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“Have you ever seen him clean a dish? This may be partially my fault—when our mom died, a lot of the housework was put on me, and I just accepted it because I was a kid. Recently, I’ve started pushing back, prioritizing myself, creating my own family. The reason my brothers are so mad at me is because I’m no longer at their beck and call. I started setting boundaries, and they didn’t like that.”

“What you’re saying sounds a lot more truthful than what they’ve been saying,” she admitted sadly.

“Look, you seem like a lovely girl, and my brothers have only spoken highly of you, which is why I’m going to say this. Thinkabout the life you want, the future you want. My brother needs to grow up before he can be in a healthy, stable relationship. I used to think that it was an omega’s job to do everything—all the cooking and cleaning—but then I found a pack who takes care of me. If you bond with my brother now, you are condemning yourself to a life as a housekeeper. I’m saying that as someone who loves my brother deeply. He is flawed, as are all my family members, and they need a reality check.”

“When we started dating, he was so sweet, taking me to restaurants and asking me about my day. But the more time we spent together, the more I started seeing the cracks. He always had an excuse for why things weren’t done, and I just accepted them.”

“When you love someone, sometimes that stuff is easy to overlook.”

Heather snorted. “Well, I’m not overlooking it anymore. I suppose I’ve got a lot to think about. Also, congratulations. I heard that you’re pregnant.”

“I’m sure my brother didn’t have very nice things to say about that.”

“No, and that’s part of the reason I started to think something was wrong with this situation. I really hope you’re living your best life out there.”

“I am,” I said honestly. “And I hope you take care of yourself. You don’t deserve to be dragged into my family’s mess.”

“I appreciate you telling me the truth. If you hadn’t, I may have ended up…Well, I don’t want to think about how I may have ended up. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome to call me anytime.”

“I will. Oh, and I assume your credit card is locked up tight now?”

“It is. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Considering your brother was adamant he paid for the vacation, I think if I cancel it and get a full refund issued, I’ll tell him he can use the money to take us on a vacation that is more my speed…That is,ifthe money gets refunded to his account because he told me the truth. The idiot never logs out of his accounts.” She laughed. “I suppose, if the money gets returned to its rightful owner, then there’s nothing we can do.”

I bit my lip. She was devious and amazing, and I was almost sad that she wasn’t going to be my sister-in-law.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Hopefully this isn’t the last time I talk to you, but if it is, I really appreciate this.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

Putting my phone down, I padded down the hallway to Gideon’s office. He was sitting at his desk, rummaging through papers. At my appearance, he looked up and smiled at me. “Hey, are you hungry?”

I shook my head. “Not yet, but I just had a very interesting phone call I wanted to tell you about. I may have found an ally in Nebraska.”

Pushing his chair back, he opened his arms, gesturing for me to come join him. I didn’t hesitate crawling into his lap. When I had started showing, I had tried to avoid sitting in their laps, saying I didn’t want to squish them. All three of my alphas had the same response—outrage. Partially because I was insulting their strength, thinking they couldn’t hold their pregnant omega, and then they proceeded to put me in their laps at every single opportunity.

I had simply stopped fighting it. The cuddles were damn enjoyable.

“Tell me more,” Gideon rumbled as he stroked my back.

“Will we still be able to sue my brother for his fraudulent charges if the purchases are refunded?”

Gideon thought for a moment, cocking his head to the side. “We can, though I’m not sure it would be worth the stress it may cause you. Has he seen the light of day?”

I shook my head. “That will never happen. The omega he’s been dating was getting the sense that something wasn’t right, so she called me, and I explained the situation. Let’s just say, she wasn’t very happy with my brother and said she would make sure the vacation got refunded.”

Gideon chuckled. “Good. Though, I think we’d better prepare for the tantrum your brother is going to have when that happens.”

I shrugged. “You know what? I’m honestly not worried. I have three big, scary alphas who will protect me, and I live on the other side of the country.”

“What the hell happened to the Bethany from a year ago?” he asked.

“She fell in love.” Grinning, I kissed the underside of his chin playfully.