22. Living Arrangements

Living Arrangements

Larken

" W ell, your results have come back and I have to say being mated really seems to suit you," ívarr remarked as he and Teagan studied their tablets.

"Yeah?" I sat in a pretty comfortable armchair in ívarr's office at the testing center as they scrutinized my test results. They had asked both of us to come in after Dalton's heat to check that everything had gone smoothly.

"You sustained injuries before Dalton's heat, including a hairline skull fracture, correct?" ívarr kept almost frowning at what he saw on the screen. The elf wasn't the most emotive at the best of times, so it was difficult to read him.

"I did." The elf was worrying me. Was there something off with my results despite apparently being healthy?

"Hmm…"

"What does that mean?" My lizard sat up and growled. He was not a fan of the scientist or this room we were stuck in. He wanted to check on our mate.

"I'd like to get some further tests done on you. A CT scan, for starters."

"ívarr, judging by his elevated heart rate, I think you are upsetting Larken. He doesn't understand." Teagan's smile was sweet yet sympathetic. I wondered how much of her job was translating for ívarr. Her presence certainly made things easier.

"Oh! Apologies, Larken. Have you had any magic performed on you aside from the healing Aldrin did?" ívarr's pale blue eyes settled on me. It was disconcerting. That, coupled with the additional questions, had me ready to leap off my seat and leave.

"No," I answered warily.

Only Aldrin had healed me, with Hiroshi focusing his abilities on Rudi and Ricky. Aside from the old injuries he couldn't treat due to his pregnancy, they had superficial things to heal. Their biggest problem was dehydration and malnutrition, thanks to weeks in hiding.

"Ah! Well, this is fascinating. I wonder if… no, I will not speculate at this juncture. I need to do more tests on both you and your mate, however."

ívarr's smile had him looking like a kid in a candy store. It officially freaked me out. Teagan winced in sympathy for whatever she saw on my face.

It had been nearly two weeks since Dalton's heat ended. Both of us had recovered well. When Alpha Blake and Dakota joked with me about needing a vacation after to recover, I thought they were just being funny and maybe slightly inappropriate. The Alpha Mate, Kade, had agreed with them, though. He had also warned me to take care of Dalton above all else, or I'd pay.

Warning given, I did my best, exhausting myself in the process. Dalton had bounced back from his heat, leaving me at home so he could get back to work. He believed he had figured out a way to resolve our supply problem, at least for a little while. We both knew it wouldn't stop the aviary for long.

The darker part of me, who wanted revenge for being hurt, wondered why Alpha Blake didn't just take the fight to them. To end this once and for all. We were a powerful pack. Surely we would win.

Deke had explained it. To his cousin, every shifter's life was precious. There were too many babies in the pack to risk all out war. Life with the humans was strained at times. War would lead to greater hostility, further putting us at risk.

I had to give Alpha Blake his due. He thought about the consequences in deeper detail than I would have. I might have been the older one, but he was leagues more mature than me.

"If you could come back next week, we can arrange for a more thorough investigation. Dalton needs to have his tests done, too."

Dalton was avoiding the testing center and the clinic because he was pretty sure his heat was unsuccessful. He didn't want to confront not being pregnant yet. I understood. We were equally disappointed, though in my secret heart, I was glad I had more time with him. Each time I thought it, I felt terrible. Of course I wanted his dreams to come true, I just wanted more of him.

"Okay, I'll remind him later. I have to go. We get the keys to our house today."

A grin settled on my face. The new house had been ready for a couple of days, but I wanted to surprise Dalton with some modifications. There were kitty doors to put in, tunnels and climbing spots for Spice to install. All I had to do was check them over before I presented him with the keys.

Telling Roan I was moving out would come after.

Deke promised me a moving crew, not that we were going far. The enforcers could carry the furniture across the compound to the omega area. Once there, the alphas would have to leave the rest of the work to the mated alphas and any betas willing to help us. Only mated alphas were allowed in there, for the safety of the omegas. Many of them were scared of alphas, having had previous bad experiences.

As an alpha, I felt shame over it. My designation had done so many wrongs. I was just grateful I'd been raised by people who saw value in all designations and had drummed the necessity of consent into me. It was something Deke had seen in me, which was why he'd been happy for me to look after Nova and Sofia. He knew he could trust me with them. They'd never shown me any sort of fear even when they were so vulnerable, so I must have been projecting a good aura or something.

I left the clinic in a hurry, before ívarr or Teagan could ask me to do another test. Sticking to my promise I made them, I sent Dalton a reminder text and tried to forget about the weird experience.

Chase was waiting for me at the gate to the omega area.

"Hey, so I went and looked at the house and the changes were so awesome. Dalton will cry for sure." Why was he so gleeful about that?

"What's he up to? He skipped out on his testing again."

