Page 43 of Bound By Pain
“Fates,” I whisper. I cannot imagine being in his shoes. How he is still here, alive and functioning, I don’t know. I would have followed my mate into the grave.
“Losing Ren put me in a terrible place. Shiloh was actually the one who stepped in. He forced me into rehab in California, saving my life.”
Well, shit. It’s hard to hate that dick when he turns out not to be a complete asshole. If only he could channel that same energy into his relationship with Bea. We would all be better off.
“What’s this dish called?” Bea asks, snapping another picture with her phone. Likely to send to her family group chat. They love sharing food pics. It’s an homage to her best friend Omen’s lack of choices in childhood.
“Beef braciole.”
“Be jealous, bitches,” Bea cackles quietly beneath her breath as her fingers fly across the screen.
Orion and I chuckle, digging back into our meals. It’s great to see our Omega so happy after everything that happened last week.
After dinner, I offer to do the dishes. Orion accepts before disappearing for several minutes. Bea stares at the front door from where she’s perched on the kitchen counter. A little furrow in her brow.
When he returns, arms laden with clothes and bedding, her jaw drops. “What is this?”
“Your mate’s scents. For your nest.”
“You- but how?”
“I made a group chat and told the others,” I jump in.
Orion nods. “Yep. So I stopped by Shiloh’s-”
“Using a key to his apartment that O apparently has.”
Bea holds the pile close to her chest and breathes in deeply, eyes flickering between us as she half pays attention to our explanation.
“Creed gave us permission to use his neighbor’s spare key to grab stuff from his place. He apologized for the staleness of his scent and promised he would fix it when they return from their assignment tomorrow.”
It’s Bea’s turn to nod, her hands sorting through everything so she can smell our scents individually.
Pressing a black shirt to her face, she seems skeptical when she looks back up. “Lex gave you his clothes, too?”
Orion scrubs a hand over the back of his neck and peeks at me. “Uh, not exactly?”
I raise one brow, curious to hear how he got my roommates’ stuff. Lex didn’t leave anything behind, and I had planned to stop by our place later to grab it.
“So, before the FCDA found you, Shiloh’s brother Jericho did us a favor and got Ridley and Lex’s address off their boss at theDAU. Then we kind of sort of broke into their apartment. To help with your healing process.”
I stare dumbfounded. They broke into our apartment? After calling Donovan for our address? “But why? Donovan has an emergency key?!”
Orion pales, his brow furrowing like this is news to him. Our Omega cackles. Her hands wrap around her middle, and her upper body sways with the force of her laughter.
“Oh my Fates! That old bastard! He totally got you!”
We share a glance, the reality of Donovan’s antics slowly sinking in.
“Well, fuck,” Orion finally says, blowing out a breath. “I guess I owe you guys for the window I broke.”
Chuckling, I shrug it off. Honestly, being mated to Bea now, I have no plans to return to my apartment except to move my stuff out. And as much as he likes to pretend otherwise, I think Lex feels the same.
“No worries, man. It’s hilarious that the old man convinced you to break in. I bet he was laughing his ass off the whole time!”
Bea is panting for breath by the time her giggles fade, the biggest smile stretching her cheeks. “I love this makeshift family we’re creating! It’s going to be so much fun!”
Yeah, sunshine, it sure is.
