“Hey, congrats by the way, we heard you packed. Are we invited to the coming out party?” the guy who started all of this asks. Maybe I was wrong about them not being psychos.
A small hiss, or it might have been a click of a tongue, whatever it was is something they’ve used to communicate before because the suddenly chatty one undergoes a personality flip and stands ramrod straight and slides back to where he was.
It gives me the chance to see how very similar in stature the three of them are.
Koz is less subtle than they are. “Talon, stand down.”
I move away and even re-holster my gun, but I don’t move far.
Koz flicks his head up to the leader. “As we already agreed. I want them alive, it’s not like they’re going to run on you, but I don’t care what state they are in. One of us will contact you when we’re ready for the next part, but you can take them.”
“Always a pleasure doing business, Siderno. Let’s not do it again,” the leader says, and then like they’ve practised, they all move as one. Except it’s not practised, I’d say it’s more like these three have been together longer than Lolli, Hayes, Puck, and I have been.
I’d put money on these three being related. Big money.
Epilogue
RANEY
Nine Weeks Later
Puck’s booming laugh has me leaning forward to see what’s got him slapping his legs in a fit of near hysterical laughter.
And there’s no way I cannot smile when I see him. The sunlight hits like a halo of light over his head, and it makes his blonde hair look lighter, his skin more golden, but it’s the glittering love I see in his eyes when he finds mine over the crowd that chokes me up. He winks and I’m smirking back like a lovesick fool.
“Shut your mouth, Raney! You’ll swallow a fly or some shit, then Koz will freak out and the party will get shut down because you have to have a nanna-nap,” Heidi growls from behind me, jabbing a nail in my side to make a point.
Tris and Simona have taken similar positions on either side of me, swamping me with their love and excitement. It’s good to have my girls here with me today to celebrate Pack Siderno coming out. The girls are such an important part of my past. They helped me be who I am today, and who I will be tomorrow too.
I roll my eyes at Ho’s dramatics but let her pull me back against her. The four of us are enjoying the newly installed omega fixture to our rooftop terrace; the sunken nest is full of plush blue and white striped pillows and matching throws. The pillows are the softest and largest cushions I’ve ever seen. They’re insanely comfortable and being in our zone gives us time away from the prowling alphas. And there are lots of those here today.
“Sshh, let me try again,” Heidi says as her arms reach over the top of me and she uses her very own foetal doppler. She even got it engraved with her name.
Yep, as soon as I told my Scorned Girls I was preggers, Heidi Ho went on a shopping spree that made my time at Birdie pale into insignificance. The packages started arriving before she did, and they haven’t stopped since. Our home is swamped with boxes of baby clothes, gadgets, books, and nappies. Our little Bean is going to be the most spoiled child if my alphas, the Fallen, and the Scorned Girls get their way.
“It’s too soon. Maybe if you had the same one the doctor had...” I offer, closing my eyes and sinking into her attention. Heidi’s language of love is her enthusiasm and her spending. Admittedly, my alphas are just as baby mad, and we already have two or three of everything she sends, but all of us act surprised when we open one of her gifts.
“I didn’t get this one from Mega Babies online,” she huffs back before trying again. “It finally pays to know an obstetrician. The man has skilful fingers, I have to say, but I’m definitely only after him for his gadgets. We won’t mention that to anyone here though, right? Stupid bossy alphas thinking they can tell me who I can be with.”
The three of us agree in an instant, and I try to stop the jiggle of my tummy as I giggle, but it’s impossible. She tsks in my ear and has to lift up the device until I get a grip on my laughing. But these days are full of sweeping highs and lows as I’m constantly finding my way through the pregnancy hormones. And no shit, no-one ever told me how horny I would get. It’s almost embarrassing, but it’s not.
“Stop wiggling! No shit, Raney, as soon as you eat your cake your stomach will be gurgling so loud I won’t get to listen to my little god-bubba until tomorrow. Which is not fair at all. I know Tris heard the heartbeat before,” Heidi whines.
“Sometimes I think you love Bean more than you do me,” I reply. The girls start giggling again.
“Sshh,” Heidi scolds, as she restarts searching for Bean’s wickedly strong heartbeat. I close my eyes and let her do her thing, because listening to it is pretty life changing.
“Oh my god.” She whispers. It’s impossible to miss the awe in her voice. And in her happiness she swamps us in her apple scent, dappled by the smell ofher tears of joy. She keeps her hand pressed to my tummy and keeps whispering under her breath as she hears the evidence of my pregnancy herself. It makes me a little weepy, but everything brings a tear to my eyes these days.
The past few weeks have been a surprise to say the least. A complete mix of good and bad surprises too.
The first time we ventured out, our luck meant some of the corrupt boys in blue came at us with their usual gusto. The alternate was the new guys in the Organised Crime Department of Central Bureau of Investigation and Justice were actually good at their job. Either way, I got arrested on suspicion of money laundering; and my alphas lost their shit. Talon got cuffed and thrown to the ground trying to protect me, and Puck was the only one that persuaded Koz not to empty the cartridge of his favourite gun into the lead investigator. While Hayes quietly fumed holding my hand.
Needless to say, Giuseppe has been working overtime. And I’ve been under house arrest since. Not imposed by the police, mind you. No, it was my very own pack that had an epic meltdown and effectively locked the door on the rest of the world. It took some pretty decent threats by King and the girls to even let them in past Lew the first time they came to visit.
Admittedly, we were only leaving our new home because we had a feeling I was pregnant and the doctor who was meant to be coming to see us had to change our appointment time and place because another of his patients was going into labour. Hayes was adamant my scent had changed, and he was right. My other alphas were just as adamant that the doctor would see us before he went and delivered the other baby.
Our lawyers actually used my pregnancy as justification as to why shit went south that day. Charges against me and Talon were dropped. And the police department was dealing with fresh allegations of vexatious harassment and inappropriate misconduct to a newly packed and pregnant omega. We’re looking at new remote servers and better ways to firewall our electronics just in case they really do have something on me, not that it’s stopped me sitting in my office and working my ass off daily.
