Chapter Sixteen

Desie

The house is ready. It happened so fast. Well, not exactly fast, but much quicker than I thought renovating a house would take. Jasper sent me a ton of pictures and a few videos of the finished work. It"s gorgeous. It really is. He and Talia made me swear to tell them the day we"d be arriving so they could have food in the kitchen for us. They seem every bit as excited as I am. None of us are as excited as Corso, though. He"s very pleased with himself for putting this into action and getting it finished so quickly. And he"s doubly excited about the baby.

Corso is positively giddy that his team got the house finished before my unexpected due date and he"s already drawing up plans for a massive playground area for the property. Jasper told me that Corso can"t wait to watch all our kids grow up together and that he hopes both packs end up with a whole army of children. I don"t know about an army, but I"ll be happy with a few.

I"ve got eight weeks left of this pregnancy. I"m huge. I feel huge. Ben is very happy with the changes in my body. He won"t keep his hands off of me, which is fine most of the time, but I"m starting to feel tired. Tired in the same way I was at the beginning of the pregnancy. And that"s just unfortunate because it"s officially time to pack for the move.

"It"s not like we"re taking everything," Michael assures, emptying the dresser full of my nesting materials. "Just the important stuff. We can leave most of our stuff and all the furniture and things here because we"re going back and forth, remember?"

I do remember, but it feels strange to be preparing for a move to a completely different territory across the entire continent. "I just don"t want to miss anything we might need over there."

"We can"t take too much, Des," Ben yells from his room. "We"re driving. We can only fit so much in the truck."

That"s the other thing. It"s a very good thing that they"re all so determined to keep me off an airplane because I"m too afraid to get on one to begin with. Just the thought of looking out the tiny window at the houses and trees getting tinier and tinier makes me want to throw up.

There are other dangers that come with driving across the territories. And paperwork. Lots of paperwork. It was different for Seth when he was alone, especially since he"s a sitting councilman; but it"s a whole process for a pack and a pregnant omega. Seth, Minos, and Talia"s mother have all pulled bureaucratic strings to keep my pregnancy out of the paperwork, but it"s still a huge risk. Even Lopez is nervous about it. He"s called every few days with updates about what we could come across in the Midlands. He"s convinced himself that the rogue organization has people in place in the Midlands to kidnap any omega that passes through, whether they"re with their pack or not. He"s offered multiple times to escort us and Seth has tried to assure him that his presence would draw more attention to our relocation than his absence. I won"t be surprised if Lopez doesn"t watch over us anyway, though.

I shove the last dress I"m taking with me into my last suitcase and grunt as I try to force the zipper. I have no hope of getting this thing zipped, but I don"t want to ask for help again. I"ve overfilled every one of them and I haven"t been able to zip a single one on my own. Michael needed pliers to force the last one to shut and I"m not sure that that will work with this one.

"Don"t try to zip it!" Seth yells from the kitchen. "Just leave it on the bed. I"ll get it as soon as I clear out the cabinets. Don"t try to move it either, Desir"ee. I mean it."

I drop down onto the bed beside the suitcase, rolling my eyes. "I won"t." To be fair, I did carry one of the first ones into the living room to be loaded and it thoroughly alarmed all three of my alphas. I had to sit for a fifteen minute three-way lecture before I could continue the task of packing up my clothes.

I"m packing a little bit of everything I own. I don"t know what my body is going to be like after I have this baby. My clothes range from threadbare, ratty, comfort items to strappy and lacy dresses. Hopefully some of them will work for my post-pregnancy body. I know I"ll need to get some new things, but I"m not prepared to mourn the loss of some of my favorite outfits.

"What about the crock pot?" Seth calls.

"No," I yell back. "Jasper got a new one for the house. Just worry about the food. I"ve got a box started to take to Mateo"s, and Sebastian"s coming by to get his when he comes to check on the house. We"ll need to clear out the fridge before we leave."

"Got it," he answers.

I lay back on the bed and stare at the ceiling for a few minutes, absently rubbing my belly. The baby pushes a tiny foot or hand out against my hand and I suddenly realize that somehow, after everything that"s happened, I"ve got everything I ever wanted. It"s all in this house with me right now. I"ve got my alphas. I"ve got a home. I"ve got the baby I always dreamed of. I have everything. My chest loosens with deep, shuddering, full-body sobs as the realization takes root where aching uncertainty once lived.

