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I can’t help it, I loose a low chuckle. It’s just so her. Vee’s head snaps in my direction. She glares at first, but then her lips twitch into a smile. She shakes her head again. “Yeah, I’m not going to lie and say I get it. You all know that’s not me.”
“Do we?” Ford asks, sounding unsure.
She tilts her head at him, considering. “No,” she finally says slowly, dragging out the word. “No, I don’t suppose you do know. I’ve changed a lot since you last knew me. And I know you’ve changed too. I want to believe that the guys I knew, the ones I loved, are still in there… but…”
Jackson practically lunges forward, hands gripping the edge of the counter like he needs it to keep from grabbing her. “Gives us a chance, baby girl. Please get to know us as we are now. Let us get to know you. We can just take it day by day.”
Our girl eyes him warily. “You know I’m sick, right?” He gives a jerky nod, devastation at her simple question clear on his face, in our bond. “It could get worse. A lot worse if you… if we…”
“That won’t happen,” Ford cuts her off. “Vee, I promise you that won’t fucking happen. You are ours and we’re yours. We’ve known it since we were dumb kids who didn’t know what the fuck to do about it.”
“We’ve never wanted anyone else, angel.”
Davis grins at her. “You’re endgame, beautiful.”
My hand floats up to press against my chest over my heart. “Since the first time I saw your sunburned little nose, baby, I knew you were mine. Ours.”
I can tell she’s wavering, wanting to give in, but she still turns her attention to Jackson, just like when we were kids, and she needed a little extra reassurance from our prime alpha. Jackson holds her stare, rounding the island with slow, sure steps, giving her time to retreat if she wants to. But she just watches him approach, her head tipping back when he’s close enough to touch. He carefully slides his fingers along her jaw, over her pulse point and into the hair at the nape of her neck, loosening her braids.
Still holding her gaze, he dips down until their foreheads touch. “Its always been you, Sylvie Grace. Only you.” His mouth moves closer to hers, but he doesn’t close the distance, doesn’t kiss her. “I love you with my whole fucking heart, baby girl. That never changed.”
Vee breaths in his admission, greedily, like she’s been drowning and his words gusting over her lips are the first breath of air in her lungs.
The bond between us is wide open, so I feel his elation when she whispers, “okay,” against his lips. Two syllables have never sounded so sweet in the whole fucking world.
Rule 18: Being tucked in as an adult is strangely satisfying
After our discussion, if you can even call it that, I went against my better judgment and asked the Werth Pack to stay for dinner. They practically fell all over themselves agreeing, offering to cook or order food, whatever I want. Davis suggested just laying me out on the table and letting them feast on me.
The omega in me loved that idea, but the side of me that has spent the last seven years hurt told her to shut the fuck up and sit her ass down. Thankfully, Jackson smacked the back of Davis’s head so I didn’t have to.
The evening passed pleasantly, a reminder of how things used to be between us. Easy. Sweet. Loving. We take turns asking each other questions, though the ratio skewed more in my direction because they only wanted to know about me.
I tell them about Beth and her pack, about what it was like living with them, being taken in by them. I tell them about Sadie and Sorrel, the two best friends I could ever ask for. So different, but absolutely perfect.
We don’t talk about what happened back then, about the day that tore us apart. I know we still have things we need to discuss. I know we need to get into the nitty gritty of the past. But for now, I’m just happy to deal with surface level small talk.
It’s a relief, honestly.
I know I’ll have to deal with it, think about it, process everything they told me, but for now I just want to enjoy being with them after so many years apart.
When I hide my yawn behind a hand, because I don’t actually want the night to end, Jackson notices. “We should go.” He sounds like it’s the last thing he wants to do. “You need rest.”
I don’t argue with him, because I do. And right now, the late hour and the proximity of my pack are acting like a muscle relaxer and a hit of melatonin. My body can finally be fully at ease, my mind isn’t racing, I don’t have that lingering feeling of being incomplete, like part of me is missing.
I have the feeling if they stayed the night, I’d have the best sleep of my life, even if they weren’t in bed with me.
But I’m not there yet, so I nod and push myself to my feet. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
I move over to the front door and linger, expecting them to follow me, to file out after goodbyes, but they all just stare at me, waiting. I stare back.
“What?”
Davis smirks. “We’re going to tuck you in, beautiful.”
I blink at him, then shake my head. “No, that’s not-”
Ford cuts me off. “Its happening, pip. Go brush your teeth.”
