Making a Family Collection 2

AN OMEGAVERSE MATES WORLD ROMANCE

ROSA SWANN

Making a Family Collection 2

An Omegaverse Mates World Romance

2nd edition

Copyright © 2022 Rosa Swann

Copyright © Easily Distracted Media

Originally published as: Making a Family Box 2 and Making a Family Volume 2

Copyright © 2018 ROSA SWANN

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of the copyright holder.

This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

ISBN: 9789493139510

NUR: 343

Version: 20220223

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Blurb

When your fated mate becomes your husband and you gain a whole lot of new family…

Clay

If I thought that planning a wedding party in two days, after my spontaneous proposal, would be difficult, we now have the added difficulty of needing to take care of Wes and his kids too.

But I’m not giving up, not on either of those things. I will protect Wes and I will also give Aiden the life that he deserves…

Aiden

Taking care of Wes’ kids isn’t the hardest task in the world, it’s Wes himself who may prove more difficult. Only, just as I’m settling in for a day of babysitting, my own younger Omega brother, Felix, is standing in the middle of the living room, demanding to know where Hailey is.

Like dealing with one stubborn Omega brother isn’t hard enough…

This collection includes the final five novellas about Alpha Clay and Omega Aiden in Making a Family, Angering an Alpha, Building a Home, Celebrating a Birthday, Welcoming our Twins and Loving our Family, which takes place in the non-shifter Omegaverse Mates World and contains mpreg (male-pregnancy).

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Angering an Alpha

MAKING A FAMILY 6

Chapter One

CLAY

I can’t believe this.

I can’t fucking believe this.

I look at Wes, at the way he’s curled up on the bed, the way his breathing hitches and his eyes fill with tears. I thought we finally got him out of the bad situation, away from his Alpha, away from the pain and the fear.

But this…

How could this have happened?

I hear Aiden, Zeke and Felix leave the room, closing the door behind them, leaving me alone with Wes.

“How?” I don’t get it.

Wes closes his eyes, shaking his head just a little. “I…”

His face distorts in pain and I reach out, carefully putting my finger under his chin. Wes fights me for a moment, but then allows me to move his head to the side.

There are even red spots on his neck. Hands. The bruises become more visible, turning from pale to a darker red, not yet the blue-ish purple they’ll likely go in another few hours. They show a set of fingers wrapped around his slim neck.

I step back. My first instinct to hurt someone, to go out and find the asshole that did this to Wes. But I know that I can’t do that. I need to contain my anger.

“He…” I look at Wes, at the way he cowers under my gaze, and I’m about to explode.

That fear setting off all my protective instincts, but also the need to destroy whatever made him fearful like this in the first place.

“I need a moment.” If I don’t… I may break something, or hurt someone I love. And right now… I can’t let that happen. I can’t be that guy.

I need to be the protector, not the revenger.

I step out the bedroom. Aiden, Zeke and Felix are standing in the dining room, waiting for me.

Zeke is carrying Evan, the little boy visibly upset. Their eyes are all on me, but I shake my head.

“I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll be right back.” My voice is like gravel. I stalk away, out of the apartment, down the stairs and out of the building.

There, I walk along the side of the building until I find a more secluded spot where I can hide, away from people’s eyes.

I lean my back against the wall, slamming the side of my fist against it, trying to keep myself under control. Trying to contain the anger by creating a counterpoint.

Wes’ Alpha attacked him. He followed him and attacked him, right when we thought he was safe.

I thought I felt helpless when we brought Wes here. But now, this is so much worse. I’m not an aggressive person, but each time I think about Wes… I want to do something bad to his Alpha. Something worse with every piece of information that I get.

There is just no way that Daxton should be able to get away with this, treating Wes like this… No way.

I slam my hand into the wall again. Fuck.

I just can’t believe this. Today was supposed to be happy and good, but now…

My phone buzzes and I grab it, it’s a message from Aiden. ‘Wes needs to see a doctor. He may not want to, but he really needs to. Urgently.’

I look at the words, it takes a moment before they sink in.

Wes is in bad enough of a state that he needs to go to the hospital. I can’t freak out right now. I need to take care of Wes first, before I do anything else. Or before I do something stupid.

‘On my way.’

