Page 39

Gideon

“ D id 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.

“She did. I offered to bring dinner home with me, but she insisted,” I said as we headed up the drive.

“How long have you been here?” Jensen asked Cullen with a laugh.

“Seconds. Trust me, I wouldn’t hesitate to get some solo time with our girls.”

I would do exactly the same.

Together, we entered the house.

Bethany padded slowly down the stairs, her face serious. She was wearing tight leggings that showed off every curve of her legs and a college sweatshirt of mine.

“We need to talk,” she said, pointing to the living room. “Now.”

“Where’s Joey?” Cullen asked.

“Asleep. Living room.” Her response was short, terse. Her scent was unusual. Instead of the almost caramel apple scent she gave off when she was happy, this was charred, like someone had burned an apple pie.

“Uhh, why do you look murderous?” Jensen asked as we followed her, her footsteps a little louder than usual.

As we filtered into the room, Bethany closed the door, glowering at me. “Your admirer is a bitch!” she hissed, looking me dead in the eye. I was used to anger from her, but it was the playful, fun kind of anger. This anger was genuine and possibly violent.

Not that she was really dangerous; she was a tiny omega who hated mushrooms. Not exactly murder material.

Though, the look she was giving me was enough to make me reconsider.

“Admirer?” Jensen asked questioningly, cocking his head to the side as he stepped next to her. “Come here. You’re too far away,” he said, reaching out for her.

She batted his hands away.

Jensen frowned, pouting at her rejection.

“Jennifer Lowe?” She looked at me, her gaze hard.

What had that insufferable woman done now? She was a pain but harmless, or at least I’d thought she was.

“Isn’t that the PTA mom from the school? The clingy one who kept trying to convince you to join when Joey started there?” Cullen asked. “She was creepy,” he admitted with a shudder.

“Thank you!” Bethany threw her hands up in the air. “Clingy and creepy.”

“She’s not that bad,” I insisted. “She’s just…eager.”

Bethany rounded on me, the look of fury on her face so terrifying, I took a step back. We were probably a sight—a large alpha stepping back from the fury of a little, grumpy omega, but I was quickly realizing that she meant business.

“Well, that bitch and her demon child told Joey that I’m pregnant and that we wouldn’t want her once we have a new baby! The poor girl came home in buckets of tears.”

My blood turned to ice.

I focused on Bethany, who was staring me dead in the eye, her arms crossed, her body language screaming try me . “Tell us everything.”

“Fuck, where is she?” Cullen said, going to get up from his seat, but Bethany lightly pushed him back down, shaking her head.

“She cried herself out, then fell asleep in the nest. She was exhausted, and I didn’t want to disturb her. You guys— Fuck . She was so distraught, and I wasn’t sure what to say to comfort her.”

Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, and she furiously wiped them away.

The sight of her distress was just another blow.

I needed to make it right. My family was upset, and it was my job to protect, love, and cherish them. There was nothing on this earth I valued more than the people in my house at that moment, and I would do whatever it took to prove that.

“She’s a bitch—no, that word isn’t strong enough!”

Bethany ran a hand through her hair, pacing, her frustration palpable. She had just recapped her conversation with Joey, and my stomach was twisted up in knots.

Jensen and Cullen were both sitting on the sofa, appearing various degrees of queasy. Cullen’s elbows were on his knees as he hung his head in shame, his hair sticking up at odd angles from the number of times he had run his hands through it while Bethany had been talking.

The usually relaxed and laid-back Jensen was clenching his jaw so hard, I was surprised he hadn’t popped a blood vessel yet.

They looked just how I felt.

Was this our fault? Because we had waited to tell Joey ourselves? Bethany was almost halfway through her pregnancy, and we had been keeping it under wraps. We had wanted to ease Joey into it and protect her, but somehow, we had managed to fuck up.

Bethany chewed on her thumbnail, a behavior she only did when stressed.

“I did everything I could to reassure her, but there’s only so much I could say.

I didn’t want to start talking about how I was going to be in Joey’s life forever when we hadn’t even discussed who I am to her.

Hell, we haven’t even clarified what we are. ”

“What we are?” Cullen asked, confused.

“What are we? We’ve been doing this thing for months now, and as much as I’m enjoying it, we need to be clear with each other, because it impacts that sweet little girl upstairs.”

