Chapter Twenty-Four
Sylvia
I was so torn.
I wanted to stay with Dax and Archer and Talon in their house, accept the gift of their omega suite, just make our start as a pack together. But there was so much I needed to think about and figure out, and being surrounded by them made that impossible.
Which was why I also wanted to go back to my brother’s pack, not forever, obviously, maybe not even for a week, but I needed to clear my head and figure some things out. A lot had happened in a very short period of time. It was all good, but that didn’t make it less overwhelming.
When I asked Talon for a ride back, he agreed without hesitation, even offering to stop and run errands with me on the way.
I didn’t take him up on it, but knowing that he was willing to do that went a long way.
Especially given the fact that none of the alphas wanted me to leave.
They didn’t make me feel guilty about needing to, but I could see in their eyes, they were disappointed.
When I got home and Talon left, the first thing I did was take my fur and run.
And run.
And run.
And run.
I thought it might help.
It didn’t.
Turned out, it didn’t matter how fast you ran, you couldn’t outrun your own thoughts. Oh boy, did I have a ton of those floating around.
When I got back, I threw my clothes back on and went to the main house, where Lily was in the kitchen baking. I grabbed a loaf of her homemade bread and cut a thick slice, popping it in the toaster. I was having fairy bread.
The others didn’t get it and called anything with sprinkles fairy bread. I went along with it because they were trying. True fairy bread was lathered with butter and sprinkles. I preferred toast, although I didn’t think that was traditional. I never bothered to look it up.
I’d been introduced to it by my mom as a small child, and it was one of those comfort foods I was always going to hold on to.
I held up the bread, offering a slice to Lily, who declined.
“I’m not hungry.” Lily, being awesome, reached to the cabinet above her, pulled out the sprinkles, and put them on the counter. “Guessing you’re looking for these.”
She knew what I was after. Ever since they discovered my love of sprinkles, the place had been fully stocked with them, including seasonal varieties when they were available.
“Your brother was a little worried there for a while. Had to talk him out of coming over to get you.”
She didn’t have to tell me that. Even if he hadn’t texted me, I knew him well enough for that. I didn’t know him as well as I wanted to, we’d lost so many years together, but his protectiveness? Yeah, I had full knowledge of that side of him.
She put down the mixing bowl she was holding with one hand and crossed over to me. “Are you okay?”
How did I begin to answer that question? In some ways, I was better than okay. But in others, not so much.
I took out my phone. I don’t know. It’s confusing.
“Let’s get your fairy bread ready, and I’ll let your brother know he’s on kid duty if naps end earlier than I hope. Then we’ll go sit outside and talk. Work for you?”
If she had been like my alphas, I’d have suggested we shift so we could communicate. But I’d shifted with Lily before—nothing. It was only with them. My alphas.
I ate my toast as Lily talked about the cookies she was attempting to recreate, but she feared she’d messed up.
I’d had Lily’s “messed-up” cookies before. They might not be what she had intended them to be, but they were always delicious and worthy.
Finally, my bread was in my belly, and it was time to talk.
I may have made a mistake, I typed into my phone.
She folded her arms and looked at me. “Oh, believe me, I have, Sylvia. And you are a strong, brave, resilient, beautiful omega. You’re talented and smart—you’re the whole package. They’re lucky to have you.”
I can’t talk.
“Has that stopped you guys from communicating?”
I shook my head.
“You need to remember, Sylvia—Fate doesn’t make mistakes. We do. We make lots of them. But Fate doesn’t. If she brought you four together, you’re the exact omega that they need, and they’re the exact alphas that you need.”
I can talk to them when I’m a wolf.
I showed her the screen, and her jaw dropped.
“Like…talk talk? If they’re wolves only or when they are human too?”
I explained in detail.
“See? Fate doesn’t make mistakes.”
I wish I could talk to you when I’m a wolf too.
“If you did, do you think we’d get any baking done for these guys?” She laughed. “No, we’d be out here shifting to our hearts’ content and gossiping all day long. Now, we just gossip in the kitchen.”
She stood up and held her hand out for me, helping me up.
“Speaking of which, after these cookies are done, I was thinking of making some candy before dinner. What do you think? You want to help?”
Don’t know how.
“Well, it’s a good thing I do. We have extra honey, and I saw this recipe—I think it might be just the ticket to our men’s hearts.”
If our men were waiting for candy to fall in love with us, they weren’t worthy men—but I didn’t tell her that because I knew she was just being silly.
We went back inside and finished her cookies, which were as scrumptious as I’d predicted. Then we worked on some honey candies from three different recipes she’d found. Lily had decided her initial plan of testing one simply would not do.
Each of them was delicious, because Lily was a kitchen goddess in disguise. I was sure of it.