled out the papers, her eyebrows scrunching together as she read.
“He’s…opened a trust for Lucy?”
“He did?” I sat down next to her to read over everything. Sure enough, my father had created a five-million-dollar trust fund for my daughter, the first million to be accessed when she turned eighteen to cover whatever school and travel she wanted to pursue, and the rest at whichever milestone came first: her twenty-fifth birthday, her becoming a parent, or forming a pack.
I could see what this was: a first step. My father didn’t know how to reach out on an emotional level, but financially? That was where he shone. I didn’t have to talk to him because of this, but I was going to anyway. Maybe he really did want to make amends. He certainly had plenty to apologize for, and I wouldn’t allow him into my pack’s life without a sincere one alongside actions proving he meant it.
“Is this a sweet thing or a manipulation thing?” Ava asked.
“Hard to say. Could be both. I can’t claim I’ve ever fully understood what’s going on in my father’s head.” I smoothed a hand over Lucy’s tiny head. “You don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to. We can set up our own trust for her.”
Ava sighed softly. “If I’m giving my mom another chance, it’s only fair we give your dad one, too.”
“If he’s out of line, I’ll remove him immediately,” I promised.
“I know you will.” She kissed my cheek. “You’re protective of us, even when it hurts.”
That was certainly an accurate way of putting it. “Of course I am. I’m never going to let anyone or anything come for my girls.”
It felt surreal to say it. My girls. Ava and Lucy were mine, ours , and I still couldn’t fathom how I’d gotten so damn lucky for that to be my truth.
“Mom,” I said with a laugh. “You’re making enough to feed an army.”
She and my aunties hadn’t pushed to move in to help like they’d done for one another since Ava had a pack to meet her needs, but she had been particularly insistent about providing meals. Between my family and Micah’s, we were stocked up. Mary and her squad had made sure our freezers were loaded, and my mom had warmed Ava up to the idea of coming three evenings a week to make us dinner.
“Your mate needs extra calories to feed our grandbaby,” replied Mom while she shoved the remnants of some roasted chickens under the water to make a batch of homemade broth for her caldo de pollo. The actual meat was being put toward enchiladas. I hadn’t lived with my mom for years at this point, but I was getting some serious nostalgia, having my kitchen smell like home. “Come help me, mijo.”
I helped my mom slice bell peppers—in lieu of chilis while Ava was breastfeeding since Lucy was not a fan—and onions for the enchiladas.
Ava wandered into the kitchen in her nightgown, Lucy at her breast, her sense of modesty abandoned since the birth. “It already smells so good in here.”
“Hey, sweetness.” I leaned down to accept her kiss before she took a seat with the baby.
“How are you feeling, mija?” Mom asked.
“Healing up,” Ava replied.
“Is the baby still cluster feeding?”
“Yep. This has been my whole day.”
“My Jesse was the same. My sisters were living with me so I didn’t need to get anything done, but I wouldn’t have been able to if I had been on my own. Where are the rest of your alphas? They follow you around like little ducklings.”
“I sent them on a mission to find me some different flavors of ice cream I know they don’t sell at the same store.”
Mom laughed. “They are very dedicated to you and the baby, but space is good. Lucy will feel just as loved in your arms as if they are all hovering.”
“It’s so sweet, and I love them so much, but we don’t all need to be cooped up. They haven’t left my side since we met, and haven’t left the house since Lucy came home. Everyone’s been bringing us everything we could need.”
Ava was right that we had all been sticking a little closer to home than usual. None of us wanted to be out of earshot if either her or Lucy needed us. I could see how that might feel a bit smothering even if Ava never expressed that. Even though both babies and omegas thrived on physical contact, at a certain point even the neediest omega could get overwhelmed.
I would’ve told her she could just tell us to leave her be, but alphas went through a hormonal shift with new babies almost as much as omegas did—an evolutionary design that usually kept the baby in someone’s arms at all times to encourage bonding. I managed an hour or two when my mother came to visit, but beyond that I was always at Ava’s side. The ice cream was a genius idea, tricking their primal brains into providing for their omega and letting everyone get some breathing space.
“Do you want me to hold Lucy between feeds so you can have a break being touched?”
“I will take that ten-minute break,” Ava said with a laugh.
I took Lucy from Ava and nuzzled her plump cheek with mine.
Ava sat at the island, sipping some tea my mother made her. “This is delish, Mama Sol.”
“I’m glad you like it, mija. Is our little one still doing well with the refried beans or should I leave them out of your portion?”
“She was totally fine last time.”
Mom was bound and determined to get Lucy loving her cooking even though she couldn’t taste it herself directly. I didn’t dissuade her, and neither did Ava. Watching my mate get along so well with my mother and loving the food I’d grown up on was soothing in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I loved my family and was grateful Ava was so open to letting my mother be part of her life.
Lucy stared up at me with her big blue eyes. Would they stay that color or turn hazel like Ava’s and mine? I couldn’t for the life of me remember what color eyes Andrew had, and I wasn’t going to ask.
“How is the other one finding living in town here?” Mom asked.
“Charlotte?” Ava asked.
Mom nodded.
“It’s a really different energy from New York City, but she seems to be settling in all right.”
Charlotte and her boys moved into a two-bedroom apartment while she was going through her divorce proceedings. She’d gone back to New York briefly to arrange a few things, but had decided that Vegas was as good a place as any to settle for the foreseeable future. They had come to visit twice since moving out two weeks ago. It was a bit of a strange situation, all things considered, but her boys were taken with us, and she and Ava were finding a sweet friendship, so I didn’t mind one bit. Our family was unconventional, and Andrew had already given us two beautiful additions by getting Ava to Vegas so we could find her. Why should I be bothered by three more?
Lucy fussed after barely twenty minutes in my arms and Ava sighed, smiling softly. “Come on, little lady. Time for another snack.”
I kissed her temple and breathed in her creamy praline scent before returning to help my mother spread the sauce and cheese across the enchiladas before getting them all into the oven. It took a lot to feed all of us and Mom was delighted every time we emptied out a dish.
The others returned, victorious, with the ice creams Ava had requested as we were pulling dinner from the oven. Her face lit up as each one claimed a triumphant kiss before depositing their bounty in the freezer. All three crowded around her, snuggling in and getting a fresh hit of her omega scent. It was so fucking cute to watch I could hardly cope, so I didn’t, joining them to get more of her for myself.
A few months ago I never could have predicted the direction my life would take, but as my pack and I showered adoration on our omega and our daughter, I couldn’t have been happier that fate derailed everything I thought I’d wanted and instead gave me everything it knew I needed.