Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
It took hours and all the hot water in the house to scrub off the blood and slick and come.
Lilac was a good sport and assisted Puppy in washing her matted hair, his hands slick with copious amounts of conditioner while she muttered under her breath, little noises that did not quite shape themselves into words.
When Roman had explained the state she was in prior to his intervention, Sidian felt a familiar spike of fear in his gut.
Not for her; she was harmless enough, it seemed, content to allow herself to be washed, never so much as growling when Lilac had to tug at the knots in her hair.
It was fear of what Roman might have become if Sidian hadn’t been there to bring him out of it.
He allowed himself to be seated, letting Roman examine his hands to pick a few pieces of slivered glass from his skin, examining the bruises already beginning to mottle his flesh with a severe frown.
As gently as he could, Sidian sanitized and bandaged the bite marks Puppy had left in Roman’s flesh, then laid kisses over the rough, reddened skin of Roman’s throat until his alpha rumbled for him.
As soon as the two of them were cleaned and wrapped in stolen towels, Roman hunted through the house for their suitcases. He found them stored in a hall closet, and Sidian breathed a sigh of relief, diving into the layers and yanking a shirt out of Roman’s suitcase as well. He needed it.
The nape of his neck ached, a tingling sensation spreading through his limbs every time he felt a flicker of amusement or happiness from Roman’s side of the bond. Just like in real life, he was muted, but Sidian could feel him now, and that was all he cared about.
As soon as he was dressed, he left Roman to finish with his own clothes and danced upstairs to the nursery.
The once-locked door now stood open, and when he stepped into the room, he found Amey awake, gumming one of her hands and cooing up at the ceiling.
Lilac hadn’t been able to lull her back to sleep, but that was fine. She had to meet her daddy, after all.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Sidian dared to reach out to touch her, stroking his knuckle against her tiny round cheek. “You think you wanna get up for a little while?”
She babbled up at him, one of her feet giving a kick before she giggled.
Fuck, she was precious. He crooned as he lowered the side of the crib to retrieve her, the warm, solid weight of her in his arms like a dream come true.
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled, his heart thudding as he cuddled her close.
He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head as gently as possible, intent on making sure she smelled like him, that she knew his scent, that she would take comfort in it and come to him when she needed him.
Amethyst caught a lock of his hair in her small hand and held it, blinking up at him with wide, violet eyes the precise shade of his own. Oh, Roman would love that. He would fall in love with her at first sight; Sidian was sure of it. There had been nothing to worry about.
“I missed you.” He took her tiny hand in his and kissed her fingers, nuzzling into her tiny palm and chuckling when she made a soft oooh noise up at him.
“I’ve thought about you so much. About how big you’d gotten, about how far you’d come.
But it’s okay now, sweetheart. Momma’s here, and I’m never going to let you go.
I’m going to take good care of you. I promise. ”
He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her tiny nose, and Amey burst into giggles, the sound healing a hairline fracture deep in his soul that had been present since the moment he lost her.
Sidian wanted to take her to a nest, safe and secure, and just hold her until he forgot the rest of the world existed.
Instead, he took a deep breath and picked up the blanket from the rocking chair, wrapping her up in it since the sliding glass door was in pieces. He didn’t want her to catch a chill.
“We’re going to go see Daddy now,” he told her, and she hummed up at him, grabbing the collar of Roman’s shirt as Sidian carried her out into the hallway. “He’s been waiting a long time to get to see you, too, but don’t worry. He only looks big and scary. He’s so nice.”
He cradled Amethyst against his chest, holding onto her as tightly as he dared while he navigated the stairs, skirting the splinters still littering the landing.
Dax Kincaid’s cooling corpse remained where Roman had left it, and while the alpha had been terrifying in life, he seemed like nothing more than a deflated Halloween decoration, cheap and ineffective.
Sidian sniffed at the sight of him and hurried to the couch where Roman was still going through their bags.
He’d only reached the end of the couch when Roman looked up at him, then down at Amey.
She was so beautiful. She was tiny and porcelain perfect, but Lilac had reassured Sidian that she was in a healthy percentile for her age.
Just six months old; Roman would freak the fuck out as soon as he realized Sidian had gone into heat only a few months after giving birth, but he’d worry about that later.
The past was the past, and there was no changing it.
Roman knocked a throw pillow aside so Sidian could sit down next to him, turning until Amey’s wandering eyes landed on Roman.
She linked up at him a few times before babbling while Roman stared at her like she was a miracle come to life, one hand rising to touch her.
