She told them what her mom said about Otto and the drive to the park.
“I’m glad she’s safe and so are the park shifters,” Crew said, “but I think it’s a good sign that Otto knows she’s not here.”
“It doesn’t mean we take anyone’s safety for granted,” Avi said.“He could still target any one of us to try to force Sera out of hiding.”
“I just don’t get why he won’t find someone else to mate,” Zara said.“It’s wild that he was so intent on claiming an arranged mate who literally fled the state to avoid him.Trying to claim Sera instead is some extra-strength bullshit.”
“I think it’s his ego,” Fallon said.“Jaguars who become alpha tend to view failure of any sort as a total failure as alpha.So because he was promised me as a mate to ally the prowls by Dario when he was alpha, the males following him would see it as a colossal error on his part if he couldn’t secure the mating.”
“Being pregnant meant he didn’t want you, though?”Avi said.
“Yeah.So he saw my mom as a substitute.”
“It’s so gross,” Zara said.She leaned against Crew.“I’m glad our alpha isn’t an ass like that.”
Crew grinned.“Me too.”
* * *
Later that day, after a sexy romp in the sheets and a nap, Fallon settled in the sewing room to mend a pair of coveralls.She liked the mindless work and being helpful to the herd in a way that was wholly unique.
She wiggled in the chair, her back aching.The chair was not working for her.
As she tried to get comfortable, Avi walked in with a box and said, “The other package from the sewing store was finally delivered.”
“Oh, yay!”she said.She put the coveralls on the table and stood, stretching.“Do you think there’s a better chair than this one somewhere?It’s killing my back.”
“Let’s go look.I’m sure we can find one, and if not, we can order one.”
They left the sewing room and looked in the storage rooms.Several were filled with boxes and bags, old shelf units loaded with dusty items, but in one of the rooms they found furniture.Including several desk chairs.
As she sat on them one by one and tested each out, she swiveled in a circle and noticed two closet doors in one wall.
“What do you think?”he asked, looking at the chair critically.
“I think this one will work,” she said.“Why are there two closets in here?”
“Huh?Oh, I don’t know.That’s kind of weird.”
They walked to the doors and opened one, which turned out to be a standard closet with a few old coats hanging in it.When they opened the second door, it had loose wires hanging from the ceiling and walls, and pipes covered with plastic caps on the floor.
“Holy crap,” Avi said.“It’s a plumbed bathroom.I had no idea this was here.”
She smiled as Avi walked into the large space and pointed out where the shower, sink, and toilet would go, his voice filled with awe.
Her mind spun.“Could we turn this space into a suite for us?And a room for the baby next door?Then we’d have more privacy and a crying baby wouldn’t be so loud for the other stallions if he or she were on a different floor.”
“That’s a great idea,” he said.“Dexter is already working on plans to turn a couple of the rooms off the kitchen into suites with one of them earmarked for Grey and Tatum, but this room is already done.We’d just have to install the bathroom fixtures, clear out the stuff shoved in here and the next room, and paint.I can do a lot of this work myself.”
“I’d help.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek.“I’d love that.We can talk to Crew about it, but I know he won’t mind.”They talked about the bathroom and attached bedroom for a bit, and then went to the room next door, which had a small walk-in closet and a picture window that overlooked the front yard.“I think this would be the perfect room for our baby,” she said, picturing a rocking chair by the window and a crib against the wall.
He grabbed the desk chair she’d liked the best and wheeled it to the sewing room to replace it, carrying out the other one.As she settled in the seat, she said, “Oh yeah, that’s much better.”
“We need to clear this room out too.It’s still got stacks of boxes.It’s got to be mostly junk left from the old owner.”
“I’m sure Zara would help me go through the boxes in here,” she said, swiveling in the chair with a smile.“It could be a sewing room and a playroom.For all the babies that will come into the herd in the next few years.Not just ours, but the other herd members.”