Michael drops the throw blanket he was folding onto the pile on top of the dresser and lays next to me on the bed, pulling me onto my side and against his chest. He rubs my back and kisses my hair, loving me through the onslaught of all the feelings coursing through me. After a minute or two, the bed dips behind me and I"m surrounded by the combined scents of Ben and Michael.

"What"s wrong?" Seth asks softly, lifting the suitcase off the bed and taking its place by my feet.

"Nothing," I whisper. "Nothing"s wrong. Everything is okay. It"s all going to be okay, and I just realized it."

Seth pulls one of my feet into his lap, massaging the sole and begins to purr.

Ben kisses my shoulder and grips my hip. "Everything is going to be okay. We"re safe and together. We"re okay." Then he and Michael both join Seth"s purr and everything is just that much better.

Two days later, my brothers and their packs are waving at us from our yard as we drive away. I"ve never been out of the territory, and if Ben and Michael have I"m not aware of it. I keep reminding myself that I"ll be back in a few short months, but that doesn"t stop me from tearing up every time I think about how much I"ll miss my family.

Just as we pass into the outskirts of the Province, Seth takes out his phone to make a call. "I told Lopez we"d call to let him know we were leaving. He still wants to follow us through the Midlands, and I still think that"s a bad idea."

"He just wants to help," I say. "He"s worried. He knows what kind of people we might come across."

"Let"s hope we don"t come across them," Seth mutters and presses the call button. Usually he makes calls on speaker phone, and this time is no different.

Lopez answers on the fourth ring and he sounds irritated. "Hello, Seth. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine," Seth answers. "We"re just on our way out. I said I"d call, so I"m calling."

Lopez lets out a string of quietly hissed curses. "It"s too dangerous for her to fly with all the exchanges and paperwork. Damn it. I"m not in a position to accompany you at this time." He finishes with another string of curses that are much louder and more violent than the first.

"What"s wrong, Lopez?" Michael clips, his voice threatening to go into a growl.

Lopez sighs heavily. "I"ve been watching communications with a few of the rogue groups. There have been increased activities in the Midlands over the last few weeks, almost directly in the middle. I"m waiting for one of the shipping managers to contact me. I"ve scheduled a meeting with a few handlers to see what I can find out. I don"t cherish the thought of Miss Romero traveling in that area with this level of rogue presence. What is the exact route you"ll be taking? I"ll cancel the meeting and join you. Her safety is more important than seeking information."

Seth looks at Michael, then back at Ben. They all have pinched expressions and seem to come to an agreement without saying anything. "No. Don"t cancel. We need the information. I"ve got a gut feeling about it. Nathan will need whatever you learn. I"ll call and keep you updated. We were going to head straight through to get it over with quicker, but we"ll re-route. When is your meeting?"

"Tomorrow morning," Lopez answers.

"Call us as soon as you can so we know you"re okay," I call out. I don"t care. Seth and the twins can glare and growl all they want, but Lopez helped save my life.

I can hear his smile through the phone. "Thank you for your concern, Miss Romero. I"m sure I"ll be just fine. I"ll let you know how the meeting goes. Please check in often."

"Will do," Seth says and ends the call. He turns back to give me a lingering look. "I"m trying not to be jealous of you worrying about him."

"I"m not," Ben says, reaching across the seat to pinch my thigh. "I get it, Desie. I really do. But I can"t stand that you give a shit about that mother fucker. I respect it. I genuinely understand it. But I don"t like it."

I sigh and stare out the window. "I know. But he"s getting better. He just needs time. He"s doing the right things."

"But he"s done so many wrong things, D. I might not be able to look over that all the time."

I turn back to him, offering him a small smile. "Just try. I know it"s hard for you, all three of you. But Lopez is trying to be better and he"s working hard at it. The least we can do is try to let him."

Seth reaches behind him, wriggling his hand through the space between his seat and the door to seek out mine. Ben watches me take Seth"s hand in mine and sighs. "Yeah. I know. We can do that."

Ben is snoring against his window and I"m almost asleep when Seth startles everyone awake. "Desir"ee, did you remember to text Obi?"

It takes me a second to realize that I definitely didn"t. "Shoot. No. I"ll do it now. He"s a worrywart. Did you know that?"

Seth laughs softly. "I have an idea. Just wait until you meet Jamison. He"ll drive you crazy."