“No. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
“Good. Because I don’t have time for his bullshit right now.” She crossed her arms. “If you came to beg on his behalf, save it. I’m done withthis.”
“Done?” Kade’s voice was cold.
“I found them, Kade. My mates. Real mates. Not some twisted fate with your brother.” Ava’s tone was desperate, her eyes darting to where Dahlia stood beside me. “They want me, but they won’t raise her. I was going to drop her at the home for kids.”
My heart skidded to a halt, and it felt like the blood in my veins froze over.
After everything Dane and Kade had been through, she should know better. She knew what foster care did to them, yet she was willing to hand her daughter over to the same fate. I bit down on my tongue to stop the slur of words from flying. Kade’s knuckles cracked.
“Take her now, or never. I’m choosing me,” Ava said, gesturing at the little girl who remained silent.
It was so unfair.
Behind me, Uriel growled, low and dangerous. Dahlia stumbled back away from the sound. I dropped to my knees in front of Dahlia. Up close, the gray of her eyes was even more devastating. She didn’t cry. Didn’t beg. She was a reflection of my soul before I met my Alphas. She waited, patient and resigned, for strangers to decide her fate.
“Dahlia,” I whispered, reaching out to tuck a wispy bang behind her ear. “Would you like to come with us? We want to take you to your Daddy. He’s waiting for you.”
Hope filled those familiar gray eyes as they searched mine. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I want to go to Daddy.”
My throat closed. Those gray eyes, Dane’s eyes, stared at me with hope she shouldn’t have had to lose in the first place. Ithought of him, carrying the weight on his shoulders believing he’d lost her. Not anymore.
She reached out, her hand open. I held her little palm in mine. She was so cold.
“Where’s her stuff?” I asked Ava, desperate to get Dahlia out before she could change her mind.
“She’s wearing it,” Ava snapped. “I threw the rest out yesterday. I’m moving in an hour.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Kade said, his voice curt. “We’ll get her everything she needs.”
He turned and walked toward the door, and Uriel’s hand on my lower back urged me forward. I started to lead Dahlia out, but she stopped. She looked up at me and lifted her arms. I scooped her up, her small frame settling against my chest like she belonged there.Mine.The first tear escaped as I carried her toward the car. Dahlia didn’t look back at her Mother. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her hands gripping my shirt.
I held her tighter.
“You’re safe now,” I whispered. “We’re taking you home.”
Home
A jet ride later, we were back, and I was exhausted. I held Dahlia against my chest, her small fingers locked in the fabric of my shirt like when we’d left Ava’s house. Her head lolled against my collarbone, her thumb in her mouth. It was the only thing I’d seen her do that cracked the mask of maturity she’d worn. In sleep, she finally looked like the little girl she was supposed to be, not the survivor she’d become.
I followed Kade and Uriel in, their footsteps heavy and cautious. They weren’t just my Alphas; they were witnesses. This was the moment we cemented into a pack or shattered for good. My heart slammed against my ribs, but I forced my breathing to stay level for the little girl in my arms.
When they stopped at the entrance of the sitting room, I knew Dane was there. I stood behind them, but saw where he sat in the same chair I’d crawled on all fours to him.
“Dane,” Kade said softly. His voice carried something I’d never heard before—careful and desperate at once.
“I didn’t say anything about taking the jet or disappearing all day without a word. If you were going to sneak around, you should have beat me home,” he snapped. I would usually have flinched, but I knew it came from a good place. He was worried. “Where the hell were you?”
I walked past the Alphas, heading straight for the rug at the center of the room. His eyes widened at the child in my arms, hislips parted. Then he was on his feet, the light from the fireplace cast shadows over us. I ignored Dane, placing Dahlia down on the coffee table.
“Wait here, Dahlia,” I whispered, brushing her bangs from her face.
She nodded, her eyes following me as I walked out. I rushed up to his room. I wasn’t sure about what I was doing, but I listened to my instincts. I went to Dane’s room and pulled the hoodie I’d stolen, I snatched Uriel’s sweater from my nest, and Kade’s shirt. I snagged as many pillows as I could, only three, but I stuffed the clothes in it to make it easier to carry, and added a few more from my nest. Then I grabbed a sheet we’d tangled in during my heat and a blanket from his closet.
I returned to the living room and dropped to my knees on the rug. I didn’t look at any of them—couldn’t. This was something only an Omega could do for their young.
I spread the sheet first, smoothing it flat with trembling hands. Then Dane’s hoodie, the one I’d stolen, went down like a foundation stone. I pressed my face into it, breathing deep—campfire and pine—before laying it out. Kade’s shirt came next, and I rubbed it between my palms, releasing his scent of cherries and chocolate into the fibers. Uriel’s sweater I folded twice, creating a soft pillow, sandalwood wrapping around the others like the final note in a song.
