Page 28 of Yes Now Yes Forever

Bailey-Rose shrugged. “Everyone has something they’re dealing with. Mine just happens to be more noticeable. My Papa Addy used to tell me that only the bravest people were given challenges because the universe knew they could handle them. Yeah, I’ve got a heart that’s more fragile and two different colored eyes that always draw attention, but I’ve chosen to love those pieces of myself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy to remember to do that every day, but when I forget, my pack is always there to remind me.”

“I hope one day I’ll feel the same way about my challenges,” Lyra commented a little wistfully. “For so long, I’ve forced myself to believe a lie, and now it’s hard to unravel the truth from the knot I’ve created.”

“Girl, I totally know what you’re saying. I didn’t realize how much I’d let other people’s opinions of me change how I lived my life. I’d about given up hope of having a pack or even a person who would love and accept me for who I was, broken heart and all. Then when I least expected it, the people I needed most appeared in my life. Let me tell you, my first meeting with Ulysses was not at all how I pictured it. I was depressed, hadn’t showered in days, and looked like a trash panda. So not cute.” Bailey-Rose chuckled.

“When I met your brother for the first time, I was caught sleeping on the job, then freaked out and ran into the worst thunderstorm I’d ever seen,” Lyra confided, covering her mouth with a hand to keep from laughing.

“No, you did not,” Bailey-Rose gasped. “What did he do?”

“Ran right after me, of course, and almost got hit by an ambulance trying to protect me after I’d fallen onto the road,” Lyra shared.

Bailey-Rose nearly fell off her stool as she clutched her stomach, laughing. “Oh God, I can picture the whole thing. The only way this could be better is if Eli wore armor and was brandishing a sword.”

“Rose, darling, are you trying to say your brother has a white knight complex?” I asked, clutching my chest in mock horror.

Her laughter started again, and this time, Waffles shoving her upright with his large head was the only thing that kept her from crashing to the floor. The large dog gave an irritated chuff as he sat directly behind her stool as if worried it might happen again.

“If he walks like a duck…” Bailey-Rose started to say but paused to pull her phone out of her back pocket. “One sec, it’s my other brother Crew. Hello?”

We sat there watching as Bailey-Rose listened to whatever her brother was saying, only for her eyes to widen in shock. “What channel? Wait, what do you mean all of them? Okay, okay, I’ll go look.”

She hung up the phone only to stare at it for a second. “Crew wants me to turn on the TV. He said there was something important going on we all needed to see. The only TV we have here is upstairs.”

The light, jovial feeling that had filled the space was now gone and replaced with tension. Quickly, we headed back to the second floor, where the guys were all hanging out.

“Baby girl, what’s wrong?” Gareth asked, getting to his feet the second he saw his Omega.

Bailey-Rose shook her head, marched right up to the television, and hit the power button.

“Breaking news, we’re coming to you live from outside the residence of Scent Matcher Mira Chamber’s home. Early this morning, an arrest warrant was filed. We don’t know what the accusations are at this moment, but it’s safe to say it’s nothing good,” a male newscaster said.

The door to the luxury city brownstone opened, and two officers escorted a proud-looking woman down the steps. Her hands were cuffed in front of her for all to see, and the officers made zero attempts to hide them. This woman was clearly being publicly disgraced.

“Folks, I’ve just gotten an update from our network about the charges listed on the arrest warrant. The most concerning are endangering Omegas, harassment, fraud, leaking privileged information, and taking bribes. If all of these allegations are true, Mira Chambers is looking at life in prison or worse. Stick with us here on NFA News as we continue to keep you updated on this disturbing situation. Back to you at the studio.”

The remote Bailey-Rose had been holding clattered to the floor, and in the next second, Yun-Sun was at her side scooping her up. “Shhh, ome, it’s all over now.”

I saw her shoulders shake and knew she must be crying. It was clear this situation meant something huge had happened, but I was at a loss. Hoping to gain some understanding, I looked at Eli, knowing he’d have the answers.

“Did you do this?” Lyra asked our Alpha. “Is this what you started to tell us last night?”

Lyra’s question had me remembering Eli told us this Chambers woman had been behind all the leaks to the media. Now, here they were, ready to turn on the woman they’d happily taken information from.

“Yes,” Eli answered. “I wasn’t planning on going after her this way, but she left me no choice once I knew she was the one who not only endangered my sister, but that bitch also dared to drag both you and Fawn through the coals. The only way she could have known what she did about Fawn was through the intake forms he filled out. Such information about an Omega is guarded as carefully as medical or legal documents. Furthermore, the police never should have given her your files about the accident. Yes, certain information is public knowledge, but the note from your mother wasn’t.”

Eli paused and clasped his hands together, taking a slow, deep breath. “I have no doubt as they dig through Mira’s life, they’ll discover more crimes she’s committed. For her to be skilled enough to pull this massive media attack against us leads me to believe it wasn’t her first time doing so. None of the information I had turned over to the police said anything about bribes. The powers that be must have suspected her already, but I gave them the final nail in the coffin.”

A flicker of panic curled in my gut. However, I knew I wasn’t the one feeling this way. My attention shifted to Lyra sitting in one of the armchairs, looking stricken. I started to go to her, but Nugget jumped into her lap with a bottle of water in his mouth. When she didn’t react to the water being placed in her hand, Nugget licked her face. As if she was breaking through the surface of water, Lyra inhaled sharply and wrapped her arms around Nugget. The pup calmly rested his head on her shoulder, his paws on either side of her neck like a hug, offering his support.

“H-how did he know to do that?” I asked, amazed.

“Nugget is a fully certified service dog for people with PTSD or anxiety,” Ulysses explained. “When we found Waffles, the only condition to buy him was Nugget had to come with. No one could explain why Nugget couldn’t perform his job without Waffles, it’s almost as if he needed Waffles to be his emotional support buddy.”

“Although, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him act on his training,” Warrick commented. “When our girl was struggling with nightmares, he would sleep with her and be there to soothe Bailey-Rose, but other than that, Nugget left the work to Waffles.”

The sound of someone sniffling softly drew my attention, and Bailey-Rose was now sitting with her back resting against Yun-Sun’s chest. “I told you guys all along it would take the right person for Nugget to click with. He’s a good, sweet boy who needed to pick his person, and it looks like he has.”

Lyra gasped, her head snapping up from where it had been resting on Nugget’s furry noggin. “Wait, what?”