She pressed her tiny hand into his palm like it was what she wanted, and Sidian saw the brief sheen of tears in Roman’s eyes before he blinked them away.
“She’s beautiful,” he whispered, his voice wrecked as Amey patted her hand against his, babbling up at him. “Goddess, she has your eyes. She’s an omega, isn’t she? Her scent isn’t developed at all, but I can still tell.”
Sidian nodded, his throat tightening. “We’re going to protect her. The world sucks, and she’s too sweet to let it destroy her.”
“I’d burn it all down to keep her safe.” Roman seemed to marvel as Amey clasped one of his fingers in hers, and she looked up at Sidian like she expected him to do something about it.
When all he did was croon in response, her little face lit up.
“Can I hold her? I know you just got her back and it’ll only be for a moment, but… I just want to hold her.”
“Of course you can. She’s your daughter.” But just the same, it took a mighty effort to relinquish her when all Sidian wanted to do was cling to her, to the undeniable proof she was real and alive and in front of him. He had her back. It almost didn’t seem real.
He showed Roman how to hold her and then leaned back to give him space, his heart clenching at the sight of his mate cradling their daughter in his arms. She looked so small in his embrace but so comfortable, patting his arms as she gazed around the living room.
When a cool breeze filtered into the room and ruffled her hair, she perked up and patted Roman’s arm, babbling louder at him as if to tell him about the wind.
And the way he smiled at her, eyes glittering and crinkling at the corners… Goddess, he loved her. He loved her.
“Amethyst is the perfect name for her,” he said, stroking her dark hair before he laid a kiss on her tiny forehead.
“I promise you on my life that nothing will ever happen to her. And when our second child is born, I’ll swear the same.
No matter what, Sid, this is our family.
Ours. And I will do everything to take care of all three of you. ”
“I know you will,” Sidian reassured him, and Amey cooed in agreement.
For just a moment, it was nice to lean back against the couch and just be.
Roman gave Amethyst back to him, and Sidian sighed in relief, then cackled when his alpha dragged both of them into his lap, his arms bracketing them with strength and warmth.
Though he’d never wanted to be an omega, Sidian indulged his instincts and let his alpha cradle him and his daughter, secure in his mate’s embrace.
“Thank you for letting me know.” Captain Nightingale’s voice was clipped. “I’ll talk to the boss and figure out where she wants to go from here. We’ll need to investigate. How’s Puppy?”
Sidian glanced over to where she was sitting on the coffee table, her legs folded beneath her, chewing at one of her nails with a blank expression. Better than he would have been, that was for certain, though the fact she still hadn’t spoken did concern him.
Roman sighed into the phone. “She’s all right. I think she’s going to stay with us for a while.”
“That would be acceptable.” Nightingale paused. “And the omega? Extraction will take him in if he needs somewhere to go. We’ve handled far more omegas than just one.”
Lilac glanced up from where he was still packing Amey’s diaper bag. “Is that okay?”
“I think he would appreciate that. Place him somewhere where none of this can ever touch him if you can. He took care of my daughter. He deserves it.” Roman wasn’t looking at Lilac; he missed the soft blush as the omega dropped his head, bundling tiny socks together.
Sidian smiled and tickled Amey’s stomach, grinning when she giggled. “He did a good job, too.”
“Consider it done. Is there anything you need from us going forward?” Nightingale asked.
Roman rested his chin on Sidian’s shoulder, and Sidian rubbed their cheeks together without thinking.
It seemed the right thing to do, scenting his bonded mate.
“No. We’re going to go off grid for a while, I think.
We’ll let you know if we need anything, but I would appreciate if you would pass on a message to the captain for me.
I don’t know when I’ll next speak to him. ”
Nightingale paused. “What would you like me to tell him?”
“That I appreciate everything, but as I have a family to take care of, I’ll be retiring from the Vipers.
It was an honor, though.” Roman gave Sidian a gentle squeeze, not even wincing when Amethyst caught one of his damp curls and gave it a yank.
“We’ll take care of Puppy, you take care of Lilac, and I think we can call this even. ”
He cut the call off after, passing the phone back to Lilac, and kissed the side of Sidian’s head.
“Where are you going to go?” Lilac glanced between them, his expression troubled.
He was a sweet omega. Sidian rather liked him. “We’re just gonna go. It’s supposed to be a nice day out and we could all use some actual fresh air. When we figure out what we wanna do, we’ll do it. For now, I think we just want to be together for a little while.”
Puppy hummed in agreement, and Amey hummed back at her, eliciting a small, genuine smile.
Yeah. They would figure it out together.