Though Chase was Second to Alpha Blake, I sometimes got the feeling Dalton did more of the job than he did.

"Oh, he was going over some logistics with Deke. He's really figured out the supply problem. Got the company to sign an ironclad NDA." Chase gave a shark's grin, all teeth and a hint of threat. "Should stump the aviary for a while. Long term, it isn't the best solution, but for right now, it's all we've got."

"Cool. If the house is ready, I want to get the big stuff moved today. We can take the rest over the next few days."

"Not giving him a chance to back out, huh?"

"Something like that."

The house was perfect for our needs, with two spare bedrooms. I wondered if the extra space would be a constant reminder that we weren't pregnant, but I wanted to give him a visual clue to my feelings. Whatever happened, I was in this with him.

I took the key and headed to Roan's house.

First, I had to tell my mate. I called his cell.

"Hey Lark, kinda busy."

"Too busy to oversee some enforcers moving your furniture to our new house?" I teased.

"New house?" he asked. "You got it?" his voice rose with hope .

"Yeah, Dimples. I got us a house. I thought they could move the couch and your—"

"—Our. What's mine is yours."

Did he hear himself? Did he mean it? He was constantly telling me without words what he was feeling. I just struggled to believe it was real. I guess, without him saying it, to me it could all fall apart.

"Fine, our bed. As long as we have somewhere to sit and to sleep, we can do the rest later."

Dalton squealed with happiness. "I'm looking forward to our new house!"

"So I can leave it with you for now? I want to tell Roan I'm moving out and get most of my stuff."

"Today?" he asked skeptically.

"Yeah."

"Right now?"

"Uh-huh. What's wrong?"

"I dunno. I guess I just thought you'd put it off. You didn't move when we mated." Oh, I'd hurt his feelings. I needed to make up for that later.

"The house wasn't big enough." Not the entire truth, but honest enough. I stayed between the two places because I hadn't trusted things with me and Dalton, and he knew it, too. Dammit! I should have gone with my gut and went all in with him. Then he wouldn't have had reason to doubt me .

Since his heat, something had changed with us. The disappointment about a baby was there. It just wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. Dalton had resigned himself to not being pregnant. I would almost go as far to say he was okay with it, which was a surprise.

"I'm glad you're moving now. I'll clock off in a bit and start getting things moved."

"Deke is just waiting on your go-ahead."

The Head Enforcer clearly heard us talking about him. "We can finish this tomorrow, let's get you moved in."

Roan's house was fairly quiet when I unlocked the door. To not blindside them, I'd warned Hiroshi I would be moving out and asked for a chance for a one-on-one chat with my friend. Hiroshi was now on leave and I assumed Xavier and Tate had taken the babies out. Asher was likely at work at the factory, so the house was about as quiet as it ever got.

"Lark, I'm in the kitchen," Roan called.

"Hey," I said as I followed his voice.

Roan was at the stove with many pots bubbling away.

"Batch cooking for the babies and for when the little one comes."

"Not long now." I was happy for Roan and Hiroshi. Their little baby was a miracle. The difference time with Dalton made. I was no longer envious for the wrong reasons. Now I wanted that, what Roan and Hiroshi had, for me and my mate.

He beamed. "Can't wait. It'll be all hands on deck again. You ready?"

I took a seat at the long counter. It was set up with high bar stools so people could socialize and cook at the same time.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

After switching everything off, Roan took a seat opposite me and finally gave me his full attention.

"I'm moving out." I paused. "Today."

"What?" Roan rocked back, shocked.

"It's overdue," I explained. "I should have moved out when I went into this thing with Dalton."

"But that's only temporary, right?" He was frowning pretty hard. "You were doing his first heat. That's done, so I thought you'd come home." He looked like I'd struck him in the face.

"Roan, this isn't my home. Not really. It never has been." I reached for his hands. He snatched them away, his hurt clear .

"That's not true! You've been there for me every step of the way."

It was time to really clear the air and see if our friendship survived.

"But you haven't been there for me," I pointed out bitterly.

"When?" Anger at the accusation boiled in his eyes.

"Never." I took a breath. "How about asking how I was once in a while? I know after the attack you were busy, but you seem to have forgotten they knocked me out." There were so many instances where he'd failed to be my friend, but I didn't want to hurt him further.

"I called you over and over and you never called me back," I couldn't help saying. "You didn't tell me you'd met your fated. He did!" I bit out.

In front of my eyes, Roan deflated from his bout of anger. "By the goddess, I'm a shit friend."

Part of me wanted to keep going, except all that would do was tear into him more. If I wanted to save anything between us, I had to show him I understood and make him see things from my side.

"Look, I get it. Once Hiroshi was on the scene, you had different priorities, but they were never me. So why should I do the same for you?"

