Chapter 7

CHASE

They wereboth silent in the back of my car. Just like that first time, my eyes kept flying to the mirror to see them. And every time I caught one of their gazes, my heart squeezed.

This was crazy.

I had only met them twice. But there was something in Wren's eyes that looked like trust and something in Usman's that looked like hope and I would be damned if I wasn't going to do exactly the thing I'd spontaneously declared that I would.

These two were mine now and I was going to keep them as long as they'd let me.

"Those people back there," I finally said, breaking the silence. "What did they destroy exactly?"

"Just our tent," Wren answered ruefully. "They'd already stolen all our stuff."

"When?" I asked, but I thought I knew.

"Last time we were with you."

I had to grit my jaw and try to breathe. I was still angry over the scene I'd found; Wren and Usman surrounded by an audience of street rats watching as an alpha harassed them. My hands gripped the steering wheel harder.

What kind of scum watched something like that? Were those the types of people they'd always been surrounded by?

I couldn't stand that. I hadto show them a better life.

"We managed fine," Usman told me, like he was trying to calm me down, but anger rushed through me again, this time directed at myself. It was irrational but I was frustrated that I had left them in that situation while I had carried on with normal life.

"That's not the point," I gritted out.

They both fell silent until we were turning into my neighborhood and Usman gasped softly.

"Where are you taking us?" he asked uncertainly.

I glanced at him again in the mirror. He was looking outside, always so attentive, and now I knew why his eyes were so sharp. He was always on the lookout, aware at all times of the danger that they lived in.

"I'm taking you home," I informed him, and my voice was firm, leaving no room for doubt.

His eyes widened.

"Holy shit," Wren muttered quietly, following Usman's gaze out the window. "In Riverview Heights?"

As we entered the esteemed neighborhood, I shrugged lightly. There was a reason that I had been so unaware of the lives they lived. So unfamiliar with street omegas in general.

Their world was one far removed from the one that I knew and had known my whole life.

I had been born into privilege, lived surrounded by the upper crusts of society, met my mate in high school, then inherited my father's company when he was ready to retire.

In all ways, my life had been laid out for me from the start and I wasn't the type to try to break the mold. Why would I? I had been happy.

It had taken losing Ariana for me to even consider branching out to something different, something I'd thought would pale by comparison. My gaze flew to them again. They weren't less vibrant that Ariana was. They weren't less deserving of love and happiness. Sure, they weren't her, but that was perfect. A replacement wasn't what I needed. No one would ever replace what I'd had with my first mate. And now, if this went any further, no one would replace Wren and Usman either. They were special in their own ways.

I didn't know how it would work in the real world, but I had nothing left to lose and everything to gain.

I pulled into the long driveway of my home and shut off the car but didn"t get out right away. The guys didn"t move in the back seat, clearly waiting.

Finally, I turned to face them.

"I know I didn"t ask either of you if you even wanted to come with me," I started. "But I hope that you"ll stay."

For a moment, they didn"t move, then Wren smiled softly, and Usman took his hand first, before scooting forward in his seat so he could reach me and touching his lips to mine.

It was the first kiss he"d given me, and it was soft and chaste but my entire body warmed up, especially when he drew back enough to look me in the eyes.

"I think we can get behind that arrangement," he said.

I let out a breathy laugh, feeling the tension and anger sift away. I glanced at Wren who nodded in agreement.

"Alright then," I said. "Welcome home."

If anyone I knew could see what I was doing, they would probably think I was crazy, but I didn"t care. I led Usman and Wren into their new house with nothing but sureness inside me.

They were both wide-eyed as we went inside. The entryway was a bit extravagant. Ariana had liked glittery things and I had let her do what she wanted, including having the large crystal chandelier installed.

As I walked them through the rooms, showing them where everything was, it became apparent that Ari"s presence was still in every room. Her pictures were on the walls, her makeup still next to the sink, and her slippers were still on her side of the bed.

I hadn"t changed a thing since I"d lost her and I hadn"t seen how unhealthy that was until I was walking through with Usman and Wren on each side of me.

I didn"t say anything about it, but when my gaze caught on her hairbrush next to the sink, golden strands still woven into it, Usman"s hand found mine and held onto it. I looked up, realizing that he was watching my face in the mirror. Then Wren took my other hand and the frown on my face fell away completely.

I shook my head, watching their compassionate expressions in the mirror.

"I guess I should clean up Ari"s things."

They both started to argue, but I shook my head.

"No. I need to make room for you both and... it"s not healthy. I need to start to move on."

They didn"t argue, which I appreciated. And they didn"t let go of my hands, which I liked even more.

I still couldn"t believe that anyone else"s presence could make me feel so peaceful again and I wanted to cling to them both. I wanted to claim them both... if only there was a way to have two mates at once...

I pushed the thought away and led them back downstairs to the kitchen.

There was food in the fridge, and frozen meals. I used to like cooking, but now I did takeout and ready meals almost exclusively.

I heated some of it up while they watched.

The three of us were mostly silent. I knew we didn"t know each other that well yet, but it was more that none of us knew what was to come next. We hadn"t said any of the important words, we hadn"t figured out how to move forward together and none of us wanted to breach the subject. So instead, we spoke about light things, like where I worked, how long they"d known each other, things like that. Then, when they were eating, I excused myself to deal with the heavy issues.

My bedroom seemed like it had to be the first place to start and I needed to do it now. I couldn"t sleep in the bed with other omegas while Ari"s picture was on the wall next to me.

And they needed to feel like they finally belonged somewhere. I wanted to give them that.

So, I started with the pictures, taking them all down. There were some with just me in them, but it was all from our mating week. The photographer had posed us like we were having a romantic picnic together and we hadn"t been able to stop laughing. We"d loved all the pictures and now I could barely look at them anyway. Still, it made my chest ache taking them off the walls.

When I went to Ari"s bedside table, I found the book she"d been in the middle of and added that to the box along with her phone charger and chapstick.

By the time I got to her slippers, the bedroom door opened behind me.

I couldn"t bring myself to look at them, not even when they both came into the room and sat down on the floor next to me.

"You really don"t have to do this," Wren said gently. "We don"t mind, right Manny?"

He rested a hand on my arm and nodded.

"I don"t mind," he agreed.

"I do though," I said gently. "I said you were mine back there, and I meant it. I want to make this place your home for real. That means this room and bed are yours now..."

And honestly, I didn"t think Ariana would mind. I knew in my heart and always had known that she wanted me to be happy above all else. The way these two made me feel, the hope and excitement for what was to come, was irreplaceable, especially after a year of torment where every day had been a struggle.

"Then," Usman said, giving my forearm a light squeeze. "Just this room today."

"That I can agree with," I said and I met his eyes, a smile lifting my lips. It felt so good to smile again. I was going to have to get used to it.

Somehow, it seemed I really had found three omegas in my lifetime that were meant to be with me. I had to be the luckiest alpha alive.