I make my way back, taking deep breaths, forcing my mind to focus on one thing first, getting Wes the help that he needs, if he wants to or not.

I don’t care about his financial situation or any of the other things. That can’t be on his mind right now. I’ll pay for his treatment myself, I have the money.

But I can’t lose my brother.

I can’t lose Wes.

Aiden is waiting for me at the doors to the building, when he sees me he comes over, his stance relaxing a little.

I open my arms, wrapping them around him as he steps close. “I thought you were with Wes.” I barely dare to speak, the quiet providing a little comfort.

“I needed to come see you.” Aiden’s voice almost disappears into my chest. “Zeke wasn’t attacked by Wes’ Alpha. When Zeke sent us the message, they…” He stops and I let go a little, looking down at him.

“They, what?”

Aiden swallows hard. “Oliver has epilepsy. He had a seizure. They were trying to get him on the floor safely, and he smacked Zeke in the face in the process. That’s why they messaged us. Because of Oliver. They couldn’t get a hold of Wes, so they reached out to us. Wes only came in after that.”

I feel like someone pours a bucket of cold water over me. “Oliver has epilepsy?” I remember the medication that Wes asked me to get for Oliver, it must have been for that.

Aiden nods. “Yeah. Seems like he’d been fine for a long time. He’d not been taking meds anymore. But this…” He looks down, and I can see the way he frowns.

“This is bad.” I pull him closer again.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” I rub my arms over his back, more to give myself something to do than anything else really. “You said Wes needs to go to the hospital?”

“Yeah. He really does.” Aiden’s voice wobbles. “Zeke said that Wes came stumbling in and then he lost consciousness, so they got him to the bedroom. They only just got him settled when we came in and found them.” The words rush out. “He needs help.”

I tighten my arms around Aiden, trying to comfort him, even if just a little, then I let go. “Let’s get him help.” I pull Aiden along with me to the stairs, but he stops. “What is it?” I turn to him.

“Give me your keys.” He holds out his hand. “I’m getting your car and I’ll wait in front of the building with it. You go get Wes.”

I look him over, but then I nod. “Okay.” I give him the keys, then I pull him to me for a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

“Go get him.” The urgency in Aiden’s voice doesn’t escape me.

I take the stairs two steps at a time, reaching the door, which is still slightly ajar. I go inside and find Felix with Oliver and Josie on the couch.

“They’re in the back. Zeke is trying what he can.” Felix nods to the back.

“We’re past the trying stage.” I know there won’t be any use trying anymore, no use trying to convince him.

I am going to take Wes with me, I have to. I know that I can’t let him stay here. I open the door and find Zeke next to Wes on the bed. Wes is still under the covers.

“Wes.” I kneel down. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No.” Wes’ voice is still raspy, and the mental image of those bruises on his neck makes my blood boil instantly.

“Yes. We are going to get you there. I don’t care about money. I don’t care about anxiety or not wanting to go. You need help.” I look at Zeke. “Grab some of his clothes. He’s going to want to change into something else later.”

Zeke looks at me for a moment, but then stands up and digs into the bag with clothes at the foot of the bed. He comes out with a stack of clothes.

“Put it into a bag and follow me.” I’m not taking no for an answer, not now, and if we’re not going to do this the easy way, then we’re going to do this the only other way that I know.

Zeke puts the clothes into a plastic bag, stepping aside a little.

I reach under the blankets, one arm at Wes’ knees and the other one around his shoulders, then I grab on and lift him, covers and all. He’s not as light as I remember him being, but that was years ago. I take a deep breath and start walking out of the bedroom.

“Clay…” Wes’ voice comes from the covers. “Don’t. Please. No.” He wiggles a little, but I’m not letting him go and he quickly stops moving. “I can’t do this.” I hear the tears in his words.

“Yes. You can. And we’re going.” I cross the living room and then leave the apartment to go down the stairs.

Not the easiest thing to do with such a bulky and heavy load, but I’m not letting him down right now.

As we safely reach the ground floor, I can already see Aiden waiting with the car. Zeke rushes past me and opens the back door of the car. Then he steps aside.

I angle us so that I can at least try to get both Wes and me into the car at the same time. It’s not easy, but with a little help from Zeke, I manage.

Then Zeke puts the bag onto the front seat. “I’ll stay here with Felix and the kids. You two go.” He closes the door, looking at us, and I can see the deep pain in his eyes.

