“I… I think I need to do this by myself,” I say, unsure whether I’ll have the strength. But I at least need to try.
“You’ve got this,” my bearded beta says, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“If you need us, just call,” Ben adds, leaning in to kiss my other cheek.
Archer claims my mouth with a long, lingering kiss. A probing one too.Is this okay? Do you forgive me? Will you still love me no matter what happens next?
Yes.
“Good luck,” Miles offers from the passenger side as I climb out of the cab and stand on shaky legs.
No. This isn’t the time for fear, nor is it the time for nerves. I take a moment to steady myself before beginning the slow climb up those distorted concrete steps.
Maybe they won’t be home. Maybe they won’t agree to talk to me. A hundred different things could happen now. But there’s no point in worrying about what could be. I need to be fully present, fully alive in this moment. No distractions. No what-ifs.
This is it.
I take a deep breath, raise my hand, and knock.
MILES
We sit, and we wait. This is Violet’s moment and she’s chosen to face it alone. I’m so proud of her.
She’s not a sullied or broken omega. She’s a fucking icon just radiating with strength, and light, and all things good. Her past hasn’t ruined her. Like a fine wine, it’s perfected her.
Never again will I be responsible for her tears. Never again will I let someone else’s bullshit expectations dictate what I can and cannot love, want, take. I love Violet so much it kills me a little.
Muldoon is a fledgling pack. Anything could tear us apart. But it wasn’t the world that threatened to end this thing we built, it was me.
I loved this pack so hard and held on so tight that I didn’t realize I was strangling it with my misguided affection. Archer is our savior, but he’s not a god. He’s just a man, doing the best he can against incredible odds. And I’m just a man, doing the best I can each day, trying to learn from yesterday’s mistakes so that I don’t repeat them tomorrow.
Love is and has always been the answer.
It’s the friendship between Archer and me that set our pack on the course to creation. It’s the bonds we formed with Ben and Noah that made us a family. And it’s our love for Violet that makes us complete.
We may have been born into less-than-ideal circumstances, but would you look at us now? We aren’t where we came from. Nobody is.
But we are where we’re going.
And for me, that’s fucking bliss.
ARCHER
I hold my breath as the door swings inward to admit Violet, and I swear I don’t let it go until she emerges close to an hour later. For sixty minutes, I existed in this strange purgatory where the world stopped spinning and my entire life was on hold.
What will Violet find waiting for her inside this cozy little home? Will she be welcomed or hated? Will I have to break some faces on her behalf?
But the moment she steps out of that house, I know. Her face is patchy, but her smile’s wide. My sweet, beautiful girl. Her beauty’s never been in the sparkle of her eyes, the tilt of her lips, or the swell of her breasts. Not for me. It’s always been in the moments precisely like this, when she wears her vulnerability on her sleeve but places her heart there is well. Like me, she’s faced trials, and like me, she’s emerged stronger because of them.
Omegas aren’t supposed to be strong, but I love that ours is. She needs to be tough to survive life with us four assholes.
I watch her step lightly as she appears to float back to us, an angel returning from heaven. And suddenly I’ve waited long enough. I can’t stand to be apart from her for another second. I jump out of the cab and race up the slanted steps to meet her.
Violet falls into my arms, sobbing freely. “Her name is Aurora, and she’s so, so beautiful, Archer.”
I kiss her once, twice. It will never be enough. “So the meeting went well?” I ask to fill the silence and give her the opportunity to tell as much as she wants to share, or to hold back and keep this moment for herself.
She hugs me tighter. “Better than I could have ever dared to hope. Her mother and I exchanged numbers and social media handles. I don’t have to wonder about her anymore. Archer, this is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you. Thank you so much.”