Marisol gives her a big smile and waves a hand over her shoulder, calling her mates forward. One of them passes her a tote bag with a zipper top, playfully rolling his eyes at his Omega. “Are you hungry, nieta? I brought lunch.” She unzips the bag, and the aroma of warm spices fills the room, making our stomachs growl. I would like to feel embarrassed, but this woman smirks at her son. “Eat. Food made with love will heal your hearts.”
As we pass around the food, filling the plates she brought and introducing ourselves to her pack, she goes to stand by Manny’s head and pats his hair. He reaches up to grip her hand, whispering a quiet thank you. He’s talked so much about his family and what they mean to him, so having them here to support him is important. I know he was worried that theMontgomery cult members who were hunting Hannah would target them, which is why he’s put off introducing us. But he doesn’t have to worry anymore.
“Hello, Marisol,” I greet her, bowing my head in respect. “My name is Shepherd, and I am Manny’s Alpha.”
She eyes me from head to toe with a look in her eyes that makes me want to shift on my feet. I may be over a foot taller than her, but her energy makes me feel like a child. “You claim you are his Alpha, yet I do not see your bite on his body.”
Ouch,yeah, she isn’t holding her punches.
“Yet. I promise he will have my bond as soon as he is ready to receive it.”
Smiling, she reaches up and pats my biceps. “Don’t worry, Hijo, I know my Emmanuel struggles to accept good things in his life. If you’re waiting for him to tell you he’s ready, it could take an eternity.”
Manny grumbles, his cheeks burning as she laughs. “Go hold your new grandson and leave Shepherd alone.”
Delight fills her eyes, a blueish-purple a few shades darker than Manny’s, and she hurries to where Hannah is pulling out Everett’s wrap. Watching my mate get flustered over her new mother-in-law’s attention brings a smile to my face. Hannah certainly is surrounded by love now that she’s escaped her family’s cult. She deserves all of this and so much more.
Turning back to Manny, I find his eyes on me, and his lip trapped between his teeth. Reaching out, I pull the flesh free, not wanting him to reopen the cut there. “Is she right, Baby? Do I need to drag you into our bedroom and make you mine when we get home?” His throat bobs in a hard swallow, pulling a chuckle past my lips. I kiss him lightly, winking as I move to lean against the wall behind his bed.
One day soon, I will make him mine, and then our pack will be complete.
Chapter Forty-Two
Meeting Manny’sparents was chaotic. They’re so full of life and kindness, opposites of my hate-filled parents. A small part of me wishes Fate had blessed me with a family like theirs, but I quickly brush those thoughts away. If I had followed a different path, it might not have led me here, to my pack. They make the abuse I suffered in Whitlan worth it.
The hospital is keeping Manny for another night as a precaution, and Shepherd volunteers to stay with him. I think he wants to make sure Foster actually sleeps tonight, and I agree. Our Omega needs his nest after everything that has happened in the last forty-eight hours.
When we pull into the garage, Foster eyes the pile of Christmas decorations we’d pulled out before leaving earlier. “He had them in the car that night,” I explain. “I think that’s why he was so late coming home.”
Tears well in Foster’s eyes, and he gives me a shaky smile. “He wanted to cheer us up. We’ve been so stressed from the stalking and the trial.”
I nod, patting his knee as we both stare out the window. The sound of my phone ringing makes us both jump. With a laugh, I pull my phone from the pocket of the diaper bag, but the sounddies when I see my sister’s name on the screen. “Hey,” Foster grips my chin, turning me to look at him. “You don’t have to be the one to tell her. Let Donovan or someone else at the DAU do it.”
My head shakes, knocking his hand away. I could let them tell her, but I won’t. She deserves to know the truth, and I should be the one to share it. Especially since I was there the night her birth mother died.
He gives me a sad smile and nods, accepting my decision. “I’ll get these two into the house and settled.” Leaning over the console, he brushes his lips against mine. Trailing them softly against my skin, he reaches my ear and whispers, “I love you, Angel.”
“I love you too, Foster.”
Trusting him to take care of the kids, I grip my phone tight in my hand and walk out to the back deck. Cold November air cuts through my jacket. I should have stayed inside, but the fresh air helps me gather my thoughts.
Omen answers immediately when I call her back. We’ve texted each other on and off over the past two days, and I’ve been updating her on Manny’s condition. “Hey, Han, did you make it home?”
“Yeah, Gremlin, we did. Are you… Could you come over for a bit? Or I can come there. I just… need to talk to you.” Nerves make my voice shake as she responds, telling me she’ll have one of her guys drop her off in a few minutes. Telling her face-to-face makes this harder, but I want to hug her if she breaks. I’m worried she will hate me when she learns of my role in Grace’s death.
“Sis?” The back door opens and closes. A moment later, Omen sinks onto a deck chair beside me. “Are you okay?”
Grimacing, I plant my feet on the ground and lean forward, staring at the peeling paint beneath me. “The cabin the FCDAfound Mother and Colin at belonged to the former New Hampshire attorney general, Harold Henderson.”
“His name doesn’t sound familiar,” she admits, her head tilting to see past the curtain of my hair.
Reaching over, I take her hand in mine and squeeze. “It wouldn’t because you’ve never met him. But I have. He’s an Alpha, and he was mated to Mother’s older sister, Grace. An Omega.” I watch her eyes widen, lips opening and closing several times as she tries to form a response, but I power on. If I stop now and let her speak, getting the rest out may be impossible. “I was the one who told Donovan about the cabin, because I remembered a photo Father kept in his desk of a woman standing outside it. When he explained who she was… I unlocked a memory I had repressed long ago.”
Omen’s anxiety is obvious in the way her sunflower scent wilts. She knows that what I have to share with her is going to change everything. “Tell me.”
“Father kept the picture of Grace in his desk as a reminder of why he hates Omegas, because he was once in love with Grace. When she presented, she chose Harold and not him. He was forced to marry Mother to stay close to the woman he loved. He even opened his home to her when Harold had to travel out of the country for a month. She was pregnant when she left. Whether their relations were consensual, I cannot say.” Omen sucks in a sharp breath, and I can see in her mossy green eyes that she’s starting to piece the puzzle together.
“That cabin is where Mother took Grace when she went into labor. And it’s where Mother left her to die.”
