Page 108 of His Bonded Omega Mate
My alter pulled at me at the thought of only having one scent in the nest. We needed the entire family, maybe from Pops, Roan’s dad, but we really needed Roan, Hiroshi, and Asher to cover the nest with their scents too.
I gave a frustrated growl and threw everything to the side. Time to start over. I started with a soft blanket base, then a perimeter of cushions, then a layer of blankets, more cushions, and so on.
Stepping back, I let my raven examine it.Shiny, they told me. My raven was a slut for shiny things and wouldn’t be happy until our baby had gifts of random things that caught their eye.
“We need to go treasure hunting,” I informed Asher.
“In the house, or outside? Because Blake still wants you both guarded while the council is clearing the last of their things out.”
A week on from the announcement and Blake had lost several enforcers that no longer held beliefs that matched those of the Sweetwater pack. Essentially, these men, mostly alphas, had been poisoned against their alpha. They now thought that the beta sickness was a punishment and the alphas that came out of the testing would be unhinged like Asher was. They didn’t think I was truly pregnant or mated to Hiroshi; it was all an elaborate farce to them.
Checking with my raven, I answered Asher. “Inside for now. We might have to visit the main house if Blake will let us.”
Taking my arm, Asher guided me around the house. Walking about with this bump was uncomfortable. It was more of a waddle, which made me laugh. My raven was indignant that I looked like a duck.
My instincts took me down the hall. I knocked on the door of Xavier’s room. “Pops, can I come in?”
“Hey, kiddo, how are you doing today? Thought you were making your nest?” Xavier opened the door wide, letting us enter the tastefully decorated space.
Xavier’s pack had cut him loose, knowing that his focus was divided now that things with Roan were better. In truth, Xavier had thrown us all for a loop, doing a complete one eighty from the first time we had met him. He wanted to not only be in Roan’s life, but ours too. A sort of surrogate father to us, and grandfather to our babies. He’d basically claimed us all.
Now he was officially living with us, he had made the space his own. A heavy wooden framed bed in a dark color with blue and green soft furnishings that complemented it dominated the space. He had a full bookcase and a desk in one corner.
“Um...” I finally said, looking around me and not at the man whose room I’d invaded.
“What do you need, kiddo?” Xavier was so calm, his green eyes vibrant like those of his sons.
“My raven wants trinkets. Shiny things for the nest. They want something from everyone that lives here.” Larken’s room was next.
He extended an arm. “Have a look and see if there is anything that catches your attention.”
Straight away, I saw it. A gold-framed picture of a super young Roan. “How old was he here?”
“He was four. It was just him and me then. He was my universe until things got out of hand with Rincoln.”
“Could I borrow it?” I asked quietly.
“Babe, no. That’s —“ Asher cut in.
“No, it’s fine. You’ll take care of it, and I have copies just in case.” He took the picture off the shelf and handed it to me. “Here.”
“Thank you.”
We left his room just after the frame clutched to my chest. “Larken?” Asher asked.
“Yeah.”
We all were worried about the alpha. He hadn’t wanted to return to the main house after our kidnapping, and blamed himself for what happened. Part of me thought it was mostly the trauma of nearly losing Roan. There were unresolved feelings there. However, Hiroshi had asked him to stay and, as Roan’s only mate, his opinion mattered the most, aside from Roan himself, obviously.
It helped to have another alpha about the house while Roan adjusted to his disability. He still worked for Kade. He typed one handed, or recorded notes and turned that from voice to text. Kade not being on the council really cut the paperwork, and Roan could help omegas alongside Kade just fine with his tablet.
Larken didn’t answer the door. His scent slightly faded. “I think he must be in the kitchen. We were in the bedroom for a long time.”
Sure enough, the alpha was cooking up a storm with Hiroshi, the pair laughing at something Roan had said from his place at the counter.
Roan saw us first, the other pair too busy with food prep. I knew they were hoping to batch cook some meals so that we wouldn’t have to cook so much when the babies arrived. Hiroshi wanted to learn how to cook better, embarrassed at his lack of ability to care for his mate. His alpha didn’t care for that kinda shit. Roan was aware Hiroshi had other talents.
Still banned from healing well over a week after nearly going into labor, Hiroshi was supposed to be resting. He took the advice well, though, surprising all of us. Hiroshi had pampered himself, allowed others to care for him for a change. His relationship with Roan had never been stronger for it. He’d also bonded well with his father-in-law, the man helping fend his parents off from coming for a visit for now. The stress would have been too much for all of us.
