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My eyes had been opened, though. I knew that my family took me for granted when it came to cleaning the house and looking after them. For so many years, I had simply assumed that alphas couldn’t do those things, and that’s why they had omegas.

Only, now I had seen how much different it could be.

When I had mentioned to Gideon that the smell of the counter spray in the kitchen was making me nauseated, he’d cleaned the entire kitchen while I was in class with an all-natural cleanerandopened the windows to ensure there were no residual scents to irritate me.

I never had to clean up after them. Sure, I would clean the kitchen or one of the rooms when Joey and I had been doing activities, but that was simply picking up, not deep-cleaning. Pack Noble was able to take care of themselves, and they had made it clear that it wasn’t what they wanted from me.

Well, if I was honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what they wanted from me. This tentative relationship we were entering was confusing, but I never felt taken for granted.

In fact, I felt cherished.

I had been standing in the kitchen, lost in thought as I assessed the room. The bathrooms and the kitchen were always the worst. Usually, I would dive right in and start cleaning, but something was stopping me this time.

“Bethy!” my dads greeted me as they arrived home, both pulling me into hugs. For some reason, their scents weren’t as comforting as usual as I pressed my face into their chests and I hugged them respectively, their facial hair scratching me as they kissed my cheek.

“Hey, it’s good to see you. Work okay?” I asked.

“Keeping us busy!” Frank said with a grin. “But I’m so glad we have our baby girl home. This place just isn’t the same without you,” he declared, pulling me in for another hug.

“I’m going to go lie down for an hour,” I told them as I pulled back, intending to head toward the stairs. I was exhausted and could do with a nap before dealing with all my brothers.

“You’re going to sleep?” Dad asked incredulously.

“I’m tired from the flight.”

Pa frowned. “Aren’t you going to start getting the dinner prepared for tomorrow? Heather is coming over, and you owe it to Hayden.”

I frowned. “You didn’t tell me you’re having visitors this weekend.”

“Hayden invited her over once he learned you were coming. After Thanksgiving.”

My dads sighed, looking at each other.

“Was it that bad?” I asked.

“Well, we’ve all been so busy with work, and we assumed you were coming home, so there was no food, and the house was lessthan tidy. Heather took one look at the place, and you could tell she wasn’t impressed.”

If I were her, I probably would have run for the hills.

“Why didn’t you order food? I told you I was going to be in California.” I ran my hand through my hair.

“We thought you would change your mind. You always come home for the holidays. We assumed you knew how important family is.”

I ignored that not-so-subtle dig.

“I had work,” I pointed out. “You told me if I wanted to stay in California and study, I had to pay for it myself.”

My dads looked horrified. “That’s cruel, even for you, Bethany. Don’t twist it back on us. We thought you cared about your family enough to make the time to see us for the holidays. You know how much your mother loved Thanksgiving,” Pa said.

Yet they had never made time to come and see me. Looking at the ground, I bit back tears. It felt like no matter what I said or did, it would never be enough for them. They would only be happy when I was back living at home, doing nothing with my life.

That was never going to happen, though.

I had a baby on the way.

And a life in California. A life that Iloved.

“Well, we may have to order takeout tomorrow. I don’t have time to cook a large meal, and I’ve still got classwork.”