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“You really think Kieran would step out of the housewithout them?”
“If we set up enough precautions and tell Ren to stand by, I think so. Joel, Kieran is trying. On his own and it can be frustrating but if we don’t let him try, we’ll never be able to show him that he can. Ava mentioned her husband taking nearly six months to crawl out of the shell but I’m sure she gave him opportunities along the way. Michael won't be an obstacle forever even if I know Michael isn’t fully over what happened this morning. Just as I know that you’re still working on how to feel about it as well.”
Honestly, I had been hoping everyone would kind of forget it. The bruise around my neck wasn’t all that noticeable and looked a lot more like hickeys than I’d been attacked. Kieran had agreed to go outside so I stuffed down my own emotions about the incident. I wasn’t scared of being out here. I was terrified that that moment could have taken a completely different turn and then I wouldn’t be here at all.
“You don’t have to hide, Joel. You’re allowed to break, to fall apart, and to lean like the other two.” My Alpha kissed my temple before nodding up a ways, giving me an out from this conversation. “Let’s catch up before we lose them. God knows where Ren is off to.”
I decided to focus on my mates, smiling when the intoxicating raw excitement exuding from Ren exploded in his scent. At first, I thought it was just that he was able to relax away from his studies but then I realized it was because we were all together. Even when we were back in Grimsby, we never really went anywhere as a whole. There hadn’t been time and over a year later, I realized that this was the equivalent to our first date. A poor one at that.
“Isaias,” I called out, stopping him in his tracks. “We never courted Kieran.”
“You think we should have?”
“I don’t know. There’s a lot of things we did out of order or didn’t do at all. I just-”
“We’ll let Kieran guide us and you know that man would kill you if you started bringing presents in the house. For now, let’s see if we can entice him into that hardware store he keeps peeking at.” Isaias laughed as we raced to catch up, my Alpha all but dragging Kieran to the entrance. Kieran’s expression darkened for several seconds as he tried to ward off his interest but soon gave in.
We walked behind him, content to let him roam and find what he loved. He stopped before a beautiful mahogany set that complimented the crib in the nursery. A rocking chair and a little side table would add to the ambiance of the room. Kieran bent down to run his fingers across the wood, a smile tugging at his lips.
Ren vibrated beside me, his hands clasped together when Kieran pointed at it and turned around, his other arm firmly wrapped around our kids.
“This set,” he said confidently, one of the owners appearing enthusiastically by his side.
“Alpha, I can help you over here and we can figure out a delivery date if you’re sure.”
We all froze as we recognized she was speaking to Kieran and not Isaias. It was an honest mistake, especially since Kieran currently smelled like an Alpha due to our activities this morning. I waited for the blowout or for Kieran to curl into himself and tell us that it was time to leave. Neither of those things happened.
Instead, he tilted his head and made eye contact with Isaias. “Alpha, she’s asking you a question.” There was a certain snark to his words as if bucking against the system that immediately thought he’d be an Alpha. Even worse, that she had to address it. She could have just said ‘sir’ or ‘excuse me’ but had to throw out his designation.
The lady cleared her throat as she looked between the four of us, her mouth flopping open and closed as she tried to figure out her mistake. Nothing about our pack was conventional but Ren’s soft demeanor and Kieran’s rough exterior absolutely made it more fun. This was just the first time I noticed it.
“I apologize,” she finally said. “I meant no harm. I just… yes, if you’d come to the front I’ll-”
Isaias shook his head, cutting her off. Apparently, he was also going to lean into the joke and I was excited to see how far it would go to break people’s social expectations. “I’m not paying for it. Kieran is, so I’d ask him all those questions.”
“You make your Omega pay for things?” She seemed genuinely concerned as she wrung her hands together. We really were toppling everything on its head and in such a small town, therewas bound to be others that thought like her. Most were just curious but a few still believed in the rigid hierarchy that an Omega’s place was at home and an Alpha’s place was to provide for them. In all things.
“Why can’t I pay for it?” Kieran asked, pushing a little whine into his voice. Goddess, he was enjoying this and I loved the smile that crept onto his face as we followed the woman to the front desk. “I have money. My Alpha doesn’t have to pay for everything that I want.”
She fell silent as she rang Kieran up, pushing a small form for pickup to him. There were a few more mumbled words before we stepped back out onto the pavement, all of us waiting for Kieran to direct us to the next spot. Isaias wasn’t as patient as he drew him into a soft kiss, Kieran leaning into the embrace before pulling back.
“What was that for?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you accept who you are in your skin, Kieran. I’m proud of you.”
Kieran grunted, as was his usual way. Ren took up our Omega’s side before they continued down the sidewalk, Ren pointing and giggling at the different places until he conned Kieran into buying him ice cream. Our little Alpha was an entire kid in a candy shop as he bounced around but it was exactly what Kieran needed right now.
Isaias and I walked together, content to watch our other half bouncing around.
“Want to tell me who’s been calling you?” Isaias asked in a low, stern voice. I had hoped he hadn’t noticed the two calls that had come through while we had been out. “It’s not Michael.”
“I don’t know who it is. It’s a random number, not always the same. They don’t terrify me the same way when Michael called—which is weird because I have no idea who it is.”
Isaias nodded. “I wished you would have said something.”
I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure of what to say. My gaze once again focused on Kieran and Ren, both of us growling when a small girl ran head-first into Ren. He steadied her but she quickly dashed off, Kieran’s eyes lingering on her for longer than I liked. Did he recognize something? Was she familiar?
We rushed to catch up, Isaias immediately checking on Kieran and the babies as I did the same for Ren.
