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“I won’t, Quinn. You both will have me around now for life.”
I can tell she doesn’t believe me, but I will prove myself. After we finish our subs and clean up our stuff, we climb into the SUV. We travel for another two hours and make it back to pack land. The sun is setting, but you can see the woods to the south and the prime cottage location by the lake to the north. The town of Twilight Meadows sits nicely in between, providing for all the needs of the townspeople and the tourists during the summer. I own most of the land to the south of town. Some of it I rent out to farmers, but most of it is wooded, so my pack can run without fear of being discovered. The town is lovely and quiet for most of the year, with all the charm to go with it. Though it is a tourist area, the population nearly doubles during the summer when all the cottagers come. It’s not my favorite time of year, but it’s still a nice place to live. I drive outside the town, heading for the central portion of the pack land. The pack house sits smack dab in the middle of the woods, but my house is about three miles away—I need space from the constant demands of being an Alpha.
I pull up to the front of the house and turn off the engine. The silence in the vehicle is all-consuming; I’m trying to figure out what Quinn thinks of the place. Does she like it? Looking at my home, I try to see what she sees. I built it to feel warm and fit the forest it’s located in, an A-frame log house with large windows to let lots of light in. There is a large deck in front with stairs on either side leading up to the front door. I haven’t done a lot with the garden, but there will always be next year. Quinn finally speaks, but she doesn’t look away from the house.
“This is where you live.”
“Yeah. I built it two years ago. Do you like it?”
“Like it? Eli, it’s gorgeous!” She turns to me, and I can finally breathe a little better. Maddie starts chattering in the back, so I swiftly climb out of the SUV and go to grab her. After unbuckling Maddie, I pick her up and head to the front of the SUV. Quinn grabs the diaper bag and stands in front, looking at the house. Maybe she will feel so at home she won’t leave. Maddie is swinging Pengy in the air, happy and content. She doesn’t seem bothered by the new place or the long drive, which is surprising. Looking down at my beautiful daughter, I feel more complete than I have in years.
“What do you think, Princess? You like the house?”
“Princess? Me Princess?”
“You’re my princess,” I say.
“Yay! Go inside?”
“Of course! Let’s go check out your new home, huh?”
Looking up, I see Quinn staring at me, but I can’t tell what she thinks. Leading them up the stairs, I head to the large oak doors that open to the house. I pull out my key and let my family into their new home.
“Well, this is it.”
Quinn walks in with wide eyes, staring at the large open area. There is a sitting area with a fireplace to the left and a large kitchen in the back; to the right is my home office, then a set of stairs that lead up to the three bedrooms and bathrooms. One bedroom is downstairs, but I use that primarily for storage. Maddie squirms in my arms, wanting to get down, so I put her on the ground to explore. The fireplace is gas and not on, so she should be safe.
“I tried to make everything as safe as possible for a two-and-a-half-year-old, but I didn’t manage to install those clips for the cabinet doors yet.”
“That’s really considerate of you, thank you. It’s OK, though. She doesn’t normally pull everything out of cabinets… well except for that one time at Paige’s; she is a really good girl though.” She smiles at me, pride spreading across her face.
“OK, well, let’s get you settled in then.”
Quinn goes over and grabs Maddie, and then we head upstairs to the bedrooms. I had one of the spare rooms done up for a little girl because I knew my match had one. Now, I hope I did enough. I asked my mom what color a girl’s room should be. She said soft pink, so I spent a few days before they came painting and buying small-human-sized furniture; amazing how expensive that shit is. I open Maddie’s door and turn on the light so they can look around. Quinn gasps as she sees the little bed and toys I was able to get before they arrived.
“I wanted Maddie to feel at home here. I know I’m missing some stuff, so you need to tell me what she needs, and I can go get it. I wasn’t sure what size diapers she wears…if any. But my mom helped me pick out some of the stuff. I hope it’s OK.”
“You made a room for Maddie?”
Maddie screeches excitedly as she climbs out of her mother’s arms to look at all her new stuff. I’m smiling like an idiot because it feels incredible to be able to give something to my daughter.
“Well, I didn’t know it was my daughter I was making a room for, but that’s just a happy coincidence.”
I hear a sniffle and immediately turn to Quinn. I step closer to her and realize she has tears in her eyes. Shit, what did I do wrong? Maybe soft pink was a bad idea.
“Quinn, what’s wrong?”
“You made Maddie her own room. I…I don’t know what to say, Eli! Thank you. She has never had anything this nice before, thank you.”
I can’t help myself. I wrap my arms around her and hug this amazing woman. She has been caring for our daughter for so long and has been so strong. The bond pulls at me, reminding me we should be mates, and I want to kick my own ass for not fighting hard enough. I kiss the top of her head as we both watch Maddie play with her new kitchen set.
“You should never have had to do it all alone in the first place, Quinn, but I’m here now and will take care of you and Maddie. I promise.”
Quinn nods her head, and I hold her tight. The longer we are close to each other, the stronger the bond will pull at us, telling us to complete the bond. I eventually go down and unload the SUV. After a quick snack, Quinn gets Maddie ready for bed. I desperately want Quinn to sleep beside me tonight, but I have a feeling she won’t go for that, so I lead her to the second spare room beside Maddie’s. It’s nothing special, cream-coloured walls with a queen bed and some other furniture. I set her bag on the floor as she takes it in.
“I’m just on the other side of Maddie, at the other end of the hall. I’m assuming you would prefer to sleep here than with me.”
She snorts and shakes her head. I’ll take that over her ignoring me.