Fuck.

“You okay there?” Aiden’s voice is careful.

“We will be.” I pull on Wes, who has somehow started to become really quiet. “Wes?”

“No.” His voice is soft, but he’s responding, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

“Drive.” I reach out, touching Aiden on his shoulder for a moment. “Drive.”

Aiden nods, then he takes off. He drives at quite a speed, but I know that he’s just as worried as I am.

I look at Wes, wrapped in the covers, a ball on the back seat, leaning against me.

Fuck.

As soon as we reach the hospital, we put Wes in one of those wheelchairs they provide, and while Aiden parks the car, I already make my way into the hospital, on my way to the emergency department.

Aiden quickly catches up with me, as it’s not very fast going like this. Although, Wes seems to have stopped fighting and is now just sitting in the chair, pulling a face. Well, I prefer that over whatever else could be happening.

We reach the nurse’s station at the emergency department and I lean onto it. “My brother got attacked by his Alpha, he needs help.”

The guy behind the station looks at Wes, his eyes going wide and then he nods. “What is his name?”

“Wes. Wes Guarde.” I don’t give them his Alpha’s last name. I don’t want them to reach out to him. I don’t want to make it easier for his Alpha to find him again.

“Do you have any of his insurance information or his ID with you?” He looks at me, like I’m the one who is supposed to know these things.

“No. We’d rather get him help, than having to hunt for those things.” I’m getting more than a little irritated by now. He needs help, not paperwork.

“Wes.” Aiden suddenly kneels next to the chair, grabbing Wes, holding him in the chair.

“I can’t do this.” I see Wes’ shoulders jerk. “He’ll find me again. I can’t do this. I can’t put them in danger.” He moves and then the most terrifying thing happens.

I can’t see Wes’ face, but the bits of his neck I can see, they’re turning pale, a ghostly, deadly pale, and he slumps against Aiden.

Aiden grabs for him more, tries to get him back into the chair, then I see him check around Wes’ lips and nose. It takes me a moment to realise what he’s doing. He’s trying to check if Wes is still breathing, then he meets my eyes and nods, but I can still see the panic in them.

Something Aiden saw, in those short moments, it really scared him.

Suddenly we’re surrounded by nurses, they’ve got a bed with them and with our help they get West on it. Wes hasn’t opened his eyes yet. He’s still that ghostly pale and I can barely breathe.

I can’t lose him. I can’t lose my little brother. I really can’t.

They get him into one of the rooms and immediately attach him to some machines. We have to step back, let the nurses do their job, but I only want to hold Wes, make sure he’s still alive.

Instead, I keep Aiden close. I keep him against me and we wait together. We wait until they’ll let us back with Wes.

Then, the nurses finally step away a little, and one of the nurses comes over to us. “Are you his family?”

“I’m his brother, this is my husband. How is he?”

“We don’t know yet. Someone will come over to examine him soon. But for now, he’s stable.” The nurse lets us nearer to Wes. “Do you know what happened?”

“He got attacked by his Alpha.” Aiden’s voice is steady, even though I can hear the pain in it. “He gave birth to his fourth kid a few days ago. The doctors at that hospital wanted to keep him overnight, he was too weak to leave immediately, but Wes couldn’t stay. We offered to look after him for a few days instead, since his Alpha was not in town.”

Aiden swallows hard. “This morning… He went out for a walk and came back like this. He was attacked by his Alpha. This was the second time he lost consciousness.”

The nurse nods. “I guess you don’t want us to contact his Alpha, then? Or other family?”

I shake my head. “No. Not now. I want to know he’s okay first. I want him to get care. We’ll talk to our family after that. He has four kids, he needs to get better.” My voice squeaks at the last words.

The nurse writes something down. “Do you want us to contact the police or other authorities?”

Police? I hadn’t even thought of that yet. “Not yet. I want…” I reach out to Wes, take his hand, his cold hand.

The nurses leave, promising that they’re right around the corner if something goes wrong. I pull a chair closer and sit down in it, still holding Wes’ hand.

I can’t believe it. But just seeing him… He’s so pale, he looks so weak, and the bruises…

Fuck this.

