“What?”
“And the beta I’ve been crushing on for a million years. We’re all living in Alve’s apartment for now.”
“Oh mygod,” she said again. “That’s so much change so fast. How are you holding up? Can I tell my pack?”
“Good? I don’t know any of them particularly well except for Jude, but I like what I see so far. And sure, go ahead. I imagine they’d find out soon from their connections anyway.”
Charlotte immediately tapped out some messages on her phone before turning back to me. “How is Alve handling all of this? He doesn’t strike me as someone who’s great with change.”
I laughed and secured her braid with a hair tie, moving to open up one of the face masks for her. “He’s been very gracious. I haven’t had a full discussion with him about how he feels with all of us invading his space, but I know he at least loves having the cats there.”
“Huh, I wouldn’t have pegged him for a cat person.” Charlotte lay down with the mask smoothed to her skin. “That’s good, though. I feel like a lot more people would love pets if they gave them a chance, like that meme of dads twenty-four hours later with the pet they said they didn’t want.”
“Honestly, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened here.” I chattered away, telling her about our stealth mission to the house, and how things had been progressing. “I know why Jude doesn’t have his scent out, but I still want to experience it.”
“Maybe he could switch to the twelve-hour blocker dose so he could have it out overnight without compromising the merchandise at work,” Charlotte suggested.
“That’s a good point. Betas only have to take a low dose too, don’t they?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever asked, but that would make sense.”
While our skin hydrated, I gave Charlotte a little manicure, listening to her talk about how excited her boys were to become big brothers—though I already knew, since they’d talked my ear off while I decorated the nursery—and how her in-laws had stocked them up on baby clothes.
A couple hours into our visit, Beau arrived with a tray of snacks for us. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
“For the scent match or for the breakup?”
“Both.” He offered a soft smile. “Alve is a good man, based on everything I’ve seen. He’ll be a good alpha, but in case he’s ever not, you’re always welcome in our home.”
I sucked back tears, a swell of emotion clogging my throat. “Thank you.”
“Once the babies have been home for a while, we can invite everyone out,” Charlotte added.
“Does Ava know I’m scent matched to her brother?”
“I’m not sure,” replied Charlotte. “I feel like she would’ve told me if she knew.”
“Do you think she’ll be happy about it?”
“I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t be. You’ll be a lovely sister-in-law.”
“I hope so. The pack have all been so wonderful to me. I don’t want my recovery from Tyler to get in the way of giving them a good life, too.”
Beau gently cleared his throat. “Perhaps I can offer some perspective from the alpha side of this?”
“Please do.”
“Your existence is going to do that for them. You don’t have to do anything specific, you just have to be there, and be open to them loving you. That’s all it takes. They’ll have a natural urge to care for you, and if you’re comfortable with that, you’ll feed their instincts by accepting.”
“Really? That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Beau confirmed with a nod and took Charlotte’s hand. “I didn’t have trust in fate when I was pushed into a second chance. I understand being apprehensive because you can’t see the future, but if you’re willing to let it happen, it can lead to something truly beautiful.”
Could it possibly be so simple? I didn’t have to jump through hoops or bend over backward to give them what they needed?
I wanted a life like that so badly I could taste it. Now I just had to be brave enough to accept it all and everything that came with fate.
“So…” I broached the subject, since Nathan had yet to divulge his plan despite us drivingsomewhere. “What are we doing today?”
