Page 76 of These Bonds that Unite Us
Making sure traffic is clear, I turn left and head up the winding road around the lake. With the leaves now a solid blend of orange, yellow, and red it’s a charming ride. Omen purrs contentedly, the soft rattle easing any lingering stress from my body as we fly through the trees.
Water glitters to our left where the lake sits below the hill we are on. I spy a small lookout ahead and quickly signal we are stopping. We both slip our helmets off, enjoying the view of the sinking sun across the fall landscape.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Omen murmurs.
“Yeah, it is.”
We sit silently, enjoying the peace and the fresh air. It’s getting chilly quickly, so I help her snap her helmet back in place and drive us back to the house.
I startle when I turn around from hanging up our helmets and find Omen standing behind me. She stretches onto her tiptoes and brushes her lips against the corner of my mouth. “Thank you, Alpha. I needed an escape from my own thoughts and going for a drive with you was the perfect solution.”
“We can go out any time you’d like,” I promise, carefully tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear.
“Callisto wanted to watch the new episode of First Glance Pack tonight, you could join us. If you want.” Pink colors her cheeks and she averts her gaze, glancing down to where her fingers are playing with the zipper of her jacket.
“I’d love to join you, firefly. Are we watching in the living room or in the nest?”
Her eyes fly to mine, relief swimming in the sea green orbs. A furrow creases her brows and her head tilts slightly to the left. She’s so fucking adorable. “We could watch it in the nest?”
Oh, duh. We’ve only been in the nest to sleep or to fuck, so we haven’t shown her the drop screen and projector we had set up for her to watch movies with.
“Yeah, there’s a projector built into the ceiling with a screen on the opposite side.”
“The nest then!” She beams at me before turning to head into the house. She hesitates for a minute before stretching her hand out toward me. My large palm engulfs her smaller one and I let her lead me inside.
The smell of chili and cornbread fills the entire house, making both Omen’s and my stomach growl loudly. She laughs, moving faster toward the stairs.
It’s not as noticeable unless you’ve been watching her, but our girl is getting stronger every day. Since she accepted thebond from Nexus the worst of the side effects from the chemical rejection have started to fade. She’s sleeping better, and her appetite has returned full force. I don’t feel like she’s going to collapse if she’s on her feet for too long now. It hasn’t even been a week yet, and she’s already getting back to her old self.
I know these are only the physical effects. The mental trauma we caused will be much more difficult to overcome, but we are here to support her in any way we can.
One day all of this will be in the past and we’ll find the happy ending Fate had in store for us.
Crowding into the kitchen, we eat at the large island instead of dragging everything into the dining room. My packmates can sense the lightness in our omega after the ride. Their bonds pulse with happiness and hope, feelings that settle in me too.
“So, Nex, what do you want for your birthday?” Nebula asks as he refills both his and Omen’s bowls. Her eyes widen dramatically as her head whips toward the end of the island where Nexus is perched on the counter.
“My birthday is September 22nd, which is Friday,” he tells her. “And books is my answer.”
We all groan in unison, except for Omen who glances between us with one eyebrow raised. “That seems exaggerated for an easy request?”
“He always wants books. We always feel bad only getting him books when we know he doesn’t have time to actually read all of them.” Callisto explains.
“I’ll read them eventually!” Nex protests.
“I’m with Nexus on this one. Even if they sit untouched on the shelf for twenty years, at least he will have something to enjoy when he’s old.” She shrugs before digging back into her dinner.
“Exactly! I knew you were perfect for us, gorgeous, from the day we met you!” Nexus swings his legs, humming happily and beaming at our girl.
She smiles back at him, but it’s fragile in comparison to the one on her face moments ago. The reminder of how things were between us prior to us learning she was born Sarah Montgomery kills her joyful moods.
“When is your birthday?” I ask to distract her from the spiral I can see building behind her eyes.
“Not until January. Bea’s birthday is soon though, on the 9th. I was going to invite her here to hang out since we can’t risk going out for the night with everything going on.”
“That’s a great idea, babygirl. You should ask Foster to come too. Have an omega-only night in. I can make snacks for the three of you to share,” Nebula offers.
“I’ll ask them. Bea is most likely a yes unless she has work, but Foster has been busy with work and DAU projects. He’s also sticking to Hannah’s side more than ever now with her due date getting closer.”
