Page 85 of Nesting With My Three Alphas
"So when we start talking about buying a bigger house," I continued, "I want you to know that I understand my position here. I'm grateful for everything you've given me, but I can't contribute anything financial to…"
"Stop." Reed's voice cut across my spiraling anxiety with sharp authority. "Just stop right there."
I looked at him, expecting to see pity or gentle dismissal. Instead, his green eyes were blazing with something that looked like anger.
"You think you don't contribute anything?" Reed stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. "You think what you bring to this pack is worth nothing?"
"Reed," Micah said gently, but Reed held up a hand.
"No, she needs to hear this." He stepped closer, his scent shifting to something protective and fierce. "Kit, who made Charlie's lunch every day this week when Jonah had to leave early for work?"
"That's just…"
"Who organized Micah's entire spice cabinet so he could actually find things while cooking?"
"Anyone could have…"
"Who spent three hours last night helping me figure out the books for my business because I'm shit at paperwork?"
I opened my mouth to deflect again, but Reed wasn't finished.
"Who's been teaching art classes at the community center, bringing in new people and making connections that are already getting Micah more catering requests?"
"You're raising Charlie," Jonah said quietly, his voice rough with emotion. "You're making her laugh again, making her feel safe enough to be a kid instead of worrying about whether her dad is eating enough or sleeping enough."
"You're healing this whole town's omega population," Micah added, turning fully away from the stove. "Do you have any idea how many people have told me that your art class is the first time they've felt comfortable expressing themselves in years?"
"But that's not…" I started, then stopped. Because maybe it was. Maybe the things I'd been dismissing as basic human decency were actually... valuable.
"Kit," Jonah said, moving closer until I was surrounded by all three of them, "you're thinking like Marcus taught you to think. Like the only value a person has is financial."
The name hit me like a slap, because he was right. Marcus had spent two years conditioning me to believe that my worth was tied to my economic productivity, that love was something you earned through usefulness rather than something you deserved simply by existing.
"We're not buying a house," Reed said firmly. "We're investing in our family's future. All of us. Together."
"But I can't pay…"
"You're paying," Micah said softly. "Every time you make Charlie giggle. Every time you organize something that makes our lives easier. Every time you create something beautiful that reminds us why life is worth living."
Charlie's voice floated down from upstairs: "Are you guys having a feelings talk without me? Because I have opinions about the house thing!"
Despite everything, I found myself smiling. "She really does have opinions about everything."
"Wonder where she gets that from," Jonah said dryly, but his eyes were warm.
"Should we include her in this conversation?" I asked.
"Definitely," Reed said. "This affects her too."
"Charlie!" Micah called. "Come down here! House meeting!"
The thunder of small feet on stairs announced Charlie's arrival, and she bounced into the kitchen with her hair in lopsided pigtails and glitter somehow already embedded in her cheek.
"Are we talking about getting a bigger house?" she asked without preamble. "Because I've been thinking about this a lot, and I have a list."
"Of course you do," I said, lifting her up to sit on the counter beside me. "What's on your list?"
"Okay," Charlie said seriously, pulling a folded piece of paper from her pocket. "First, we need more bathrooms. Four adults and one kid sharing one bathroom is mathematically impossible."
