Page 77 of Stuck with my Pack

“Do you think they could be your pack?”

I let out a breathy laugh, shaking my head.

“Yeah,” I say softly. “But it’s not that simple, is it?”

Lily snorts, placing her finger in her daughters tiny fist. “Why the hell not?”

I chew on my lip, struggling to find the words.

“Because…I don’t know how to do this. Any of it.” My fingers tighten slightly where they cradle her daughter, a small bundle nestled in the crook of my elbow.

“I didn’t grow up with a pack. I didn’t have a mom, or a dad, or any kind of family dynamic. My Aunt did her best, but she wasn’t an Omega, and I wasn’t her kid. I had the inn, and that was enough.”

I shake my head, my throat going tight.

“I don’t know how to be part of a pack, Lily. I don’t even know if I have the right to want it.”

Lily’s face softens, her teasing grin giving way to something more serious. She doesn’t rush to answer, just watches me for a moment, like she’s trying to decide exactly what to say.

“Sophie,” she starts, shifting forward so our knees brush beneath the table, her hand coming to rest on my forearm.

“Wanting something doesn’t mean you have to have it all figured out. You think I knew what the hell I was doing when I found out I was pregnant?” She huffs a small laugh.

“I freaked the fuck out. No Pack, No money and a lifetime away from where I thought I’d be. Thought I was gonna ruin her life before she even got here. Thought I wasn’t enough. But you know what? No one’s born knowing how to do this. You figure it out as you go.”

I exhale sharply, dropping my gaze to the baby, who stirs slightly but stays asleep.

“Yeah, but you’re a good mom, Lily. You just…know how to be what she needs.”

Lily shakes her head.

“No, I don’t. I make it up as I go, same as you will. And you know what else?” She waits until I meet her eyes again. “You are already part of a pack. You don’t have to ‘know how to do it’ to belong to them, Soph. You just do.”

I let out a quiet breath, my heart thudding against my ribs.

“It’s crazy, though, right?” I whisper. “Ethan? All of them? Here? I swore I’d never come back. But now I just want them so damn much. I Love them.”

Lily tilts her head, brow arching. “You tell me. Does it feel crazy?”

I don’t answer right away, because the truth is, it doesn’t. It never has. It always felt natural, inevitable, like gravity pulling me into place. I swallow hard, barely shaking my head.

Lily smirks. “Didn’t think so.”

I study her, something in her tone catching my attention. “And you? Do you have a pack?”

Something guarded flickers across Lily’s face. She shifts slightly, her gaze dropping to the baby as she strokes her tiny fist.

“My situation is…different,” she says quietly. “I don’t have a pack. My baby’s father?…well, let’s just say he’s not in the picture.”

I hesitate before asking, “What happened?” Then, softer, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

She’s quiet for a moment, looking down at her daughter. Whatever sadness lingers in her expression fades as she traces gentle fingers over the baby’s soft curls.

“Sometimes, the universe hands you a mountain of heartache before it gives you everything,” she murmurs. “In short, I didn’t listen to what my heart, my instincts were telling me and gave the wrong Alpha my trust.”

My chest aches for her, but before I can say anything, she exhales and straightens, pushing the weight of it away.

“But that’s not you,” she continues, changing the subject, her voice firmer now. “They are fucking crazy about you.”