Sable shrugs and finally tears her gaze away from the dead witch to look at me. “I just… I don’t know, I guess I feel bad for her. She had such shitty parents. They made her into a psychopath, pitted her against her sister until she killed her own twin, and then they tried to kill her for being a monster. It’s just so unfair.”
A few different emotions rise up inside me all at once. Love, for Sable’s goodness and her ability to find g
race in everyone and everything. Disgust, because Sable is right, in a way—Cleo was a product of her upbringing, sure, and it wasn’t fair. But then fury, because she’s absolutely fucking wrong.
I shift back to human form and cross to her, taking her elbows in both my hands so that she’s facing me and can’t pull away or deny what I’m about to tell her.
“Your fake uncle was a monster,” I remind her, rage boiling inside me at the thought of the old fucker. “He treated you in an ‘unfair’ way. He abused you, lied to you, and hurt you in more ways than I can stand to think about. Yet you didn’t let him turn you into a psychopath.”
Sable stares at me wide-eyed, her lips parted, but she doesn’t speak.
“You were dealt just as shitty a hand as Cleo,” I go on, gaining steam. “Worse, even. But you came out of the ordeal with your soul intact. You didn’t let it change who you are. You’re a good person. The best I know.”
Pink creeps up Sable’s cheeks, and she blinks those long, dark lashes, making my heart thud hard against my ribs.
I slide my fingers into her hair on both sides of her face, anchoring her in place as we look into each other’s eyes. “Don’t feel sorry for Cleo,” I say softly. “She made her choices. Just like you. But she chose the wrong path.”
Sable doesn’t say anything for several long moments, though her blue eyes glitter with unshed tears. But finally, she nods. “You’re right. She didn’t deserve what happened to her, but neither did the innocent people she’s hurt since then.”
I kiss her, soft and slow, as if we have all the time in the world to stand here and be together. As I take my time with the kiss, one by one, the other alphas shift back to human form and come to gather around us. They embrace us and add their love to the mix while I drop to my knees, wrap my arms around Sable’s waist, and press my forehead to her belly.
Her skin is soft beneath my fingertips, and I breathe in her scent as her fingers delve into my hair.
My entire future exists in this family we’ve made together.
In the men who have become like brothers to me. In this woman who’s stolen my heart. And in the baby growing inside her.
30
Sable
I bend over the table set up in the middle of the street and point at an empty lot on the outskirts of the blueprints’ dark lines. “Couldn’t we fit another house here? A small family home. There’s plenty of space.”
Ridge squints at the plans, then raises his gaze to the row of old East Pack homes. “Yeah, you know, I think we could. Maybe even two. What do you think?” He glances at Archer. “You know this land better than I do. Is it stable?”
“It’s stable,” Archer agrees thoughtfully. “Rock and dirt. Maybe not great for growing crops, but good for building. But they’d have to be small houses. Really small.”
“I think small houses would be nice for new families,” I offer. “Rather than having to live in the apartments with all the bachelors. Kids deserve a yard to play in, even if it’s tiny.” My hand drifts to my abdomen. Even though the baby isn’t starting to show yet, I’m vividly aware of the little life growing inside me, and how I want to raise our child and provide for it. He or she will have a yard to play in, toys to play with, and friends all around.
A life much, much different from the one I had growing up.
Construction’s already started on the other side of the village, and it’s moving swiftly. The apartment building is a shell with a roof, ready for drywall and carpet, and there are twelve new cabins built down near the meeting house. We’re finalizing plans for the second phase of building, and I still feel like the newly renamed Montana Pack village needs more homes.
We aren’t exactly small anymore.
Amora leans over and points to another place on the blueprints, her dark hair swinging forward in her face. “Here too. There’s plenty of room between the last row of houses and the trees to add another street.” She looks up at me and winks. “They just need fresh eyes, don’t they?”
I return her grin with one of my own. “Too worried about aesthetics to worry about the fact we need to house way more people. Should we walk over there and do some looking around?”
Trystan grabs my arm and shakes his head sternly. “You’ve done enough walking for the day. You need to go put your feet up. For the baby. I’ll make you some lunch while these guys go check out the land.”
“You’re just trying to get her alone,” Dare accuses with a smirk. “I would much rather ‘make lunch’ than walk in the weeds.”
“I’m thinking of the baby,” Trystan shoots back with mock disgust. “Camilla said for her not to overdo it.”
I roll my eyes, and my gaze lands on Amora, who’s holding back laughter.
“Do you see what I have to deal with?” I shake my head in mock indignation. “The minute Camilla confirmed the pregnancy, I lost all free will. They’d carry me around on a cushion if I let them.”