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“Come on, big fella,” I tell him, scooping my arms beneath him. “Emily, open the doors. We can put him on the steps outside.”

“I won’t be able to hold his weight up,” she whimpers before rushing to open the sliding glass doors.

“It’s fine, I’ve got him. You have help,” I assure her. Both my mother and Harlow have taken quite the liking to her. Omegas are extremely possessive of their homes and mates, yet that doesn’t seem to apply for either of them when it comes to Emily. I believe Harlow and Mom just want to help her, since they’ve both experienced the pain she’s suffering right now.

I was shocked when Harlow even allowed Emily to hold Scarlett yesterday. Mom was showing Harlow how to mix the formula, when Scarlett cried out from her bassinet. Emily moved toward her without thinking, her baser Omega instincts calling for her to protect. Thane got between them, as a precaution, and Leo growled a warning at his daughter as she reached into the bassinet. We all stood there, waiting for Harlow to attack the poor girl.

Harlow simply lifted her head and smiled at Emily. “You can grab her, just be careful of her head.”

We all just stood there in shock. We thought if any Omega, besides my mother, ever tried to touch our daughter, Harlow would attack, but she didn’t. Not even a growl.

Shaking the thought away, I move outside with Leo, sitting on the steps. Mom follows us with blankets and helps me wrap them around him. He sits between my legs, leaning against me. Emily moves to sit between his, resting her head on his knee. We figure Leo only has a few days left after Emily, thankfully, convinced him to not let Thane end him before his time.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Thane

I watch Raidon take Leo outside. Charles curses under his breath as he peers at them through the kitchen window. Turning to face him, I lean on the counter. “What were you two fighting about?” I ask, just as Elaine walks in and sets the empty glass on the counter.

“It’s nothing, Thane,” Elaine murmurs, rinsing the glass.

“You aren’t betraying her!” Charles snaps, and I growl at him. He shakes his head, folds his arms across his chest, and leans against the fridge.

“Betraying who? Tell me what the fuck is going on. Is this about Leo?” I demand. Charles clenches his teeth before he sighs. Elaine shoots him a worried glance.

“I have known Leo for years. I know he’s done some unspeakable things, Thane, but he had his reasons,” Charles says, defending him. I nod my head. I know Corbin ordered him to kill my mother, but he also saved my mate and daughter.

“I can’t mark him,” I tell them, feeling guilty but knowing it won’t work.

“We aren’t asking you to,” Charles grumbles. My eyes flick to him before I look at Elaine. She turns her gaze to the window, watching Raidon, Leo, and Emily outside. Her lip quivers.

“I loved your mother,” Elaine whispers. “She was like my sister,” she says, fiddling with her bracelet. The same one Harlow wears that once belonged to my mother.

“I never lost contact with Leo. I didn’t know he was responsible for your mother’s death at the time, Thane, but he has helped me a lot over the years. We emailed multiple times, and I’d ask his advice whenever I needed help on my surgeries. He is a good surgeon, and despite what he’s done, he’s still a good man,” Charles tells me.

“I know. I see that now. But I—”

Charles lifts his hand, cutting me off.

“We want you to look past what he has done,” he says.

“The fact I brought him back here proves I have done that, Charles,” I remind him.

“Enough to let me mark him for Emily and Elaine?” Charles asks.

I blink at him. My eyes flick to Elaine, who can’t meet my gaze. Now I understand why they were fighting. Elaine thinks she’s betraying my mother and me by asking to save Leo.

“And you can accept him?” I ask Charles. His eyes darken.

“To save him? Yes,” he answers, looking at Elaine. I know Charles is a possessive man. He’s refused Alpha Packs in the past because he won’t share Elaine. By marking Leo, he won’t have a choice.

“Elaine?” I ask.

“I’ll understand if you say no,” she says, nodding her head and swallowing. I can tell her guilt is eating away at her. She is torn between her love for my mother and saving Leo, knowing she holds the power, if she agrees.

I scrub a hand down my face. They are asking me to allow my mother’s killer to live. A person I vowed to end. Who Elaine wanted dead just as much as I did. Arms wrap around my waist, and I jump, looking down to see Harlow’s huge doe eyes peering up at me.

I lean down to kiss her head when she notices Charles.