Not that Kait and I have a home anymore. We’re starting over in our lives without Colin.
Or, hopefully, we will be after the divorce proceedings end.
“Good morning, princess!” Foster drops a kiss on Kaitlin’s head and steals a slice of strawberry off her plate as he joins us in the small living area. His curly hair is damp from a shower, and he’s wearing a tight black t-shirt with gray joggers. The way they hug his thighs feels inappropriate, especially when he rounds the small table and I can clearly see the outline of his manhood.
I squeeze my eyes shut and feel my cheeks burning when I realize I’m staring.
His chuckle makes my eyes pop back open. The pounding of my heart intensifies when I find him standing toe-to-toe with me. So close I can feel the soft wisps of his breath and smell the faint mint of his toothpaste.
“I love having your eyes on me, Angel.” He leans forward and brushes his lips against my cheek. The small bit of contact sends electricity skittering across my skin. I startle when he leans down and presses a kiss to my stomach, too. “Good morning, Little Man. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
Sweet Fates!These men are determined to break through every reservation I have about growing my relationship with them. In a few short weeks, they’ve adopted both my children as their own, stepping up to help me in any way they can. It’s overwhelming to go from a mother doing everything on her own to having two men willing to jump at the chance to help.
“Are you excited about the appointment?” he asks as he wanders back to the table and makes a plate for himself.
“Yes. It will be nice to hear from a doctor with access to modern pregnancy information.” This was one of the things I asked Donovan for when we were cleared to leave the safe house. An obstetrician cleared by the DAU to perform a check-up on the baby. I have concerns about the way my stress has affected the baby. Not that he isn’t active or anything feels wrong. I’m afraid and need a professional to reassure me.
The door to our suite opens, and Shepherd walks in. He’s wearing a cut-off shirt and gym shorts that are way too short for my libido. I can see the bottom part of a tattoo that spans the outside of his left thigh. Part of me wants to get a closer look, hoping it will give me some piece of the Alpha I haven’t discovered yet. But I don’t ask. One day I will, just not today.
“So, I heard the meeting with Ms. Adler didn’t go as you hoped.” Foster pulls my attention from his mate, but I can tell he isn’t upset. There is heat in his aquamarine eyes, and a spark of amusement that seems to grow each time I’m caught checking one of them out.
Sighing, I turn my attention back out the window. Remembering everything the lawyer had said puts a damper onmy desire. “It did not. Getting divorced isn’t as easy as I hoped it would be, and getting custody of my children is even more difficult.”
Kaitlin quietly asks to be finished and rushes to the bedroom to play with her toys. I’m grateful when Foster takes care of her plate, as I’m not sure I could stomach being so close to the remnants of her breakfast. With his plate cleared and piled on the cart, he ushers me to the small couch on the other side of the room. “Why isn’t the divorce guaranteed? You and Colin aren’t bonded, and you found your Fate-matched mates. It should be cut and dried.”
“She didn’t tell them.”
My hands wring together on my lap, feet trained on the floor to avoid the looks on their faces. “We hadn’t discussed it beforehand. I didn’t want to tell her without speaking to the two of you first. Dragging you into a lengthy court battle with my husband isn’t something I would ever do without your consent.”
Fingers grip my chin, tilting my head until I’m staring into Shepherd’s eyes. This close, it’s easy to get lost in the golden threads that starburst through the honey-brown orbs. The edges fade to a darker, richer earth tone. They’re beautiful, mesmerizing, and so full of possession that my heart skips a beat.
He scoots over an inch so Foster can plaster against his side. I’m left staring up at the two of them, drowning in the combination of their citrusy, woodsy, warm scents. They flood me with all thingsthem:their scents, their touch, their bodies. And not a single ounce of it is sexual. All I can feel is the suffocating love they’re offering.
“There is nothing to discuss, Wildfire. We’re yours.”
Foster nods, fingers rising to dance across my jaw to my lips. “All your baggage, the trauma you’re still learning to deal with. The messy mornings and long nights. We want it all.”
“As soon as you’re ready, Hannah, we’ll add all three of you to our pack roster.”
As quickly as they touched me, they drop their hands and walk away, moving in sync to clean up and pack their bags. It’s jarring to have them go from one hundred to zero, but I’m glad for the reprieve. There is only so much of their intensity I can handle without melting. Every day, it’s getting harder to hold myself back. The fear that Colin will somehow use my connection to them against me and take the kids is the only thing stopping me from diving in headfirst.
I hope Ms. Adler can convince a judge to move our case to the federal courts. The quicker the divorce goes through, the sooner I can give in.
“Omen’s being released today,” Shepherd informs me as I pack Kaitlin’s and my bags.
“That’s good, right? The doctor wouldn’t let her go home if they thought her health was in danger?”
He leans against the door frame, changed into clean basketball shorts and a tank top instead of the sweat-soaked clothes he wore to the gym. Fresh clothes do little to diminish the strength of his scent, which sweeps into the room and threatens to knock me to my knees. Arousal pulses between my legs, and I have to look away quickly so he doesn’t see it written on my face.
“Should be, yeah. It’s better for her to go home where she can be in her nest.”
Zipping Kaitlin’s duffel bag shut, I move around the bed to finish packing mine. “Are we going to pick her up?”
“Her roommate, Bea, is taking her home. You’ll love her when you meet her. Her, Omen, and Foster have Omega nights every couple of months. It’s a blast watching the three of them together.”
A smile pulls at my lips. Omen has told me a little about her life after Whitlan, and being adopted into the Powell pack was a big part of that. Bea is the Powell’s only daughter. An Omega a few months younger than my sister, who had quickly taken Omen under her wing and taught her the truth about the designations.
I’m grateful to all the people who helped ease my sister into life outside of the cult. Hearing she has people in her corner eases some of the guilt I felt when I stayed behind.