Chapter Two

AIDEN

I step out of the room, making my way down the hallway to a small waiting room. There, I slide down in a chair, unable to stand up any longer. I need to be strong. I need to be strong for Clay and for Wes, but this is too much.

Tears drip down my cheeks and I wipe at them, trying to push them away. I need to call Zeke and Felix. I need to tell them we got here safe. But I don’t know if I can talk right now.

I take my phone, sending a message to Felix. ‘We’re in the hospital. They’re about to check him.’

It takes only moments before I have a reply. ‘How is he?’

I close my eyes for a moment, immediately flashing back to the moment I saw that despair in Wes’ eyes. That fear when they asked about his insurance and ID, and then while he was trying to get up, the way his eyes unfocused as he went white as a sheet and lost consciousness again. The way he slumped down and I tried to catch him.

‘Aiden?’ Another message from Felix.

‘They’re taking care of him.’

‘Aid!’ This time the message is quick, then my phone starts ringing and Felix’ name pops up on the screen.

I take the call, raising the phone to my ear.

“Talk to me, Aiden. What happened?” There is panic in his voice, panic and fear. The same feelings that are rushing through me.

“He…” I squeeze hard in the chair, my fingers painful. “He tried to get up and fainted again.” The words leave my mouth in one string, my breathing hard and I feel like I’m about to do the same.

“Fuck.”

“Fe!” It’s automatic, chiding him for cursing. “Not around the kids.”

“I’m not. I’m in the hallway.” His voice is unsteady.

“How are the kids?”

“Oliver is doing better, he’s worried about his daddy though. Josie is quiet. I think I may need to read a book with her or something. Evan is asleep and as I stepped out, Zeke was giving Mia a bottle. They’re okay.” Felix is quiet for a moment. “That scares me the most. The fact that they’re okay.”

Yeah. It’s not a good sign when kids are like this, when they worry, but at the same time… They almost seem used to this.

Then I hear noises on Felix’ side. “What’s going on?”

“Sterling just came up the stairs, with Seb. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Felix.” I hope I can still get his attention before he hangs up.

“Yeah?”

I need to think quickly. “Tell Sterling what happened. He can help.”

“Will do.” And this time he disconnects the line.

I lower the phone, looking at it for a moment. I know that I need to keep moving now. I need to keep going, or I’ll really break down. I stand up, walking back to Wes’ room.

Just as I reach the room, my phone buzzes. I check it, and I see it’s a message from Sterling. ‘Don’t worry. We’ve got things on this side. You focus on Wes.”

I take a deep breath as I put the phone away, then I push open the door and step back inside.

I was right.

I hate that I was right. It doesn’t make this dark feeling inside me any better. It just makes it worse.

Wes was already weak from giving birth, and his body was still trying to recover from that. But this time…

The damage to his face was the least of our worries, though a concussion may be why he fainted. Bruises are appearing around his neck, getting darker by the moment.

Then there is the rest of the damage to his body. Bruised ribs, two of them, bruises all over his chest and stomach, and they can’t rule out internal damage just yet. His arms and legs…

He was lucky that he didn’t break anything.

How can anyone do something like this to someone else? How can someone do this to their mate? The one who they’re supposed to be with? The one who they love?

And to see Clay, sitting there. I can see thoughts going through his head, but he’s been quiet the whole time. Not saying anything, not doing anything. Just sitting there, thinking, planning, plotting.

I want to make it better. I want to take this ghostly look off Wes. I want to console Clay, even though I know he doesn’t want anyone near him right now.

I’m about to take a little walk, needing some fresh air, when Wes opens his eyes and looks at me.

“Aiden.” His voice is still raspy and it’s obvious that it hurts for him to talk.

I come over, taking his hand. “Yeah?”

“Don’t leave. Please.” His breathing is fast and I sit on the bed with him, holding his hand. He squeezes my hand, hard, as tears form in his eyes.

Fuck. I look around. They’ve taken some of the machines away again, especially when they found that he was breathing on his own just fine and that he didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. I slide next to him, carefully putting my arm under his head.

He turns to me, putting his head on my chest as he wraps his arm over me. Then his arms tighten and his body shakes with sobs.

I wrap both my arms around him, keeping him close as I let my own tears go. That pain… So much pain.

