Chapter 29
Addison
“How are you feeling?” Damien asks me for the tenth time since we left Nashville.
“I’m fine.” I laugh, stopping at our front door. “I promise. I’m better than fine. I had an amazing heat, and got to spend days with my Alphas buried inside me.” I grin up at him as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“I just wanted to make sure.” The corner of his lips tip up as his hands grab my ass, giving it a little squeeze.
He feels guilty for not being there when I went into heat. I don’t hold it against him, though. He didn’t have any way of knowing. I wasn’t supposed to have my heat for a few weeks, so it took us all by surprise.
The more I think about it, the more I think the mix of happiness and finally feeling safe, added to the stress of the hockey game drama, is what triggered it to start early. My hormones and emotions were out of whack.
“I’m sure.” I lean up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Now, I need to shower. Someone has a kink of making sure I smell like him all the time.” I giggle against his lips.
“I fucking love it,” he growls, nipping at my lips before kissing me roughly.
We make out as he fumbles to open the door, unable to keep our hands off each other. I giggle when we nearly trip over our feet, stumbling into the house.
Damien shuts the door, then shoves me against it, his hands on my ass as he grinds against me, tongues tangled together.
A throat clears, and we both freeze. It’s not Alfred, nor Elliot. It’s too soft a sound.
Oh fuck. Please no. Anyone but her.
Dread fills me as I pull away from Damien and look to the side.
My mother stands there, arms crossed, brows raised, and a murderous look on her face.
“Care to explain what the hell this is?” she hisses, waving her hand at the both of us.
“Mother.” I clear my throat, trying to ignore the fact that my stomach is in my ass.
“Eloise,” Damien says coldly, angling his body in a protective stance. I look up at him with a soft smile, loving the fact that he’s ready to fight my battles for me. Normally, I can do it myself, but when it comes to my mom, I’m always left feeling like a disappointment.
“Why are you kissing my daughter?” She narrows her eyes. “She is your sister. Do you know how disturbing that is?”
“Please,” he huffs dismissively. “Just because you’re married to my dad doesn’t make Addie my sister. She’s never been like a sister to me. Best friend, sure, but not sister. We didn’t grow up together. We met when she was already a teenager.”
“You’re telling me this has been going on for years?” She gasps.
“No,” I frown at her. “It’s only been a few months.”
She glares at the two of us. “Still, it’s wrong. It’s messed up, and I will not allow it.”
“It’s a good thing your opinion doesn’t matter. Addie is an adult, and she can make her own choices. Plus, it’s not like we can just call it quits. We’re scent matches. She’s my Omega, and there's nothing anyone can do to make me leave her.”
“Scent matches?” she growls. “No.” She shakes her head. “It can’t be.”
“It’s true,” I speak up. “Damien is my scent match. But I also have other Alphas. I have a pack now. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
She splutters. “A pack?” Her eyes drop to my neck. “For christ sake, Addie! Are those mate marks?”
“Yes.” I hold my head high. “You said that I needed to find a pack to stay here. That's what I did.”
“I said a pack of my choosing,” she shouts. “Not some hockey player and god knows who.”
“Some hockey player?” Damien laughs. “Lady, I’m a professional hockey player who makes millions a year. So do her other Alphas.”
“More hockey players?" Her eyes widen as if I just told her my Alphas were homeless people on the side of the street. Not that it would change anything, doesn’t matter who my Alphas are, or where they come from. As long as they treat me well, that's all that matters to me.
“Yes, my other two Alphas play for a different team in the same league. We’ve been together for months now.”
“And I’m just finding out about this now?”
“Yes. You’ve been gone more than you’ve been home.”
“I’m so disappointed in you.” She shakes her head, vibrating with anger. “I can’t even look at you.” Raising her hand, she turns and stalks away.
Tears sting the back of my eyes, but I don’t give her the satisfaction of letting them fall.
“Don’t listen to her bullshit, baby.” Damien turns to me. “She’s just a miserable bitch who loves to see everyone unhappy.”
“I know.” I smile weakly up at him. “I don’t care what she thinks. I’m happy, and I have the best pack ever. That's all that matters to me.”
I’m worried she’s going to kick me out. I don’t think Damien or his dad would let it happen, but if she kicks up a big enough stink, she just might.
I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world, though. I’d be able to have everything moved to Nashville. But the season isn’t over, and this move isn’t planned to happen just yet.
“Go shower,” Damien tells me, kissing the top of my head. “I’ll make you something to eat and bring it up to you.”
“Okay.” I nod.
I'm a nervous wreck the whole time I’m showering. My mind is racing, wondering what my mother is going to do. She’s not happy about this. I knew she wouldn’t be.
She wanted me to find a pack, to get out from under her roof. Is she angry because it wasn’t the pack she picked for me?
I agreed to go out on dates with packs of her choosing, but I sure as hell didn’t agree to make them my Alphas.
I did this song and dance to buy myself enough time to either make enough money to move out, or find Alphas I actually wanted to be with.
I’ve done both now. The only reason I'm still in this house is because I want to be close to Damien as much as possible. The fact that my mom has been gone more than she’s been home has helped.
When I’m showered, I throw on a pair of sweats and Carson’s hoodie. Without bothering to dry my hair, I throw it into a messy bun and make my way downstairs, hoping that when my mother walked away, she left the house altogether.
Of course, it’s my luck that she didn’t. As I approach the kitchen, I hear her chastising Damien angrily.
“Is she really worth it?” My mother asks.
