Blood rushed to my ears as Violet clutched Reed tighter, and despite the sheen forming in her eyes, my brave girl forced a tight little smile.
The kind of smile you only learn after life’s kicked you so many times you stop expecting anything else.
I wondered how many times she’d had to act fine while her heart caved in on itself.
Too many.
“Okay,” the doctor said finally, pulling the Doppler back with a sigh that made my stomach twist. “Sometimes at this stage, Dopplers just aren’t reliable.”
Violet swallowed hard and nodded, but something in the way she held herself said she didn’t believe that.
“We have an ultrasound tech here today—and a portable machine. Would you be able to stay for just a few more minutes?” the doctor asked.
Violet nodded again.
The doctor left.
And the second she did, the dam behind Violet’s eyes broke.
Tears spilled silently down her cheeks as she pressed both hands to her swollen belly, like she could hold everything together if she just pushed hard enough.
Reed didn’t say anything at first. He just reached for her, cupping the back of her head and pulling her into his chest.
My fingers twitched with the urge to be the one to wipe her tears.
Fuck it–I knew where Violet was. That goddamn bunny had a tracker in it. She didn’t need to invite me.
That wasmybaby. And, mark or not, that wasmyomega.
She could fight me all she wanted, but biology didn’t give a shit about pride, hers or mine. My instincts were ripping me apart from the inside out, and if she wanted to argue about it later, I’d take every last sassy hand gesture she threw at me.
I slammed my laptop shut and scooted my chair back so fast it nearly toppled. But before I could leave my office, the front door slammed open hard enough to shake the whole fucking house.
Every muscle in my body snapped tight as I was torn between anger because I’d told Serena to stop slamming the goddamn door and the dread still coursing through my veins.
Storming out of my office, I prepared to remind her to stop destroying my fucking house.
But the second I stepped into the foyer, I realized Skye and Serena hadn’t come home alone.
They’d brought Serena’s friend Xenia and the entire Bentley pack too.
I had no idea what the fuck was going on.
All I knew was it couldn’t be good.
Chapter 9
Benji
Cooking was about more than getting delicious food on a plate. To feed someone was to care for them, and if you cooked for them long enough, you’d learn about them—commit their preferences to memory. Show them you loved them, show them their needs were important.
And that was why I loved being a private chef. But if I had to go back and start my career over again, I’d stay away from mob households.
My pack was my life, man, but I wastiredof all these unexpected visitors. Back in Barranquilla, my mamá used to say that if you kept people fed, they didn’t go looking for trouble. Unfortunately, here in Florida, people seemed to look for trouble no matter what. Or maybe it was just the Rossi and Bentley packs.
Ah, dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything. I had two pregnant omegas and a room full of alphas to feed.
Omegas came first. They always did.There was no better sign of wealth than a spoiled omega, and both Vinny and the company he kept were minted, to say the least.