“I thought I could deal with this.” Wes’ voice is so quiet that at first I wonder if I actually heard him. “I thought that it would be okay. That I’d be fine. I couldn’t let him near the little ones. But I thought that I’d be safe enough.”

“Has he…” I need to know.

It’s quiet for a while, but then I hear the one answer that I never wanted to hear. “Yes. He’s… He’s done this before.”

I suddenly can’t get enough air anymore, my breathing uneven and Clay looks up, his eyes meeting mine and I feel like I’m standing outside myself, outside and looking in. Because this pain in my chest, this darkness, sorrow, despair. I can’t contain it, I can’t.

And, in my arms, Wes is shaking just as much. And I realise, starkly, that this could be the very first time he’s ever told someone about the abuse… Just that knowledge breaks me into a thousand pieces.

Clay comes over, wrapping his arms around us as well as he can, holding us both. We stay like that, not saying anything, until nurses come in and move Wes to a different room. A room that is much more permanent, a room where he’ll be able to recover.

A room that reminds me of how serious this is. They keep Wes’ name as Guarde, and I hope that it will mean that we’ll be able to keep him safe here for just a little longer.

“Wes?” Clay’s voice is low, controlled, but I can hear his fury. “Where is he?”

Wes shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“Would you tell me if you did?”

This stops Wes for a moment, but then he nods, his lower lip wavering.

“Can you tell the police?” Clay comes over, sitting on the other side of the bed.

Wes shrugs a little, pain crossing his face. “I can’t put the kids in danger.” There is a fear to his voice again.

“Would they be?”

This time, Wes’ voice is resolute. “Yes.”

I see something cross Clay’s face, something furious, something destructive.

“Who else knows?”

“Nobody.” Wes shakes his head. “Nobody.”

That is hard to believe. In all these years, nobody would have realised something was wrong?

“Wes.” I lean in closer. “Who do you think suspects something?” He meets my eyes, and I know he knows someone.

“Mummy. I think she suspects something is wrong.” He grabs for me, pulling me closer again, and I wrap my arms around him.

When we pulled Wes out of there, we set something in motion that we never suspected. We set something in motion that we didn’t even realise may have been bigger than what we saw.

Clay stands up, frowning. “Can I call her?”

Wes shakes his head. “No.” It’s just a squeak. “Don’t get her involved. He’ll hurt her too.”

“We need to do something. This can’t keep going on. We need to get you out of this, Wes. We need to get you and your kids to safety.” Clay looks troubled. “I don’t want to get anyone into trouble. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I want to make sure nobody gets hurt again.”

“Wes,” I whisper, close enough that he can hear it, but not Clay. “We need to do something now. Your kids can’t lose you. Your family can’t lose you. But what if you’re not as lucky next time?”

Wes meets my eyes for a moment, and I know I’m getting through to him, then he nods. “Don’t tell her what happened. Make sure she doesn’t tell anyone else that she’s coming here.” His breath wavers. “I…”

He looks at Clay, and then at me, his eyes stay on me as he talks. “Daxton has my passport. He’s got the birth certificates of Oliver, Josie and Evan. If I leave… I can’t go anywhere. He can take my kids away from me. I have nothing.”

I nod.

We need to be really careful with what we’re going to be doing next. Because we may have joked a little about kidnapping Wes, but his Alpha can make a really strong case that that’s what we’ve actually done, that we’ve kidnapped his family.

And worst of all, he won’t be questioned before those accusations will have ruined our lives.

We’re going to have to be really careful now.

“I’m going to ask Mummy to come over. I’ll make something up about Aiden’s pregnancy or something like that. I promise I’ll be careful.” He takes his phone and leaves the room.

I make myself a bit more comfortable, holding Wes, keeping him close, before I ask my next question. “There’s something I don’t know yet, isn’t there? Something much deeper. Something much more problematic. Something nobody knows.”

Wes nods against my chest, his fingers tightening in my shirt.

“Can you tell me?” Because I feel like he’s been carrying this huge secret around and it’s in every way connected to what has been happening. I feel like this one thing that he’s hiding is in the middle of all the bad things that are going on around him.

“Maybe.” The word is barely a breath, so quiet.

I don’t reply, letting Wes gather his thoughts on his own. Because I’m sure that he doesn’t want Clay to know this, at least not yet, if ever.

