Page 123 of Pucking With My Head

Gideon and Jensen had joined us.

The officer frowned. “And you are?”

“Gideon Noble. I am a partner at a local law firm, and I assure you, I am very knowledgeable in this matter. Now, unless there is an order signed by a judge, Bethany cannot be removed from our house against her will.”

The officer stumbled over his words. “W-well, the family…”

“Is estranged from their daughter because they’ve been behaving abhorrently,” Gideon said.

Bethany nodded, crossing her arms over her belly. “Exactly. They’ve been treating me as a glorified housekeeper for years, and I refuse to do that anymore.”

We were at an impasse. I got the impression that her brothers were biting their tongues because the officer was next to them.

“They are your family, and we have the legal power to remove an omega from a situation that may be dangerous,” the officer argued, though he appeared less sure than he’d been moments ago.

Gideon nodded. “That you do, but you do not have any evidence to justify removing Bethany from this house. You only have the word of her family, who have been mistreating her for years. Now, you could remove her from this house today, but I assure you, if you do, your department will be buried under so many lawsuits, your grandchildren will still be paying off the debts.”

Jensen snorted. “I can just see it now.Department pulls pregnant omega away from loving pack, causing emotional harm and distress. I’m assuming the NHL lawyers would alsoget involved because I am the team doctor for the Chargers. Imagine the press!” He chuckled, wrapping his arm around Bethany from behind and kissing the top of her head as she bit back a smile.

One of her brothers—the more hostile -looking one—was turning red in the face. “This is such bullshit. Bethany, you’re coming home. These guys only want you to play nanny to their bastard brat. They should have fucking aborted her if they didn’t want to parent her themselves.”

I took a step forward. I was going to annihilate that asshole, police officers be damned.

Only, Bethany got there first.

The resounding slap she gave her brother could probably be heard from our neighbors’ houses. Her face was full of righteous fury, and I could smell the anger rolling off her in waves.

“You do not get to talk about Joey. I love that child more than I love all four of you idiots combined. She ismychild, and I will protect her, just as I will this one.” She gestured to her stomach. “You have some fucking nerve turning up here, considering we are suing you for stealing my identity to fund a lavish vacation. Clearly, I put up with your bullshit for far too long if you think that this is in any way, shape, or form okay.”

The lawsuit was still somewhat up in the air, thanks to Heather ensuring Bethany was refunded, but I was still leaning towards trying to nail her brother to the wall for his asshole behavior legally. She had tried to give Jensen the money back as he had paid off the balance, but he had refused, telling her to use it on baby supplies.

The shocked look on her brother’s face was almost enough to make me laugh. The officer just looked startled, like he was unsure what to do.

“Officers, I think you should escort these unwelcome visitors back to their hotel room,” Gideon said. “If they manage tocome back with a written warrant from a judge, stating that Bethany is to be removed from the home, then we will cooperate and countersue. Until then, you are not removing my pregnant omega from her home. Is that clear?” His voice was firm, leaving no room for disagreement.

“Bethy, we just want to talk!” one of the dads said.

Bethany snorted. “If you just wanted to talk, you wouldn’t have brought the police with you. I’ve always made excuses for you, but you really are crappy parents, aren’t you? Maybe it’s partially my fault for not setting boundaries, but I was nine years old when you dumped me into this mess—and don’t you fucking dare use your grief over the loss of Mom to justify it. I was a child, andmymother had died as well.” She turned to the officer. “I’m going to take my leave now. If you have any other business, please discuss it with my pack mates. I’m feeling nauseated. This stress isn’t good for the baby, and I’m going to lie down. Thank you.” She turned and stormed back into the house.

I wanted to keep her near me, but I much preferred her getting as far away from her family as possible.

Bethany was up in the nest, angrily throwing pillows around, grunting in anger as she did so.

“Those fucking self-righteous pigs!” she screamed. “You know, every time I think they can’t sink any lower, they somehow manage to.”

I pulled her into my arms, and she hugged me tightly, but only for a second before she was pulling away to angrily throw more pillows around the nest.

“I’m going to call in my partners at the firm. We are going to file a countersuit that will bury anything they throw at us, I promise,” Gideon said. “I need to go now and get the ball rolling.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Bethany growled, running a hand through her hair and looking between us. “How long do we have to go get Joey?”

Jensen cocked his head to the side, checking his watch. “About two hours? Why?”

She nodded thoughtfully to herself. I could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. “We can do it in two hours,” she muttered.

“Do what?” I asked.

She grinned at me.

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