Chapter 24
ROWAN
Simon was well-trained. Military, probably.
He knew how to fight. But he'd never fought an Alpha protecting his mate.
I met him head-on, deflecting the knife strike and driving my fist into his solar plexus.
He grunted but didn't go down, spinning to slash at my ribs.
The blade connected. Not deep, but enough to sting.
Behind him, Kellan emerged from the trees, taking on the second guard.
"Get Naomi out of here!" I shouted.
But she was already moving, backing toward the chapel entrance. Simon tried to follow her, and rage exploded through me. I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall of the chapel.
"You don't get to touch her," I growled. "Ever again."
He kneed me in the stomach, breaking my grip, and we went down in a tangle of fists. He was good. Better than I'd expected. But I was motivated.
Every punch I landed was for the Omega he'd killed. For years Naomi had spent not knowing who she was. For the child growing inside her that he'd threatened.
I heard Kellan fighting behind me, the sound of bodies hitting the ground in grunts of pain. Simon got his knife back, slashing across my shoulder. Blood bloomed hot and wet.
"You're going to die here," he panted. "And then I'm going to kill her slowly. Make her beg for me to mate her instead."
I caught his wrist, twisted, and snapped the bone. He screamed. The knife fell. I picked it up and drove it into his chest. Once. Twice. Three times. He stared at me in shock, blood bubbling at his lips.
"You're already dead," I said quietly. "You just don't know it yet."
I pulled the knife out and watched him collapse. Behind me, Kellan had the other guard pinned. One brutal movement and the guard's neck snapped.
Silence. Then footsteps. Naomi emerged from the chapel, her eyes on Simon's body.
"Is he…" she swallowed.
"Dead," I confirmed.
She moved closer, staring down at the man who'd haunted her nightmares for years. Then she spat on his corpse.
"Good," she said.
And walked away.
The cleanup took hours. Edgar's pack security handled the bodies. Simon and his accomplice would be burned, their ashes scattered to the wind. No ceremony. No honor. Just erased. It was more than they deserved.
I stood in Edgar's study while a pack healer stitched the knife wounds. One across my ribs and the deeper one on my shoulder. Kellan was beside me, sporting a split lip, bruise on his arm, and bruised knuckles but otherwise intact.
"You should have called for backup," Edgar said, his voice tight. "You could have been killed."
"We handled it."
"You got stabbed." He pushed.
"Superficially." I nodded my thanks to the healer as she finished. "And now the enemy and his accomplice are eliminated. Your daughter is safe."
"Is she?" Leilani asked from where she stood by the window. "She just watched you kill two men. She's pregnant and doesn't know the first thing about being a mother. She's been living with you for weeks and hasn't even bonded." She stopped herself.
"We know," I finished quietly.
"Why not?" Edgar's question was direct. "You're her scent matches. She's carrying your child. What's stopping you?"
"Her choice." Kellan spoke up. "She gets to decide if and when she wants that bond. Not us. Not biology. Her."
"Even if it puts her at risk?"
"Especially then." I met Edgar's eyes. "She's spent years being controlled by fear and circumstances. By people who thought they knew what was best for her. We're not going to add to that."
"But you love her." Leilani eyed us both.
It wasn't a question. But I answered anyway.
"More than anything."
"Then tell her that." Leilani's voice was gentle. "Tell her she has a choice, yes. But also tell her what that choice means to you."
"We have," Kellan said.
"Have you?" She moved closer. "Or have you been so focused on not pressuring her that you've never actually told her what you want? What you need?"
I exchanged a look with Kellan.
Had we? We'd told her she could leave. That we'd respect her choice. That we wouldn't force anything. But had we ever actually told her that we wanted her? We need her. We choose you, and we're hoping you'll choose us back?
"Where is she now?" I asked.
"Her room," Edgar said. "Kira is with her. They've been up there since you brought her back."
"I need to see her."
"You need to rest," the healer interrupted. "Those wounds need time to heal."
"They're fine. I'm fine." I was already moving toward the door. "Kellan?"
"Right behind you."
We found them exactly where Edgar had said she was. Kira was sitting on the bed beside Naomi, holding her hand, speaking in low, urgent tones. They both looked up when we entered.
"How is it?" Naomi asked immediately, her eyes going to my bandaged shoulder.
"Superficial. I'm fine."
"Kellan?"
"Couple bruises. Nothing serious." He closed the door behind us. "How are you?"
"I don't know." She looked down at her hands. "Relieved? He's dead." She touched her stomach. "He's gone. I should be happy."
"But you're not," I said.
"I'm numb. I watched you kill him and I felt nothing." She looked toward the ceiling, and then back at us. "Is that wrong? Does that make me a monster?"
"No." Kira squeezed her hand. "It makes you human. You've been through trauma. Your brain is protecting you."
"I'm pregnant." Naomi said it like she was testing the words. "There's a baby growing inside me and I didn't even know until a psychopath told me this afternoon."
"We didn't know for sure either," Kellan said gently. "It's so early that even we could barely scent it. Another few days and we would have told you."
"We were going to tell you the moment we were certain." I moved closer, crouching beside the bed so I was at her eye level. "Naomi, we would never keep something like that from you."
"I'm so tired of people trying to protect me by keeping me in the dark.
" She pulled her hand away from Kira. "My adoptive mother never told me the truth because she was trying to protect me.
You two didn't tell me who I was because you thought I couldn't handle it.
" Her voice rose. "When do I get to decide what I can handle?
