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I nodded, feeling so much better. “Thanks Lexie. I’ll pull back a little, but only for a bit, until I feel better.”
“Don’t make me come sit on you,” she said, and I laughed. Because I knew she’d do it.
“You know what your biggest problem will be? Getting your guys to stop spoiling the baby and put the little rugrat down,” Sirena added with a grin, teasing me out of my mood. It made me laugh.
“Our rugrat will never even know what the ground is,” Hunter said as he came up behind me and kissed the top of my head. He looked relieved when I looked up at him and smiled.
Damon, Leif, and Ryder were close on his heels, bringing in crates for the publican. Pala and Max followed behind. “You ready to go?” Hunter asked.
“Yup,” I nodded. My stomach was actually feeling better, too. I thanked the pub owner again, as he handed over a box with the ginger tea and extras to Damon.
I gave the girls massive hugs goodbye. Lexie and Pala were driving back with us, but Ava, Ryder, and Sirena were going their own ways.
“You got this, Sis,” Sirena whispered to me, before she let me go.
Sirena was so different from the persona she’d worn most of her life. Her armor still went up sometimes, especially when she felt threatened. But we all did that. Meeting Isabella had been wonderful for her. She was such a calming influence. They both looked so happy together, even with their rapidly growing family.
When we got back to our house, Leif plopped down onto the sunken couch and tapped his lap. I didn’t need to be asked twice. I snuggled up into my giant teddy bear and felt my whole body relax. The guys had only finished building the new extension upstairs yesterday, with the nest for us and the nursery next to it. So it was finally quiet. I loved the new space, though.
I smoothed the frown lines between Leif’s eyes with my finger. I knew the guys were worried about me, especially considering I’d lost some weight over the last few weeks.
“Do you need anything?” Max asked me, hovering.
“Maybe something to eat? That ginger tea settled my stomach really well.” It was the first time I hadn’t felt nauseous in weeks.
Max beamed and dashed off to the kitchen. They’d taken to stashing some food here so they could tempt me whenever I felt like I could keep something down. He was back with an apple he’d lovingly cut up for me. “Eat this for now. I’m going to run up to the kitchen and make you a sandwich.”
He was out the door before I could stop him. Leif just chuckled as he fed me a piece of apple. “Let him do it. We’ve all been worried, sunshine.”
Damon sat down next to us, and took off my shoes to rub my feet, as Hunter brought over another cup of the delicious tea. “I’ll make you some more tonight. I’m pretty sure we have some lemons and honey left. If not, we’ll find more.”
I smiled at them, grateful to have such loving mates. Not to mention amazing friends, a few new sisters, and an entire community surrounding us. I could be strong when I needed to be. I’d proved that. But it was nice not needing to be. I had people willing to share the load now. I’d forgotten that for a moment, but I knew they’d gently remind me whenever I needed it again.
“You’re going to put the baby down at some point, right?” I asked them, knowing how much they loved carrying me around on the rare occasion I let them. Especially Leif.
“Nah,” Leif said with a cheeky grin. “Walking’s overrated.”
“Stophoggingthepopcorn,”Lexie laughed as she snatched the bowl from where Maia was resting it on her lap.
“But Lexie, I’m hungry,” Maia whined and fake pouted when she unsuccessfully tried to snatch the bowl back from Lexie.
“That doesn’t work on me, babe,” Lexie said. I could see her trying not to smile, though. “I’m not one of your mates.”
“Fine,” Maia shrugged with a cheeky grin. “It was worth a try.”
“Do you want some popcorn, Ava?” Lexie asked me, trying to bypass Maia and pass me the bowl. I laughed as Maia whacked her on the arm, making Lexie spill some of her precious popcorn. She picked it off her sweater and threw it at Maia, who happily caught it and ate it. I still loved the dynamic between those two. They ribbed each other a lot, like the sisters we’d become, yet there was a lot of love there. They had so much more spirit than I did, but I loved to sit and watch them interact and eventually get dragged into their shenanigans. I still didn’t know what had made them adopt me into their inner circle initially, but I was eternally grateful they did. We were family now.
I tucked my feet up under me as my attention went back to the private show that was being enacted in my tree-lined yard, just for us. The reason for the popcorn.
Max was leading Leif, Hunter, Wolf, Cary, Pala, Sam, and Dio through an advanced yoga session. The guys had really taken to it, and the energy of the group yoga had proven great at helping Sam calm and channel his temper. He was much less volatile and more in tune with himself now. Wolf had helped too. They’d talked a lot about Wolf’s wildness and how he embraced it. Sam had gradually let go of his fear of becoming feral and settled into himself. His dominance no longer leaked all over the place, now that he wasn’t fighting it. The more time they spent together, the more cohesive a unit they became. They’d barely known each other as a group when we’d battled Maven, yet they’d been formidable. They were a powerhouse now. A brotherhood. Their trust in each other ran deep.
We still got along with Sadie and her pack, too, but we didn’t see them as much now that the Palace was up and running as a learning center. Emma, Isabella, and Sirena were running it together now, with help from Cary. While a few other omegas had moved there, most had stayed in the sanctuary for now. Between running the Network and the Sanctuary, life kept Sadie pretty busy. Sam and Lexie saw her the most, because they dealt with the Network stuff as our liaisons.
We could be intimidating for other people, though, when we ventured outside our compounds. The people in town and the Palace were used to us, but elsewhere we got a lot of nervous looks if we all traveled together. So we tried to do it in smaller groups, unless we needed everyone. I remember the day an alpha had surprised Maia and me while our guys were in another room, while visiting a potential new ally. He’d tried to bark at Maia. She’d slapped him on the nose like a naughty puppy, before pointing her finger in his face and saying, “No. Bad boy.” I’d yanked on Wolf’s power and barked right back at him. His shock as his body had frozen had turned to terror as Damon and Wolf had come charging into the room. The memory made me smile. Poor little alpha.
I fanned myself as I watched Wolf and Cary now. They kept sneaking glances at each other, too. They had removed their shirts in the sunshine and a light sheen of sweat coated their muscled bodies. It was a sight to behold. The guys had invited us to join in. Max had even promised to adapt his vigorous routine for us, but we’d declined. We were perfectly happy enjoying the show and having some well-deserved time out.
“Ugh. We need to ban the girls from watching us,” Dio called out playfully to Max. “Your yoga routine is hard enough without a hard-on.”
