CHAPTER 29
AMOS
Every time I think of that moment, my heart sinks lower. The way she sighed. The way she looked at all of us with pity and regret glimmering in her eyes.
We broke something precious, and we’ll never get that back. No matter how much we beg and plead, we’ll never get back what we threw away so carelessly.
Today, she’s being discharged from the hospital. Her little surprise is waiting for her when she gets home to her nest.
I know she won’t like it. Nothing about this will be anything that Windy will like. But it’s necessary. It’s crucial to her safety that she is protected at all times.
“This is what you need to do when you get home. You still have some pepper spray in your system, and the antihistamine can only do so much, so please watch out for any flare-ups. If you do, please go see your doctor. Or, if it’s an emergency, please come back right here,” the nurse instructs, her tone measured as she explains things to Windy.
I can’t help but let my eyes trail over her body.
So plump. So perfect. So pregnant.
I didn’t think a pregnant omega would do it for me, but maybe I have a new weakness: Windy, carrying our baby.
I inconspicuously adjust myself, spying Finian and Wolf glare at me from behind Windy. Narrowing my eyes at them, I mime slicing their throat. Each develops a devilish smile in turn, making me smile myself.
Today, we’re getting what we want.
Well, partially what we want.
“Darling,” Michela calls in a sing-song voice as she breezes into the hospital room.
She has that soft, steady presence she carries with her.
Windy lights up the second she sees her mother.
It’s like watching a spark catch. Her whole face brightens, her shoulders lift, and she reaches for her mother on instinct.
They share a hug. Her mother takes the papers from the nurse with practiced ease, already scanning them.
Wolf moves before I register his movements.
He steps up close to Windy as she takes a small step away from the bed.
His hands settle gently around her biceps, steadying her like she’s made of something precious.
And she is. She’s very precious to us. I just wish we had figured that out before we made the mistakes that we have.
Windy immediately tries to shrug him off, muttering under her breath, but Wolf isn’t to be deterred. He holds tighter, and I watch in satisfaction as she accepts his touch.
He leans in just a little, his voice dropping into that maddeningly smooth tone he uses when he’s pretending to be patient. “Now, darling, no need to be feisty,” he murmurs.
Windy rolls her eyes so hard that I’m surprised they don’t fall out of her head. She huffs, crossing her arms as she radiates pure attitude.
And God, I love it.
That spark in her.
The fire.
The bite.
The refusal to be handled even when she’s exhausted and hurting. It’s the part of her that refuses to dim, the part that keeps me falling harder, no matter how I pretended to be unaffected previously. Honestly, I don’t know how I was able to keep such an aloof persona toward her.
She makes me feel more than I’ve ever felt in my life.
Without another word, she twists around and starts making her way out of the hospital.
The air bites my cheeks the moment we step through the doors leading to the parking garage.
The wind is sharp and cold enough to make my eyes water.
The sky hangs heavy, a dull gray blanket threatening to split open any second with a storm.
Finian walks ahead of me. Wolf on one side and Finian on the other of Windy—the three of them cutting a path toward the car.
I trail behind, matching their pace, until she suddenly comes to a stop as Wolf unlocks the car.
I nearly collide with her, watching as she stares at the single car waiting for us. Disbelief is written all over her face. “Heck no. I don’t think so.” Her voice cracks through the cold air like a whip, and she plants her feet like she’s ready to fight someone.
I skid to a halt just in time. My breath puffs out in a white cloud. Her parents are right behind us, and Windy spins on them so fast her hair whips over her shoulder. She looks like she’s about to breathe actual fire.
Perfection.
“I’m not riding in the same car as these guys. No way in hell."
Her father, Tymrin, doesn’t so much as flinch. “Your safety is our top priority,” he replies, his gaze dropping to her stomach for a heartbeat before lifting once more. “It should be yours as well.” His voice is calm but firm.
His words affect her. The wind picks up, slicing across my face. The sky darkens another shade, like even the weather knows this is about to get messy.
Yet she surprises me.
She shrugs. “Okay. When you put it like that ...”
Everything is quiet for a moment before Wolf loses his composure, laughing in disbelief. “Are you shitting me right now?”
She doesn’t say anything to him. At all. She merely shrugs her shoulders again, puts her hand along the bottom of her baby bump, and walks toward the car. For several seconds, Wolf stands there speechless. He looks at me, then at Finian, then at Windy, before bringing his eyes back to me.
I chuckle, holding my hands up. “Don’t ask me. I’m not the female whisperer.”
I hurry ahead of Windy, Finian, and Wolf, weaving around Windy before she can whirl on anyone else and unleash.
The cold air nips at my cheeks, and it’s sharp enough to make me blink fast as I reach for the passenger-side front door.
I pull it open and step back. I gesture for her to take the front seat.