What did she mean, she wanted to know where we stood? Wasn’t that crystal clear? At least it was to me.

“We are family,” I said simply.

Bethany rolled her eyes with a huff and glared at me. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. I’m having your baby. We are forever going to be linked. But what does that mean about my relationship with Joey?”

“We’re dating, aren’t we?” Jensen asked.

“I think?” She threw her hands in the air as she continued pacing. “I don’t know if we are together or if we’re just fucking because I’m pregnant with your child. The last thing I want to do is overstep when comforting Joey because I’m not a permanent part of your lives.”

“Of course you’re a permanent part of our lives!

” Jensen said, staggering to his feet and approaching Bethany.

She didn’t push him away this time as he grasped her by the upper arms, looking her dead in the eye.

“We are together. There is no doubt in my mind about that. We’ve been working so hard to consider Joey in all this, I think maybe we failed to have a few conversations.

Given what happened with her mother, we just want her to feel secure.

The last thing we want is another mother figure in her life who leaves.

Don’t you dare think that doesn’t also mean you’re ours. ”

Bethany cocked an eyebrow, some of her confidence fleeing her expression, her scent still a little burned. “Do you think I’m going to leave?”

I shook my head. “No, but I can’t help it. Our pasts make us doubtful.”

“But I’m not going anywhere. I want to be there for Joey, but I need to know what my role is. Are we together? Are we on a path to me becoming part of this pack? Or am I simply a bang nanny who just happens to be carrying your child?”

My eyes shot up at that term as I promptly choked on thin air.

A bang nanny?

I didn’t know that Bethany even knew of that phrase.

“The fuck?!” Jensen exclaimed.

Cullen growled, striding over to Bethany, pulling her into his arms. “I’m not afraid to say it. I’m in love with you. I’m fucking terrified because that means I’m vulnerable, but I don’t care.”

I was a bit jealous, because both of my pack mates had held her and I had yet to. My hands itched to touch her.

She was mine.

Bethany stared at Cullen with a shocked expression. “You love me?”

Cullen nodded. “Yep. You most certainly aren’t a bang nanny. You are sweet, kind, and fucking fierce. I’ve loved you since the moment you slapped me, omega.”

His lips crashed down on hers in a frenzied kiss. He was devouring her. Her hands fisted in his shirt as he pulled her as close as possible; any closer, and they would fuse together.

“We’re supposed to be having a serious conversation, not making out like teenagers.” I tried to sound severe, but the humor in my voice was impossible to miss.

Jensen was beaming at the two of them. That moron had been in love with her for years.

“I also love you, but I feel like Cullen stole my thunder a bit there.” He laughed.

“Maybe we’ve been working so hard to keep it from Joey that we kind of kept it from ourselves?

” He turned to me before looking back at Bethany.

“I can’t even pinpoint when I fell in love with you, because you just keep knocking me off my feet.

You’re so fierce and independent, but also soft and sweet.

You think stinky cheese is amazing, but are terrified of mushrooms. You’re an adorable paradox, and I am obsessed. ”

A beautiful blush spread across her face at his words, and she gazed up at him adoringly.

I wanted her to look at me like that.

Did I love her?

Simply imagining not having her around made my chest clench in an almost painful way. Any day I didn’t see her felt like a loss. Stupidly intelligent and fiercely loyal and protective, Bethany was everything I wanted in a mate.

She was mine.

There was no way I could let her go. She was my first thought in the morning and last at night—with the exception of when Joey woke me up by jumping on my bed, and then my first thought was usually a little grumpier.

I had been playing it cool for weeks, but I knew I was obsessed with her. The last thing I wanted to do was push her deeper into a relationship before she was ready just because we had some emotional hang-ups, thanks to our ex.

But if she tried to leave, I wouldn’t hesitate to track her down and drag her back home, because she belonged here, with us.

“You?” she asked, turning to me, speaking with a soft, hushed voice.

“It doesn’t feel as impactful being the third one in a row to say it, but I do.

You’re ours, Bethany. Nothing is going to change that fact.

We are just as much yours. I may not be the best at words, but you’re it for me.

You’re a pain in my ass, yet every goddamn time you sass me, I love it. You’ve ruined me in the best way.”

