“What are you doing up so early?” Madison slipped over to me and straight into my arms. “I thought I’d be the first one up.”
She’d scared me yesterday—scared all of us, really. Her panic attack was nearly as bad as experiencing one myself, and while I already hated Tyler for what he’d done to her, I was ready to find wherever he’d gone for dinner and borrow a knife from the kitchen.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Something on your mind?”
“You.” Might as well be honest about it.
“Me?” She blinked up at me.
I swallowed hard, nervous to actually tell her what I’d been stewing in. “I’m no stranger to needing peace, and I’ve retreated the way you did many times in the past, but I suppose I wasn’t prepared for what that would feel like through a bond.”
“I’m sor?—”
“No, treasure, it’s nothing to be sorry for. You can’t help feeling the way you did.” With a sigh, I held her close, savoring the warmth of her in my arms. “I can’t promise you’ll never repeat that experience, but I hope you know that you don’t need to be alone to deal with it. If your past rears its ugly head again one day, we’ll be there to help, if you want us to.”
“I hope it doesn’t,” she said after a moment of silence.
“I hope so, too. I was thinking, though, that feeling your fear and being unable to do a thing about it, having you withdraw, brought into stark reality how much I wanted to be part of your life in all ways, good and bad. How much I…love you.”
Her twist of anxiety bolted through the bond at the same time as her elation, her pure, sweet delight over my declaration.It took barely a second for it to become the dominant emotion. “Alve.”
I loved the surprised, breathy way she said my name.
“You make it so easy to love you.” She stood on her toes, looping her hands behind my neck and rising up to kiss me. “I want to be part of your life, too, and I love you, I do. You’re so sweet, and I’m so grateful to have you.”
My instincts sang.
Madison loved me.
“I did something I hope you’ll approve of.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve approved of everything you’ve ever done since we met, but carry on.”
“I want to build a life with you, and we’ve done that in many ways with the bond, and the baby, but we need a home as well.”
Her hand lifted to her belly, palm cradling though there was no noticeable bump yet.
“There’s room for us here,” I continued, “but not a nursery, and no space for guests, either. If we had a house, we could expand.”
Her warm brown eyes consumed me. “A house sounds lovely. Did you have something specific in mind?”
“Oh, yes.” I pulled out my phone and tapped on the listing. “This one has everything I could think of that we might need.”
She took the phone from me, scrolling through the images, her excitement bubbling up in the bond. “Alve, this place isbeautiful. Oh my god. It’s so expensive, though. I can’t help with this.”
“You don’t have to help with it financially. The pack is coming together for our shared home, and it will be placed in your name as part of your omega trust.” I kissed her forehead when her bottom lip wobbled. “You willneverhave to worry about having a home, regardless of your relationship with us.”
“Alve…” She trailed off with a sniffle. “No, I want us to share our home. You won’t let anything happen to me if something changes. I know that. Itrustthat, now. The house has to belong to all of us.”
“If you would prefer that, I can certainly ensure everyone’s name is on it.”
She nodded decisively. “I can’t promise I won’t ever struggle, but I want to invest in our future. I want a home that we can stay in, where our children can grow up. Can we go see it?”
“We have an appointment to view it this morning.”
Madison blinked. “You already booked us one?”
