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“Dude, careful,” Cullen said, but he had a giant, shit-eating grin on his face. “Do you really want to bond?”

We had wanted a bonded omega since we were teenagers, dreamed and discussed it at length. After Bella, it had felt impossible, but Bethany was suggesting it with such resolute ease.

Bethany shrugged. “We are all in agreement that this is serious.” She gestured between us all. “Bonding seems like a good way to solidify this.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to bite you right fucking now. But we don’t want to rush you,” I said. “You’re younger than we are.”

Bethany snorted and looked down at her stomach, where she was just starting to show. Her tiny bump was so adorable, and when we were home, she wasn’t afraid to show it off. Bellahad hated her changing body, but it excited Bethany. She was stunning, and I couldn’t wait for the next few months.

“I think the child growing inside me has elevated the timeline a bit. If it was just us three and the baby, then when we bond wouldn’t be as big a deal, but we need to make sure that Joey feels secure with what’s going on. If we are a fully bonded pack, she’ll know that I’m not going anywhere.”

Did I want that? Fuck, yes, I did. We would be a family unit and have that security that Bethany was one hundred percent ours. Naturally, as a member of our bonded pack, she would have a bigger role in Joey’s life.

I was about to grab her and pull her into my arms, but Jensen grimaced. “We should talk to the docs before bonding,” he said.

“What?” Bethany gaped.

Jensen closed his eyes and tilted his head back, disappointment evident. “I hate being the responsible one, but you should have the OB-GYN clear bonding before we do it. Some pregnancies have more risk factors, and bonding can take it out of you…”

Bethany pouted but nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“How long until you see a doctor next?” Cullen asked.

“I just moved her to our insurance, so this week!” Jensen beamed.

I gently but firmly cupped her face, forcing her to meet my eyes. “You’re ours. There’s no question of that, Bethany, but I want you to be sure. I don’t want you to just do this for Joey, because once I sink my teeth into you, you’ll never be rid of me. You think I’m obsessed with you now? I’ll be a thorn in your side once we bond.”

Her eyes lit up. “Is that a promise?” she asked breathily.

“As long as you’re sure…” I trailed off.

Her eyes flashed with something…not angry, but excited. Reaching over toward the couch, she grabbed one of the pillows and hurled it at my head.

“I’m not offering just because of Joey. I’m also offering because I love you idiots! I swear to god, if we become a fully formed pack, we are all going to family therapy, because we are all messed up and need to figure out healthy communication.”

Chapter 38

Cullen

We were all reeling after our conversation with Bethany.

I was all in. She wanted to be a pack, and I craved that as well. I wanted to be able to show her off, to scream from the rooftops that such an amazing omega had chosen me.

I was an idiot in love.

Though I was sure my absolutely amazing daughter had something to do with it as well, I liked to pretend that Bethany fell madly in love with me first.

I’d been obsessed with her from the day I met her.

Now that bonding was on the table, there was a weird electricity in the house. We didn’t know when it was going to happen, but itwasgoing to happen. I was sure Jensen would be looking into the health and well-being side of things, but that OB-GYN appointment couldn’t come soon enough.

After our conversation, I’d wanted nothing more than to pull Bethany into my arms and snuggle with her for the night, but she had gone straight back up to the nest to watch over Joey. Though I’d pouted, I couldn’t help but love her all the more for her dedication to Joey.

When Joey had woken up for some dinner, she had been herself, if not a little subdued. It was clear she was exhausted, and we didn’t want to push.

It didn’t feel right to send Joey to school until we had cleared up what her classmate had said to her.

So we decided to play hooky.