Enrique’s shoulders stiffen with Joseph’s words, but his brother either doesn’t notice or doesn’t react to it.
Instead, he cants his head to the side and asks, “So why did they name you Hel?”
Our daughter pinches her lips to the side and looks up at Enrique. “Daddy?”
He joins his brother in the squatting position, but his shoulders remain tight with the movement. “We’ve told you this story before, little hellion. Do you want to hear it again?”
She bobs her head. “Yeah.”
Enrique smiles and stands while picking her up, then moves to sit on the couch.
Hel reaches for me in the process, making it clear she wants me to join.
When I do, she crawls into the space between us and leans her head on my shoulder while Joseph takes a seat on an adjacent chair. His slow movements feel purposeful, like he’s thinking through everything before he does it. But as he settles into his seat, he is the epitome of calmness.
If it weren’t for the dark torment lingering in his gaze, I would almost believe his facade.
“Mommy and Daddy ended up here because of an Omega named Hel. We believe she played an important role in our being together. So we decided to name our little Omega after her.” He cups our daughter’s jaw as he speaks and leans down to place a kiss on her head.
“Hel is also a feisty Omega,” I add, using the present tense because I know Hel’s alive. We haven’t spoken. However, Ander discovered through his contact that she was not only found but also very happily mated now. Just like me.
From what he’s been able to learn, most of the Omegas survived. Only a few are unaccounted for. Like Guðrún. Although, there have been rumors of a power shift in the vampire nests, and I like to think it has something to do with her.
“What’s f-feises?” Hel asks.
“Feisty,” I repeat gently. “It means she’s strong.”
“Just like you,” Enrique adds, bopping her on the nose. “And just like your mom.”
“Still not giving you a second pup,” I tell him. Although, we both know I’m lying. I will someday. Just… not yet.
He chuckles. “Always thinking about my knot, tesoro.”
Hel looks up at him. “What’s a kah… kah… not?”
His amusement dies. “Something you’re never going to learn about.”
I snort.
His gaze narrows. “Never,” he repeats.
I just shrug.
“It’s like this,” Joseph says, startling me. I’m about to leap out of my chair to stop whatever he’s doing when I see he’s holding up his shoe. “I struggle with tying my laces, so I knot them.”
A breath leaves me on a shudder, my body seeming to disappear into the couch behind me. Because wow. I… I did not expect him to say that. Or to say anything at all.
“Oh.” She twists her lips again. “Why?”
“Why is it hard?” he asks, doing what Enrique does when he’s trying to find out what Hel is really asking.
She nods. “Yeah. Why?”
“Because my hands shake a lot these days,” he tells her softly, his words breaking my heart.
“Why?” she asks.
“Because they do,” he replies, shrugging. “Sometimes things happen that we can’t explain.”