"Dalton's not your fated. This was just a convenience thing. An arrangement."

Ouch. Fuck, that stung .

"Yeah, that's how it started," I defended my choice to do the mating with Dalton. "He agreed to give me his first heat. He also wants a baby with me."

I sighed, thinking of my mate. "Dalton… he feels like he belongs with me. I've given him plenty of chances to break this off. He hasn't." I knew I had stars in my eyes just thinking about living with him properly.

"I just called him and he's excited to move in with me properly. That's not temporary, Roan."

"What about us? Everything here?"

Argh, he was so frustrating!

"You aren't listening!" My voice rose. "I'm in love with my mate and I think he loves me too. Aren't you happy for me?"

"I am! I want you to be happy."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I guess I just thought you'd be around longer." There was a long pause, where he figured out what he wanted to say. "We never really got back on even ground. I knew about the crush. I thought ignoring it would make it go away."

"It didn't."

"Do you still…?"

"No." I met his eyes. "Because I realized I was loving this version of you, that I had I built up in my head." I had to look away from the pain there. "You were my best friend until someone else filled that role. He was everything you were supposed to be. He was the one who checked on me, listened to me, shared his stories. Then he became my whole life."

"Dalton."

"Yeah, Dalton. You were so wrapped up in your mates then building your family, you forgot about me. And y'know what? That's fine, because it opened my eyes, made me reach out for something better. If you hadn't, then I wouldn't have Dalton, and I'd be missing out on the best thing to ever happen to me."

Roan reached for me then. Instead of letting him touch me, I moved my hands away. "I'm sorry, Larken. I've been a shitty friend."

"Yeah, you have." He winced. I felt slightly bad about that, but he needed to hear it. "You need to be needed and sometimes others needed you more than I did." Once I started, I couldn't stop. "I was so far down your list because most of the time, I didn't need you. I wanted you around, though. That just wasn't enough. You give too much to others, you leave so little for yourself. Roan, one day soon you've got to let others take that role, leave something for yourself."

We sat in silence for a long time.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"Well, I pack my things. The rest can stay in boxes until I can decide what to do with them. You ask Kade to get you someone else. I know you need the help more than you've been letting on. You look tired, Roan. So go nap with your mate while I get my stuff."

"I meant with us. We're still friends, right? I can be better."

"Of course," I said honestly. "We just needed to clear the air. I mean it, Roan. Carve something out for yourself before you end up a wreck. Lean on Asher more. Trust your dad. Don't baby Hiroshi. He's a grown ass man, he's a healer and has seen worse shit than you can imagine."

Getting up, I went to his side and hugged him for a long moment, then went upstairs to my room.

Outside my door, Hiroshi was waiting for me, empty boxes at his feet. He hugged me. "Thank you."

"You're not mad?"

"No. It needed to be said. I love Roan, but he hasn't been a good friend. None of us have. I'm so happy for you and Dalton! Come and visit all the time, okay?"

"I will. Maybe soon we can have playdates with our kids."

Dalton had been called away, so he left me to make our bed and settle in Priscilla and Spice. I felt a warm glow in my gut when I thought about his easy trust with his most treasured possessions: his pets.

He did leave me a note:

Larken,

Thank you for everything you did to make this a home for Spice and Priscilla. You made me cry! Chase laughed.

Back soon

Dalton x

Once everything was as tidy as it was going to get and both animals were napping in their new beds, I set about organizing a surprise for my man.

"What's all this?" he asked as he stepped inside the house.

I'd trailed a colorful mix of rose petals on the floor to the spare room we had set aside for his home office.

Inside, the room was dark, thanks to the late winter hour and thick blackout drapes. I'd hung fairy lights along the walls and found a pile of cushions and blankets.

A wall was being used as a projector screen, a cheesy rom-com waiting for us.

"I thought we could have a home movie date. Oh, the popcorn!" I rushed to the kitchen to grab the popcorn from the pantry. The freshly popped on the stove kind was better, but I hadn't wanted to stress Spice out with the popping. There were too many new things for him. He was showing signs of needing a quiet night.

When I returned, Dalton was sitting in the nest in just his underwear. A blanket was slung around his shoulders.

"What?" he grinned. "My clothes were much too restrictive to sit in like this."

"And pajamas were out because?"

"I didn't pack any? Besides, I thought you might want to make this date a little more R rated later," he teased with a wink. I was so grateful he was doing okay, despite the disappointment.

"Later? I'm tempted now. You're hot stuff, Dimples."

"Hmm, you're pretty hot yourself. Now strip and join me. We can pretend to watch this movie and make out."

"Whatever you want." I threw my t-shirt into the hallway and closed the door. No pet interruptions, thanks.

"I think I'm going to like living with you properly."

"Me too."