“She’s been getting into trouble at school and you’re taking her to specialists to try and do something about that?” he said in accusing voice.
“Everyone is here for Evie,” Leo said firmly, his voice cutting through the intense air in the room, which was impressive for a beta. “Everyone wants the best for her.”
“Which is—”
“Logan, I’m going to need you to stop right now and let me do my job or you’ll need to wait outside,” Janet said in a low, terse voice.
“But she’s—”
“I know what you believe, but I’ve done some exploration into the issue and right now, the law will only recognise Ben as Evie’s father. Everyone else is here as a courtesy to the fact that it’s recognised alphas see themselves all as the father of any children produced. If we did DNA tests, Ben would show up as the father, not you or your brothers. This is a grey area legally as alphas so very rarely contest custody of their children. Their omegas are bound to them…”
And I was not. I let out a shuddering breath, consciously releasing the tension in my body. I wasn’t an omega and I was not going to feel bad about that. I lifted my head and met Logan’s eyes with a distinctly un-omega like challenge in mine. He let out a very alpha growl in response.
“Go and wait in the car.” Jasper’s voice was sharp, punctuated by the slap of a bunch of keys onto the desktop. “You’re not fucking this up, not for the rest of us.”
“I run this pack and you need—”
“I need to do what?”
Jasper didn’t look like he was ready to give any ground to his brother, holding the other man’s gaze until he let out a grunt, then snatched the keys from the desk and stormed out. Jasper then winked at me as the room cleared.
“That needs to be covered in any agreement,” I said, unwilling to be swayed by cute boys with dimples winking at me. “Logan and… whatever that is. Evie is struggling.”
“Lils…” Sophie hissed.
“There’s no point in trying to push that under the rug, because she is. We do the best we can for her, but recent events make me think she needs more.” I considered the alphas left in the room. “Maybe you can be that more. But if you want any chance at being a part of that, you need to have a shift in head space. This isn’t about any of you or me, it’s about Evie. She needs consistency, fair and explicit boundaries that she can see and understand and that are enforced firmly but gently. She needs to know you’ll be there for her, not just now, but until she doesn’t need you anymore.”
Silence fell over the room then, and it felt awfully uncomfortable and then a single voice spoke. It was deep, resonant, but raspy in a way I remembered all too well, despite not hearing it that often.
“She needs a father.” When I looked up, Reed’s bright green eyes met mine and he nodded slowly at what he saw in my eyes before getting to his feet. “Ben, mate, you know I’ll support whatever you decide, but…” He shot me a sidelong look just before he made his way past his brothers, walking to the door. “I’ll abide by any rules the lot of you decide. I’m just not sure I’m the right man to be anyone’s dad.”
“Reed…”
Damon called his brother’s name, but Reed just shook his head and then left the room.
“Well, can I assume that the rest of you want to be considered part of this parenting agreement?” Leo asked, scanning the other men. A series of nods confirmed that. “I’m going to suggest mandated counselling sessions for all the men wanting to be involved in Evie’s life as part of it.”
“Agreed,” Janet said through gritted teeth.
What went on then wasa series of bloodless negotiations upon which to build a family.
“So we’re agreed on one Sunday every three weeks as minimum visitation?” Leo prompted.
“But that will clash with dinner at Mum’s place,” Sophie said.
“One day in three weeks?” Ben said with a frown, his voice rising. “That’s not nearly enough.”
“A cub will need her fathers around more than that,” Jasper tried to explain to Janet in a much calmer voice. “Part of the problems she’s already having are because she needs her fathers.”
“We’ve done just fine without you,” Sophie shot back. “You weren’t there, not when—”
“Sophie.”
I said my friend’s name right before Leo did, and he seemed relieved that I had. I grabbed her hands in mine as I turned to face her and then gave them a squeeze.
“Can you grab me a water? I haven’t had a chance to drink all day and I’m starting to get a headache.”
Her breath came out in an explosive huff and she blinked rapidly then, her eyes suspiciously shiny. She’d been amused by the prospect of Ben courting me, but now we were getting down to brass tacks and making allowances, her mumma bear instincts were coming out.