But I also know he needs to tell someone. Someone needs to know this so that they can help, so that he’s not the only one carrying this burden.

“When I said the only thing I had to show for my adult life was giving birth to my children… That’s only half of it.” His voice breaks, quiet sounds as he tries to keep breathing. “Don’t hate me. Please.”

“Why would I hate you?” I tighten my arms around him, I can’t believe anyone could hate him.

“Because…” I feel his fingers grasp and then release me, he turns his head away so I can’t see his face at all. “I… I’ve not been pregnant just four times. Since I got mated, I’ve not been pregnant for only a handful of months. I…”

He lets out a loud sob. “My body is just so useless… Half the time… Half the time I lose them before they’re even born.” His body is shaking so badly that I’m scared he’ll hurt himself.

Then his words start to sink in. Half the time. Half. “You’ve been pregnant eight times?”

Wes nods against my chest. “I’m such a useless Omega. My body is not made to sustain life. I get pregnant easily, but… I keep losing them. I’m only lucky that Evan and Mia have even been born.”

A darkness settles in my chest. Wes having four kids while being the exact same age as me blew my mind when I found out. But to know that he wasn’t pregnant four times, but has been pregnant eight times… In the time it took me to finish a college degree and look after Hailey, Wes was pregnant eight times.

“They say that when you’re around twelve or thirteen weeks pregnant, it’s safe to tell people… And by then, you’re also starting to show.” He’s quiet for a moment. “I lost them all between eighteen and twenty-five weeks. One day, everything seemed fine. And the next…”

“Wes…” I have no words to respond to what he just said.

“It’s no wonder Daxton hates me. I’m useless. I’m broken. The bruises are just a reminder that you can’t see the broken inside me. That you can never know how useless an Omega really is.” He pushes at me. “I shouldn’t be around you. I’ll just…”

I grab his arms and he flinches, but he doesn’t look at me, he keeps looking away. “You’re not broken. Bad stuff happens sometimes. You can’t predict when or where. You’re amazing. You take care of your family, you take care of your nieces, you take care of everyone around you. You’re not broken. You’re amazing and strong. When I freaked out, the only one able to calm me down was you.”

“But I am.” He finally looks up at me, but his eyes are blank, empty. “I’m broken. Or I wouldn’t have lost them.”

It’s heart breaking to hear him call himself that, especially when it’s not true.

“If I wasn’t broken, I would have had my other children with me too. Three boys, including a set of twins, and two girls. First, after Oliver, I was pregnant with another boy, he made it twenty-three weeks. I’d gotten pregnant again, so fast, I was so excited. Then, after Josie, first a girl, eighteen weeks. Then another girl, twenty-one weeks. I’d seen them on the scans, they looked so perfect. And then the twins, boys. They made it twenty-five weeks.”

He shakes his head. “I woke up one morning. I knew something was wrong. I made an emergency appointment and took Oliver and Josie with me. The first boy had already died. I saw the second one struggle to stay alive. They immediately operated on me, but he didn’t survived those last few minutes.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I reach out, keeping his hands tight. So much loss, and he’s been carrying it all on his own.

“I’m so lucky that Evan and Mia made it. That they’re okay.”

But to what cost? Not just on their tiny bodies, but to what cost on Wes? What cost on his body? Or his mental health? I feel like such an ass for asking, but I need to know. “Why do you keep getting pregnant?”

Wes almost looks like he relaxes some, which scares me. “Because I can’t refuse Daxton when I’m in heat. It’s an Alpha’s duty to conceive children. It’s an Omega’s duty to carry children.”

He sounds… mechanic when he says it. Like he’s repeated it so many times that even if he doesn’t believe it, it doesn’t matter. It’s too ingrained into him by now.

“Not at the cost of yourself.” I try to make him look at me again. “Not at the cost of you almost dying in the process. Not once, by your Alpha’s hand. Or twice, when Mia was born. But three times already. You cannot die, Wes. You can’t.”

I put my hand over my mouth, trying to contain the despair taking hold inside me. My whole body shaking as I let out a sound like a trapped animal, scared, frightened, terrified.

It’s only then that Wes seems to come to himself, that he seems to get jolted into action. “No.”

He shakes his head. “No.”

I see him pale again and pull at him, make him curl up against me, hoping it will prevent him from fainting again.

