Ava nodded sagely. “I never did before mine either. I’m assuming it has something to do with the scent match.”
“That would make sense. I found out all of them were scent matches on the same day.”
“Twinsies!” Ava beamed. “I bet that was overwhelming as fuck.”
“Wee bit.” I took another bite of chocolate. “Everything changed so fast.”
“I get it, I really do. I was pregnant by the man I thought was going to propose, then found out he was a lying cheater, and had four scent matches dropped in my lap immediately, but it worked out for the best. Are you far enough into things to see if that’s the same for you?”
“It doesn’t take a lot to be better than what I had,” I admitted. “They’ve all been so amazing.”
“Good, because I’m not above purple-nurpling Nathan if he needs a talking to.”
I snort-laughed, covering my face with both hands. “He’s been wonderful, too, I promise. No nip abuse needed.”
Ava stole me away to check out the nursery and I followed slowly while she navigated each stair carefully, out of breath by the time she reached the top.
“Is that normal?”
“Oh, yeah. By the third trimester, the little ones are hogging up a lot of where your organs usually go, so stuff gets squished. I miss taking deep breaths, but otherwise, everything is pretty smooth. Just be glad you’re an omega and not a beta. Our bodies adapt faster, so we usually get to skip a lot of the worst symptoms.”
“I’ll take any blessing I can get. It’s still so weird. I’d really resolved myself to never getting to be a mom.”
“Why couldn’t you be?”
“My last boyfriend had no interest. I didn’t want to do it by myself or bring a child into a home where they weren’t wanted. I had enough experience with that growing up.”
Ava nodded and sat in one of the rocking chairs.
“The nursery is so cute. I love that you went with a nature theme.” I traced my fingers over the mural of orange poppies dotting the cliffside over a blue ocean.
“I wanted my desert babies to still see the ocean. It’s not as good as being there, but we’re planning on a beach trip at least once a year. We went a few months ago and Lucy is a total beach bum.”
We stayed up there chatting, getting to know each other until we heard the sound of Ava’s other alphas returning home. I helped her to her feet, and we ventured back downstairs. She was immediately swept into their arms and kissed like they’d been separated for weeks, instead of a simple trip to the grocery store. Nathan stared at the ceiling until I tucked myself against him. Lucy was busy styling his hair into messy twists that stuck up like cowlicks.
With the berries restocked, they were washed and sliced while the rest of the food was laid out. Our packs melted together in conversation as if they had known each other forever. Nathan kept Lucy on his lap, feeding her while he conversed with everyone.
Tears snuck up on me again. It was a simple family meal, nothing extraordinary in the grand scheme, but whatwasextraordinary was that they weremine. The number of people my pack brought into my life kept growing, and there was still more to come. Jude’s family had been so welcoming that I wasn’t as nervous to meet the others, and Ava’s warm reception calmed me further.
The Madison from two months ago felt like a stranger. She wouldn’t recognize the life I had now, and while I ached for allI had gone without, I was so happy that my life had crumbled to give me this. Jude was right. Maybe the universe had shaken everything loose to make space for something better.
Trusting in fate hadn’t led me astray yet, so I would keep doing that. No matter how uncertain the future could be, I had a foundation to build on, one crafted with compassion, care, and a belief that we were meant to be. How could I go wrong when I trusted in that?
“Isn’t it too early for this?” I asked as Jazz guided me into Baby Nest, a spin-off of Best of Nests.
“Most definitely, but you’re lucky I was able to restrain myself for a whole week. We could’ve gone the day after the cookout if we were doing what I really wanted.” Jazz beamed, her braids coiled into a bun on top of her head, making her look like a queen with the gold satin scrunchie holding it all in place.“But we don’t have to buy anything. We can just look and get inspiration.”
I wasn’t about to argue with that. I loved looking at baby stuff, even though it felt surreal to be looking for mine. At the very least, I could hunt down some cute stuff for Charlotte and Ava.
Jazz gravitated to the baby clothes and held up a tiny dress covered in rainbow dinosaurs. “I’m so jealous of kids now. These are all way cuter than when I was little. I’m warning you now, your kids are going to be the best-dressed babies out there.”
“I’m totally cool if you want to dress them. You have better taste than I do.”
“Nothing wrong with athleisure,” Jazz quipped, taking in my raspberry pink ensemble. “I’m not a ‘beauty is pain’ kind of gal unless I’m sitting for my braids. Comfort is most important, especially for omegas.”
“Madison?” I perked at the sound of my name, turning to see Farrah on the other side of the baby clothes.
“Hey, Farrah.” I smiled and waved, gesturing for her to come over. “Farrah, this is Jazz, one of my new sisters. Jazz, this is Farrah, one of my class instructors.”
