My eyes light with understanding. Cassian is using my father’s faults to our advantage, betting my father will do anything to uphold the Rose family name and reputation.
All that calculation, all of his meticulous plans… they’re all about protecting the people he loves.
“You’re always five steps ahead, aren’t you?”
“When it means keeping you safe? Juniper, I’ll do whatever it takes. Always.” There’s such earnestness, such love in his smoke-and-whiskey eyes that my heart swells and I hate that I doubted him, even for a second.
“I wish you didn’t have to lie about your father,” he says with a heavy sigh. “I hate that you can’t drag him through the press for every horrible thing he’s done to you. That we can’t expose him as the vile alpha he truly is.”
“Yet,” I tell him. “We can’t expose himyet. But one day, I’m going to destroy him.”
“Vicious kit-kat,” Simon praises in a low murmur as he ruffles my tangle-free hair and dries it with a quick spell.
“So then, what do we do? Host a press conference?”
Cassian pushes away from the vanity and paces behind us until Simon whirls my chair around. “We make it an exclusive. I’m heir to one of the most prominent packs in the world, the son of a councilor, and you’re the Rose heiress. Our mating is high profile. The moment an exclusive is released, every tabloid reporter in North America will be calling us for interviews or quotes. If we dominate the news cycle for long enough, we’ll earn the public’s love. Then, if Rad retaliates, they’ll destroy him.”
Could it really be that easy? But no. Not with anti-omega organizations gaining ground, their voices dominating the public discourse. “The Soldiers are winning. People hate omegas right now.”
“There are more people on our side than you think, and many more people who can change their minds. People who have omega relatives or friends, who will root for an alpha and omega in love.”
Saints, I hope he’s right. “So, who gets the exclusive?”
“I’ve got a friend who’s a journalist. Let me give him a call while you get dressed, all right?” He stoops to kiss me, and I can feel his smile against my lips. Beneath all of his plans and schemes is an alpha overflowing with joy, who has everything he wants in the world and will do anything to protect it.
He vanishes into the connecting room, pulling out his phone, and Simon helps me to my feet. I pop up on my toes and brush a kiss across his lips.
“Thank you for brushing my hair. I might just need you to do that for me after every heat.”
He dips me in a silly, dramatic kiss. “Kit-kat, you don’t even have to ask. Now come on, get dressed. There are pancakes waiting for us, and our alpha saved us the good ones.”
* * *
I dragmy feet as we make our way to the kitchen, and not just because I’m afraid to meet the families of the men I love. I’m bowled over by the sheer splendor that is the Leclerc estate at Yule. Even the private hallways are dressed in pine garlands, twinkling lights, red and gold ornaments and baubles, and cut-paper snowflakes. The decorations lack the cold sophistication of Rose Manor’s Yule finery. Instead, every hallway is a riot of color and warmth. Tables are covered in poinsettias in golden pots and beautiful blown glass ornaments hang from the ceiling like icicles, lit by magic.
“I may have forgotten to mention that my momlovesYule.”
“I’m sure Junes could tell,” Simon teases, swinging our clasped hands and bumping my shoulder with his.
We make our way down the grand, curving staircase and I skim my fingers over the garlands and ribbons wrapped around the banisters.
Loud, delighted peals of laughter carry down the hallway from the kitchen, and Cassian pulls me forward into a kitchen that, like the rest of the rooms I’ve seen, is both spacious and cozy.
Ellie sees us first and pops up from her chair, dashing over and pulling me into a hug with a giddy squeal. “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay,” she whispers. She spies my mating bite and gives me a mischievous wink. “I guess we’re practically sisters now, huh?”
I’m passed straight from Ellie’s arms into the arms of the woman who could only be Ellie’s mother. Though her hair is honey blond, not the red Simon and Ellie inherited from their father, her green eyes crinkle the exact same way Ellie’s do when she smiles.
I freeze, expecting her to hate me because of Rad’s attack on Simon, but she wraps me in a tight hug and thanks me, in a teary voice, for saving her son.
Bethany clears her throat dramatically. “Excuse me, Melissa, but you’re hogging my new daughter-in-law.”
Simon’s mom shrugs. “I think I might just keep her.”
Bethany’s beautiful face breaks out in an enormous grin. It’s immediately clear where Cassian got his dark hair and eyes, though his mother’s hair is threaded with wisps of white, and her eyes sparkle with mischief. She opens her arms for a hug, and I happily accept her embrace. Saints, I can’t remember the last time I was hugged by so many people that weren’t my men. No one in my family hugs me except my brother Hawthorn, and even his hugs have grown more and more rare.
“What terrible yet wonderful circumstances we’re meeting under,” Bethany says with a sad smile as shows me to a seat at the kitchen table before hugging her son and Simon hello. Simon gives his mother a quick kiss on the cheek and goes to a fancy espresso maker that’s the same as the one we have in the pack house. He brews a few shots of espresso while Cassian fetches us plates of pancakes, covering mine in butter and jam, just how I like them.
Gerard, who I recognize from the news, nods a warm hello and reaches across the table to shake my hand.
