Page 29

Roan

From the second I scented my mate, I knew she was going to change our lives.

And when she agreed to let us court her, I didn’t think I could be happier than I was in that moment.

But then she’d allowed us to mark her, and the joy that filled me was beyond anything I ever thought possible.

I had to remind myself I wasn’t living in some sort of a dream.

And if I was, I never wanted to wake up.

And all of that didn’t hold a candle to how I felt waking up with the three of us together in her nest, after knotting her and helping her ride out her heat. Our pack felt like a true, honest-to-goodness pack for the very first time.

I’d expected mating Lily officially would change our bond. How could it not? She was becoming officially ours. What surprised me was the way it changed, my bond with the alphas of my pack stronger and my beast hyperaware of their animals as well as that of our mate.

It was wonderful, peaceful, and perfect as well as exhausting.

Benji and Harlan were snoring. Lily was too, but I’d never admit that out loud. She’d probably laugh it off, but for some reason, it felt cruel, like I was picking up on her faults. Safe to say, this mating thing had my mind working in weird ways.

I carefully got up and tiptoed out of her nest. My stomach rumbled and, after a quick shower, I headed to the kitchen to cook breakfast. I was not a gifted chef, but I’d watched Lily enough, helping on occasions, to make an acceptable meal. Not fancy by any means, but it would do.

Eggs were hit or miss for me, success wise, so I opted for oatmeal.

Lily had taught me a foolproof way to make it and, if all went well, I wouldn’t somehow botch it up.

While it was on the stove, on low, I set up the little buffet of toppings to go with it.

I’d always thought oatmeal was gross before eating Lily’s. Now, I loved it.

I placed butter, brown sugar, honey, raisins, dehydrated fruits from the garden, and some nuts in the center of the table. And because I didn’t know Sylvia pretty much at all, and in my mind, I still pictured her being a pre-teen, I put some sprinkles on there as well.

We were having pack breakfast. That was, if Sylvia wanted to join us. We were letting her take the lead on everything. I couldn’t even imagine what she’d been through, and, since she hadn’t been able to speak to us, I wasn’t going to learn much more—at least for a while.

I felt bad that her welcome had been so rushed, although maybe she needed that calm time alone. Because Benji had offered to stay with her and she denied him, saying she wanted to sleep. Only she didn’t say it out loud; she showed us like it was charades.

The oatmeal was almost ready when I heard the first telltale sign I wasn’t the only one up…

footsteps. I shut the pot off and brought the cast iron pot to the table, setting it on a trivet I bought from one of the tables near Lily’s at the farmer’s market.

I bought it more to be physically close to her than because I loved it.

It’s a good thing that Lily was the one and only omega I’d ever court because I’d been shittastic at it.

And yet I still won her over, so thank goddess for that.

I pressed start on the coffee pot and double-checked the table. It was good to go.

The first person down was Benji, which was no surprise. He had to be worried about his sister. None of us knew the full story yet, but it wasn’t good. How could it be?

A few minutes later, Sylvia joined us too.

It was hard to believe she was with us. We still didn’t know most of what happened when Benji went for her, but he’d tell us when he was ready.

There had been so much going on at the time, and he’d just warned us not to expect her to speak.

Whatever she’d been through, he’d never be able to just let it go.

I half wondered if she’d been waiting for him to come down. She watched her brother and for a split second, it looked like she was about to hug him, instead, stepping back and giving him a nod.

Not knowing what else to do, I offered her breakfast. She looked to her brother and then to me, then to her brother again.

“Did you want to take yours outside?” I offered, wondering if it was the mating thing that had her nervous.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded a couple of times.

I gave her a bowl, letting her pick what she wanted.

She did pick the sprinkles and I was glad.

Being the only unmated omega in a space wasn’t easy under the best of circumstances and this wasn’t that.

If sprinkles could make her day, I’d be sure her brother had them on the going-to-town list.

“I’m Roan,” I told her. “I share a mate with your brother. She’s really nice. You’ll like her.”

I had no idea if that was true. The nice was, but her liking Lily?

The odds were yes, I couldn’t imagine anybody not liking Lily.

But also, the only thing I knew about his sister aside from her being dead and then not, was what Benji briefly told us last night, and it wasn’t happy happy by any means.

“Thank you,” she mouthed, and left, not looking back.

I watched the door and waited for it to click back closed before speaking to him.

“Benji, was that okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. You didn’t act like she wasn’t understanding you, just because she couldn’t hear. That was good.”

Lily had suggested we do that and she’d been right.

We didn’t get to talk much more about anything, the others making their way to eat. Lily came down next, with Harlan right behind her. Her hair was still messy. She looked absolutely adorable.

“Coffee?” she mumbled, and sat in her seat.

Benji was the quickest to move, and he got it for her.

I made her a bowl of oatmeal the way she loved it. “It’s probably not as great as yours, but it’s hot.”

“It looks delicious.” She stirred it around. I put a spoonful in her mouth, making yummy sounds. “You need to try this.”

She held a spoon out for me, and I leaned forward, accepting it. Any gift from my mate was worth keeping.

But as her hand moved close to my nose, I scented it for the first time—she was pregnant. At least I thought I did. I had to be sure before saying anything, not wanting to cause any disappointment.

“Lily,” I said, my mouth still full.

“See? I told you it was good.”

Harlan flanked on her left, as Benji sat on her right.

“Scent our mate,” I told them.

Now she was looking at me, her cheeks red. “I didn’t shower yet. I was hungry, and I’m sure I smell sweaty and gross.”

Poor thing thought I was saying she stank. Far from it.

“Lily, you could scent like us all day long, every day, and we’d never complain.” I spoke for the three of us. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Guys?” I needed to know if they agreed with my assessment before continuing.

They both gave me a nod, their faces beaming.

“Lily, you’re pregnant already.”

Her eyes went wide, and she laughed. The most beautiful, brilliant laugh to ever laugh. Her hands went to her belly. “Heat’ll do that to you.”

“You’re as happy as we are?” Harlan asked.

“I thought Bernie was the closest I’d ever get to being a mom. And now, now I have three mates and a baby on the way and a sister. Of course I’m happy.”

That comment about Sylvia caught me off guard, but when I looked up, she was standing in the doorway, a small smile on her face.

My mate’s words seemed to be exactly what Sylvia needed.

And for not the first time, I wondered how Fate decided I was worthy of such a mate. But there were no backsies. I marked her and she was mine.