“Is she worth losing it all? Because that's what's going to happen when the world finds out, Damien. You’re smarter than this, better than this. Better than her! You’re young, attractive, talented, and successful. You should have a supermodel on your arm, not Addie. Do you think people are going to accept the fact that you’re mated to your stepsister?
How about your father? Did you think about how this would affect his job?
His son fucking his stepdaughter? And me!
” she growls. “What about me? This will tarnish my image, too.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your image, Eloise.” Damien snarls back. “You’re an evil bitch.”
“Watch what you say,” she warns. “I have the power to ruin you, Damien. And those other Alphas. Packing up with a rival team? Wouldn’t look good on any of you.
If you do not leave Addie, I will make sure you regret it.
I had plans for her. Plans you and those other men ruined.
I will not let you get away with this. Say goodbye to everything you worked hard for, because it’s all going to go down the drain. ”
“Addison.” Alfred’s voice makes me jump. I spin around, hand on my racing heart. “Is everything alright?”
“Ah...” I look back toward the door. “Yeah, fine.” I laugh awkwardly.
When he looks in the kitchen, his face falls. “Don’t listen to her,” he tells me. “She can’t hurt you.”
Oh, how I wish he were right. She can hurt me, and she knows it, too. I hate that I let her do this to me, but I can’t help it.
When I look back, I don’t see Damien anymore. Where the hell did he go?
Did he just leave? He didn’t listen to her, did he?
Oh my god, what if he did? What if she’s really gotten to him? These are the reasons why he kept up with the act that we weren’t mates for so long. I thought none of this bothered him anymore, but what if I’m wrong?
My mom steps out of the kitchen, and when she sees me, her lips curl into an evil smile.
“Addison,” she purrs.
“What did you say to him?” I demand.
“I only told him the truth.” She crosses her arms, a smug look on her face.
“Why are you doing this?” I hate how my voice shakes. “I’m your daughter! Shouldn’t you want me to be happy?”
“I’d have been happy if you just did what you were told and picked the Bancroft’s like you were supposed to. They were good looking, rich, and had connections. You would have been set for life.”
“Me? Don’t you mean you?” I shout. “My Alphas are good looking, my Alphas have money. I am set for life. Not that any of that matters to me. Money and power aren’t everything.”
“That's where you're wrong, you stupid child,” she sneers. “It is everything. If you don’t have money or status, then you’re nothing in this world. And I will make sure you don’t forget it.”
“I pity you.” I shake my head. “Sure, you have money, and you built a name for yourself, but I hope you know that at the end of the day, no one will care if you die.” I laugh.
“All you do is hurt the people around you. You’re cruel and toxic.
I might resent Dad for moving away and leaving me here with you, but I understand why he did.
He had to get away, far away. Because being around you is draining, sucking the soul right out of–”
A hard slap lands across my face. “I should have forced him to take you,” she sneers.
“Better yet, I should have fucking aborted you when I had the chance. You are a disappointment. A freak.” She waves her hand at me.
“You're no daughter of mine. You never have been. I’m leaving on a trip tonight, and I want you gone by the time I get back.”
Turning on her heel, she leaves me standing there, hand on my burning cheek.
While her words might sting more than my face, what I’m more worried about is where Damein went.
Damien
I fucking despise that woman. I don’t know what the fuck my father sees in her. “Damien, what's going on?”
“I’m giving you a heads up. Tonight, after the game, I’m telling the world who Addie is to me before your evil bitch of a wife can,” I growl through the line.
“What happened?”
“What happened? Your wife found out about Addie and me. I knew she wouldn’t take the news lightly, but she threatened me and my career. I thought I had to worry about the outside world, when really it was someone in my own house. Why the fuck are you married to that bitch?”
“It’s complicated."
“Complicated?” I laugh. “Do you have a fucking brain injury or something?”
“Damien,” he warns.
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is, at the press conference tonight, I’m telling the world about Addie. I will not have anyone, especially her, hold this over my head. I’m asking for your support, but even if I don’t get it, I’m still doing it.”
“Of course you have it. Damien, I meant what I said. I love you, and I want you to be happy. I’m sorry she’s doing this to you. You don’t deserve it.”
“I don’t give a fuck about me. It’s Addie I care about.
All we wanted to do was be together, to make this pack life work.
It’s already hard enough having to travel and be away so much.
Now she’s going to be back in the spotlight, which is the one place she hates. All because of her deadbeat mother.”
“Do what you have to do. I’ll support you.”
“Thank you.” I sigh. “I gotta go. I’ll see you at warm-ups before the game tonight.”
“See you then.”
Hanging up on my dad, I dial another number.
“Is everything okay? How's Addie?” Reid asks.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Ah, nothing. Why?”
“I need you and Carson to get on the next flight here.”
“What the fuck? Is Addie okay?” he demands with a growl.
“She’s fine, physically.”
I fill him in on my plan and what Addie’s mother said to me.
“We’re on our way,” Carson says, listening in on speaker phone, I assume.
“We’re putting ourselves out there before she does.
She can’t do shit if she has nothing to hold over our heads.
We need to speak out before she has a chance to spin this.
Tonight, we tell the world who Addie is to us.
No more hiding. She’s our woman. Our Omega.
And it’s about damn time everyone knows it. ”
I’m done hiding. Addie is my world, my everything, and I don’t want her to ever feel like she’s anything less than. No one can take her away from me. I will always pick her over hockey. Over money. Over everything.