Page 65 of Knot Our Reality

“I’m sorry for giving you a hard time, Em.” He kisses the top of my head before turning back to his pregnant alpha. “Please don’t yell at me. I hate it when you’re angry with me.”

Victoria melts as he takes her face in his hands. “Ugh. Fine. Go away.”

I snicker as my brother kisses her before scurrying back inside. “Pregnancy hormones getting to you?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” She rolls her eyes, gesturing toward the porch swing. “Do you want to sit?”

“I should probably—”

“The boys are fine,” she assures me. “Camila’s in there with them. They both beg for Auntie Cami’s cooking for every meal of the day. They adore her.”

I lower myself onto the swing, waiting until she joins me before responding, “They love all of you. They love being surrounded by a pack—especially since it’s just been us for so long.”

“That’s not your fault, Emilia.” Victoria grabs my hand, squeezing it. “Now that there aren’t any little ears listening. Are you okay?”

“I am. I promise. We had to send one suitor home on his group’s date. In fact, you might remember him from your season. Daniel Kennedy.”

Victoria’s eyes flash. “They let that douche back on the show? After how aggressive he was with Remy?”

I shrug. “He said he apologized to Remy, and Remy gave the okay for him to be on the show. Whatever, it’s fine. He’s no longer my problem. Besides him, the rest of the suitors are amazing. This just isn’t going the way I thought it would, so it’s throwingme off.”

Which is how I end up spilling my guts to my sister-in-law before the boys come out, demanding I play with them.

I might be pregnant as hell, but that doesn’t mean I’m ever going to turn down playtime with my boys. I might move slower, but they don’t seem to mind.

After having lunch, Jasper ends up passing out on the couch when my brother gets a call from Bree, asking me to come over to their cabin.

As much as I hate leaving my boys for even a short period of time when I know I’ll have to leave them for longer tonight, I leave after Hawk rolls his eyes at me and calls me clingy.

Remington and Carter walk me over to Bree’s cabin so they can be in on the meeting.

I didn’t expect quite so many people to be gathered in Bree’s living room. Finn is here, sitting beside Bree. Sophia and Chase sit on her other side while Tessa, Alejandro, and Conrad sit on the other side of the sectional. That leaves the loveseat for my brother and Carter, while I take the recliner.

I sigh in relief as I pull the throw blanket off the back and wrap it around myself. It smells like Bree and her pack, which brings me comfort. When a pillow hits me in the face, I frown when I find Finn grinning at me.

“We both know you like holding pillows when you’re anxious. I just wanted to make sure you had one.”

I flip him off. “Fates above, what happened to professionalism around here?”

Bree snorts out a laugh. “You’re family, Emilia. There’s no professionalism when dealing with family.”

“While I agree—to a point,” Sophia says primly, but I can see the smile trying to escape. “There are serious topics we need to discuss.”

The mood immediately sobers.

“Sorry to put a damper on the mood, but the sooner we get this over with, the sooner Emilia can get back to her boys.” Sophia picks up her tablet, skimming something before flipping to another page. “Simon’slawyers are doing anything they can to make your life difficult, which is why I’m not telling you about this until now.

“There was a hearing this week. Simon’s council tried to use your appearing onHeatedto have you labeled as an unfit parent.” She holds up her hand to silence me, and I snap my mouth shut. “It was dismissed—as I knew it would be. That’s why I didn’t bother telling you about it. The judge informed them they could not file any more injunctions about you. He told them they needed to hold all evidence until the custody trial. Any further requests before then will be immediately denied.”

I frown. “Is that a good thing?”

“It is.” Sophia smiles. “They’ve been trying to keep me tied up in paperwork and unnecessary court dates as if it’s going to mess up our strategy. What they don’t realize is they can’t mess up our strategy.”

“And that’s because…” I trail off, not sure where she’s going with this.

“Because all we need is for you to have a pack, then the courts will side with you. Nine times out of ten, the courts will side with the mother—especially if the mother is an omega. The archaic law about omegas being declared unfit without a pack was a surprise, but it in no way sets us back since you’re here to find said pack.”

Chase clears his throat. “Alejandro and I have been working our way through our contacts. Now that attention has been brought to it and a few other laws that make omegas powerless without a pack, change is on its way. It won’t be in time for your case, but I want you to know we’re working on it.”

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