“Let’s start with the big items,” Shepherd suggests, pushing a flat cart toward the back where cribs and bassinets are set up.
We spent the next two hours filling their carts. A crib, car seat, swing, anything they think the baby might need gets piled on, and then they move on to the smaller essentials: bottles, clothes, diapers, all of it. I wasn’t aware that regular diaper deliveries were an option, but I’m glad it is. That will make things much easier, and hopefully prevent us from making last-minute runs to the store to grab more.
I’m overwhelmed, overjoyed, and exhausted by the time we leave. The best part is that Shepherd set up for everything to be delivered tomorrow morning, so we don’t have to fit it all in the trunk of their car.
“Thank you,” I murmur, laying my head on his shoulder as the cashier finishes setting everything up. His arm wraps around my waist, holding me close, and he presses his lips to my temple. A wordless acknowledgment of my gratitude. The steady rise and fall of his chest soothes the frazzled edges of my heart, erasing any guilt I feel about them spending so much moneyon us. I could have paid for everything myself, but the offended growl he let out when I suggested as much silenced me.
If his inner-Alpha needs to support us financially to feel settled, I won’t stop him. There are other ways I can contribute to their pack. Ones I’m more familiar with anyway, like cooking and cleaning.
“Mommy, we go sees Auntie Omen now?” Kaitlin asks when we climb into the car, several minutes later.
“Yeah, Little Bug, we’re going to head to their house now. It’s a bit of a drive. Are you sure you don’t need to pee?” Starburgh is an hour’s drive north of our apartment. It isn’t far, but I’d prefer to be much closer to my sister. A wish I haven’t voiced. Yet. One day soon, we will have to talk about the lack of space in the guy’s apartment.
Not today. Today is for swimming and checking in on my sister.
Pack Graves’ house is exactly what I expected from the band of masked singers. It’s dark, moody, and whimsical. The array of orange and red leaves already falling from the trees around their house brings a touch of color that adds to the whimsy. It feels magical out here.
A large cobblestone patio sits outside their home gym. It’s partially covered, allowing them to enjoy the space in all seasons. Kaitlin cheers when she sees the large in-ground pool, excitedly chattering to Nexus, one of the pack’s Alphas, about it. My little mermaid has already convinced him and Foster to joinher in the water, and we haven’t even been here longer than five minutes.
“Where’s Omen?” Shep grunts, hand twitching against my side. His standoffish attitude makes me fall for him a little more. These men certainly deserve our ire for the way they have treated my sister, the danger they put her in.
“She’s still in her room. I’ll grab her.” Their pack leader quickly disappears into the house, leaving us standing awkwardly with their massive, long-haired Alpha and nervous Beta.
“Is there anything we should avoid cooking?” The Alpha, Titan, asks. His name certainly suits him, since he towers over me by nearly a foot.
I shake my head, telling him anything is fine. Now that we are in the final stretch of the pregnancy, morning sickness and nausea are nearly nonexistent. Hunger has replaced them as my little bean tries to grow as much as he can before entering the world.
Titan heads to their outdoor kitchen area, taking their Beta, Callisto, with him. I feel awkward standing here in the mid-September heat, so I venture to the edge of their pool and sit. The cool water feels amazing on my sore feet. Shepherd hovers behind me for a minute, not leaving until I tilt my head back and smile up at him. It’s not like I can go anywhere now that I’ve sat down. I can barely stand from the couch, let alone climb back to my feet after sitting on the ground.
Kaitlin is already splashing in the shallow end of the pool when the back door opens. I watch from the corner of my eye as Nebula carries my sister outside. Anger builds deep in my chest as I look her over. She’s gotten worse. The dark circles beneath her eyes paired with her pale, drawn face to create a ghastly vision. She looks half dead, and it breaks my heart.
Why is she here if their presence isn’t helping?!
He sets her down a few feet behind me, hands steadying her waist when she sways on her feet. She sinks to the ground beside me, nearly collapsing in on herself with the effort it takes. “You arenotokay,” I grit out. “You should’ve called me! I would have been here sooner!”
It guts me to see her like this. To know how perilously close to losing her I am.
She shrugs. “I know, but you have enough on your plate. I’ve been trying to figure things out for myself.”
Narrowing a hard look her way, I bite back my complaints. I’ve always had too much on my plate, but that has never meant I didn’t have time for her. “Handling the rejection alone doesn’t seem to work for you.”
Omen leans against me, slipping her head beneath my arm. My hand rises to play with her long hair, slowly gliding through the strands. Memories surface of the many times I would sneak into her bedroom when she was little and pet her hair until she fell asleep. We may be older now, scarred by the paths Fate has led us down, but she’s still the little girl seeking comfort from her older sister.
I listen as she tells me about her doctor visiting and telling her what steps she needs to take next. Knowing her only option is to bond with the men who rejected her seems insanely unfair. That’s the perfect description of our lives thus far,isn’t it?From being born to parents who hated us to growing up in a cult that celebrated our abuse, nothing about our lives so far has been fair. Why would Fate grant us that reprieve now?
Guilt strikes momentarily when my attention is drawn to Foster and Shepherd. Fate may not have given my sister an easy path with her Fate-matched mates, but it did for me. Neither of my mates has ever doubted me. They’ve been all in from the moment we met. Something I wish Omen had the chance to experience, too.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I ask quietly.
Do I want to lose her to this rejection? No.
Will I force her to accept them so that I can keep her? Absolutely not. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Omen turns and looks up at me. For the briefest second, I’m standing face-to-face with our father. The image fades quickly, only brought on by the mossy green eyes they share. I know why she often wears contacts. If I had to look in the mirror every morning and see Father’s eyes staring back at me, I would go mad.
“I don’t know,” she admits. “I want to be bonded to them, but I want to go back to before everything fell apart and bond as the version of us we were back then. The fear that they will leave me again is too real to walk blindly into a bond with them now. Especially him.” She nods toward Nexus, the Alpha who helped her through her heat, and then walked away.
“Make sure they mean it. This isn’t like my marriage to Colin. Once you take their bites and give them yours, there is no turning back. They need to understand how serious your situation is, little gremlin. Let them choose you with all the facts in hand.” I pat her shoulder. This is the sister I’ve always known. The one who holds back the things she fears will hurt others’ feelings. She’s always been reserved, keeping her emotions to herself. It was a necessity growing up in the Montgomery cult.
