Dallas
Chapter Twenty
I woke up but stayed in bed, not moving, not wanting to fully wake up, loving the way my world felt so complete.
She chose me. She marked me as hers.
I hadn’t fully understood how Archer felt wearing her mark until this moment.
I closed my eyes, loving the warmth of her body against mine, not wanting to be the one to move first, to wake her and break the magic spell surrounding us.
Previously, I’d wake up, knowing she was here, the day happier than any that preceded it. But this was different. She was in bed with me. I didn’t have to wonder what she was doing or if she needed anything. I could see it for myself. I wanted to start every day like this one.
I wasn’t greedy. Justice and Archer could be with us, too. As long as she was there with us.
Bonnie shifter her weight slightly. She’d be waking up soon.
I moved just enough to get a look at her face, hoping I didn’t wake her prematurely.
My bear stirred as I saw her mark. He wanted to be the one snuggling with her in bed.
I was pretty sure that wasn’t something she’d been wanting—his hair getting stuck on her sheets and his musky scent everywhere, but maybe outside in the sun one day.
Because we had lots of days ahead of us.
This wasn’t one night, one week, or one year. This was always, forever.
Mine.
Yes, she’s ours.
Last night, she chose me. I didn’t push. There were so many times I wanted to ask her to be mine, but she hadn’t had many choices in life, and I refused to take one as important as this from her.
My bladder told me I wasn’t staying in bed any longer.
Despite wanting to be by her side, I slipped out, closing the door behind me.
I wouldn’t be going back in there this morning.
Entering her space without express permission, even if I had just left, felt like an invasion.
So instead, after I cleaned up, I decided to make breakfast.
Archer caught me taking out the eggs. “Why would you do that?”
“I want to feed our omega.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“Fair. But also, no. You can be my sous chef. That’s the best you’re getting.”
I wanted to argue, but if my mate was going to eat the best food, it was not going to be mine. I helped cut up vegetables for omelets, set the table, and made a fruit salad while he put muffins in the oven.
Justice joined us shortly after, looking better than he had since she’d arrived.
He’d been working long nights, helping her discover her past and other things that may or may not have to do with her.
Not all of his work was something he could talk about, so we never pushed.
We trusted him to tell us anything we needed to know.
They both noticed my mark but neither said anything, just gave me a warm smile.
So much had changed last night. It was a lot to process.
I wondered how Justice was feeling about it, if he was happy for her, hurt for himself, or some mix in between. If he was like I was when she mated Archer, he was happy for her, but I didn’t want to ask and have it feel like salt rubbed in a wound.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
We’d all seen each other naked often enough for him to know that I was a little larger than most, and I was happy that he was caring enough to check on her. Of course he was. She was his, too.
“She’s still sleeping,” I said. “I didn’t want to leave, but I had to pee, and really, she has to eat.”
Just then, her door opened, and Archer turned the skillet on, warming it up so it would be ready.
“What smells so good in here?” she asked.
“Don’t blame me,” I said, my hands up. “This is on Archer. He’s the one who makes the good food.”
“I had a copilot today,” he said and shoulder-bumped me.
“Good morning,” she said. She finished crossing the room and gave a kiss on the cheek to me, then Archer, then Justice. Was this what morning was going to be like from now on? Goddess, I hoped so.
I took the muffins out of the oven and with Justice’s help, placed everything on the table as Archer dished the omelets to order. It was nice like this, all of us eating together. It wasn’t the first time, but each one mattered.
“There’s something we need to talk to you about,” Archer said, reaching across the table to put his hand on hers.
We’d discussed it the day before, but hadn’t gotten around to the conversation yet.
“It’s about your family. Your birth family, I mean.
If you want your birthright, your money, the assets, and all that entails, we can work on helping you get that back. ”
She looked at us like we had six heads and then shook her head vehemently. “No. Absolutely not.”
“We’ll protect you from them,” I said.
“That’s not what I mean. I don’t want anything from them. They…they killed my sister.”
We didn’t know that for sure, but I wasn’t going to correct her, because her sense of loss was real, whether they’d done it or not. And the odds were, they had.
“Okay,” I said, tapping the table. “That’s the end of it. If you change your mind, you can bring it up with us, but we will never push. We are happy to support you, omega ours, in all ways.”
Justice scratched right under his ear, the way he did when he was nervous.
“Out with it,” I snapped, probably a little too forcefully. I got annoyed when he held things in. It wasn’t often, and never long. It was always something that he didn’t need to worry about, either. Silly alpha.
“I was able to do something for you,” he said.
He got up, went to the drawer, and pulled out an envelope, placing it in front of her.
She opened it up carefully and pulled everything out, looking at the documents one at a time.
There was an ID, a birth certificate, school records, and checking account paperwork.
“How did you get these?” she asked.
“Bonnie, there’s one thing we probably should’ve told you about Justice,” Archer said. “We don’t ask his methods. He works in cybersecurity because he can do things others can’t. We just accept them and smile.”
“I will tell you one thing,” Justice said. “I used your birth sister’s name for your last name.”
She opened up the birth certificate. Bonnie River. “Her name was River.”
“I can change it if you want, but it seemed fitting.”
“And these documents won’t get me in trouble?”
“Please don’t ask how,” he said, “but those documents are all legal.”
Her jaw dropped.
“You should get used to Justice,” I said. “Now, you’re not stuck with us anymore.”
“No, I suppose not,” she said. “But you all are stuck with me.”
And I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be.