Page 79 of Stuck with my Pack
“Always,” I say, moving closer. I press a kiss to Sophie’s temple, letting her go before stealing a piece of bacon from the plate beside her.
Ethan trudges in next, hair tousled, grabbing a cup of coffee before even acknowledging the room. The way he’s cramming himself into the breakfast nook makes me laugh and reminds me just how much we’ve changed in the short time we’ve been here.
We settle in for breakfast, and I’m more content than I have ever been. Sophie is nestled between Tyler and Ethan at the worn wooden table, Tyler’s hand resting on her thigh, making lazy circles that make her squirm, and Ethan is trying to feed her pancakes.
It’s a sight I could wake up to every damn day. And maybe—I think suddenly, the idea forming like a solid thing in my chest—I should.
I lean back in my chair, watching as she absentmindedly swirls her spoon through her coffee, the steam curling up in delicate ribbons. Tyler and Ethan are already talking about the repairs we still need to finish, and I hear Ethan say he needs to go back to his house and grab a few personal things, but the thought keeps circling in my mind. Why should we leave at all?
I clear my throat, drawing their attention. “What if we just stayed? I mean, stayed here.”
Sophie stills, her spoon clinking against the ceramic. “Stayed?” she echoes, blinking at me.
Tyler arches a brow. “Like, stay-stay?”
Ethan frowns, setting down his fork. “Brodie, what are you getting at?”
I glance around the table, meeting each of their gazes before settling on Sophie.
“I mean, why are we thinking about this place like it’s temporary? We’ve put so much work into this inn, into making it a home. But what if we actually made it one? Together. The home is large enough to have an owner’s suite of rooms and still have plenty of guest rooms.”
“YES! I’m in,” Tyler says, like he didn’t even have to consider anything. Ethan sits back with a peculiar look on his face.
Sophie’s eyes go impossibly wide, and then, to my absolute delight, her entire face turns red. Deep, blushing, gorgeous Sophie red. “You—you mean, all of you? Here? With me?”
Tyler grins, nudging her with his knee under the table.
“Well, yeah, sweetheart. I can’t exactly have you running an inn by yourself. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t fall off a ladder again. Besides, I’ve been trying to think of how best to convince you to need me here since I first met you.”
She sputters, her gaze darting between us like she’s waiting for the punchline. “But…where would you even fit?”
Tyler hums, feigning deep thought. “Well, the place could use a couple of upgrades. I guess that means we’ll have to build you a proper nest.”
Sophie gasps, looking scandalized. “A nest?”
“Obviously. A pack’s Omega needs to have a room that is hers, with all the best amenities. Big windows, a bathroom big enough for all of us. ” Ethan says dryly, leaning back in his chair. “And a nursery.”
The color in Sophie’s face deepens, and she nearly chokes on her coffee. “Awhat?”
Ethan just smirks at her reaction, but the suggestion settles something inside me. A nursery. A real fucking nursery, and I’m suddenly lost to the image of a herd of children withher beautiful green eyes. I glance at Sophie, watching as she processes it all.
“You guys…I don’t—” She shakes her head, clearly overwhelmed. “This inn, it’s just?—”
She bites her lip, and the hesitation in her voice makes my chest tighten.
“What is it, darling?” I ask gently.
She swallows, looking down at her mug like it might hold the answers.
“I just—Lily will need Ethan now, with the baby. And Brodie…you’ve got places to be, plans. Tyler, you could do anything, be anything. Why would you all tie yourselves tothis? Tome? To a rundown inn in a nowhere town? With a clueless Omega.” The last said in a whisper with her head down. “No way am I good enough for all of you.”
Her words rip my heart out. How can she not see it? How can she look at herself—the woman who’s rebuilding this place with nothing but grit and sheer will, the woman who tamed three stubborn Alphas without even trying—and think she’s not enough? That she’s clueless?
My chest tightens, a fierce ache settling there as I watch her stare into her coffee like she’s waiting for us to agree with her. She doesn’t realize that she’s the reason we’re here.
That none of this—none of us—would make sense without her. It’s not the inn keeping us tied to this place. It’s her. And the fact that she still doesn’t believe that, even after everything, shatters something deep inside me.
The growl builds in my chest before I can stop it, a deep, primal sound that teeters on the edge of something more—something instinctual.
