“And I get to show my pack brother how to ski. This is such a blessing,” Wells says, the man basically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Will you try again for me, Claire?” Wells gives her puppy dog eyes.
“Can I have pink ski boots?”
“Of course you can. I’ll even hold you the whole way down the mountain like my little winter queen.”
Claire sighs and gives him a nod. “Yes, I’ll give it a try. Even if I’m used to my feet being warm inside the resort.”
Wells grabs her cheeks and plants a kiss on her lips.
“Let’s show you the bedrooms next,” Forrest says, leading us upstairs. The two bedrooms on the right of the stairs belong to him and Wells, the next bedroom will be Claire’s, and on the other side of hers is mine.
It’s exceptionally considerate, and I feel choked up. Claire must notice as she squeezes my arm.
“It’s beautiful. I think this will be the perfect pack house.”
“There are two other bedrooms down the hall, and room for two more on the main level,” Forrest says.
Claire beams, understanding what he means. It has me feeling some sort of way for sure. I’ve only come to terms with joining this pack, but the idea of having a child with Claire has my mouth going dry.
She will be an amazing mother, and maybe I hadn’t really let myself truly consider my future because I was stuck in limbo, but as I stand in this pack house, I can see it clearly for the first time in my life.
If I let myself, I could live the best life here with my pack and our children. I rub my chest and Claire smiles up at me with watery eyes.
“Time for the best part,” Wells says excitedly, leading us up to the third level.
There’s a game room on the left, a shuffleboard table, pool table, and a golf simulator. Claire acts enthused over this, but when we head the opposite direction of the hallway, she realizes where we are.
“My nest?” she gasps as she looks around the room.
There’s a massive skylight, and I can imagine that during the winter or rain, it has to be peaceful to lie on the bed and watch the different weather of the seasons.
“We have automatic curtains for any of the windows, that way you can enjoy your nest in and out of heat. There’s only the bed and the kitchenette right now, but we have a guy who can get whatever you need to make it perfect. This room will be the priority but we can design the rest of the house any way you’d like,” Forrest says and she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his face.
The man smiles wide, happiness radiating out of him. For the first time since meeting this man, I don’t feel a pit of jealousy as she touches him. I feel kinship.
I know what I have to do.
I’m sweating after carrying an obscene amount of boxes inside the house. Claire has already enlisted Wells to help her organize her closet, and that leaves me and Forrest in the kitchen, both of us swallowing down water as we catch our breath.
I’m pretty sure Wells agreed to help her with the closet so he wouldn’t have to carry any more boxes. He’s smarter than I give him credit for.
The words feel caught in my throat, but I know if I don’t say them now, I’ll chicken out and probably change my mind. When pack lead was first brought up it felt like it was whoever had that title would be most important to Claire, but I know that’s not the case.
She doesn’t love one of us more than the other. There isn’t this need for jealousy, and I’m sure it will get easier once we bond. I think about Claire’s parents and how steady, calm, andassured Grayson is and I’ve realized that I’m not the one who should be in charge of the pack.
It’s a tough realization, but I think it came to me last night when I had my talk with Axel. I have everything I didn’t know I needed, and that title is definitely not something I need to be happy.
I tap on the countertop before the words finally fall out of my mouth.
“You’re right, you should be pack lead,” I tell him and he nearly chokes on his water.
“What?” he asks while blinking at me like I grew two heads.
I rub the back of my neck, looking around at this beautiful house, at what my life could look like if I make all the right choices and I know that this is the right decision for this pack.
“This pack wasn’t something I thought I wanted. I only knew that I wanted Claire. It’s blinded me. I don’t want to be jealous or competing over her attention. I want to be what Claire needs. I want to always put her first, and that means you should be pack lead.”
Forrest holds out his hand for me to shake and I slap my hand into his and we shake hands. In this house, with our Omega upstairs organizing her things, it feels like we’re truly on the same page.