Chapter 21
Lexi
Before we went to bed last night, Emmett gave Dr. Herrera a call, and we booked an appointment for an ultrasound.
Knowing we were going to get to see our baby and hear its heartbeat made me too excited and nervous to get much sleep.
So instead of trying to force it, I snuck out of bed and went downstairs to make a cup of tea. It’s been a while since I’ve been up early enough to watch the sunrise, so sitting out on my front porch sounded like a good idea.
And it was, until I found one of Aiden and Sloane’s buddies outside my sister’s house doing a bit of stalking.
When Aiden and I spent the day together, I asked about his brother and the pack that had an interest in my sister.
He told me they are good men, and because my instincts are to protect my sister, I warned Aiden that I’ll have all their balls if they hurt her.
Not that Silva wouldn’t beat me to it. My sister knows how to handle herself, I just don’t want her in a situation where she’d have to.
At first, Kyren seemed like a nice enough guy from the short time I spoke to him. Then everything came crashing down when we could hear the sounds of Silva screaming from a night terror. He got upset that I wasn’t trying to do something about it.
How fucking dare he? He doesn’t know my relationship with my sister.
Silva has been dealing with these night terrors for years. It kills me because I can’t do anything to help her. She’s suffered so much in life because of me, trying to help me and keeping me safe. I already feel like a big enough piece of shit because of it.
Kyren accuses me of being heartless for not caring about what happens outside Widows Peak had me going on defense mode.
We’ve built this town to help people find a safe haven. What more does he want?
Then, to just throw it out there that he’s her scent match? I was caught off guard. I haven’t really talked to Silva since the guys came into town. We’ve both been preoccupied with our own lives.
There is a lot my sister and I have to talk about, but I don’t plan on bringing anything up just yet. We both need time to process everything.
I’m happy for her, though. I think? I mean, if she’s happy, then I’m happy. They don’t have it easy, that's for sure. If anyone thought I was hard to win over, something that’s obviously been proven wrong, Silva is a much, much harder nut to crack.
Let’s just say my first impression of Kyren wasn’t the best after all, and I was kind of disappointed that Silva’s bat missed when she opened the door.
What did he expect, charging over there and pounding on it?
It’s crazy early in the morning! I’d be grabbing something to defend myself if it were me.
She invited him into her house, though, so I’ll leave it be. For now.
I’m wearing Emmett’s hoodie, curled up on the porch couch with a soft blanket wrapped around me, my tea cold and forgotten, when I hear the door open.
“There you are.” Emmett’s sleepy voice has me glancing up. “What are you doing out here?” He comes to sit next to me.
“I was going to watch the sunrise, but ended up meeting one of Silva’s new Alphas instead."
“What?” His brows shoot up. “Really?”
“Well, by the looks of it, they haven’t won her over.” I snort out a laugh. “But he did say he was her scent match, so if they’re anything like Aiden and Sloane, I’m sure it won’t be long. They’re just going to have to work harder for it.”
“Poor, foolish men,” Emmett chuckles. “They have their work cut out for them.”
“Tell me about it.”
“How do you feel about that? Your sister finding her scent matches at the same time you find yours?”
“I’m happy for her. Worried too. I just hope they don’t give her a hard time, and that they really are good men because Silva deserves nothing but the best. Aiden swears they’re good guys, so I’m trusting him on that.”
“She’s going to be okay. It’s Silva, she can handle herself.”
“I know,” I murmur. “I hope this works out for her. She deserves someone who will take care of her for a change, you know?”
“I agree.” He wraps his arms around me.
We sit outside for a little while longer until Emmett demands we go inside before I catch a cold.
I don’t argue with him; it’s adorable how much of a mother hen he is with me.
By the time we’re done showering and getting dressed for the day, there's a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Emmett shouts, jogging to answer it.
The moment I hear Sloane’s sultry greeting to Emmett, and Aiden’s husky-sweet tone, I perk up with excitement.
When they walk through the door, my heart starts to flutter.
“Morning, Kitten.” Sloane swaggers over. “How's my girl doing?”
That smile, those eyes. I’m a goner.
“Good. Didn’t get much sleep though, so I’m a little tired.”
“Too busy dreaming about me all night? Yeah, that would cause you to lose sleep.”
“You wish,” I snort, smiling.
“I mean, I dreamed about you, that's for sure. Kind of hard not to when our whole hotel room smelled like your sweet slick.” He cocks a knowing brow, and my cheeks turn bright red.
“Not sure why.” I clear my throat.
