“No,” West shakes his head, “I know my parents. They…they aren’t perfect by any means, but if they’re hosting Xavier it’s not of their own free will.”
“But how do youknowthat?” Sam sounds skeptical.
“I don’t,” West admits. “But like I said…Idoknow my parents. At the very least, they won’t be okay with sending a very pregnant teenager into an insane asylum for no reason.”
“If West thinks it’s safe to ask, then I trust him.” I reach over, placing my hand on his arm.
He smiles at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he places a hand over mine. Then, he lets out a small chuckle. “Besides, I would have heard from them by now about how I embarrassed them if Xavier told them anything.”
“I’ll still have Aidan working on it, and we’ll see who comes back with information first.” Declan sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Look, Jo, I’m sorry. I thought I was doing right by you.”
It’s hard to stay mad at him, even if he did make a pile of shit larger than an elephant turd. “I’m sorry I punched you. I thought you were bein’ a dick.”
“Ha.” He rubs the spot on his jaw where a bruise is starting to bloom. “Yeah. I was. I deserved it. I should have talked to you first. I didn’t think about him trying to use Adela against you.”
“That’s alright, Dec,” I grin, elbowing his side. “We can’t all be prettyandsmart.”
Declan rolls his eyes again, lightly elbowing me back. “Fuck off.”
Sam puts an arm around my shoulders, kissing my forehead.
For the first time, Declan seems to notice the brand new bond marks on my neck. “Holy shit! Congratulations on bonding!”
“Took ya long enough to notice.” I grin, feeling the happiness of my mates through our bonds.
“Aidan mentioned that West had a bite when he came by before, but it completely slipped my mind.” He turns to my guys. “Looks like we’re officially family. I guess she could have done worse.”
“I don’t know about that.” A voice comes from behind us, and Rory is there, leaning against the wall as he glares at my guys.
I snap my fingers. “No, Rory. Don’t look at them like that.”
Rory huffs, pushing away from the wall as he approaches. “We need to talk.”
I cross my arms, frowning. “What? No, ‘how was your heat, Jo?’ no, ‘I hope you don’t feel too much like dog shit, Jo’?”
Rory ignores my snark. “Mabel isn’t asking for help.”
His words send my gut sinking. “Help with what?”
“I stopped sleeping in her bed, just like you made me, but she’s having night terrors and she’s not asking for help.”
“Helaena and Maeve don’t hear her?” It’s a big house, sure. But if they’re as bad as Rory said, they should still be able to hear them.
“They did the first few nights, but then they suggested she talk to the doctor. Now, instead of sleeping in her bed, she’s built a nest in the bathtub and tries to soundproof the doors so nobody can hear her.” His voice is so pained, and the thought of Mabel locking herself up so she won’t disturb others has my gut turning.
“I’ll talk to her.” I say, nodding once. “She’ll listen to me.”
“I fucking hope so,” Rory mutters, messing with the bun on the back of his head.
“How are you going to do that without giving everything away?” Dec sounds skeptical.
“Don’t you worry about that,” I wave him off, “I can’t divulge an omega’s secrets.”
twenty-four
Jo
Mabel is on guard when I ask if she wants to come to the house for dinner. She’s having a hard time understanding her feelings for Dec, which I get, but she needs to get a handle on her suspicion of me—I’m the last person who would ever try to force something onto her.
