Not until she’s seen Haven and the baby and verified for herself that they are both thriving.
Thankfully, we don’t have too long to wait.
The doors to the maternity wing finally swing open.
Every one of us goes still. Florence straightens in her chair, eyes focused. She’s on her feet when she sees Atticus step through, smiling but exhausted. He latches his eyes on my omega and holds out a trembling hand. “She’s asking for you, Ren.”
I lurch to my feet, but the alpha shakes his head. “There’s too many people in there already. And there’s no chance in hell any of my pack is making room for yours.”
“Fair,” Court nods, scrubbing a hand down his face.
“Wait here,” Ren says, already moving, her exhaustion forgotten like it never existed. She glances back at us, eyes bright and soft and a little teary. “I’ll-just… give me a minute, okay?”
“Take your time, sunshine,” I murmur, brushing my fingers over her hand as she passes.
She squeezes once and then she’s gone, slipping through the doors and into the maternity ward beyond.
Tic stares at us, his expression--normally inscrutable--is more open than I’ve ever seen it. Earnest, honest, happy. “We’llkeep her safe,” he tells us, like he knows we need to hear it. And of course we do. We’ve only just bonded Ren, it doesn’t feel right to be away from her.
Forsythe gives a jerky nod, and then Tic follows our omega, eager to get back to his family.
We don’t follow.
It’s not our place.
Not this part.
The hallway settles into a quiet kind of stillness after she disappears, like the world has narrowed down to that one room and the new life inside it. In our bonds Ren is fucking glowing, happiness and love spilling over. There’s a flash of anxiety, but nothing too worrying and it settles shortly after.
Court blows out a breath, rubbing idly at his chest. “Bloody hell. Thought I’d be more used to this by now.”
“You’re not even used to your own emotions,” Thayer mutters, sounding bored.
“Oi.”
I don’t join in the ribbing, though I’m sure they need the distraction. I can’t stop staring at the door.
My omega is on the other side of it, holding a newborn, probably crying, probably smiling, probably giving away little pieces of herself the way she always does. And I’m stuck out here.
Waiting.
It doesn’t sit right.
Grieves shifts beside me, arms crossed, eyes sharp even now, like he’s still expecting another threat to come barreling down the corridor. Forsythe stands a little apart, already pulling his phone out, checking messages, the weight of everything waiting for us back in Bravonne pressing in even here.
Bravonne.
What the hell are we going to do about that? About the queen. About the fact that someone tried to kill our omega?
We can’t go back.
Not now. Not anytime soon.
Ren is safer here.
But we also can’t move into her pool house. It's too bloody small for all six of us. It worked temporarily when we were trying to fix things with our omega, but it will not work long term.
The need to provide something more permanent to Ren pushes against me. I’m not even an alpha and I feel it, feel the need to provide somewhere stable and safe for my omega. I can’t even imagine what the alphas of the pack are going through.