Her grin widened. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Deep down, I thought I knew that, but there was still that small part of me that felt like I couldn’t put Joey in that situation again.

Cullen sighed. “But given Joey’s mother…”

Bethany huffed. “Okay, so you guys love me, but you’re scared I’ll turn tail and run like your ex, so you’re nervous about how much I insert myself into Joey’s life. Is that right?”

I nodded stiffly. I felt like a monster admitting it, but I couldn’t help my worry. Bethany leaving didn’t feel like a possibility, but there was that teeny, tiny chance.

And that chance was enough to make me pause.

“I’m not worried about that.” Jensen shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of this pack, and you already have a significant role in Joey’s life. At this point, I think it would be pretty hard for you to overstep.”

She met my eye, a serious expression clouding her features, like she was deep in thought. “Okay, then…how can I make it obvious that I’m not going anywhere?”

“That’s not on you,” Jensen said, shaking his head, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“If you want me to be part of this pack one day, then does that mean I’ll be a mother figure to Joey?”

“If you want to be,” I whispered. “I want you to be.”

Bethany snorted. “I loved that little girl before I loved any of you idiots.” She looked between us, brow furrowed.

“Okay, let me get this straight. With enough time and trust, you would be happy for me to be a mother figure to her, just as I am the mother to her sibling. But you are still nervous that I might leave and break her heart. Is that right?”

I nodded. “I know it’s not fair to you…”

“But you’re not going anywhere,” Cullen growled.

“Ours.” Jensen smirked, kissing the top of her head.

She shrugged, biting back a grin as her face flushed. “It’s understandable, but I think we are all dismissing a perfectly easy solution here.”

“If you’ve got an answer, let us know,” I said.

She smiled at me. “Bite me.”

I sat up straighter. “Excuse me?”

“I’m down!” Jensen cackled, twirling Bethany around playfully until she batted at him to put her down.

“Dude, careful,” Cullen said, but he had a giant, shit-eating grin on his face. “Do you really want to bond?”

We had wanted a bonded omega since we were teenagers, dreamed and discussed it at length. After Bella, it had felt impossible, but Bethany was suggesting it with such resolute ease.

Bethany shrugged. “We are all in agreement that this is serious.” She gestured between us all. “Bonding seems like a good way to solidify this.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to bite you right fucking now. But we don’t want to rush you,” I said. “You’re younger than we are.”

Bethany snorted and looked down at her stomach, where she was just starting to show. Her tiny bump was so adorable, and when we were home, she wasn’t afraid to show it off. Bella had hated her changing body, but it excited Bethany. She was stunning, and I couldn’t wait for the next few months.

“I think the child growing inside me has elevated the timeline a bit. If it was just us three and the baby, then when we bond wouldn’t be as big a deal, but we need to make sure that Joey feels secure with what’s going on. If we are a fully bonded pack, she’ll know that I’m not going anywhere.”

Did I want that? Fuck, yes, I did. We would be a family unit and have that security that Bethany was one hundred percent ours. Naturally, as a member of our bonded pack, she would have a bigger role in Joey’s life.

I was about to grab her and pull her into my arms, but Jensen grimaced. “We should talk to the docs before bonding,” he said.

“What?” Bethany gaped.

Jensen closed his eyes and tilted his head back, disappointment evident. “I hate being the responsible one, but you should have the OB-GYN clear bonding before we do it. Some pregnancies have more risk factors, and bonding can take it out of you…”

Bethany pouted but nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“How long until you see a doctor next?” Cullen asked.

“I just moved her to our insurance, so this week!” Jensen beamed.

I gently but firmly cupped her face, forcing her to meet my eyes.

“You’re ours. There’s no question of that, Bethany, but I want you to be sure.

I don’t want you to just do this for Joey, because once I sink my teeth into you, you’ll never be rid of me.

You think I’m obsessed with you now? I’ll be a thorn in your side once we bond. ”

Her eyes lit up. “Is that a promise?” she asked breathily.

“As long as you’re sure…” I trailed off.

Her eyes flashed with something…not angry, but excited. Reaching over toward the couch, she grabbed one of the pillows and hurled it at my head.

“I’m not offering just because of Joey. I’m also offering because I love you idiots! I swear to god, if we become a fully formed pack, we are all going to family therapy, because we are all messed up and need to figure out healthy communication.”