Page 16 of My Omega's Gift

It was a nice day, relatively speaking. Still cold because winter, but nowhere near as bitter as it had been. The sun was high in the sky, and the entire property looked like a winter wonderland you might see on a greeting card.

Kurt was whisked away almost immediately to hold a ladder while Theo changed the bulbs in the chandeliers. And as soon as they were gone, Elias asked if I wanted to help him in the kitchen. I was hardly an amazing cook, but it turned out that I didn’t need to be. “Help” in the kitchen had been code for us to each make a lasagna for our own consumption.

“I bought too much food. You know how it is.” He pulled out item after item, showing me everything he’d bought for the lasagnas, including a random disposable pan for me.

I didn’t know “how it is.” I’d grown up lucky to have enough for what we needed, and even then it was often only becausewe supplemented with hunting. And later—well, things went to shit and even being the alpha’s mate didn’t give me abundance. Him? Yes, but not me.

Watching as he unveiled each ingredient, I realized I wasn’t even sure what went into a proper lasagna. I’d had it once at a diner after getting kicked out of my pack, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t authentic. Still, it had been warm and filled my belly, so I wasn’t complaining.

“I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted, looking at the ingredients, feeling more than a little intimidated.

“The best things in life are often the things we don’t know how to do,” Elias replied. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you about when I met Theo.”

I was itching to ask him to tell me now, but it was obvious he didn’t want to share just yet. Instead, he showed me how to make his homemade sauce while I cooked the ground sausage and beef. Then came the fun part; we assembled everything together. He had noodles that didn’t need to be cooked beforehand, which he explained made the process much quicker and, I imagined, a whole lot easier. When we were done, one lasagna was wrapped up and put in the fridge. The other was placed in a handled paper bag he had waiting for it.

“There you go—now you have dinner.” He pulled a baguette from a grocery bag and stuck it on top. “A complete one. It’s French. They don’t go together, but it looked so good.”

“Trust me, it is going to be delicious. Anything with crusty bread is good.” My beast might live for the hunt, but I was all about the bread.

We’d just finished when Kurt came in.

“Smells wonderful in here,” he said.

“I’m glad, because we’re bringing some home.” I held up the bag. It was heavier than I remembered.

“I think we need to help more often,” Kurt quipped, taking the bag from me and chatting with Elias for a moment before we headed back to the cabin.

Once there, I put the lasagna in the tiny oven, already hungry, and turned it on. The pan barely fit. Before long, the aroma of our dinner filled the air.

“What’s this?” Kurt pulled a bag from the one holding the lasagna. I’d not seen it before.

“I don’t know. I thought it was just the lasagna and the bread.” I’d been sure of it. I was the one who put the pan in there to begin with.

He opened it and pulled out a baby blanket, a couple of onesies, a small package of diapers, and some wipes.

“Looks like Elias was being sneaky.” It was the only solution. I tried to figure out when he could’ve slipped those in but came up blank. It was almost as if Christmas magic was real in this place.

“Oh, and the tags are off, and they’re washed.” Kurt handed the baby items to me. They were the first for my sweet one, which had guilt slipping in hard.

How could I expect to be a good father when I literally had gotten my baby nothing? I’d been so focused on making it day by day, I forgot to look ahead. Maybe forgot wasn’t accurate, more like, I was too scared to look there, which somehow made it feel worse.

“Smell them.” Kurt yanked me from my spiral. He had a habit of doing that. At first, I assumed it was coincidence, but I’d come to think it was more that he paid attention and it was done with intent. I appreciated it.

I inhaled deeply. They were fresh and clean with a hint of lavender. I loved them, but why give them to me now of all times?

“Do they think I’m leaving?”

“No, I think they think someone’s arriving,” he said, reaching out as if to touch my belly but pulling his hand back at the last second. “Listen, can we talk?”

I didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit. But I nodded and followed him to the couch, where we both sat down.

“Sometimes I think you’re planning on leaving,” he said.

“Well, I do have to at some point. I don’t live here. I’m not paying my way. I can’t just decide this is my home.” As much as I loved it here, that was the reality.

“No.” He took my hand in his. “I didn’t mean leaving this place. I meant leaving me.”

“Oh, Kurt.” I turned sideways to face him. “There is no you and I. There can’t be. You’re alpha of a pack. Your responsibilities and loyalties are to them.”

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