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Gideon

T he tuna sandwich I had brought to work for lunch just wasn’t cutting it. Work was extra intense right now, since I had opted to stop taking work home and focus on the girls when I was there.

Maybe takeout would be needed for lunch.

I was preparing to reduce my workload over the next few months. Spending time with Bethany and the baby was far more important than work. I hadn’t worked my ass off for so many years to not be able to take time for family when needed.

When Joey was born, I had taken three months off, and they were some of the best days of my life. I had wanted to take more time, but her mother had insisted she needed me back at work for financial reasons.

“Mr. Noble, I know you’re busy, but you have a visitor,” my assistant, Fran, said as she knocked on my door lightly.

I shook my head. “I’m slammed.” Usually Fran was really good at keeping visitors away.

Fran grimaced. “I know, but it’s Bethany, and I think the poor dear isn’t having a good day.”

I was out of my seat in a second. “Let her in!”

“I thought so.” She smiled, darting out of the door.

A moment later, Bethany was walking in. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and she had clearly been crying.

The sight of my omega in distress immediately made my chest hurt. Every muscle in my body tensed as my inner alpha tried to figure out how to solve the issue.

“What’s wrong? Are you and Joey okay?” Mentally I was running through the plan of the day—Joey was at school, and Bethany had a few classes left before the start of Christmas break. Pulling her into my arms, I squeezed her tightly as she started to sob into my chest.

“My shithead brothers!” she snarled, her voice a mixture of sadness and anger.

My eyes closed, and I huffed in frustration.

What had those assholes done to upset her now? I thought her contact with them was minimal, so how had they managed to cause this?

“What did they do?” I asked gently, pulling back and wiping away her tears. The fact that they could still upset her so much infuriated me. They were all the way in fucking Nebraska and still causing problems.

Bethany wiped at her tears. “One of my brothers maxed out my credit card to book a vacation. He spent ten grand! I only have three in savings. How the hell am I going to be able to pay that bill?”

For a moment, I simply blinked at Bethany as I tried to comprehend what she had just said. Of all the stupid things for her brother to do, this one took the cake. Who did he think he was to just take what he wanted from her?

Then again, we knew all too well that they simply saw Bethany as a resource they could use to look after themselves. Maybe they were behaving this way because Bethany was no longer running around after them.

Either way, I wasn’t going to let it fly.

“Have you reported it?” I asked gently. Even though I was seething with anger, I didn’t want to let Bethany see that.

She shook her head, her arms still wrapped around me. “It just happened. I called my dad, and he justified it and said that I had caused a lot of problems in Hayden’s relationship and he needed this. He insisted that they would pay me back, but it would take time.”

“They could have just saved for a fucking vacation themselves,” I growled.

She nodded. “Then Dad tried to make it clear that I couldn’t afford to look after myself or the baby, and I needed to move home.

He said a few hurtful things, just like last time, and I told him I would report the credit card fraud.

He didn’t seem to believe me, and I hung up.

I came straight here because I thought you would be the best to ask about this…

Plus, I really just wanted a hug.” She admitted the last part in a small voice, squeezing her arms tight around me.

“Well, I’m available for hugs at any time, night or day, even for soaking shower hugs.”

Her watery chuckle made me smile. “You know soaking cuddles would probably lead to naked cuddles.”

I hummed thoughtfully, kissing the top of her head. “I see no issue with that.”

“So…what do we do?” she asked softly.

I guided her toward my chair, where I sat, pulling her into my lap. She didn’t protest, snuggling into me, her face buried in my neck. Nothing mattered more than making sure she was okay. The meetings and phone calls I had could all be rescheduled.

Gently running a hand through her hair, I took a moment before speaking. My first instinct was to go nuclear, to bury her brother in a lawsuit so brutal that even his grandchildren would be feeling the effects of it for years to come.

“We can start with a legal letter. It’s a softer approach, but it may scare him into paying up. If he pays, then there won’t be any legal repercussions for him. If he doesn’t listen to that, we could file a lawsuit against him.”

Bethany nodded with a sniff. “That sounds like a good idea. A letter from an actual law firm would probably make him piss himself with fear or double down.”

I chuckled lightly. “If he doubles down, I will make him regret it. I am not going to let him take advantage of you like this. He’s only escalating because you’re standing up for yourself.”

“Dad seemed really grumpy about Christmas,” she admitted.

“Well, he can get fucked. There is no way you’re going back to that abuse. I know you love him because he’s your father, but I would never allow myself or any of my pack mates to treat Joey like that. Using their grief against you is a shitty thing to do.”

“It is, isn’t it?” she said softly.

“Have you eaten?” I asked, still ready to ditch my tuna sandwich.

A heavy sigh escaped her chest. “No. I went to the coffee shop to get myself a fancy latte—decaf, of course.” She chuckled as she kissed my cheek, anticipating my lecture on caffeine. “And that’s when I found out about this whole mess. So I didn’t get my coffee.” She pouted adorably.

“In that case, how about we go get some lunch and your coffee?”

Bethany shook her head, a few strands of hair falling out of her messy bun as she did so. “I have no money.” She chuckled ruefully.

“Lucky for us, I have plenty of money. Lunch is my treat. Also, you have the pack card, remember? We share everything now!”

“Don’t you have work?”

I smirked down at her. “One of the perks of being a senior partner is that I can finish work early to go have lunch with my beautiful omega.”

“Sweet talker,” she muttered, making me laugh.

“Are you really going to say no to some fresh pizza? Or maybe some pasta from that Italian joint down the road? You mentioned you’ve been craving carbonara.”

Beth groaned, throwing her head back. “That’s mean, Gideon Noble, using my cravings against me.”

I hummed and cocked my head to the side, watching her intently. “Is it really using them against you if I’m offering to buy them for you?”

She glowered at me but snuggled back into me, pressing her face into my neck, allowing my scent to comfort her.

I had noticed her doing that more often, scenting us or subtly rubbing her own scent on us.

I was over the fucking moon about it. Omegas naturally gravitated toward scents and adding their own scents to their partners’, but from what I understood, pregnancy ramped that up.

“When will you send the letter?” she asked after a moment of snuggling.

“First thing tomorrow,” I replied, running my hand up and down her back. I needed to be touching her, reassuring myself that she was there and safe.

I doubted I would be able to wait until the morning. That little shit deserved to have the crap beaten out of him, but a strongly worded legal letter would have to do for now.

It would be drafted and sent as soon as Bethany was asleep for the night.