Page 4 of Yes Now Yes Forever

Surprised at her offer, I didn't know how to respond. “Oh…” I managed, then took a moment to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

Feeling more grounded, I sat up a little taller and answered her properly, “Thank you very much for offering that option. I’m not sure how I’d do being in a car so soon. When we left the hospital, I requested a strong sedative just to be safe, and that worked out well enough.”

“Lyra, my job is to help you in any way I can to help you find peace and confidence in your own mind,” Dr. Mann said, her tone conveying how serious she was taking the situation. “If possible, I would like to see you in the next few days. Did the doctor at the hospital change your medication?”

“Yes, he upped the dose of my antidepressant and gave me something new to help with the nightmares I’ve been having,” I answered.

“How are you feeling so far with the changes?” Dr. Mann pressed.

I shrugged, then remembered I was on the phone and not in person. “Too soon to tell. Right now, I mainly feel tired and drained, and I have a mild headache. For me to really tell, I need to be on the dose for at least a week before I see any changes.”

“That’s pretty typical,” Dr. Mann agreed. “Let’s schedule a time for us to meet in two days. This way, you’ll get time to rest, and hopefully, the side effects will have dissipated by then.”

“We are on bonding leave, so we’ll be home and available whenever you have time in your schedule,” Eli shared.

“Great, I’ll have my secretary reach out and we’ll get it on the books,” Dr. Mann assured before saying her goodbyes and hanging up.

The following two days passed rather uneventfully, but I could tell my pack was grateful for the quiet. It gave Eli and me time to settle into our new home, learning the routines of our packmates. Fawn wasn’t a morning person, and neither was Zachary, but the Alpha didn’t give in to his desire to sleep the morning away like Fawn when given the chance. Pascal was up at the crack of dawn but didn’t join the rest of us morning people until it was time for breakfast.

My pack did their best not to smother me, yet here I was kicking them all out of my room. Each and every one of them had poured their heart and soul into getting my space ready for me. However, I wanted the freedom to organize things how I liked without feeling guilty.

“Please stop,” I snapped as Fawn started to help me take the books off my bookshelf.

He froze, looking at me, his hazel eyes wide with shock. “Sorry, angel, I was just trying to help.”

I raked my fingers through my hair and shook my head, angry with myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. Letting out a deep breath, I wrapped my arms around Fawn’s waist and let my head rest on his shoulder so I could breathe in his sweet strawberry scent.

“You’re not the one who needs to apologize,” I murmured. “I shouldn’t have been so short with you over something so silly.”

Fawn nuzzled his nose against the top of my head before pressing a kiss to the same spot. “All is forgiven, angel. These types of situations are bound to happen as we all learn to live together.”

“I think I’m just having a harder time adjusting to you guys being around all the time. With my previous pack, we didn’t often hang out together in our bedrooms. Since we all worked and lived with each other, our rooms became a private space where I could be alone,” I explained, stepping away from Fawn so I could see the rest of my pack. “Please know how grateful I am for all your work to make me feel so welcome and wanted in your home, but I could use a little time to make it more my own.”

“Lyra,” Zachary said, reaching out to take my hand and absently rubbing his thumb over the back of it. “This is your room, your space, and all of us will respect that. It is perfectly fine to ask for space, everyone understands that feeling.”

Pascal nodded in agreement as he stood from his spot on my bed. “I love my pack, but I take the morning for myself to do whatever I want before joining everyone for the day. Just know if you need us for anything, we’ll be around. In fact, all you need to do is use this intercom,” he shared and gestured to the speaker on my nightstand, which he’d finished installing. “We have them in every room of the house. I marked where each button connects you to, as well as the one to use if you want to broadcast through the whole house.”

I nodded, grateful they were taking my request so well. My brain knew none of them would be offended by the changes I wanted to make. Yet, I couldn’t help this looming fear they’d judge everything I did like my mother and so many others had throughout my life. With the floodgates of my memory opening since learning the truth about my mother’s death, it brought with it old wounds. The last thing I wanted was to see the look of disappointment on their faces. I was all too familiar with the expression since it was an almost permanent fixture on my mother’s face after my fathers’ deaths.

Tanner hugged me tightly, drawing me back to the present, then he softly kissed my forehead before whispering in my ear, “I understand the need for space when you feel like everything’s out of control. Nevertheless, I care too much about you to let you push us away for long, starlight.”

With that, Tanner stepped back and left the room with the others—or so I thought.

A hand cupped my chin and gently yet forcefully lifted my gaze until I was met with familiar ice-blue eyes. I wasn’t surprised to see it was Eli, his scent gave him away, along with the commanding, confident air he always had swirling around him. “You have until dinner, my sweet petal, to do as you like without us bothering you. However, your evening will be with us. We are not your previous pack. We are your scent matches, your forever family, and I won’t let anyone I love struggle alone.”

His deep voice washed over my skin as I felt the command in his words, though it was delivered with a coating of sweet honey. My Alpha was giving me ample warning, and I knew Eli was a man of his word.

“Understood, Alpha,” I responded, knowing he expected an answer.

Eli’s ice-blue eyes flashed with desire, followed by a low, possessive, rumbling growl. Slowly, he lowered his head, giving me more than enough time to stop him, but I had zero intention of doing that. The kiss was greedy as he claimed my mouth, then sucked my lower lip between his teeth and let them scrape along the tender flesh. His hand, which had been holding my face, slipped to the back of my neck, where he fisted my hair, which caused me to moan in pleasure. Instantly, Eli took advantage of the opening, swept his tongue against mine, and urged me to deepen our kiss.

For the first time since coming home from the hospital, the constant swirl of emotions and intrusive thoughts stopped. Submitting to my Alpha’s touch, Eli ensured the only thing I could focus on was him. We indulged in our shared desire for each other as my hands fisted the fabric of his shirt and pulled myself closer to my intoxicating Alpha. I was his Omega to claim and use however he wanted—nothing else mattered but drowning in this man’s scent as he took his fill. The need to have Eli mark me was all that drove me as I yanked my mouth away so I could bear my neck. In full agreement with where this was going, Eli let his teeth scrape along the column of skin I’d presented.

I felt his mouth latch onto my throat, and he roughly sucked, forcing a startled gasp out of me. A memory long buried exploded to the forefront of my mind, which caused the world around me to spin until I couldn’t tell what was up or down.

“Lyra, do you see these three marks?” my mother asked as she stroked a hand down her neck and over her collarbone while wrapped only in a towel.

Clutching Lammy as I often did since the funeral, I nodded. “Those are your mate marks from my daddies.”