Page 35 of Choosing Their Omega

I always figured that one of the others would find us an Omega, or that someday I’d wake up to Cruz dragging us out the door to an Omega presentation, and we’d pick someone together. I didn’t need to bother with women in the meantime, really.

Lily, though? I barely know her, and I don’t want to instantly trust her. Especially with my nephew. But I can’t deny the pull I feel toward her. And I see it in my pack mates. They’re not even trying to resist it.

I want to snap at them that she’s a Beta. They can’t get too attached. But I also see how much they enjoy her company, and I don’t want to ruin that. We’re all stressed between trying to play well this season and taking care of Ben. And it’s a good thing, giving Lily a home. I might have wanted to make sure she was who she claimed to be, but there’s no way I’d let a woman stay vulnerable on the street if I could do something to stop it.

Odd that she’s so quiet today. She’s fit right into the pack. Maybe she had a bad night. It’s not any of my business.

Even though we often get to sleep in the morning after the game, we don’t really get days off from workouts, so I head to the gym after grabbing breakfast. Afterwards, I come back home and hop into the shower. I have the rest of the day off, and I want to spend some quality time with Ben.

He and Lily are in the playroom, building with Legos. I grin, watching from the doorway as Lily helps Ben construct an elaborate patchwork world out of the little colored bricks. She’s really good with him. She listens to him, genuinely, and doesn’t patronize him. She matches his energy level, not bored but not overwhelming him either.

Lily looks up and sees me. “Oh, hi, Knox.”

Ben grins and waves at me. I wave back as I say, “I wanted to take him out today on an activity. I was thinking the zoo, buddy, what do you think?”

Ben shrieks and scrambles to his feet. “Yes, please!”

“All right, I love it.” I grab Ben as he hurries over to me and grabs my legs. “Do you have any plans for the day?”

Lily shakes her head. “Nothing other than taking care of Ben.”

She probably would like the afternoon off to read. Lawson told me she has a ton of books in her room. But despite that, I find myself blurting out, “Would you like to come with us?”

Lily stares at me in surprise. I’m pretty surprised myself. I’m not really a people-person. I like my pack, and I can handle my teammates. That’s about it.

She flushes a little and ducks her head down, smiling. “Sure. That’d be nice. I haven’t been to the zoo in ages.”

I can feel heat creeping up my spine and I try to ignore it. “Great. I’ll get ready.”

The zoo isn’t too busy when we get there. I think we beat the morning crowds of school field trips, which is nice. Lily crouches down with Ben, the paper map of the zoo open in front of her, pointing all the areas out to him.

Ben listens to her with wide, excited eyes, and after a moment of thought, says he wants to see the reptiles first.

“Reptiles are so cool,” Lily agrees. “I bet your Uncle Knox would love to pick you up so you can see better. But remember, reptiles like to hide, so we’ll play a game of hide and seek to find them in all the leaves and stuff.”

Ben nods, hanging on her every word.

I was unsure about Lily as a nanny. I don’t want anyone to go homeless, and I appreciate Cruz’s caring nature. It’s why he makes such a good pack leader. But giving a person a place to stay while they get back on their feet is one thing. Putting that person in charge of my grieving nephew is another.

But Ben’s full of nothing but bright eyes and delighted smiles for Lily as she takes him by the hand and walks at his pace toward the reptile exhibit. It’s a good job since we’re at the peak of the heat of the day, and the reptile area is inside so it’ll be cool and shaded.

I’m happy to lift Ben up to see all the animals. Lily presses close to me so that she and Ben can whisper to each other, finding the various lizards and snakes hiding in their habitats.

She smells amazing, like a damn delicious peach cobbler, with the brown sugar and peach scents she’s got. Add in the honeysuckle, and she reminds me of a warm summer evening.

I keep my gaze forward.

Being overwhelmingly attracted to my nephew’s nanny isn’t on my agenda, thanks.

We finish in the reptile area, and next, Ben wants to see the big predators like the tigers. He holds Lily’s hand the entire way, and my heart feels like someone’s squeezing it in their fist.

Lily glances at me, seeming to pick up on some of my emotions. She doesn’t say anything at the moment, but once Ben is staring at the sleepy tigers and we’re giving him a little space, she says, “I’m sorry if I’m intruding on anything.”

“What?”

“You kept looking at me holding Ben’s hand. I’m sorry. I don’t want to get in between anything. I know I’m just the nanny.”

“That’s… not why I was looking at that.”

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