I need to protect him. I need to protect his whole family. I need to protect our family. Because no matter what, I’m not letting Wes go back, not ever again.

I’ll do everything to protect him.

Everything.

Chapter Three

CLAY

“I heard from Mum. Congratulations on getting pregnant again!” Mummy’s voice is a little too cheerful and I’m sure I already told her about Aiden’s pregnancy.

“Thanks…” Fuck. I didn’t really think about what I was going to say.

“It can’t be easy, so soon. Do you need help?” She somehow makes it easier on me.

“Yes. We do.”

“Of course. I’d love to stop by for a few days. Are you sure it’s not too much with Wes there too?” Her voice changes just a little, and then I hear a door close. “I’m coming over as soon as possible.” Her voice is normal now.

“Mummy?” My chest feels heavy. What am I pulling her into?

“I’m going to pack my bag, and I’ll be right over. We’ll talk when I see you.”

“Thank you.” I’m not sure how I can ever thank her enough.

“I’m your mother, of course. I’m right there.” She hangs up. This was way easier than I expected it would be. I’m not sure if that gives me a good or a bad feeling right now.

I take my phone again, calling Zeke. It only rings a few times before he picks up. “How are the kids?”

“Sterling came by, with Seb. We’ve got everything here under control.”

“Good.”

“How is Wes?” I hear the fear in his voice, do I sound like that too?

“I wish I knew exactly. He’s going to be okay. But I’m not sure how long it will take.” I start walking again, I need to get this energy out of my body.

“Sterling said that he knew a way to keep Wes safe. He can talk to some people.”

“Thank you. We’ll need it.” I feel my voice go raspy. “He needs safety now.” The way I saw Wes look at Aiden, the way they connected… Wes needs someone to look after him, someone he trusts.

“We’ll make sure he gets it.” Zeke sounds so sure. “I’ve got to go. Sterling is waving at me and he said to tell you to call Wilder.” He disconnects the line and I look at my phone. Call Wilder, now?

But I know that I need to take a breather first. I need to get out of here first.

I need to take a breath and get some fresh air.

Especially now that we know that Wes will be okay, at least as long as we can keep him safe.

By the time I return to Wes’ room, both Wes and Aiden seem to have fallen asleep. The way they’re wrapped around each other is sweet. Though I can see that their eyes are a little puffy.

When I come over, Wes’ eyes open and he looks my way.

“Hey.” I pull a chair next to the bed. “What happened?”

He looks up at Aiden a little, and even that small movement makes Aiden pull him closer. Wes smiles softly, then he meets my eyes again. “We talked.”

“I get that.” I reach out, touching Aiden’s arm carefully. “He’s good at that.”

“He’s also good at caring.”

“Yeah. He really is. He’s got a big heart.” I pull my hand back. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Not being there for you. Not protecting you. You should have had a brother like Aiden, not me.”

Wes frowns, shaking his head a little. “Without you, none of us would have ever gotten to the places where we got. You did the best you could. I get it.”

“I should have done better.” I’m sure I could have, I should have.

“No. You already did. There was nothing you could do. Not back then.”

“And now?”

Wes looks away. “Now, I don’t know.”

“Right.” I stand up again, and this apparently wakes Aiden up too.

“Clay.” He sits up a little, his eyes going from Wes to me. Then he looks at Wes again, and I see something pass between them.

Yes, they talked, and with the way Aiden is looking… It wasn’t an easy talk.

I reach out, touching Aiden’s cheek. “Hey. I talked to Zeke, he said that Sterling is with them. And Mummy is coming over.”

“What?” Wes moves, then he hisses and stops.

“She… I don’t know. She offered it herself.” A little too readily, like she’d already planned on it. “I don’t know…”

Wes nods. “Okay. Just… I don’t want her to come here. I don’t want her to see me like this. Okay?”

“Okay.” I look at both of them. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Wes pushes closer to Aiden. “I don’t want to make trouble.”

“You’ll need to.” Aiden’s voice is soft, sweet. “This will never end otherwise.”

“Can’t we just…” I see Wes bite on his lip a little, not looking my way. “The police are going to have to get involved, aren’t they?”

“Probably.” I sit down again. “The police and probably some other agencies too.” I don’t want to say this, not this close to having gotten married myself. “You won’t be able to just divorce him. There will be a lot of hoops to jump through.”

