Page 76 of Broken Chains

Luke sighed. "I just want what's best for all of us," he admitted.

"You know that's the sign of a great Alpha, right?"

"Doesn't always feel like it. I'm not sure yet what's going to happen, but thanks to you and Peyton, the conversations have been started and I'm working to restore a healthy relationship with Collier Pack."

"Hey, I have an idea to work on strengthening Larken Pack. It's not much, but something Peyton's mentioned Collier does every season change, and I think Elizabeth mentioned in passing that Westin Pack does every full moon. A mandatory Pack run. I think you should implement it for us, too. I hadn't ever realized how much my wolf needed to run, how much I needed it, too. We use fast bikes, drugs and alcohol, even sex to compensate for that adrenaline rush we aren't getting from staying in human form too much."

"You have no idea how much I wish I could. At one time we did have a tiny bit of land to run on, but Jedidiah sold that off years ago. I'm not asking Thomas to let me borrow Collier land. Maybe someday, but we're not there yet."

Peyton walked in and smiled.

"Hey, you got Eve down for the night?" I asked as she walked over and sat on my lap. I could feel she was still a little on edge and needed me close. Not that I would ever mind or deny her that.

"Yes. And if land is the only thing stopping you, run here," she surprised me by saying. "There's what? Twenty-three of you? We have enough land to accommodate that."

Luke looked at me in surprise. "You do?"

I nodded. "Forty-nine acres. It should be enough for a decent run with everyone. It's better than nothing. And I honestly think it will help tame some of them down a lot."

He looked at Peyton. "You'd really be okay with that? The entire pack?"

She shrugged. "I know I didn't swear allegiance to Larken, Luke, but I did mate into it. Oliver and I don't want to have to choose between packs, so as far as we're concerned, we're both."

"Thomas is cool with that?"

She nodded. "Thomas is all about family. The bigger the better. He didn't make Lizzy and Cole choose between Collier and Westin Packs, either. So if you have no problem with that, you can consider your pack count bumped to twenty-four, or maybe twenty-three and a half," she said with a laugh.

Luke laughed, too. "I like that. Twenty-three and a half it is."

Peyton

Epilogue

I heard the baby crying in the next room and groaned. Looking at the clock, I saw it was only five in the morning and I had been up entirely too late last night. I felt like a zombie as I crawled out of bed and walked into the nursery.

"Sweetheart, it's way too early for you to be up," I said in a hushed voice.

She greeted me with arms held high, and I picked her up, only to discover she'd had a complete diaper blow out. It smelled something awful and was now all over my arms and the shirt of my pajamas, too. Thank God I'd bothered to wear them last night.

Motherhood was hard and not always sunshine and roses. Living with four grown men was difficult at times, too, but the good always outweighed the bad and I wouldn't change a single thing about my life.

I immediately set to work cleaning up Eve. It was bad enough that I knew a bath was in order, so once the worst was behind me, we headed for the bathroom. I set her down on the floor while I cleaned myself up and removed my soiled shirt. Then I quickly washed Eve.

It may have been the world's fastest bath, but it did the trick and she was clean at least. On the way to the nursery I felt something warm trickle down my hip. I stopped and closed my eyes, taking a deep calming breath.

When I looked down at Eve she was all smiles and happy with herself. Yup, she'd just peed on me.

Back to the bathroom we went. This time I just stripped off the rest of my clothes and got into the shower with her. It was quick and efficient.

"Don't even think about peeing or pooping on Mommy again," I scolded half-heartedly on our second attempt at making it back to the nursery for a fresh diaper.

By this point Eve was wide awake and perfectly happy. I dressed her in a fresh, footed one-piece and took her back to my bed. Oliver was semi-conscious at least, so I deposited her with her father, threw on leggings and an oversized T-shirt, and went to clean up the remainder of the mess and run a load of laundry.

This was the life you wanted more than anything, I reminded myself.

When I got back to the bedroom Eve was laying on her back blabbing away to Oliver.

"Dada," he said. "Dada!"

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