When do I get to have all the information and make my own choices? "
"Now," I said simply. "Right now. Ask us anything. We'll tell you everything."
She was quiet for a long moment. "Do you love me?"
The question hung in the air. Both of us were taken back by the turn of events.
"Yes," I said. "I love you since I first scented you. Even as a child, I’d never smelled anything as wonderful as you. I swore then that I’d always protect you. When you were kidnapped, it tore me apart. The moment you walked into Obsidian and told us no, it rekindled that fire. I was afraid that it wasn’t you, but the heart knows it all. "
"I love you too," Kellan added. "And I'm terrified every single day that you're going to realize you deserve better than two Alphas who couldn't protect you all those years ago."
"You were children yourselves," she said quietly.
"That changed nothing." Kellan sat on the other side of the bed. "We found our warrior. A woman who'd survived things that would have broken most people. Who'd built a life and a purpose out of nothing. Who was stronger than either of us expected."
"Kellan..."
"He’s right." I took her hand carefully. "And yes, you're pregnant. Which means you have choices to make."
"I do." A tear slid down her cheek and I wiped it away with my thumb.
"Whether you want to bond with us. Whether you want to stay or go back to building your own life.
" I forced myself to say the next words even though they felt like ripping out my own heart.
"We'll support whatever you choose. Even if that choice doesn't include us.
But we want you, need you, and losing you would destroy us. "
"You'd really let me go? Pregnant with your child?"
"If that's what you needed, yes." Anxiety ricocheted in my chest.
"Even then. Because you're more than our mate, Naomi. You're your own person. With your own dreams and goals and life. And we won't trap you in a bond you don't want."
Tears were streaming down her face now. "What if I do want it?”
"Then we take it slow," Kellan said. "As slow as you need. We court you properly. We prove to you every day that we're not going to hurt you, try to control you, or take away your choices."
"How can it be my choice when it's your baby too?"
"Because you're the one carrying it. You're the one whose body will change. Whose life will be upended." I squeezed her hand gently. "We'll have opinions. We'll want to be involved. But at the end of the day, it's your body. Your choice."
She looked between us, searching our faces for—what? Deception? Manipulation?
Whatever she was looking for, she must not have found it because she sagged against the pillows.
"I want to keep the baby," she touched her stomach. "I want this. I want us. I want to build something good out of all this trauma. I want to give this child everything I never had. Safety. Truth. Love."
"Then we'll help you do that," I promised.
"And we’ll bond?"
"For sure," Kellan said.
She turned to me.
“You don’t know my answer?” I kissed her, wanting there not to be a single doubt about what I wanted. “I’m already yours.”
She looked at Kira. "What do you think?"
"I think you should do what feels right," Kira said.
Naomi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, there was something different there. Something decided.
"Okay," she said. "I want to build a life together." She looked at us. “Let's be a family."
Her words stalled the anticipation.
"Are you sure?" I had to ask one more time.
"I'm sure." She reached for both of us, pulling us closer. "I'm sure about you. About this. About us."
It was Kellan’s turn to kiss her, reverent and full of promise.
When he pulled back, I took another turn. Pouring everything I felt into that kiss.
"Now we talk to your parents," I said. "Get their blessing."
She nodded. "Okay. Let's do that."
Edgar and Leilani took the news better than I expected.
Leilani cried happy tears, she assured us. Edgar looked stern for about thirty seconds before breaking into a smile that transformed his face.
"A grandchild," he said wonderingly.
"And a bonded daughter," Leilani added, looking at Naomi.
"Yes," Naomi confirmed.
"Then you have our blessing," Edgar said. "All three of you." He paused. "Though I have to ask, will you stay here on pack lands?"
"No," Naomi said immediately. "I'm sorry. I know you just found me and you want me close. But I have a life in the city. Plans. The learning center. Kira. I can't just abandon all of that."
"We're not asking you to," Leilani said gently. "But, perhaps, visits? Holidays? Let us be part of your life, even if it's from a distance?"
"Yes. I'd like that."
"And when the baby comes?"
"We'll figure it out," I said. "Together. As a family."
Edgar nodded slowly. "Alright then. Keep her safe. Whatever it takes."
"Always," Kellan and I said in unison.
"Good." Edgar stood, moving to embrace his daughter. "Then welcome to the family. Officially this time."
We left the next morning.
Kira insisted on driving, which left the three of us in the back seat of the SUV.
Naomi sat between us, her hand resting on her stomach, staring out the window at the passing landscape.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
"That my life is completely unrecognizable from what it was a month ago." She turned to look at me. "A month ago I was alone. Convinced I'd always be alone. That I'd build my learning center and help other kids and that would be enough."
"And now?"
"Now I'm pregnant with twins and rethinking some of my plans."
"Wait, twins?" Kellan interrupted.
She smiled. "My mother told me. Apparently twins run in your bloodline. So being pregnant by the Alphas probably means twins." Her hand pressed more firmly against her stomach.
I felt like I'd been hit by lightning. "Two babies."
"Two babies," she confirmed.
"We'll be right here,” I promised.
"I know.” She smiled.
"Together.” Kellan said.
"Together," she repeated.
She leaned against my shoulder, her hand finding Kellan's. She relaxed into us and I exhaled a breath that felt like I’d been holding it for all these years. She was finally here, safe, and ours. Everything was going to be okay.
Our family.
And I'd spend the rest of my life making sure they knew they were loved.
All of them.