Page 51 of Accidentally Forever

I’ve never been a hesitant man. Every move I’ve made in life has been calculated, deliberate, made with confidence since my Omega passed away. I don’t second-guess, don’t leave room for doubt. But this—this is different. It isn’t business. It isn’t some deal that can be negotiated, signed, and tucked away under the watchful eye of a lawyer.

It’s them. Violet curled into my lap like she was always meant to be here. Sofie, nestled between the twins, half-asleep, glowing with that soft, quiet happiness that’s still so fucking new. It’s them, and I haven’t been fair.

They’ve been waiting. Even if they don’t say it outright, even if they hide it well, I see it—I feel it. The doubt. The fear that this is temporary. That one day, the pack will decide they’ve had their fill, that Sofie and Violet will be forced to pack their shit and leave with nothing but the memories of warmth and security they were finally allowed to taste.

I hate that I haven’t done enough to make them believe otherwise. And as fucking soon as it might seem, I’m done waiting. This week has been proof enough that they belong here. In this house. In this pack. With me. With all of us. And I’ll be damned if I let them think for another second that they’re anything less than permanent. Violet stirs against my chest, shifting just enough to meet my gaze, her brows pulling together when she catches the tension in my muscles. “What’s wrong?”

I brush my thumb along her cheek, smoothing out the little crease in her brow. “There’s a conversation I’ve been waiting to have until the time is right,” I murmur. “But the truth is, it may never be the right time. And with everything going on, I wanted to wait, but—”

She straightens, eyes narrowing, reading me the way she always does, always searching for the angle, the catch. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“Relax, dove.” I shake my head, holding her closer. “It’s nothing bad.”

She doesn’t relax. If anything, she tenses even more, fingers curling into my shirt like she’s ready to hold herself together with sheer force of will.

So I don’t drag it out. I give her the truth. “You and Sofie aren’t temporary. I don’t know what you’ve been told before, what you’ve had to go through, but this?” My voice stays low, steady, leaving no room for argument. “This isn’t a trial run, Violet. You’re part of this pack. Sofie is part of this pack. And I’m not letting either of you go.”

Her breath shudders, lips parting, fingers tightening where they grip my shirt. She’s fighting it, holding herself back, trying not to let herself believe. So I cup the back of her neck, tilting her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze.

“Do you understand me?”

She swallows hard, something flickering behind her eyes—something vulnerable, something raw. Then, so fucking quiet I almost don’t catch it—“Say it again.”

My grip tightens, my lips brushing against hers, voice nothing but a murmur between us. “I’m not letting you go.” I cup her face, thumb brushing along the sharp edge of her jaw, and pull her in, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss against her lips. When I pull back, I realize that keeping Violet and Sofie out of the limelight is one thing but keeping things from them is entirely different. They deserve to know just what they’re getting into with us—however it ends. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Her brows pull together immediately, eyes narrowing with that sharp, calculating way she looks at things when she’s waiting for a fight to start. “That sounds ominous.”

“It is.”

She stiffens, but she doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t even flinch. “Tell me.”

So I do. I tell her everything. The rumors. The whispers that started quiet and then grew into a wildfire. The accusations of fraud, of stolen art, of entire collections being fabricated. The lawsuit. The criminal investigation. Xavier going off the grid. Orion looking more like a puppet than a mastermind. The looming suspicion that someone else is pulling the strings, someone with power, someone with a plan.

I tell her about the emails, the legal threats, the way clients are getting skittish. The way our best client warned us to tread carefully, the way Banks is scrambling to keep us one step ahead before this whole thing collapses. By the time I’m done, she’s not scared. She’s pissed.

Her whole body vibrates with emotion, with that slow-burning rage that builds until it explodes. “You didn’t think to tell me this sooner?” She growls, her face twisted in anger.

My shoulders rise with a heavy breath. “It wasn’t about keeping you in the dark, dove. It was about protecting you.”

Wrong fucking answer. Her eyes flash, jaw tightening like she’s seconds from swinging on me. “You think I need you to protect me?” she snaps, her grip on my shirt turning punishing. “This isn’t about keeping us safe, Puma. This is about helping. You didn’t tell me because you thought you could handle it yourself. Because you thought we were just here to be pampered and doted on. You always tell me to lean but you’re just a hypocrite. I could’ve helped. I can help.”

Her breath is coming too fast, her pulse hammering against my fingertips where I still have a hand on her hip. She’s not just angry. She’s insulted. I watch her, measure the frustration pouring off her in waves, then tip my head. She’s not wrong. Taking this all on myself, even trying to make sure the others don’t worry has made life way more difficult than it should be. And yet… there was still a reason for it. “That’s why I’ve been waiting.”

She hesitates, expression shifting. “Waiting for what?”

Dragging a hand through my hair, I let out a slow breath, holding her gaze. “Waiting to talk about bonds.”

Her lips part slightly, eyes narrowing like she’s trying to fit that piece into the rest of the puzzle. “Because of this?”

I nod. “Because I wasn’t sure how you and Sofie would feel while all this chaos was going on. I didn’t want you thinking we were dragging you into something bigger than you signed up for. That we were claiming you just to keep you locked in while everything around us burns.”

The anger in her expression softens as if she understands where I’m coming from but I’m not ready for the sadness that lingers in those brown eyes. “I was watching Sofie fall apart.” She lets out a quiet, shaky breath, like she’s saying something she hasn’t let herself acknowledge yet. “We thought we could do it alone. We thought we could keep everything together, that we didn’t need Alphas to handle our shit. And for a while, it worked.” Her eyes flick back up, something exhausted behind them. “But we were wrong.”

I don’t say anything. I let her keep going.

“Sofie needed a pack. She needed stability. And I needed someone to remind me that I didn’t have to shoulder everything alone.” A bitter chuckle leaves her lips as she shakes her head. “So, if you think a few fucking rumors are gonna scare me off, you don’t know me at all.”

A slow grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. “That’s my girl.” She glares, but there’s no fire behind it, just exasperation. The silence that follows makes me wonder if she even wants bonds, if that physical tether is in her million plans running around in her head. I already know what Sofie wants. Her instincts have been driving her, the way she slightly tilts her neck every time one of us approaches. Those little smiles when the twins or Gray start kissing up her shoulder and grazing their teeth over the skin.

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