Page 49

Cullen

I t felt like after Christmas, we had blinked, and it was already mid-January.

Bethany had thrown herself into her studies, making sure she could take plenty of time off once the baby was born.

We had offered several times to pay for her to retake the semester, but she was adamant that she had already done most of the work and wasn’t going to give that up.

We all respected that but hated seeing her work so hard. With every day that passed, her belly grew bigger, and her exhaustion was weighing heavily on her.

Also, her cravings were getting downright weird. As a restauranter, I could appreciate some culinary exploration, but pickles and peanut butter? That was a bit much, even for me.

The beautiful omega in question was rummaging through several bags as we tried to complete the task she had given us. Tried being the operative word, because she was so dang distracting with her rounded belly. She was beautiful and all mine .

Joey was at a friend’s house for the afternoon, so we were taking the opportunity to get a few errands done as a pack. The nursery had finally been painted in the colors Joey and Bethany had picked out together, and we now had a small mountain of furniture to assemble.

“We are three highly educated alphas. I refuse to be defeated by a flat-packed dresser!” Jensen grumbled.

“I think it’s faulty,” Gideon declared as Bethany settled into the large squishy armchair we had brought her for night feeds, a bag of chips in hand, watching with bright eyes as the scene unfolded before her.

“It’s not faulty. You guys are just struggling to get the job done.” She giggled.

“No sass from the peanut gallery!” Jensen declared, playfully glowering at the omega.

Turns out, it didn’t matter how much education you had, assembling flat-pack furniture was a skill that none of us possessed. We were hobbling through the task and doing a pretty abysmal job.

The doorbell rang, a jaunty little tune playing—Jensen’s doing.

Bethany’s head perked up. “Is that my takeout? I’ll get it!” she declared happily, pulling herself out of the armchair with considerable effort and waddling toward the door.

Jensen chuckled. “I think that’s the fastest I’ve seen her move in days.”

“Her cravings are getting brutal,” I said. “I’ll go make sure she’s okay.”

“Trying to find an excuse to get away from the flat-pack nightmare?" Gideon asked.

“Oh, that’s an added benefit, but I just don’t want Bethany opening the door for a delivery guy, especially if it’s a male…”

Both Jensen’s and Gideon’s eyes flashed with something almost dangerous.

The closer Bethany was to giving birth, the more and more overprotective we were getting.

Even the idea of being around a member of the opposite sex that wasn’t us made all our instincts on edge.

It wasn’t logical and it wasn’t fair, but Bethany had taken to the new development with grace.

Getting up was a lot easier for me, and in no time, I was following her as she waddled adorably down the hall to the front door.

It was obvious something wasn’t right when, the second she opened the door, her big, excited grin dropped.

“What are you doing here?” she growled.

At her tone, I moved next to her to see four people standing on our porch. Two older men and two that were probably closer to Bethany’s age.

Next to them was a police officer.

Actually, there were two police officers, but one was hanging back and observing.

“We came to bring you home,” one of the older men said.

Bethany snorted. “I am home, Pa.”

Pa.

It dawned on me that this was her family. The family who had treated her like crap, who had used her for their own benefit and never cared about her wants and desires.

The police officer looked right at me. “Sir, is this your home?”

I nodded. Technically, it belonged to the pack, but that was mere semantics.

“Sir, these gentlemen have filed a report claiming you’ve kidnapped their family member. I’m going to need you to come talk with me over here so the young lady can speak with her family.”

Kidnap?

“Oh, this is a new low, even for you,” I growled, looking at her family.

The fuckers didn’t even have the decency to appear sheepish.

The police officer frowned. “Now, don’t be hostile. This lady’s family simply wants to talk with her.”

“I think I am allowed to be surprised at their actions when they are accusing us of kidnapping .” I growled the last word, still hardly believing it.

“I’m getting the others,” Bethany said, going to turn back into the house, but one of her brothers launched forward, grabbing her arm and keeping her there.

“No! You’re not going to bring out more of these assholes who have brainwashed you!”

I took a step toward them, but the police officer got between us.

“I suggest you step out of my way,” I growled lightly. “He is putting hands on my pregnant omega, and you are letting him.”

The police officer looked between me and Bethany. “You’re bonded?”

Bethany shook her head. “We will be. We are just waiting for the doctors to approve it, since I’m pregnant,” she explained, yanking her arm out of her brother’s grasp.

“Your family seems to think you’re being coerced to be here,” the police officer explained.

“The only coercion here is the fact that they’re trying to make me go back to Nebraska, when I am very happy here in California.”

“You haven’t been yourself since you met this pack. We’re worried about you,” one of her brothers said, his tone almost believably worried.

Anger unlike anything I’d ever felt simmered in my veins. I didn’t know what these idiots planned, but they were not going to take Bethany away.

