Page 80 of Accidentally Forever

I make my way over, weaving through the crowd, ignoring the soft calls and offers of drinks. She looks up as I approach, her smile still in place, but I see the way it slips for just a second. It’s like she knows I can see her, really see her. “What’s wrong?” I ask softly, slipping my hand into hers. She hesitates, glancing at Gray, then back at me. I squeeze her fingers. “Vi, you don’t have to pretend with me. I can feel it.”

Her shoulders drop, just a little, and she leans in closer so only I can hear. “I’m sorry, Sofie,” she says quietly, her voice trembling at the edges. “I’m so sorry I made you suffer for so long. I thought I could do it on my own, that I had to do it on my own. But I couldn’t. I never could have. I was so fucking wrong.”

The weight behind those words makes my chest ache. I shake my head against her, my arms wrapping tighter around her waist. “Don’t do that, Vi. Don’t beat yourself up over those months. We got through them, right?”

She lets out a small, shaky laugh, but it’s not really humor—it’s relief, maybe. Regret. “We got through them, but it could’ve been so much worse. You were right. I needed someone... or someones,” she says, her voice breaking just a little on the word. “You were right all along.”

Hearing her say it, hearing her admit it, doesn’t fill me with satisfaction. I don’t want to be right. I just want her to be happy. I pull back just enough to look up at her. “Vi, I don’t fault you for those months. They were hard, sure, but they were also bittersweet. It was you and me against the world, like always. I’ll never hold that against you.”

Her smile is faint, but it’s there, a soft curve of her lips that makes her whole face gentler, lighter. “Are you happy, Sofie?” she asks, her voice so soft it’s barely more than a whisper.

I nod, no hesitation. “Yeah, Vi. I’m happy. I mean, look at this—look at us. How could I not be?”

Her hand comes up to cup my cheek, her thumb brushing lightly against my skin. “And what about you?” I ask her. “Is this everything you wanted?”

Violet’s eyes meet mine, and they’re warm, steady, full of something I can’t quite name but feel down to my bones. “Everything I want is right here in my arms,” she says, her voice firm and honest. “But I’m more than happy to have the four men that came with it.”

That pulls a laugh from me, a genuine one that bubbles up and fills the room as she dips her lips back to mine. It’s like the world fades away, just the two of us in it even as heat builds in my lower belly, threatening to ruin this moment. Hawk is also now on my shit list. Until the bite heals, we’re both going to succumb to this feeling and it’s impossiblenotto touch my Beta.

A warm hand on my waist yanks me back, breaking the kiss and pulling me a step away from Violet’s warmth. I blink up, startled, only to see Lance looking down at me with that familiar mix of fondness and teasing. Hawk is just behind him, arms crossed and smirking like the devil himself.

“Sofie,” Lance says, his voice low and amused, “your scent’s getting a little too sweet.”

I glance back at Violet, her lips parted, cheeks flushed, and I know exactly what Lance means. I feel the heat on my own skin, and my tongue darts out to taste the faint tang of my own arousal lingering in the air. My first instinct is to shove him off, but before I can, Hawk cuts in with a laugh. “We’re not giving the guests a free show.”

The guests. Right. There are people here. A lot of people, scattered around the house, sipping wine and murmuring in low voices. It’s easy to forget when Violet’s hands are on me. And now most of them are looking, chuckling,admiring.

I scowl at them both, my lips still tingling, and grumble, “Then send them home.”

That earns me more laughter, Lance shaking his head and Hawk giving me a playful nudge. “Not how it works, sweetheart,” Hawk says, his voice light but his smile soft. “You’re stuck with us until they leave. Besides, we haven’t fully introduced the two of you as part of the Ashford pack.”

I cross my arms and glance around the room, my eyes moving over the small groups of people lingering near the art displays, the faint hum of conversation in the air. It’s still strange to me, seeing this place filled with strangers, but the thing that strikes me the most is how natural it all feels. How we’ve fallen into this life, this family, with all its chaos and tension and love.

It’s not just Violet and me anymore, not just us against the world. It’s her, me, and these four infuriating, wonderful Alphas who have somehow managed to anchor us in a way I didn’t think was possible. I catch Violet’s gaze across the short distance Lance put between us. She’s watching me with a small, knowing smile, and my heart stutters. We’ve been through so much—struggled, fought, cried, and healed—but now, standing here with our mates around us, I realize that this is what a happily ever after looks like. Not the perfect fairy tale, but something messy and real, something we’ve built together.

And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Chapter fifty-nine

PUMA

It’s been an entire two weeks, in and out of calls with Banks as we try to figure out how much shit we’re in until this blows over. The showing was a success, many of our clients throwing fake apologies and sending gift baskets as if to make up for all the hurtful words. It doesn’t but seeing how excited Sofie gets over the expensive chocolate is enough to make me let it go.

Gray has picked up a few more projects, Violet keeping him from overworking himself. Code for she tires him out so that he ends up calling clients and saying that he needs to reschedule. I, for one, am not complaining how many times I’ve walked in on them, Violet straddling his thighs on the couch, the two tangled in something that is wholly them.

And the one time they all but stumbled into the goddamn house, clothes already disheveled, Gray laying her out in the foyer.

It’s a good thing we don’t regularly host parties or I’d have to kill my fair share of clientele.

It’s an entire madhouse that we’ve adopted, all of us finding ourselves deep inside of our women whenever they’ll let us, Sofie still finding ways to drive us up the wall when it’s just the two of them. It’s the most precious thing to watch, the both of them teasing each other to orgasm while we give into our desires.

And then when it just becomes a mass cuddle at the end of the nights, each of us sharing bits and pieces of our day, Sofie and Violet thriving in a way I never thought possible. Hell,I’mthriving, my heart in my throat at the memories of everything I’ve lost and everything I’ve gained. Maybe one day I’ll be strong enough to recant that story to my pack.

For now, though, I throw up a little thank you to the woman who first had my heart, hoping she can see that I finally let myself be truly happy again.

And then I drag myself back to reality.

I huff out a heavy sigh, leaning back in my chair as I stare at a case folder I most certainly should not have access to. Detective Grayson has been relentlessly working on the case, interrogating both Nolan and Marion, not that they’ve really let anything slip.

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