I groan into the pillow. “He’s going to lose his mind.” I nudge Carson with my toes where he’s sprawled at the foot of the nest. “I need to tell him,” I whisper.
Carson cracks one eye open. “Tell who what, peaches?”
Finn’s head lifts slightly, brows drawing together in sleepy confusion. “Who are we talking about?”
“My dad.” The words make the air shift, the happiness in the room dipping into wary tension. I swallow, voice soft butcertain. “He needs to know… about all of you. About us. That I have a pack now. That Finn and Landon are part of it, too.”
Finn freezes, his fingers twitching against my stomach. “Wait, didn’t your dad hire them to keep me away from you, and now…” his voice trails off, and his lips curve in an incredulous smile. “Oh, he’s gonna hate me.”
“He’s not gonna love me either,” Landon mutters, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Graham’s deep rumble cuts through the air, steady and grounding. “He’ll get over it. He just needs to see that she’s safe. That she’s happy.” He leans over Finn, and his arm hooks under me, lifting me into his lap. “And you are, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
I nod, my throat tight. “Yeah. Happier than I’ve ever been. I just…I don’t want to hide us. Not from my dad.”
Hunter leans forward, resting his hand on my thigh. “Then we go with you. All of us. He needs to see your pack the way it really is.”
Finn’s expression softens, as though he’s still stunned that he belongs here, that I’d fight for him too. “You really think he’ll let me stay?”
I press my palm against his cheek, feeling his slight tremor under my touch. “I don’t need his permission anymore. I just want his blessing.”
Carson grins, devil-may-care. “And if he doesn’t give it, we’ll charm the hell out of him until he does. Graham can put on his scary bodyguard face, Landon can smile like a Boy Scout, and Hunter and I will make him coffee until he caves.”
Finn lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head. “This is insane. Like, more insane than everyone thinks I am.”
“It’s us,” I correct gently. My heart feels as if it’s going to burst. “And it’s time he knew it.”
Graham’s truckhums beneath me as we pull into the long circular drive of my childhood home. My stomach knots tighter with every second. I can feel all five of them in different ways—Carson humming a tune under his breath, trying to lighten the mood, Hunter watching the windows as though we’re entering enemy territory, Graham steady as a rock behind the wheel.
Finn and Landon sit in the back with me, Finn’s thigh pressed against mine, Landon’s fingers tangled with mine under the blanket. My chest is buzzing, torn between the warmth of my pack and the sharp edge of dread.
The front door opens before Graham even shifts the truck into park. My father steps out, crisp and controlled in a navy sweater, his silvering hair catching the winter light. His gaze lands on me first, softening for the briefest second, then sweeps over the men climbing out behind me. The softness dies.
I brace myself.
“Willow.” His voice is brisk. “What is this?”
I swallow and force my voice steady. “This is…my pack.”
His jaw ticks. His gaze moves from Graham—whom he trusts—to Carson and Hunter—who I’m pretty sure he also trusts—and then lands on Landon, pausing, and finally Finn.
The recognition is instant. His face hardens. “Eric.” He doesn’t even look at me, already signaling toward the porch where Eric, his personal guard, steps out of the shadow. “Get my daughter inside. Now.”
“Dad—”
“Now,” he barks, and for a moment, I’m frozen in the crossfire of old habits and new life.
Eric moves, but Finn is faster. He steps between us with a subtle shift, his posture deceptively relaxed, but his eyes cold steel. “She’s not going anywhere with you if she doesn’t want to.”
My dad’s face darkens. “You. You’re the one I had to hire them to keep away from her. And now you’re—what? Playing house with her?”
Landon stiffens beside me, ready to defend my choices, but Finn doesn’t flinch. He just tilts his head, unruffled in a way that makes my dad’s fury spike higher.
“Dad, stop.” My voice cracks, but I push forward, moving to Finn’s side, my hand finding his without thinking. “This isn’t what you think. I’m safe. I’m happy. They’re my pack. All of them.”
“You think that means anything to me?” His laugh is humorless, bitter. “I gave you freedom. I let you run around the city and play your games, and this is what you do? You let the one man I told you to stay away from bite you, and you expect me to bless it?”
Graham finally steps forward, his size and calm authority filling the icy air. “Sir. With all respect, she doesn’t need your blessing. She wanted to tell you because she loves you. Because she wanted you to see she’s not a little girl anymore—she’s an omega with a pack who would burn the world down for her.”
