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Oh, yeah.That last one definitely held merit. But before I’d reached to turn the stove off, intent on showing her a good time, she hopped off the counter, ruining my well-intentioned plans.
Pressing her curves against my back, she wrapped her arms around my middle.
“I don’t know what’s going through your mind right now, but you can tell me anything. I’ll never judge you or compare you to the others. I can feel your tension.” She squeezed me tighter for a moment, her hand flexing on my abs. “Trauma is relative. It shapes us and makes us who we are. No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, the only way to move on is to accept what we’ve been through and find a way forward inspiteof what we’ve survived. It’s something I remind myself of every day.”
“When did you get to be such a little therapist?” The playful note was back in my voice.
Really, it shouldn’t surprise me. Demi was the most empathetic woman I’d ever met. Somehow, she just knew what the rest of us were feeling—what we needed. She gave us the space to heal. Or be ourselves. Or just gave us permission to take a minute to breathe.
I felt her smile against my back. “I’m brilliant. Haven’t you figured that out by now?” she teased.
I knew she was joking, but I wasn’t. “Yeah, Darling. You are.”
Shifting around me, she settled her back to my front and gently took the knife from my hand, replacing me at the cutting board. She was small and warm. In no time at all, I gave in to temptation and buried my nose in her hair, dragging her scent into my lungs.
Fuck me sideways. I’d never tire of the way she smelled.
My arms went around her, and I placed my hands over hers to guide her movements, showing her how to chop the herbs. The rhythmic thud of the knife thudding against the cutting board settled something deep within me as we worked in tandem.
Cooking was cathartic, and with her signature wrapped around me like a hug, I found myself opening up. “I think you know I grew up next door to Jamison. We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. He’s like a brother to me, not just because we’re a pack, but because his parents practically raised me. I think I spent more time in his house during my childhood than I did in my own.”
“His parents sound wonderful.”
“They are. Someday soon, you’ll get to meet them.”
I could tell the idea made her nervous, but she shook it off quickly. “I’d like that.”
Demi fell silent afterward, just listening and absorbing my story.
“My own parents never wanted much to do with me. I think they had me out of social obligation because it’s what Alphas and Omegas are supposed to do when they form a pack. With three dads and a mom, you’d think one of them would’ve cared, but whenever they paid attention to me, it was cold and detached. For the longest time, I thought I could earn their love by performing well in school, getting good grades, and taking an interest in extracurriculars they’d be proud of. But after a while, I realized they would never change. They didn’t want kids, and though I was never any trouble, they barely tolerated me.”
“Thane.” My name was a whisper tinged with sadness.
I shrugged, grasping at the nonchalance I didn’t feel. “I learned to live with it and spent most of my time over at Jamison’s. When we were of age and realized we’d mesh well in a pack, he made me his second. From there, we built our own family, claiming Hades and Leo next. Then we met Eli and Knox at one of the Alpha socials and knew our pack was complete. Well, until you, of course. We were never whole without our Omega.” I leaned to the side and pressed a kiss against her throat, right over her fluttering heartbeat, living for the tiny gasp she gave me.
“After that,” I murmured near her ear, “I decided to only focus on the things I truly loved. You asked where I learned to sing. Truth is, I sang to fill the silence that always seemed to plague my home. It’s also how I learned to cook. For a few years, we had a chef named Louie, who taught me everything he knew. I spent all my time in the kitchen just to have someone to talk to. When he was gone, I continued cooking, finding it a respite from the loneliness. Somehow, when I’m behind the stove, nothing can touch me.”
“That’s how I feel about painting. I can lose myself in the colors and the endless choices. Building layer after layer makes me content in ways not much else does.”
“You like to paint?” I asked, shocked I didn’t know this about her. It shouldn’t have surprised me. There was so much more to learn about each other, but the wistfulness in her voice that belied her obvious love for art felt like something I should’ve already known.
“I’m not Monet, but I like to dabble with landscapes, mostly.”
“We’re going to have to get you to paint a mural in the nursery. Maybe woods with a stream running through it and cute little fuzzy creatures.”
Demi’s hand paused, the knife hovering over the last of the herbs that still needed to be chopped.
“Nursery?”
I laughed nervously, realizing we hadn’t really talked much about what the future could look like other than explaining our plans for the house in Vermont and our hopes that we’d all move into the master bedroom together, leaving the plethora of other rooms for kids and guests.
“I don’t know how you feel about it, but yeah, I’d love to have kids someday. I want to fill every single room and have little versions of ourselves running amok. Managing the restaurant is great, but my true dream is to cook for big, chaotic family dinners where everyone comes home and eats around the same table. I’m so damn tired of the quiet. Houses like ours deserve to be filled with noise and love, making memories that reflect a life well lived.”
I held my breath, waiting to see how she’d react. Her scent stayed the same, and she hadn’t frozen in my arms. Never in my life had I laid myself so bare before someone. I didn’t love the feeling, but I wouldn’t hold back in front of my mate. If she disagreed with my vision, we’d work through it. But as my heart thudded loudly inside my chest, I hoped she saw our future the same way I did.
Demi leaned back into me. “You’re tired of being alone.”
I released a pent up breath. “Yeah. I am. But with the pack and nowyou… I know loneliness is a thing of the past.”
