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Lillian?

She was the daughter of Jennifer Lowe, the simpering mother who had been clinging to Gideon.

How on earth didsheknow I was pregnant?

Also, why was she dropping Joey off? All Gideon had told me was she was at a friend’s house, but he failed to mention which friend.

The how wasn’t overly important. I had to fix the situation unfolding in front of me, fast.

“Hey, that is a load of bullshit,” I said, my voice firm.

Joey’s eyes widened. “That’s a bad word. The daddies tell each other off when they say that word.” Her voice was a hushed whisper, the shock of my cursing temporarily stopping her sobs.

I nodded. “Itisa bad word, but I wanted to use it because Lillian was so very, very wrong.”

“What do you mean? You’ll have a new baby to care about. You’ll forget all about me. That’s what Lillian said. You’ll be a pack, and I don’t fit in because my mommy didn’t want me.”

My heart broke in two at those words.

“Josephine Noble, you listen to me right now. Your mother was a dummy. A big, stupid dummy. You want to know why? Because you areamazing. We don’t get to choose our parents, and sometimes they fail. My daddies failed, which makes me sad, but I have so many people in my life who love me and who I love, like you.” Tears gathered in my eyes as my overwhelming love for Joey swept over me. “Sweet girl, I’m not going anywhere. This baby may change things, but they’ll be for the better. Your daddies love yousomuch. They’ll love this baby as well, but they’ve got plenty of love in their hearts to share.”

“But you’ll be busy with the new baby and won’t want me…”

I cocked my head to the side. “I won’t lie. It’s going to be busy in the early days while we adjust to caring for the new baby, but that won’t change how much we love you. This baby is going to be your little brother or sister, and they’re going to need you.”

Joey peered at me. “You love me?”

A few of the tears welling in my eyes ran down my cheeks, and I wiped them away. Even though I wanted to give Joey her space, I couldn’t resist pulling her into my arms. “I do. I really do. This baby changes none of that.”

Joey was quiet for a moment, her arms slowly wrapping around me and hugging me back just as fiercely while she sobbed.

For a few minutes, we just sat on the kitchen floor, embracing each other. I was doing my best to keep it together and failing horribly.

As soon as the sobbing died down, we went upstairs, dinner forgotten, other than quickly turning off the oven to avoid ahouse fire. Curling up in the nest, I turned on the TV, and we watched a princess movie together.

Joey was more subdued than usual, but I stuck to her side like glue. There was every indicator that Joey would be an omega, and we thrived off cuddles and physical contact, so that was what I gave her.

Soon enough, I could feel her relaxing and getting absorbed in the movie. As soon as her soft little snores started emanating, my tears overflowed, and I finally let myself properly cry. The emotions of the day, coupled with my hormones, made for a good, hour-long crying session.

For a while, my thoughts lingered on Joey’s biological mother. How could a woman have gained such an amazing little girl and disregarded her so quickly? I hadn’t met the woman or even seen a picture of her, but I hated her more than I had ever despised anyone else.

Joey was mine.

There was no question about it.

I’d already been falling in love with the sweet girl before I was pregnant, and now, well, it would be impossible to let her go.

Regardless of my budding relationship with her fathers, Joey was a motherless child, and I was about to be the mother of her sibling. She was always going to be a part of my life and my child’s life. There was no way I could ever walk away from her or treat her any differently than my own child.

I had been worried about becoming a mother in a few months, but the truth was, I was already a mother to a cute, sassy little girl.

Chapter 37

Gideon

“Did Bethany say she was going to cook?” Jensen asked as we pulled up. Cullen was in the driveway, getting out of his Lexus.

It was one of the rare nights we all arrived home at the same time.