Page 122 of Knight Life In Vegas

“I’m sorry, baby. Daddy’s back in New York. You know we can’t see him.”

Ollie shook his head, rubbing his face against my shirt. I didn’t relish being used as a tissue, but it was par for the course with young children. He lifted a shaky hand, making a grabby motion toward where the pack was standing. “But Daddy’s right there. Why’s he just standing there and not hugging us?”

I glanced at my pack, confused. “Ollie, honey, who are you talking about?”

That only made him cry harder. “Daddy!”

My pack edged closer and Ollie grabbed Beau’s pant leg. I shared a look with my first bond before turning back to my son. “Are you calling Beau Daddy?”

“HeisDaddy.”

“Honey, what makes you think that?”

“He’s here way more than other Daddy and I wanna keep him. He loves us.”

Beau got down on his knees and Ollie flung himself from my arms and into Beau’s. My alpha looked at me with wild eyes but held Ollie nonetheless.

“Whatis happening right now?” Bryce asked quietly.

Nerves chewed at me. I knew things were better between Bryce and Beau, but it had to bring up some feelings to see one of my kids calling Beau his dad.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Beau as he shifted into a more comfortable position. Sammy took advantage of the swap-out and climbed onto my lap, both boys quickly falling asleep now that they had what they wanted.

Bryce nudged the couch further away to settle down next to his dad, looking at him with a mix of emotions. “Hey,” he said softly, “it’s okay to love them.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Beau replied quietly, his voice thick, guilt and nervous energy blazing down the bond from him.

“You were an amazing dad when I was little and I want them to have that too. It’s an adjustment to see you like this now, but I’m not upset. I think it’s good for youandfor them.”

I sucked in a shaky breath. Ollie was going to be devastated when Beau left us. I had known he was leaving from the start, and I’d been more than okay with that when he first came on the scene, but how was I supposed to be okay with it now? How could I just let him go after everything?

I burst into tears, sitting there on the floor in front of everyone.

Panic jolted through the pack, launching them into action, couch and coffee table getting moved aside so the others could surround me.

They would stay, and I was grateful for that, but Beau and I had an expiration date, and I didn’t know how to cope with that anymore.

“Charlotte, what’s wrong?” Beau took my hand.

“I don’t want you to go,” I sobbed out.

“You didn’t tell her?” Bryce asked.

“I was kind of occupied,” Beau defended.

Ava passed me a box of tissues and I mopped my face with them. “Tell me what?”

“I’m not leaving.”

“You—you’re not? But that was always the plan.”

Beau scooted closer, cupping the back of my head so he could press a kiss to my forehead. “Plans change. I’ve failed a lot in my life when it comes to the people who are important to me, and I’m not allowing that to continue.”

I’d fought the entire time, resisting the building of this new family, too afraid of how Andrew had broken me to let myself accept the gifts fate had given me. I didn’t want to fight anymore. I wanted to feel safe, to feel precious, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t passed a day where these alphas didn’t make that my reality.

“Do you want me to take him, querida?” Eduardo offered, reaching toward Sammy. I let him gather up my son, soft affection trickling down the bond as Eduardo held him. The same came from Beau, exactly what I remembered feeling from my own parents. Ava and her pack stepped back to give us space, near enough to call if we needed to, but not so close as to be obvious if they were eavesdropping.

“Do you all really want to do this with me?” I asked quietly. The bond lit up like a series of spotlights before I could worry too much that any of them might want otherwise.

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