Knowing she was thinking about the two of us together did things to me. We hadn’t said the words out loud until now, but it was good to know I was on her mind.
“You and I have time. We will mate and bond when the time is right.” I leaned in closer, letting my lips skim across the shellof her ear. “And when I do take you for the first time, you’ll hardly be able to walk afterward. I plan on keeping you in your nest for at least a week.”
Her legs must’ve heard me because her knees buckled at that moment. I caught her and carried her to the couch, where I brought out some of the blankets and pillows we’d bought but decided to keep here for her. She nuzzled one but grabbed my hoodie from the other side of the couch and pressed it to her nose. “The blankets are great, but this is my favorite.”
“You can have my things anytime you want them. For your nest. Wear them. Carry them around. I don’t care. As long as it brings you comfort.”
She sighed. “These blankets are for my nest, but I don’t know the first thing about a nest or how to make one. It does sound wonderful, though.”
“There are videos.” I brought the food over, along with our drinks. “All kinds of them. We could get some books, too, if you like. You can shop online, but I think the general consensus is that you shop in person so you can touch everything.”
“It makes me sound so picky. Like a brat. Maybe I’m a brat for even wanting that.”
I crowded her, until my nose touched hers then kissed her lips, quickly. “I’m not gonna put up with you talking about my mate and my omega like that. Alphas don’t tolerate an omega talking shit about themselves. Good ones, that is. Now, say three things you like about yourself.”
“What?” She laughed but, to me, this was no laughing matter. The time when she put herself down in her mind or in private or even in front of other people was coming to a close. I set my intentions on it.
“Say three nice things about yourself to negate the bad one. You’ll be my good girl and tell me. There are so many incredible things about you, Romi. I’m only asking for three.”
She shuddered and perfumed the entire room. The boys should be coming down any minute, it was that powerful. “I am hardworking. I am a good mom. And…I have nice eyes.”
“You have beautiful eyes, but that will do. Mmm.” I nuzzled her neck. “So obedient for me. I’ll have to remember that for later. Does it turn you on to be called a good girl? Are you slick thinking about the ways I would praise you?”
“I—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence, but I didn’t need to hear the words. She soaked up my praise like a dry sponge. Noted.
“What movie are we watching?” Heath came down the stairs with James, took a seat on the other side of Romi, and James sat on the floor next to her feet.
“We haven’t decided yet.”
Our alpha whispered something in Romi’s ear and whatever it was, she nodded. Her scent was all vanilla and amber and warmth. The kind of warmth from the fire on a cold winter’s day.
This was where she belonged. Between all of us. We were missing Maddox, but one thing at a time.
Chapter Seventeen
Romi
After I mated James, we decided to try to figure out what next. Heath called the owner of the Airbnb and got an extension, but it wasn’t for long—unfortunately, they already had bookings that they couldn’t go back on. He considered buying it, or attempting to buy it. We didn’t know if the owners were willing, but the place wasn’t what we needed—not if we were all going to live together.
And Gram-Gram’s place, well, I enjoyed living there, but it was far too close to its neighbors for a wolf pack. We needed to find someplace big enough for all of us that had land, and it was tricky. I’d been pretty forceful about wanting to stay close enough to Maddox’s doctor. And sure, there were ENTs everywhere, but we had a connection with this one, and, if at all possible, I wanted to maintain that relationship.
The guys were understanding, and we immediately set out looking for property. Thankfully, they had more money than I did, because on my salary—even with the savings I’d managed—we wouldn’t have been able to buy much. The Realtor told Gram-Gram her house was “desirable.” Whatever that meant. And we planned to put it on the market at some point, but not until we knew what was going on.
Heath kept assuring me that I didn’t need to worry about any of this, but it was hard not to—not when I’d spent so much time having to worry about everything. In the meantime, while we were looking for a place, the guys were trying to figure out where they fit in in this society. James was able to get a job at our local school. One of the benefits of teaching during a time when there was a shortage was that they had an unexpected openingfor the new school year when a teacher who was on maternity leave said, “I’m not coming back. Surprise.”
He was looking forward to the position and had already been planning how he wanted to set up his classroom. I’d never really loved school, but his excitement as he was choosing the themes for different units and how he would set up his reading centers had me excited too.
Maddox had a few years before he entered elementary school, but when he did, I really hoped that he would be in James’ class—and given how small the school was, the odds were in his favor. But preschool was rapidly approaching. It was hard to believe that little baby boy I held was going to be heading off to any kind of school. At least, it was only a few hours a day, because that would give me time to adjust.
I wasn’t worried about Maddox. He was great about blending in and figuring out new situations. Me, not so much. If I had, maybe it wouldn’t have been such a rough start for my mates and me. Looking back, I had made things so much more difficult than necessary. If I had just listened to my heart and my wolf, it would have been better. But there was no changing the past—only looking forward.
And right now, I was really looking forward to the future because Seth and Heath had to go back to their old place and figure shit out with their jobs and their land, which meant they were gone. I’d figured they’d cross my mind through the day and I’d be happy to hear their voices when we video-called, but it went so much deeper than that. They were constantly in my thoughts. What were they doing? Were they okay? Was someone feeding them properly, or were they just getting takeaway junk because they were too busy?
It was a new experience for me to have someone besides Maddox and Gram-Gram to think of in that way. I was embracing it fully, because it meant I really was part of theirpack and that I had made the right decision. Not that I was officially pack yet—we hadn’t had any ceremonies. They said they didn’t want to rush me, and I didn’t want to be rushed. My wolf, however, had a whole different notion. She was ready to become official pack. And just below the surface, I was too—but also scared. Not of the commitment. Not of them. Not of what we would become.
But of my old pack.
I hadn’t technically left them yet. Physically, absolutely—but by pack law, shifter law, they did have a right to me that would end as soon as I was officially part of my new pack. If—and here was the big caveat—if my old pack didn’t fight them to get me back. I didn’t think they’d care. Why would they? Not once had they followed me, at least not to my knowledge, and I wasn’t exactly hiding. I worked in a bar with tons of shifters in and out of it all of the time.
