Page 38 of Nesting With My Three Alphas (Hollow Haven #1)

Jonah

I woke to sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows and breathed in deeply of the changed scent of our home now. It gave me the deepest scent of peace that I hadn't felt in a very long time.

Kit was still sleeping, curled between Reed and me with Micah's arm draped protectively over all of us.

Her neck bore three claiming bites that had settled into something permanent, each one a testament to the bond we'd forged over the past four days.

She looked different. Not just the physical glow that came from being thoroughly claimed, but something deeper.

A settledness, a confidence, like she'd finally stepped fully into who she was meant to be.

Our omega. Our mate. Charlie's mother.

Sarah would have liked this path for her family. She would have loved Kit, and how much she loved her daughter when she wasn’t able to be here to do it herself.

The thought of my daughter made me smile.

Charlie would be home this afternoon, returning to a family that was finally, officially whole.

Emma had texted last night that they were having such a wonderful time she'd extended the trip by one day, but Charlie was getting antsy to come home to "see how everything worked out with Kit and the alphas. "

That kid had been orchestrating this outcome since the day Kit moved in next door.

I eased out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Kit but needing to start preparing for Charlie's homecoming.

Coffee first, then the morning routine that had become second nature over the past few days.

Checking on Kit's recovery, coordinating with Reed and Micah, making sure our newly bonded pack was settling properly.

The kitchen smelled like us now too. Not just the individual scents we'd carried before, but something unified, something that said pack lives here. It was subtle but unmistakable. The olfactory signature of a family unit.

"Morning," Reed's voice came from behind me, rough with sleep but carrying the bone-deep satisfaction that had been radiating from all of us since Kit's heat ended. "Kit's still sleeping," he said.

I started the coffee maker. "She needs the rest. Her body's been through a lot."

"Worth every second," Reed said with a grin, settling at the kitchen table. "Have you seen how she looks at us now? Like she finally believes she belongs here."

That was exactly it. The careful walls Kit had maintained, the constant readiness to run if things went wrong, all of it was gone, replaced by the deep security that came from being claimed by alphas who would die before letting harm come to her.

"She glows," Micah said, appearing in the doorway with his hair mussed and his expression soft with contentment. "I've never seen an omega settle into bonds so completely."

"She was ready," I said simply. "We all were."

The morning passed in the comfortable rhythm we'd developed.

Taking turns checking on Kit, ensuring she stayed hydrated and fed while her body finished processing the intensity of being claimed by three alphas.

She was healing beautifully, the claiming bites already becoming part of her scent and skin, unmistakably ours.

"I need to do something before Charlie gets home," Kit said when she finally emerged from the bedroom around noon, wearing one of my flannel shirts and looking radiant despite the tender way she moved.

"What do you need?" I asked immediately, moving to her side in case she needed support.

"I want to set up something special for Charlie," Kit said, her scent shifting with determination and something that might have been nervous hope. "Something to honor Sarah's memory. I've been thinking about it since yesterday."

My chest tightened at the mention of Sarah's name, but not with the sharp pain it used to bring.

There was a time when hearing Sarah's name would have gutted me.

Now it felt like something warm and quiet, a memory rather than a wound.

Instead, I felt a complex mix of gratitude and love for the woman who'd given me Charlie, and for the woman who was now ready to help me raise her.

"What did you have in mind?" Micah asked gently.

"A memory garden," Kit said, her words coming faster as her idea took shape.

"In that corner of the backyard where the light is perfect.

We could plant Sarah's favorite flowers, maybe add a small bench where Charlie can go to feel close to her mom.

And I thought..." Kit's voice grew softer, more uncertain.

"I thought maybe we could frame some of her artwork, create a special space in Charlie's room where her mom's creativity can inspire hers. "

The thoughtfulness of it, the way Kit was already thinking about Charlie's emotional needs and Sarah's legacy, made my throat tight with emotion.

"Sarah would love that," I said quietly. "She always said gardens were about hope and continuity."

"I'm not trying to replace her," Kit said quickly, her scent spiking with anxiety. "I could never replace Charlie's mother. I just want to help carry on what she started, honor the foundation she built."

Reed moved to Kit's side, his hand settling on her lower back in the protective gesture that had become second nature. "Sweetheart, you're not replacing anyone. You're completing something Sarah started but fate never let her finish."

"Charlie needs you both," Micah added softly. "She needs her mother's memory honored and protected, and she needs a mom who's here to guide her through everything that's coming. You're giving her both."

Kit's relief was visible, her shoulders dropping as she absorbed our support. "Then you think Charlie would like it? The memory garden?"

"Charlie's going to love it," I said with absolute certainty. "And more than that, she's going to love that you thought of it. That you care enough about her connection to Sarah to create something special."

We spent the next few hours working together to create Charlie's surprise.

Reed helped move furniture in Charlie's room to make space for a small gallery wall of Sarah's watercolors.

Gentle landscapes and whimsical flowers that perfectly captured her artistic spirit.

Micah contributed his knowledge of plants to help plan the memorial garden, suggesting flowers that would bloom in succession throughout the growing season.

