Chapter One

Jack

I tossed the baby bag, which was really a toddler bag now, into the back seat of the SUV.

"I appreciate you're willing to come with me."

Pop-Tart was the best. When everyone agreed that going to the old ski lodge on my own wasn't a good idea, he volunteered to accompany me.

"You don't have to." It was going to zap a good chunk of his day, and, if I went alone, I was sure it would be fine. Not a single whiff of a scent of anyone who wasn't supposed to be on the land had been detected any of the bazillion times any of us had been there.

"It'll be good," he insisted. "We can go hang out at the state park afterward, maybe take turns letting our beasts out."

I was fine keeping mine in to give him more time with his own. I'd sensed his beast a bit close to the surface lately. He needed more time outside and less in the warehouse.

"Are you sure?" I was going either way. My plan was to take a final look at the ski lodge turned communal living that was to be my family's home, as well as that of quite a few other omegas and their children.

The contractor was going to be meeting me there to make sure everything was up to snuff. He assured me everything was move-in ready and I had no reason to doubt him, but if I paid him his final balance before seeing things up close, I lost all my leverage. And besides, I really wanted to see it.

My gut said that everyone was being overprotected. There was no reason for any of the villains to go back to that place and, if someone wanted to retaliate, there'd have been signs already. And the contractor? He was hardly someone I needed protection from. He was human and even if he decided to be awful, I had claws.

"If you're sure," I said, "because really, I can handle this."

"No, you can't." Coming from most alphas' mouths, that would've sounded awful. But I knew what he meant—he promised to go with me, so he was. End of discussion. I probably shouldn't have said anything in the first place. "Besides, we pass by the Korean corndog place. That's why he volunteered." I highly doubted that. Although, they were fanfreakingtastic.

I got into the driver's side. I had to give him credit for letting me drive. He never did the I'm an alpha, so I'm the boss and that means I drive bullshit so many alphas where I grew up pulled. When I took the keys, he didn't say a word.

We drove to my new home, stopping at the Korean corndog place along the way, as promised. They also had donuts, which thrilled Bryant. It was hard to believe I was taking him to the place that would become his new home. He'd been at the warehouse pretty much since his birth, if you didn't count his little ride in the SUV.

How different my life was going to be now. I'd been the victim of a breeding farm, giving birth during my escape then living in a warehouse. Pretty soon, I was going to help make a new home for other omegas with a history similar to mine.

It had been a while since I'd seen the ski lodge turned home. When I pulled in, it took my breath away. The crew had done so much work on it, both inside and out. Part of me was excited for this new journey, but the rest was freaking out knowing that Aziz was going to be at the warehouse, and I would be here.

I had such mixed feelings about the situation. He was my mate. I had sort of sensed it instantly, but over time, it became more and more evident. To him, I was just a random person, and it freaking hurt. This was good—coming here—moving away from him. This was my new start, one I desperately needed.

The contractor was there when we arrived. We walked through and saw all the bedrooms. Originally, we thought we would only be able to have one-bedroom units, but they were able to combine some so that families with older children could give their young ones their own space. It meant we had fewer units, but this was better.

The dining room was not only sunny but painted a beautiful yellow that would make the day happier even when the sun was down. Then there were the random rooms we set up for recreation, therapies, and the school. This was going to be much better for them than where we all currently were. We'd really gotten so cramped at the warehouse, and no one had any space for themselves.

"So will you be living here, both of you?" the contractor asked.

I thought he meant Bryant, sleeping in a backpack carrier I was wearing, and I said yes at the same time Pop-Tart said no. "I meant the baby and I." That's who Bryant will always be…my baby.

"Well, let me show you where all the circuit breakers and things are, then," the contractor said. "You'll be the one potentially having to deal with them. I'll also show you where the generators are."

That was something the guys insisted on. He said that being out here, we had a higher likelihood of losing power for longer periods of time. He was right.

He explained the different backups, the different ways of switching things over if only partial power was lost, which, based on the grid system, could occur. When he was done, I felt like I should have been taking notes, but he promised me it was easier than it looked. I had to trust him on that.

"Do you want to sign off on the work today?" He wanted his check, and I didn't blame him.

I probably had the power to do that, but we did things as a team. "I just need to report back," I said.

He nodded in understanding. He was a human and probably thought the way we worked was weird, but that was neither here nor there.

"What do you think? Do you think you could make this a home?" Pop-Tart asked when the contractor left.

"Yeah, I think we could." I was going to miss the warehouse.

"I'm going to miss you two."

I had to bite back my internal response of, "Well, at least someone will." He didn't need to know how I was feeling. No one did, which was why I didn't share it with anyone.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss it, too, but it's gotten a little chaotic over there."

"If the guys are happy with everything, it looks like you can move in next month."

"Yeah, and then I can start my new life." Please let it be a better one.