Page 42 of Knot Their Valentine

Caelum

I was scared that this would happen.

Quin has always sensed my mother's animosity toward him. It's not like she's very fucking subtle about it.

I've tried to tell him it doesn't matter what she thinks, that she's got no influence on my decisions.

That I don't care how badly she wants me to have babies.

Part of the reason why I didn't try to repair things with Harlow sooner was this.

This reaction. The fucked up things that they just said without outright saying them.

The second the door slammed shut behind Harlow, my mother let out a sob. My instinct to soothe her kicks in, but I fight it easily.

She's an Omega, after all. Sensitive. Delicate. Ruled by her instincts and emotions. Needing the protection of an Alpha.

She was a good mother, and I never resented her until the day I bonded with Quin and Lachlan.

What should have been a happy celebration turned into a fucking lecture.

She had bitched me out for choosing a male Omega. Like it hadn't been clear since I was seventeen years old that I was in love with him.

Like there was any other choice.

Even if Harlow was in the picture, Quin was always also right there. Our friendship laid the groundwork.

This only ended one way. Pack Baker was only going to exist with Quin as the heart of it, and Harlow as the soul. Something that's become even clearer to me now.

Harlow cares about Lachlan and me, but our Omega is her center. Without Quin, I don't think she ever would have agreed to live here. Maybe, if I hadn't acted like a dumb jackass in high school, but even then…

Would he and I have been enough for her if Quin was never here first?

Sure, we all needed her for different reasons, but she needed us, too.

Needs. We need her, and she needs us.

I turn Quin in my arm, so he's facing me, his back to the mothers. Lachlan moves, so that he's blocking their view of us, his shoulders wide and arms crossed over his chest.

The statement is clear, you two stay over there, and you don't deserve to see this private moment.

“Listen to me, Quinton,” I growl as my scent naturally responds to his distress. “No matter what they say or how shitty they are, you have always and will always be more than enough.”

I press a kiss to his forehead and then pull him into my arms for a tight hug. I tap Lachlan on the shoulder and pass our Omega to him once he turns around to face us.

“Take him to Harlow's room, get him all cuddled up in her scent,” I say, nodding my head down the hall. “I'll take care of those two. Be ready because once they're gone, we're going after our girl.”

“You don't have to make them leave,” Quin whispers softly. “They're right, I can't give you children the same way that Harlow can.”

“Quin, you might not be capable of growing a child in your body, but there are so many other ways to build a family. To build a pack. We're gonna go get Harlow because we fucking love her. Because we need her. And she needs us. Not because she has a uterus. In fact, uterus or no uterus, I think we can all agree we would still ravish her.” I wink, trying to lighten the mood. Thankfully, it works because Quin chuckles, and his scent of peach cobbler warms the air around us.

“Come on, you naughty little thing, let's go snuggle up in our girl's bed while your Alpha kicks those two pecking hens out.” Lachlan tucks Quin under his arm and leads him down the hall toward the bedrooms.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself, and then turn to my mother and Emily.

“Caelum,” my mom looks at me with her large, pleading amber eyes, the ones she passed down to me, and I steel myself against the need to comfort her. I can't protect Quin if I never stand up for him.

And to do that, I need to stand up to her.

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