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“I’m not ready to have kids.”
Sam chuckled as he pulled both Lexie and Dio into his arms. “I didn’t mean today, sweetheart.” It was the first time I’d heard him call her any kind of endearment, and she seemed to melt into him.
“What if I’m never ready?” she whispered.
“There’s a hell of a lot of scared kids out there, and far too many of them are alone right now. We saw a few last night. Plus, there are always kids running around the farm. I’m sure we can find some kids that need father figures if we feel the need to share what we know,” Dave said.
Lexie looked suddenly bereft, as if she was about to cry. Dave and I both moved over and joined in the group hug.
“Lex,” I prompted, “talk to us.”
“It’s stupid. I’ve never thought about kids. I got the two-year birth control implant so I wouldn’t have to. But the thought of little versions of you guys never existing makes me feel unbearably sad. I’m so freaking confused right now.”
A single tear tracked down Lexie’s cheek and Dave reached up to wipe it away gently.
“You repressed your omega instincts for a very long time, Lex,” Sam said from where he’d nuzzled into her neck. “Your hormones and emotions are going to be all over the place for a while. Give yourself some time to adjust. It’s not a discussion we need to have today.”
“Shit. I’m really hoping your implant can withstand all the sex we had during your heat,” Dio chuckled.
“We probably should have discussed kids before then, but your heat kind of took us all by surprise,” Dave added.
A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on Lexie’s face, which was a good sign. It loosened the vice that had just settled around my heart at seeing her upset.
“Yeah, about that. Maia’s book says that an omega’s pheromones in the build-up to the heat turns her mates into super charged sperm bombs.”
She peeked up at us and I could see the smug grin that was stretching across my face reflected on my mates’ faces. She shook her head and tried not to laugh. “You don’t have to all look so chuffed at that.”
“You are our omega and our heart, Lex,” I said. “Nothing about that means you have to be the sole or even the primary carer for any child born of our love. We’re a pack. If it happens, we will all step up. We’ll figure it out together.”
“My mother was a teacher, my dad looked after us during the day and one of my uncles usually cooked at night,” Dio added.
Lexie nodded, but sharing parental duties wasn’t what her mind had fixated on. “Born of ourlove?“ Lexie asked as she bit her lip and tried to hide a cheeky grin as she looked at me.
“Yeah, our love for you and our love for each other,” I said. I hadn’t spoken those words yet because, for an alpha, it wasn’t as powerful as calling her my mate. Mate conveyed so much more for us, but Lexie had lived most of her life as a beta and if she wanted those words, it wasn’t a hardship to use them. They were definitely in my heart. “If you want me to be specific, I love you.”
Lexie grinned at me. “I love you, too.”
“If you haven’t figured it out yet, Lex, we all love you. I thought it was a given, but if you need to hear the words, I’ll say it every day. I love you,” Dio reassured her, and we all murmured our agreement.
I added another “I love you,” to the ones echoing around the room as Lexie’s smile threatened to rival the sun peeking through the window.
“Fine. I love all you buttheads too,” Lexie answered, laughing, as Dio tickled her lightly along her side.
Someone knocking on the door downstairs interrupted us and had us all pulling apart. Sam was the most dressed, so he pulled on a shirt and headed for the stairs while shooting us all a querying look. We all shrugged.
“Are you expecting someone?” Sam asked Lexie, as he hesitated on the top step.
“Nope, nobody usually comes up here except me, Leif, and his mates. They’ve been staying away, but it could be one of them. They never used to knock, but they might now that they know we’re all living here.”
Sam nodded and leaped down the steps as the knock sounded again. We all hustled to throw on enough clothing to be presentable and followed him.
He yanked open the heavy door as I moved up behind him. “Hey Jimmy,” Sam said warmly to the beta teenager standing nervously at the door.
“Jimmy, you legend,” Dio pushed past us and clapped Jimmy on the shoulder. Jimmy looked like he was about to pass out. “Did I tell you guys that Jimmy stunned an alpha that came out of nowhere the other night and took us all by surprise? He used the stun gun that Lexie gave him. You have balls of steel, my friend.”
Jimmy blushed and shrugged with his hands jammed in the pocket of his hoodie. “He seemed drunk. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“You have good instincts. You acted fast and protected the people with you. It’s an enormous deal, Jimmy.”
