Page 18 of Yes Now Yes Forever

“Say the word Eli and Mira Chambers will be in cuffs by tomorrow morning,” Jonathan assured me.

“What of her lawsuit against Eli?” Crew asked.

Jonathan shrugged. “She can try, but the moment I challenge her claims in court the judge will laugh right in her face. The only reason she bothered was to add to her smear campaign against Eli. If she could try the whole thing in the court of public opinion, making herself look like the victim, then even if Eli won, he’d look so awful that companies would pull their business. Guilt by association and all that.”

My fists clenched, crumpling the papers I held, but I didn’t give a flying fuck. The whole reason I pursued legal action was to prevent further abuse of power. However, it would seem Mira Chambers wasn’t going to take her medicine willingly, so now I’ll shove it down her fucking throat.

“Do it,” I growled, stalking to the wet bar and pouring myself a drink. “Oh, and find out if anyone in her pack helped with this or the Randall situation. I was willing to go easy as long as they learned from this, but it’s clear to me now that people like them only understand one language.”

I tossed back the amber liquid and felt its familiar heat as it settled in my stomach. “That’s fine by me. Maybe if the world sees how far I’m willing to go to protect what’s mine, others will think twice before testing me.”

Needing no other prompting, Jonathan stood with his cell to his ear and stepped out of the office as Margret arrived with our lunch. Gulping down another finger full of liquor, I settled at my desk to quickly eat. There were more matters for us to settle and some legal paperwork I refused to wait on, knowing it would add more protection for my pack.

It felt like I’d just closed my eyes for a moment, but when I opened them again, the sun was setting. Pascal had shifted us, so I was lying between his legs with my head on his stomach as he rested against the arm of the couch. The living room lights were low, but I could easily see Fawn draped over a sleeping Tanner’s back, slowly kicking his feet as he watched whatever show was on the television.

I yawned and stretched, drawing Fawn’s and Pascal’s attention. My Alpha wrapped his arms around me in a warm, loving hug before helping me to sit with my back to his chest.

“Hello there, sleepy head,” Fawn greeted, having crawled over to kneel by the couch. “You crashed hard, angel.”

Still a little groggy, I rubbed my eyes, trying to get my brain to understand I was going to be awake for a while. “How long have I been out?”

“About four-ish hours,” Pascal answered, then pressed a kiss to my temple and turned me slightly so he could see my face. “Clearly, you needed the rest. Beautiful, are your nightmares worse than you’ve told us they are?”

My shoulders slumped, knowing I’d been caught. “They aren’t the worst I’ve experienced, but each night I feel them getting more intense. New memories are surfacing, adding another level of fear and chaos. Not being alone when I sleep has helped a lot, but now even that is starting to fail.”

“Starlight, why didn’t you say anything?” Tanner asked from where he was now sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“It’s hard to explain,” I whispered, dropping my gaze to my hands.

Fawn’s delicate hands wrapped around mine, drawing my attention to him. “Will you try? Please, even if we don’t fully understand, I think it’s important we know how you feel. Keeping your emotions locked inside yourself only makes things worse, trust me, I know. For a long time, I couldn’t express how I was feeling without screaming, crying, or needing to punch something. But I didn’t give up, and eventually, I learned how to fully process what I was feeling to communicate it better. No matter what you say, it won’t change how we feel about you.”

I was beginning to understand what Dr. Mann said about how bonds between my pack and myself would change how I viewed things. While Fawn’s words were impactful, I could also feel the truth and honesty as if they were my own. If I had the same connection with the others, never again would I have to wonder what they were truly thinking.

“I’m afraid to admit my nightmares are back and getting worse because it means all the work I did to this point was for nothing. I’ve been fighting for years to have as normal a life as I can, but with one incident, I’m back at square one,” I admitted. “All of you might not care if you’re woken up by my screaming or jolting awake in a panic, but I do. These are my wounds, and I shouldn’t let them bleed into your lives when all of you have done so much for me already. I’ve never felt so safe, valued, or cherished in my life. How can I ask for anything more?”

Pascal gripped my hips and lifted me, causing a squeak of surprise to burst out of me. He twisted me around so I now faced him, straddling his legs. I was trapped in his amber gaze, made only more dynamic against the gold of his glasses and the depth of his skin.

“Lyra, I want you to listen to what I’m about to say,” Pascal instructed as he caught my chin in a gentle hold.

I opened my mouth, but Pascal used his hold to shut it.

“No, that’s not listening,” he warned, using a tone I’d never heard from him before. Regardless, it did the trick because Pascal now had my full attention. “I need you to listen to understand, not respond. Can you do that for me, beautiful?”

Pascal was an Alpha, I knew that. Yet it wasn’t until moments like this when that otherworldly sensation rippled over my skin and my instincts told me to submit. As an Omega, unless an Alpha used his bark to force a command onto an Omega, I still had the choice to listen to my instincts or not. When it came to Pascal, my shy, smart, and gentle Alpha, I would always submit simply because he hardly ever asked it of me. Giving in to his request, I gave a small nod as I placed my hands on his chest and felt the slow, steady beat of his heart.

“You. Are. Not. Broken,” Pascal announced with authority and certainty. “Every single one of us in this pack carries wounds from our pasts. Some have healed, while others might still be raw and bleed every so often. I understand what you mean when you say being part of this pack was the first time you felt accepted for who you are and all that comes with it. My family wanted a son, an Alpha, who would elevate our family name to even greater heights than my father had. Instead, they got me, an Alpha who didn’t like power, sex, or being the center of attention. In their eyes, I was a failure on all accounts.”

My eyes widened at Pascal’s words, stunned by how his parents couldn’t see the amazing man their son was.

“When I first moved into the house with the others, we clashed a lot,” Pascal admitted, which had Tanner chuckling. “I didn’t just bring my belongings into the house with me. No, all that disappointment and the giant chip on my shoulder because of it came too. Whenever the guys said I did something wrong or didn’t meet the standard my parents beat into me, I lashed out. There was a moment during the worst fight I’d gotten into with Tanner I’d thought about packing my shit up and leaving. Why would they want to have a prick like me living with them when all three of them were trying so hard to make things work? Obviously, I was the problem. It certainly wasn’t any of the others since no one could help but love Fawn, and Tanner was already in a relationship with Zac.”

Unable to keep silent, the words tumbled out of my mouth. “What made you stay?”

Pascal smiled as he cupped my cheek. “The same thing I’m doing right now, my precious, beautiful Omega.”

Confused, I felt my brow crinkle as I looked at Tanner and Fawn to see if they understood. I sucked in a sharp breath as I realized Zachary and Eli had joined us. My attention had been so focused on Pascal that I’d missed Eli coming home.

Zachary pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against near the entry to the living room and walked over to us. I had to tilt my head back to keep my gaze on his face when he stopped right in front of me.