Page 45 of Bound to the Guard

When the last notes fade, Leo claps. “That was beautiful, Seven. Thank you.”

Warmth fills my cheeks at his praise. “You’re welcome.”

Before I can stop myself, I ask, “Are you having twins? Since your belly is so big?”

Leo throws his head back and laughs. “I thought the same thing at first! But according to Dr. Walton, there’s only one baby growing in here.” He pats his belly. “The rest must be all the sandwiches I’ve been eating.”

Since he had already inhaled half the plate, I can’t argue with his assessment.

“When we first got pregnant, Nolan went into full-on protective Alpha mode. He read everything about babies and had me eating nothing but salmon, avocados, and spinach for weeks.” A wistful sigh escapes his pink lips. “He was so worried about something going wrong with the pregnancy.”

The image of a big Alpha like Damien fretting over his pregnant mate brings a smile to my lips. “How did you convince him to let you eat other things?”

“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t easy. It started with a negotiation for cheat days, and his cousins would sneak me junk food as soon as he was distracted.” He rubs his belly again, chuckling to himself. “After the pregnancy cravings kicked in, I threatened to walk out if he didn’t start feeding me peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Now, snacks are up to me, but I still eat foods that are healthy for growing the baby for breakfast and dinner, so he doesn’t stress.”

As I listen to Leo talk about his mate with such obvious love and affection, a flicker of hope blooms inside me. Maybe Damien and I can have something like that someday? A relationship built on love and trust, where we can tease and support each other through the ups and downs of life.

Leo somehow reads my thoughts. “You and Damien will get there. I’ve seen the way he acts around you. He adores you.”

Head down, I run my fingers over the piano keys. “I hope so. I just… There’s so much guilt over being here when Jade isn’t. I don’t want people to think I’m trying to take his place.”

Leo shakes his head. “What happened to Jade is not your fault. The people who took him, the ones who were holding you? They’re the ones to blame. Not you.”

He sets his plate of sandwiches aside. “Did Damien tell you how Milo was almost auctioned off by those same people?”

My head snaps up. “What?”

“They tried to hide it from me, because they worry about how much stress I’m under.” He purses his lips to show what he thinks of that sort of protectiveness. “Taking them down is how Jade was taken.”

Pain punches through me, and I press a hand to my stomach. “I didn’t know.”

“Jade understood the risks of the job he chose. He went in fully informed because he wanted to change things,” Leo says, gentle but firm. “It’s no more your fault he’s still missing than it’s Milo’s fault he was taken.”

His words wash over me, easing some of the guilt and shame for escaping when Jade couldn’t.

Damien and my therapist have both told me it’s not my fault, but hearing it from Leo—Jade’s family who barely knows me—helps quiet the coiled snake in my gut that whispers I don’t deserve to be here. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

Soft understanding shines from his eyes. “It’s easy to let negative emotions get the better of you, and once the hooks have sunk in, it’s hard to pull them free. Play me another song, and then I’ll tell you how I almost got Nolan killed.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

He settles back in his chair. “Song first, then story.”

Amused by his antics, I turn back to the piano, letting my fingers hover over the keys for a moment before I start to play.

This time I choose the song my papa first taught me, hearing him hum along in my memory. The melody is happy, but a thread of melancholy weaves through it that always makes my heart ache.

As I play, I remember sitting next to Papa on the bench, watching his fingers dance over the keys. He would pat my head and tell me that someday, my fingers would be big enough to reach the keys, and then we’d play together.

We never got the chance, though. Life got in the way, and I stopped going to the community center with him, choosing to play with my school friends instead. Then I lost my chance when he was taken from us without warning.

After his funeral, I lived with regret for all the times I didn’t take more time to spend with him, but I don’t allow the sadness to drown me. Instead, I focus on the happy memories.

The way a dimple appeared in Papa’s cheek when he smiled.

The sound of my father’s laughter floating in from the kitchen.

The warmth of our little home.

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