She’s the passenger princess, so she needs the front seat.
She just stares at me. Flat. Unimpressed. It’s a look that lasts just a bit too long.
When I think she’s going to take it, she pointedly reaches for the back passenger door instead.
She yanks it open, sliding in without a word.
Before I can react, Finian is already there.
He pops up over the roof like some smug asshole, wearing a shit-eating grin.
It’s the kind of look that makes me want to shove him into the nearest barricade.
I glare at him, huff out a breath that fogs the chilly air, and climb into the front seat.
He’ll get his. I have no doubt I’ll get him for this. When he least expects it ... wham ... right in the kisser. And I will relish the bitchy ass whine he’s sure to release because of it.
Wolf pulls out of the garage and onto the road.
The town around us is small and quaint, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and the streets are safe and a little too quiet.
This time of year, it’s so beautiful in a way that it sneaks up on you.
The leaves are just starting to change; the edges are brushed with gold and rust. The air is crisp.
It warns that you’ll need a jacket soon, but not quite yet.
A light cardigan or thin sweater is enough for now, just something to take the edge off the chill without admitting that fall is really leaving us.
Clouds hang low over the rooftops, heavy and brooding, like the whole sky is holding its breath.
Honestly, it feels like we all are. This is the first time we have been in such a closed space with Windy.
Her scent permeates the air, leaving me salivating for a taste.
The taste of her on my tongue is a luxury that I am no longer privy to.
No matter how much I wish that wasn’t the case, it is.
Closing my eyes, I take in slow, deep inhales.
It takes everything inside of me not to release the groan threatening me.
Having her this close without being able to touch her is torture all on its own.
The last time we were this close, it was in the bathroom after we made that fatal mistake of dancing with that omega in Wolf’s nightclub.
After that, Windy was reluctant to get close to us, even when she was trying to get us to change our minds.
We should have known right then that something was changing with her, but we didn’t.
We focused on ourselves and what Wolf needed.
But I’d give everything to take it all back now.
Windy is no ordinary omega. She completes us in ways we didn’t know anyone could. We were just too fucking stupid to realize that until it was too late. She’s our sanctuary. Our life. People should be jealous of what we found. Finding a scent match isn’t rare, but it is difficult.
The subdivision grows quieter the farther we go.
The houses stretch wider, cleaner, and more polished with each turn.
There’s a family with two point five kids and a dog, a businessman kissing his wife, and there is even a pack outside with their omega giving her a farewell kiss.
It’s the kind of small, quaint town where everything feels neatly tucked into place.
There are porches with rocking chairs, tidy lawns, and trees just starting to flirt with autumn colors.
Everything is beautiful at this time of year, even under the heavy gray sky that’s threatening to open and downpour.
Wolf pulls into the cul-de-sac and stops in Windy’s driveway.
Her house sits near the end, bigger than most we passed, with wide windows and a porch that looks like it belongs on a postcard.
She has a large wreath on her door with ‘Welcome Y’all’ written in cursive lettering.
I smirk, seeing that wreath, the throw pillows on the wicker furniture, and the rugs on the wooden slats.
The moment the car shifts into park, we all climb out. Windy turns to face us, confusion pulling her brows together. I can’t help the smirk that tugs at the corner of my mouth. “This should be interesting.”
I don’t say anything else. The trunk pops open just as I reach it.
I grab my duffel bag and swing it over my shoulder.
When I step out from behind the car, Windy’s eyes track from the bag …
to me … to Wolf and Finian standing behind me.
A reddish blush blooms across her cheeks, and then her expression shifts into something downright dangerous.
“Oh, hell no,” she snaps. “You may have saved me. Thank you for that. But you are most definitely not staying here. Get gone.”
Wolf doesn’t even blink at Windy’s outburst. He just reaches into the trunk, grabs his suitcase, and looks at her like she’s a mildly amusing inconvenience rather than a full-blown storm brewing on her front lawn.
And she is. She looks almost as dark as the storm clouds brewing up above us.
That can’t be good for the baby. Our baby.
“You have no say, sweetheart,” he says, voice smooth as ever. “Your parents agree with us. You need round-the-clock protection, and we can’t be bought, so here we are.”
The corners of his mouth curve up—just barely—but enough for me to know he’s enjoying this way too much. Finian, of course, is already snort-laughing like this is the best entertainment he’s had all week.
Windy, on the other hand, looks like she’s about to combust.
Her eyes flick between the three of us, her blush deepening into something closer to fury. She’s small, but the energy rolling off her could probably power the whole cul-de-sac. And judging by the way she’s glaring at us—like we’re stray dogs tracking mud across her pristine floors—we’re in for it.
Big time.
I shift my duffel on my shoulder and exhale slowly. Yeah … she’s not going to be the best roommate.
Not even close.
But we’re here.
And she’s stuck with us.