Page 17 of Petals & Promises

“Hank is the trainer,” Yun-Sun offered. “He spent a week working with Bailey-Rose on how to use the personal protection commands Waffles is trained to respond to.”

Eli’s eyes went wide. “Wow, you guys don’t know how to do anything halfway, do you? I certainly would think twice if I had to face off with Waffles.”

“That was exactly what I hoped for,” Gareth said with a proud smile. “Plus, it was a way for all of us, Bailey-Rose included, to feel confident enough to do things on her own, especially now that she’s fully cleared to resume all activities.”

“Little B, that’s amazing,” Eli cheered, pulling me into another hug, spinning us in a circle. “Oh God, there couldn’t be any better news to hear.”

Setting me on my feet, he pulled out his phone, and the next thing I knew, my parents and Crew were on the screen.

“Are you all right? What’s wrong?” Daddy Rawr demanded, looking slightly panicked.

“Eli, why did you send the emergency SOS message?” Mother asked, rubbing sleepy eyes. “Where are you? Oh my God, what happened to the studio?” she blurted, seeing the damage behind me.

“Guys, maybe we should stop asking questions if we want answers,” Crew reasoned as he slid his headphones to wrap around his neck, telling me he’d been working in the recording studio.

“Ah… hi, guys,” I offered with a wave then glared at Eli. “Did you seriously use the panic button for this?”

“Little B, this is absolutely a situation that warrants an instant response,” Eli argued. “Now tell them so I don’t look like the boy who cried wolf.”

Rolling my eyes, I faced my family with a shit-eating grin and gave the good news. “Who’s got two thumbs and is free to live her life to the fullest? This girl!”

“What?” Crew blurted, nearly falling out of his chair. “LouLou, that’s incredible.”

“Oh, sweety, that’s so wonderful,” Daddy Rawr said, elation lighting up his face.

Mom cheered and clapped her hands before snatching the phone away from Dad. “Darling, I knew this day would come. I prayed for it constantly. Oh, your papa must be doing that awful dance he does when he’s excited about something up in heaven. Eli was right, this is absolutely the right time to use that alert. Tell me, what are you going to do first? Skydiving? Climb a mountain?” She lowered her voice. “Have lots and lots of sex?”

“Mom,” all three of us kids yelled.

“What? The poor thing has had to be so careful, and none of you know what it’s like to be an Omega. We have needs, you know,” Mother grumbled.

Ulysses’ face appeared over my shoulder. “I can answer that, Mrs. Thatcher.”

“Jolene, please. We are family now, Ulysses,” Mother corrected.

Ignoring the request for the millionth time, Lysse continued, “Two days from now we are flying out to Prio Gria where we will be spending some time in the sun and ocean.”

Shocked at this announcement, I looked at the guys who appeared far too pleased with themselves.

“Oh, I love Prio Gria. It’s a wonderful tropical country with amazing food and the most welcoming people. You have to take the time to see Valfail Reef. It’s one of the most beautiful reefs I’ve ever been to,” Mother chattered on, completely oblivious to the fact I was no longer paying attention.

Eli took pity on me and reclaimed his phone, taking the conversation outside the studio to give us a little privacy.

“Was this already planned, or did you just decide this second?” I asked.

Placing a hand on my back, Lysse urged me toward the door. “Do you mind if we have this conversation back home? I don’t feel like happy conversations should be happening here of all places.”

That was hard to argue with since I felt the same way. “As long as you know you’re not getting out of this conversation.”

“Believe me, Rosie, we want to have this conversation more than anything in the world,” Lysse assured me.

Back home, I sat at the kitchen island and scrolled through pictures of Prio Gria’s private island resort. This place was stunning, something you dreamed up but didn’t think was real. The main building offered all kinds of restaurants, bars, activities, a spa, and anything else you could imagine. Instead of rooms like a normal hotel, the bungalows were built over the water. Each one had a wooden walkway from the shore to the private bungalow, and when I say private, I mean private.

The next bungalow was far enough away you weren’t concerned about being overheard or seen by anyone but who you brought with you. You could pick various sizes of bungalows with different features, but the one Warrick pulled up to show me was called the Packmoon Suite. It was listed as the perfect place to bask in the glow that came from being a newly bonded pack.

“Wait…” I started then paused, looking at the five men standing across from me. “Are you… is this… for real?” I squeaked out.

They all nodded, smiling from ear to ear as they gave me a moment to process this.