Page 4 of Riley Goes Home

“Mm… I like this.” Haze strolled in, taking the two of us in with a sardonic smile before reaching across the table to tilt my chin his way. “Well, I do if I can get in amongst it? Got some of that sugar for me?”

I kissed him as well, and when I pulled back, my lips stung from their attention. The temptation to lock the door and claim omega privilege and reaquaint myself with my mates’ charms was pretty strong, but instead, I stared into his eyes.

“So, what’s going on?”

Haze was suddenly serious, every muscle locking down as he regarded me, then his brother.

“We’re going to drive down to Bordertown and see your family.”

Chapter 3

Colt

“So, we all know this is going to be a complete shit show, right?”

With some negotiation, Riley had cleared a spot in her schedule. We already had a team shadowing me and my brothers in preparation for the birth of our kids, so they were only too glad to take over for a bit. Blake and I carried several bags over to the car, but that wasn’t what I was thinking about.

It was her.

Always and forever, Riley. It felt like the only reason my heart beat was for her, but shit, things only just got more intense when she got pregnant. I dropped the bags on the ground as she stepped out of our house, and my brother just snorted, picking them up as well and shoving them into the back of the car. I was moving instead towards her.

“Babe, are you sure about this?” I reached for her hand and helped her down the step. “It's a long drive and you hate Bordertown. You couldn’t wait to leave.”

“Colt.” She pulled her fingers from mine, even when I wanted to snatch them back, but I went still when she touched my face. “I’ll be fine. I beat your mum in a dominance fight.”

“Yeah, you did.”

Haze smirked as he walked past carrying a cooler full of food and drinks.

“If we’re going by pack law, I outrank her,” she continued.

“To us you do.”

Fen slid up behind Riley, and I knew what he was doing when his hands went under her belly. We’d all watched the video of a guy relieving the burden of his pregnant wife’s belly with interest, and Riley sighed and melted back into him, just like the woman had. “There is no one more precious, so if you want to go to Bordertown, that’s where we’re going.”

He eyed me then, making clear he didn’t want me agitating our mate. Fen always took on the role of leader, but my wolf started to shift inside me the moment he tried to pull anything. While I might’ve gotten past being separated from our mate for years, my wolf hadn’t. I could barely suppress a snarl before I focussed back on her.

“We go as long as you want. We do what you want. You know what Mum is like,” I told her.

“I do.” That earned me another kiss, a sweet one pressed to my forehead. It felt like I could see, think more clearly at Riley’s touch. “You know what pregnant omegas are like. We’re moody and have weird cravings and want weird things.”

“I can’t entice you to stay by promising to make you grilled cheese and onion sandwiches instead?” I asked.

Her stomach rumbled almost in answer, but Riley shook her head.

“We need to do this. Your parents are the only grandparents our kids are going to have.”

“They can do that from a distance,” Ryan said, bringing out her pillow. “A very far distance.”

“Maybe I don’t want that.” Everyone stilled at that admission. While we might not be champing at the bit to drive back to our hometown, Riley’s needs were of the utmost importance. “Everyone says they need a village to raise their child. Maybe I want to see what role your parents could play in that village.”

Don’t, that’s what I wanted to say. I loved my parents obviously, but if I was completely honest, sometimes I hated them too. Every day I woke up beside my mate felt like something I’d stolen from the jaws of fate. She could’ve so easily slipped away from us. We might never have found her. She might’ve revealed as an omega and some other?—

“Colt.” She forced me to look down at her. “Stay with me.”

That’s when I pulled her close, using the same strategies we taught kids. Ground yourself in reality when feeling heightened, that’s what we said. Well, I did that with her. The fiery gleam of her hair, the softness of the strands as I stroked my hand through them, the way she fit against my body. I loved her so violently it felt like I needed to set the whole world on fire just to keep her safe. The wolf settled then, my hands becoming fingers again, not claws, before I nodded and pulled back.

“You got it, but…” It was hard for me to say these things. We’d kept everything back for so long it meant it took conscious effort for me to get the words out. “Just know that you’re the one in control now.” She smiled at me and my whole chest felt lighter. “Not just because you kicked Mum’s arse. Because we’re backing you one hundred percent.”

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