“Really?” he chuckles. Leaning in, he brings his lips an inch away from mine. “I think it might have to do with those slick-soaked panties you left in the bathroom. Don’t worry, Kitten, we made good use of them.”
My lips part, and a breath catches in my throat as the image of what they might have done flashes in my mind, causing my body to flush with heat.
His nostrils flare, inhaling the smell of my perfume.
“Would you stop bugging her?” Aiden sighs.
“I’m not bugging her, I’m turning her on.” Sloane pulls back, and I can finally breathe again.
“You’re doing both,” I chastise, slipping away and back to the safety of Emmett before I end up giving into my desires and climb that man like a tree.
“So, what brings you two here so early?” Emmett asks.
“We thought we’d see if you wanted to do something,” Aiden says. “And we brought coffee. Hot chocolate for you.” Aiden smiles over at me.
My eyes flick to Emmett. He looks just as unsure as I am.
“Uh, we kind of have plans.”
Fuck. What do we do? Do we ask them to come along? It’s only been a few days, we don’t even know where we stand.
I originally wanted to take things slow, but clearly that's out the window now. Emmett and I have already laid claim to one of our Alphas each. Nothing slow about that.
“Oh.” Aiden's face drops, and I feel bad. “That’s okay. We can hang out another time.”
“It’s not that we don’t want to spend time with you. It’s just... I have an appointment at noon.”
“For what?” Sloane asks.
“An ultrasound. We called last night, and my doctor said they could squeeze me in today.”
We all just stand around awkwardly, no one knowing what to say.
“Can we come?” Sloane breaks the silence.
“Sloane,” Aiden hisses. “No. This is their time, it’s intimate and personal.” Aiden turns to me and smiles. “How about tonight? We could go out to eat, hang out, and maybe watch a movie.”
“Why can’t we come?” Sloane looks hurt. “She’s our Omega. He’s our Omega. They’re having a baby. Therefore, it’s our baby too, right? I want to see our baby.”
“We just met them a few days ago,” Aiden growls. “We have no right to just insert ourselves into their lives like this. We agreed to give them time, to take things slow. This isn’t taking things slow. Respect their boundaries, Sloane.”
Sloane glares so hard at Aiden that I think the vein in his forehead might pop.
“Fine.” Sloane blows out a breath. “I’ll see you later.”
Sloane storms out of the house, and my heart drops.
“Fuck,” Aiden growls.
“I’m sorry.” Tears fill my eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”
“You did nothing wrong. He had no right to ask like that.”
“You can come.” I wrap my arms around myself, looking up at Emmett. He smiles down at me and nods. “We don’t mind. We just didn’t think of it.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You two go. Have this moment together. We’ll be okay.”
“We want you there. Sloane is right. If we’re going to be a pack, then this baby is your baby, too. We should do this together.”
“Are you sure?” Aiden asks, eyes searching mine.
I nod. “Yeah.” I smile.
He looks towards the door and sighs. “I’m going to go find him, okay? You said noon?”
“Yes. Noon at the clinic. It’s on the north side of town.”
“We’ll be there.” Aiden wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to the top of my head, then a soft one to my lips. I sigh, melting into his touch, almost whimpering when he steps away. “We’ll be there.” He holds my gaze before turning around and leaving.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Emmett sighs.
“I feel so bad. He looked so upset.”
“Don’t,” Emmett says. “He has the right to his feelings, but so do you. He’s going to be fine once Aiden finds him.”
“I didn’t think he would be so invested in the baby already.”
“Just proves what an amazing Alpha he is, huh?” Emmett smiles.
“Yeah. I guess it does.”
“They’re not coming.” I stare at the clock on the wall, my knee bouncing.
It’s five to twelve, and the guys haven’t shown up yet. I’ve been sick with guilt since Sloane left.
The hurt on his face keeps flashing in my mind. It’s a complicated situation, and if this were me a few days ago, before I spent time around them, I would have declined. I didn’t know them, wouldn’t have been comfortable around them.
Now, I’m sitting here, worried sick they’re going to miss it. I’ve grown fond of these Alphas, fast. Maybe too fast. Still, it doesn’t change how I feel about them, how I’m drawn to them. The intense urge to be around them, to have them hold me, touch me, care for me.
How did I go from never wanting Alphas, fearing what it would mean for me if I even found my scent matches, and how it would change my life, to wanting to cry because they’re not here to see the baby?
“They still have five minutes, baby. Aiden said they will be here.” Emmett takes my hand and wraps his around it, bringing my fingers up to kiss them. “Breathe. Relax. Everything will be okay.”