“Look, I think it may be best if Bethany returns to her house for a day or two, so she can spend some time with her family and avoid this turning into a legal matter,” the police officer said in a friendly tone. “If she’s unbonded, then she’s still technically the ward of her family.”

My eyebrows rose.

“You and I both know, officer, that cases where family tries to obtain legal claim over an omega after the age of twenty-one are usually thrown out,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

Gideon and Jensen had joined us.

The officer frowned. “And you are?”

“Gideon Noble. I am a partner at a local law firm, and I assure you, I am very knowledgeable in this matter. Now, unless there is an order signed by a judge, Bethany cannot be removed from our house against her will.”

The officer stumbled over his words. “W-well, the family…”

“Is estranged from their daughter because they’ve been behaving abhorrently,” Gideon said.

Bethany nodded, crossing her arms over her belly. “Exactly. They’ve been treating me as a glorified housekeeper for years, and I refuse to do that anymore.”

We were at an impasse. I got the impression that her brothers were biting their tongues because the officer was next to them.

“They are your family, and we have the legal power to remove an omega from a situation that may be dangerous,” the officer argued, though he appeared less sure than he’d been moments ago.

Gideon nodded. “That you do, but you do not have any evidence to justify removing Bethany from this house. You only have the word of her family, who have been mistreating her for years. Now, you could remove her from this house today, but I assure you, if you do, your department will be buried under so many lawsuits, your grandchildren will still be paying off the debts.”

Jensen snorted. “I can just see it now. Department pulls pregnant omega away from loving pack, causing emotional harm and distress . I’m assuming the NHL lawyers would also get involved because I am the team doctor for the Chargers.

Imagine the press!” He chuckled, wrapping his arm around Bethany from behind and kissing the top of her head as she bit back a smile.

One of her brothers—the more hostile -looking one—was turning red in the face. “This is such bullshit. Bethany, you’re coming home. These guys only want you to play nanny to their bastard brat. They should have fucking aborted her if they didn’t want to parent her themselves.”

I took a step forward. I was going to annihilate that asshole, police officers be damned.

Only, Bethany got there first.

The resounding slap she gave her brother could probably be heard from our neighbors’ houses. Her face was full of righteous fury, and I could smell the anger rolling off her in waves.

“You do not get to talk about Joey. I love that child more than I love all four of you idiots combined. She is my child, and I will protect her, just as I will this one.” She gestured to her stomach.

“You have some fucking nerve turning up here, considering we are suing you for stealing my identity to fund a lavish vacation. Clearly, I put up with your bullshit for far too long if you think that this is in any way, shape, or form okay.”

The lawsuit was still somewhat up in the air, thanks to Heather ensuring Bethany was refunded, but I was still leaning towards trying to nail her brother to the wall for his asshole behavior legally.

She had tried to give Jensen the money back as he had paid off the balance, but he had refused, telling her to use it on baby supplies.

The shocked look on her brother’s face was almost enough to make me laugh. The officer just looked startled, like he was unsure what to do.

“Officers, I think you should escort these unwelcome visitors back to their hotel room,” Gideon said.

“If they manage to come back with a written warrant from a judge, stating that Bethany is to be removed from the home, then we will cooperate and countersue. Until then, you are not removing my pregnant omega from her home. Is that clear?” His voice was firm, leaving no room for disagreement.

“Bethy, we just want to talk!” one of the dads said.

Bethany snorted. “If you just wanted to talk, you wouldn’t have brought the police with you.

I’ve always made excuses for you, but you really are crappy parents, aren’t you?

Maybe it’s partially my fault for not setting boundaries, but I was nine years old when you dumped me into this mess—and don’t you fucking dare use your grief over the loss of Mom to justify it.

I was a child, and my mother had died as well.

” She turned to the officer. “I’m going to take my leave now.

If you have any other business, please discuss it with my pack mates.

I’m feeling nauseated. This stress isn’t good for the baby, and I’m going to lie down.

Thank you.” She turned and stormed back into the house.

I wanted to keep her near me, but I much preferred her getting as far away from her family as possible.

Bethany was up in the nest, angrily throwing pillows around, grunting in anger as she did so.

“Those fucking self-righteous pigs!” she screamed. “You know, every time I think they can’t sink any lower, they somehow manage to.”

I pulled her into my arms, and she hugged me tightly, but only for a second before she was pulling away to angrily throw more pillows around the nest.

“I’m going to call in my partners at the firm. We are going to file a countersuit that will bury anything they throw at us, I promise,” Gideon said. “I need to go now and get the ball rolling.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Bethany growled, running a hand through her hair and looking between us. “How long do we have to go get Joey?”

Jensen cocked his head to the side, checking his watch. “About two hours? Why?”

She nodded thoughtfully to herself. I could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. “We can do it in two hours,” she muttered.

“Do what?” I asked.

She grinned at me.

“We are going to fuck, and then we are going to bond. Right now.”