She lets out a quiet laugh, clearly trying to convince me she’s fine. “I’m not sure that makes me feel better that you guys light up when I’m sad,” she teases my choice of words.
I exhale through my nose, a faint huff of a laugh, and shake my head.That wasn’t what I meant.And she knows it.
I turn my omega in my arms until she’s facing me, her cheek brushing my chest. With one hand, I lift her chin, coaxing her to look up at me. Then I lean down and press a soft kiss to the tip of her nose.
“Don’t hide how you feel from us,” I murmur, keeping my voice low and steady. “Because we love you. Every damn piece of you.”
That earns me the faintest smile—the kind that trembles before it sticks.
Tadeo’s laughter filters through the sliding glass door, low and rumbling. Dakota says something in return, voice bright, and Skyla’s smile steadies a little more.
“They’re loud,” she says with a little laugh.
“They’re family,” I remind her.
She leans against me, the tension in her spine easing. For a while, neither of us says anything. The world feels small and right.
When Skyla finally looks up at me, I feel the faintest hum along our bond—sadness, yes, but also warmth, love, trust.
My girl is going through something hard right now.Something I don’t fully understand, but I’ll be damned if she goes through it alone.
“Let’s go in.” I cup her cheek. “Tadeo made cocoa.”
Her lips twitch, like she’s trying not to smile.
I take her hand and lead her inside.
The house greets us with the easy sound of laughter and the soft hum of the heater kicking on. Tadeo’s sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Dakota, a pile of cards spread across the coffee table between them. There’s cocoa, half-drunk and cooling, sitting beside the deck.
Dakota spots us first and brightens immediately. He pats the cushion next to him. “Hey there, beautiful. Look what I made you.”
I follow his gaze to the couch—her portable nest, piled high with blankets and pillows, tucked neatly into the corner.
“For me?” she asks, her voice small but touched with something that almost sounds like wonder.
Dakota grins. “Of course, for you. Figured you’d want to be comfy while we all hang out.”
Tadeo glances up from his cards. “Come and sit with us, Sky.” His dark eyes narrow at Dakota. “I need someone to look at his cards and tell me when he’s bluffing.”
“Hey!” Dakota protests, grinning wide. “That’s cheating.”
Before Skyla can respond, Alex strolls in from the kitchen, a steaming mug in each hand. “If we’re cheating, I want in.” He sets the mugs on the table, then drops heavily onto the couch beside Dakota, making the frame groan in protest.
Skyla laughs softly and crawls into her little nest on Dakota’s other side, tucking her legs beneath a blanket. Thesound of her laughter—it’s small, but it cracks something open in my chest every damn time.
Tadeo shifts to the side and pats the floor next to him. “You joining us, Knox?”
“Oh no,” I say, crossing my arms. “Alex can move his ass to the floor.”
Alex blinks, mock offense flashing across his face. “Excuse me? I just got comfortable.”
“Yeah?” I raise one brow, then cut a look at where my recliner used to sit. “You broke my damn chair, so you can take the floor.”
Dakota snorts, trying and failing to hide his grin behind a hand.
“Unreal,” Alex says, throwing up his hands. “For the record, I wasn’t theonlyone who broke the recliner.” He cuts a pointed look at Dakota, but the beta quickly glances away while Skyla hides her face behind a wall of blonde curls.
Alex groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Unbelievable.”
