Page 68 of Talk About… Trouble

He shrugged. “I didn’t exactly have the best example from them, but my grandparents, apparently, kept me from getting any kind of bias, because the moment I saw you, I knew it was over.”

“Saw me? Not scented me?” I questioned.

“Oh no. When this sassy omega walked into my life and sweet-talked my animals, it was over,” he said, fingers dancing over my lower back as he led me further into the farmhouse. “And I’m glad. I wasn’t truly living before, but now, with you all here, I feel like a new man, someone I can be proud of.”

“Keep that in mind,” I said cryptically as I pulled him into the kitchen. “Braxton has news.”

Braxton gave me an exasperated look, but I could also see the relief there that I had broken the ice. Everyone had questions in their eyes, but he made quick work of doling out the takeout he brought, a buffet of Mexican food.

I loaded up my plate with tacos, queso, and chips, happy that he got me a black bean version.

Everyone had started eating, but Shepherd hadn’t looked away from Braxton, expectantly waiting. Even though the beta was being a coward right now, I couldn’t blame him.

He’d signed us up for something, and he wasn’t sure how they would react.

Braxton finally took a deep breath and looked up at us.

“So, our lovely omega Wren showed up at my job today to go out to lunch with me. But my sister had been radio silent, and I needed to go check in. My parents took her phone, and I wasn’t sure how things were going.”

“Why would that be worrisome? Did she get in trouble or something?” Devon asked.

Braxton let out a heavy sigh. “No. My parents are not good parents. They were obsessed with knocking up my Mom,apparently, and so they had more kids than they wanted or needed. We raised each other. It was not an easy life. They weren’t physically abusive, but they were neglectful in about every way you could be. I worry about my siblings. Wren came with me today, and I just finally had enough when they started being assholes.”

“Don’t let him downplay it, he was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of anyone in my life,” I clarified.

Just seeing him squaring his shoulders against people that had tried to beat him down his whole life was enough to have me head over heels for this beta.

“I pretty much blackmailed them, saying that I had video evidence that I don’t have, but I’m sure that my siblings could conjure up for me. And I may have volunteered us to watch my siblings once a month for a sleepover weekend to get them out of that house.”

“Good. They don’t need to be there all the time if it’s that bad. What do we do about the rest of the time? Can we get them out of there?” Shepherd asked, accepting it as easily as breathing.

God, I loved that man. This time, I didn’t even bother to hide the word from myself. It was true.

“Since Wren and I both took over the one suite and nest, we have extra rooms. We could designate a few for the kiddos, couldn’t we? We might just need some more beds,” Devon said.

“My brothers and I can build some bunk beds. You said there were a lot of kids, how many beds do we need?”

“You know what this means,” Devon said excitedly. “More decorating! And imagine the movie nights. This is going to be so much fun.”

“Oh my gosh, I bet they’d love the farm, too,” I said. “I wouldn’t say bringing them around Astrid would be a good idea, but you know Mabel would eat up the attention. The goats, too,they could feed them. I always see at petting zoos, they do those little ice cream cones filled with feed. We could do that.”

“Hey… are you okay?” Shepherd’s concerned and startled voice had us all looking at Braxton, who had tears running down his face and was seconds away from fully sobbing.

I didn’t hesitate to move into his lap, climbing up and burying my nose in his neck. If we were bonded, I could make sense of what he was feeling.

“Talk to me,” I said gently, running my hand soothingly up and down his arms.

“I’d braced myself for rejection, for upset. Hell, worst-case scenario, being kicked out of this pack. And here you guys are, taking it in stride, accepting it, and making plans, no less.”

“Of course, we are,” Devon said, shocked. “We’re a pack, Braxton. We don’t just kick you out because something isn’t going right. We’re talking about your family. Of course, we’re going to step up.”

“That’s what packs do,” Shepherd confirmed.

“Oh, just wait until my mama hears about these babies,” Nash said with a chuckle. “They’ll have more love than they know what to do with. If it won’t be too overwhelming, we should invite my siblings, their packs, and my parents… give them a real family cookout. Show them some dynamics that they should see. We don’t want their only interactions outside of school and home being your parents.”

“Don’t worry, Braxton. We’re family now. We’ve got each other,” I reassured him, letting those words sink into my soul.

Bit by bit, these men had healed me, and I wanted to do the same for them.

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