"That went surprisingly well," Finn remarked, looking lighter than he had in years.
"Too well," Mace groused. "Why is Geo acting like he's okay with us? We're rivals."
"Are we?" I popped a last piece of bacon in my mouth. "Far as I can tell, we're going after the same omega. We all feel the same pull. Why wouldn't he want to join ranks? It would be impossible to manage an omega completely on your own . . . the only reason her heat didn't overwhelm him is because it was short this time."
"True." Mace thought about it as he wiped the table down. "I guess that makes sense, but he has to hate us as much as she does."
"I think he fucking detests what we did but maybe not who we are to her," Finn said.
"That's pretty much it," Geo's voice sounded from the doorway. He was leaning there, looking insanely hot in his black shirt and sweatpants that Finn had chosen for him. "I'm trying to reserve judgement on you as men, but I am not impressed with your decisions so far. That woman in there is hurting as a direct result of what you did to her. You didn't land the punches or the whips, but you sure set it up to happen. The only reason I'm okay with you being here is because I know you thought you did the right thing."
"So, intent over results?" I shook my head. "We're guilty. We messed up so badly."
"You did." He jerked his head toward the back porch. "Let's talk."
Outside, we took seats on the wooden chairs we hadn't used since Liora left . . . since we sent her away. It brought back memories of her always wanting us to eat out here, looking out over the garden where she tended her flowers.
The flower beds were overgrown now. No one had been out here in so long, except to mow the lawn. I sighed, realizing that it was just another way we'd let her down.
"What are your intentions with Liora?" Geo asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. His brown eyes ran over us, obviously finding us lacking.
"I want her back," Mace said. "But I also realize that's not likely to happen."
"It could happen," Finn mused. "I love her and miss her. I want her back, too, but mostly, I just want her to be happy and she seems to be happy with you, Geo."
He nodded and turned his eyes to me. "What about you, Aiden?"
"I . . . I need her to forgive me. That's all. I will suffer until the end of my days without her if that's what it takes, but I can't live this life knowing there's no hope of her forgiveness."
"Forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting."
"I know." I rubbed at my face. "She means so much to me and I hate that it took her being away to make us see that."
"She's our missing piece," Finn said solomnly.
"Okay. Here's how I see this working," Geo said, straightening up. "We have to live here for the next bit anyway. I'm going to stretch that out a bit to give you all a chance to make it right for her. You have six weeks to prove yourselves. If I think that you're hurting her, we're gone. If you make her cry and not in a good way, you're banned from talking to her. You may be her bonded mates, but right now, she doesn't trust you and she is terrified of alphas, so keep that in mind."
We all looked at each other, everyone feeling hopeful through the bond.
"We can work with that," Mace said. "Thank you for giving us the opportunity."
"Don't make me regret it. She's precious and she deserves the world. That's why, when we go to get new bedding, you're going to buy her some extra stuff in secret. You know her, you should know what she likes. Surprise her."
Finn actually had his paper out and was making notes again. The man was hellbent on doing everything he could for her. I was on board with that.
"When she wakes up, I'll make her a snack and we can head to the Swan's Nest." I stood up, already thinking about what Liora would like to eat.
"She's already eaten a lot," Finn pointed out. "She won't be hungry, but we can make her some iced tea. She used to love thatraspberry tea you make and I think we still have a couple boxes of it."
Nodding, I headed inside to make the tea. It would need time to cool. It was a drink I hadn't made since Liora left, but she had always loved it when I did it, even going so far as to say that it just didn't taste right when she made it. It had to be perfect this time.
Chapter 26
Swan's Nest
Liora
Iwoke up and stretched, bumping into Geo who was staring at the ceiling. He looked over and smiled at me.