And Kit coordinated it all with the focused attention of someone who understood that details mattered when it came to a child's heart.

"She's going to be home soon," I said, checking my phone as we put the finishing touches on Charlie's room. "Emma just texted that they're an hour out."

"Perfect timing," Kit said, stepping back to admire the gallery wall we'd created. "Do you think she'll understand what we're trying to say?"

"She'll understand that her new mom loves her enough to honor her first mom," I said simply. "That's all any child could ask for."

The sound of a car in the driveway sent excitement rippling through the house. Charlie was home, returning to a family that was fundamentally different from the one she'd left just a few days ago.

"Places, everyone," Reed said with a grin. "Our daughter's about to discover her new reality."

The front door burst open, and Charlie's voice filled the house with the kind of bright energy that made everything feel more alive.

"I'm home! Aunt Emma says hello but she said it wasn’t right for her to come in now. She’s going to come back to visit soon though, because she wants to meet Kit.

And she said to give you this.” Charlie threw herself at Kit wrapping her arms around her with a happy smile.

“Did everyone miss me? Did anything exciting happen while I was gone? "

I hadn’t thought about Emma dropping Charlie off and I should have.

Of course she wouldn’t come in when there was a newly bonded omega in the house.

It was the sort of situation that could go horribly wrong.

Kit was too busy hugging Charlie and didn’t seem to have processed what she’d yet.

She wasn’t exactly the type of person who seemed like she’d be bothered about another woman coming into her territory at a time like this.

Still, it was thoughtful of Emma to have realised that she might need space and proof that Sarah’s family were the good people I always knew they were.

Charlie's nose twitched as she pulled away from Sarah, her enhanced sensitivity immediately picking up on what had changed.

"Oh," she breathed, her eyes going wide with understanding. "Oh wow. You all smell like... like pack. Like real pack."

"We are a real pack now," Kit said softly, moving toward Charlie with the careful attention of someone who understood this moment was crucial. "If that's okay with you."

"Are you kidding?" Charlie dropped her backpack completely and launched herself at Kit, wrapping her arms around her waist with the uninhibited joy that only children could manage. "This is the best thing ever! I knew you were supposed to be my mom!"

"I have something to show you," Kit said when Charlie finally released her from the enthusiastic hug. "Something special I set up while you were gone."

Charlie's eyes lit up with curiosity as Kit led her upstairs to her bedroom. I followed, along with Reed and Micah, all of us wanting to witness this moment.

"I wanted to make sure you always have a special place to remember your first mom," Kit said as she opened Charlie's bedroom door. "Because she was amazing, and she loved you so much, and I never want you to forget that."

Charlie stepped into her room and stopped short, taking in the gallery wall of Sarah's artwork that we'd carefully arranged beside her bed. The paintings glowed in the afternoon light, Sarah's gentle style and favorite subjects creating a warm, loving presence in the space.

"Mom's paintings," Charlie whispered, reaching out to touch the frame of a particularly beautiful flower study. "You put up Mom's paintings."

"And we're going to plant a memory garden in the backyard," Kit continued, her voice gentle but certain. "With all her favorite flowers, and maybe a bench where you can sit and feel close to her when you need to."

Charlie turned to look at Kit with an expression far too mature for her seven years. "You want to help me remember her?"

"I want to help you honor her," Kit said, kneeling down to Charlie's level. "She made you who you are, sweetheart. She loved you and taught you and gave you the foundation that makes you so special. I'm not here to replace her. I'm here to help carry on what she started."

The silence that followed was loaded with emotion. Then Charlie threw her arms around Kit's neck again, this time with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For caring about her too."

"Always," Kit promised, holding Charlie close. "Your mom will always be part of our family, even though she can't be here with us."

As Charlie explored her updated room and chattered excitedly about the memory garden we would plant together, I felt something settle deep in my chest. This was what family looked like.

Not replacing what came before, but building on it.

Not forgetting the past, but creating space for new love to grow alongside cherished memories.

"So," Charlie said eventually, settling on her bed surrounded by the gallery of her mother's art, "does this mean Kit's really my mom now? Like, officially?"

"If you want her to be," I said, settling beside her. "We're all bonded now, which means we're really, truly a pack. A family."

"And families take care of each other," Reed added, leaning against the doorframe with satisfaction radiating from every pore.

"Forever and always," Micah concluded, his voice warm with the contentment that came from watching a child's world become more secure rather than less.

Charlie looked around at all of us. Her dad, her three new pack parents, the artwork that honored her mother's memory. She smiled with the kind of pure happiness that made everything we'd been through worth it.

"Then yes," she said firmly. "Kit's my mom now. My second mom. And this is my family."

We were the shape she'd always dreamed her family could be.

As evening settled over Hollow Haven and we gathered for dinner as one unit for the first time, I realized that this was what Sarah had always wanted for Charlie.

Not just love, but the kind of comprehensive support that could only come from multiple adults who were completely devoted to her wellbeing.

Kit hadn't replaced Sarah. She'd completed the family Sarah had started, ensuring that Charlie would never lack for love, guidance, or protection.

And tomorrow, we would wake up and begin building the rest of our lives together, one perfect, ordinary day at a time.