“They can find me all they want, but your dead body will be on the ground.”
“What kind of a father are you who would say something like that to your own—”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence. He ripped through his skin, and I did the same with mine. There was no way I was letting him take me down without a fight.
Tyrone had shown me some self-defense over the past few weeks, both in my skin and in my fur. And yeah, my dad was stronger than me, but Tyrone had tricks…tricks that could be used to fell the largest bear. I pulled out everything I had and got in a few good swipes.
My father’s ear was hanging on by a thread. Blood was pouring from his foot. He kept coming, and I kept defending, until suddenly he knew all my tricks. I’d used them all up. Now, it was time to go for the jugular and hope that I caught him just enough off guard to land my final swipe before his last breath because, if I messed it up, it was going to be me on the ground.
Growls filled the air. Not my father’s. Not mine. No, my mates were here. I felt myself tackled to the ground and was shocked to scent that it was by Felix. The other two jumped on my father. I tried to get up. Felix refused. I tried again. He still refused.
I gave up. He wasn’t allowing me to have this fight. There had to be a reason, but in that moment, I couldn’t think of a single one that would be worthy enough.
And then Felix jumped off me, shifted, and spoke to me as the other two stood over my father’s body.
“He’s gone, omega ours. He’s gone.”
I looked around him. There was my father. Blood everywhere. I waited for some sorrow, some disappointment, but none came. Only relief. I took my skin again.
“I almost had him.”
“We know.” Tyrone touched my cheek. “And you would have, too, our fierce omega. You remembered everything I taught you. You’d have destroyed him. But you don’t want to remember the day your father took his last breath and you took your first life. You don’t want that guilt, as deserved as his death was.”
“It isn’t wise for you to carry that guilt.” Cannon squeezed my shoulder.
“Let us shelter you from it.” Felix pressed his hand against the small of my back.
I never would’ve thought of the burden I’d be carrying until it was too late. But they had. My mates were always protecting me, even from myself.
Chapter Twenty- Eight
Felix
With pack leadership gone, Millie’s old sleuth had been taken over by a kind old alpha who felt called to help out. Many of those who had been shameful but not arrested left as soon as he arrived, and others who had been complicit but not happy about it were relieved at the change. Then, as it turned out, there was a whole base of them who had never had any part of the criminal actions or the cruel ones. They hadn’t even been complicit, and had been trying to stop all the bad things going on in a sleuth that had been good once upon a time.
Millie might not have been overly emotional about her father’s death, but she was very happy to see her sleuth come back to life. Her life there was not great at all, but it was her life, and she believed before her mom passed that things had been better.
And with that door closing, we were able to turn our attention to our own future. As her pregnancy progressed, Millie’s desire to have her nest completed also grew. We were getting close, but there were still details to complete, and our omega had been shopping online a lot and packages were arriving. They were piled in a corner of the living room waiting for the moment the nest was finished, and on a beautiful warm day, it was ready.
Millie didn’t even eat breakfast before she began to gather all the boxes and bags and carry them out to the nest. She hadn’t opened a single one and refused to even tell us what they held, but as we followed her out, she did allow us to carry some.
“It’s such a beautiful room.” She sighed. “And so much more special because you all built it for me.”
“Don’t forget, you helped,” I pointed out.
“I did some, but I spent more time ogling the construction workers.” She winked and took scissors from a drawer. “Ready to see all the stuff for my nest?”
We definitely were, but Millie decided we would have to bring all the rest of her packages in so we could open them at once. When we had them all in a pile, she set to work. “I needed just the right finishing touches, and you told me it was okay for me to pick those, right?”
“Mate, you could have picked anything you liked, but I’m so glad you found things you like. What are they?” I looked over her shoulder, ready to see what had our omega so excited. I’d actually thought it might be baby clothes, diapers…things like that.
“Pillows, blankets, cushions.” She laid out each one in front of her, a rainbow effect growing. “I first thought they would all be jeweled tones, just those very rich deep colors like this royal-purple throw, but I kept finding more that I liked and how could I decide?”
“You didn’t have to, omega.” Cannon picked up an emerald-green quilt and rubbed it against his cheek. “This one is very soft.”
“Right? I was hoping it would be. But try the red-and-pink striped one. It’s got a whole other feel. Still soft but with more of a bumpiness.”
Every pillow, bolster, blanket, throw, afghan, and comforter was slightly different both in color and texture, and we admired them, appreciating their beauty before our mate got started on the arranging part.