“I’m going to have to.” He sounds stronger now.

We’re all quiet after his words, but then my voice works again. “Yes. He abused you. Did he…”

Wes shakes his head. “He never… No. Not true. Yes. Them too.”

“You need out. This won’t stop otherwise.” I reach out, taking Wes’ hand. “I’m going to make sure that everything will be okay. I’ll be there for you. I’ve got a big enough heart, but especially a big enough bank account to give you a better life.”

“Clay…” Wes looks at me, his eyes uncertain.

“Even if it’s just the start. Even if it’s just to give you a place to live, to grow from. Even if it’s just a place to support you while you’re setting up your own life.”

I squeeze his hand a little. “Let me help you. Because I can. I want to. I need to.”

Wes eyes Aiden.

“You won’t get any help from him to stop me. He did the exact same thing for his sister last year.”

Aiden lets out a little laugh, then he nods. “Yeah. I did the exact same thing with my sister Hailey last year, when she couldn’t stay at home because she’d gotten pregnant with Seb. I did whatever was within my means to help her. And I will do the same for you. You’re my brother now, this means that I get to do the same things as if you were my blood.”

Wes smiles a little. “You do realise that we’re the same age, right? You’re more likely to be my younger brother.”

Aiden shrugs. “I’m still an older brother. It’s how I’ve always been. And I don’t think that will end any time soon. I don’t care if you’re technically older or younger than me, right now, you need the help of your brothers. Both of us.”

Wes nods, relaxing a little. “I guess, for now. But when you’re highly pregnant or after your kid has been born. I’ll take care of you.”

“Sounds like a fair deal.” Aiden pulls him closer.

“And you’re easy to snuggle with.” Wes leans against him more.

“I’ve heard that before.” Aiden looks at me. “Somehow, a lot of people feel like I’m the perfect person to snuggle with.”

I laugh, leaning in. “It’s because you’re just so damn lovable. You have such a big heart and such a relaxing personality. It’s perfect for hugging.”

Then a phone buzzes and Aiden moves a little, taking it from his pocket. He frowns for a moment, then he looks at me before his eyes fall on Wes.

“Message from Wilder. He wants to talk to Clay and apparently also us. He says he’s taking his…” He thinks for a moment. “His Alpha’s older sister. He says she may be able to help a little. He’s coming this way.”

Wes stills. “I don’t want to see anyone.”

“I know. But we need to get a move on, and we can’t wait with some of these things. I’ll message him the room number.” He starts typing on his phone and then he looks up at us.

“I wish it was different. I wish we didn’t have to do this now. But there is also the issue of living spaces, the fact that Oliver probably needs to get back to school and that life will have to go on.”

Wes nods. “Yeah. I just wish it didn’t.”

“Yeah. But I’m afraid we’ve passed that part.” I stand up. “Maybe at some point in the future, things will be easier, but for now, we need to get a move on.”

I lean over, giving Aiden a quick kiss. “And with that. I do need to go to the house. Talk to Zeke and Felix, and probably Sterling. I’ll wait there with them for Mummy. I know that you don’t want to see her right now, but she needs to know what’s happening and we may need her help too.”

I don’t want to leave them here alone, but I know that with Wilder and his sister-in-law, there will be people here for them.

And if I’m being completely honest, there are probably things I do not want to know. Not yet. Because I may not be able to control myself if I hear some of the bad things.

So I need to go where I know I can use this anger productively, and that’s the house. That’s going to be where the others are right now.

“See you soon.” Aiden smiles a little.

“Later.” Wes nods, taking a few deep breaths. “Thank you for everything. Even if I didn’t agree with it. Thank you.”

“Of course. You’re my brother. I’ll take care of you.” I touch his shoulder carefully. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

I leave the room. Closing the door behind me quietly. Then I walk down the hallways, to the car park, and it’s not until I’m in the car that I let out the scream I’ve been keeping inside the whole time. The pure anger, frustration and pain.

I need to fix this. I need to make this better.

I open the door to Wes’ apartment and find the house full once again. It feels nice, after the weeks where it was just me and Aiden in here, it’s nice to see it filled up with so many people, even if it’s not for a happy reason.

“Clay!” Oliver comes over, he luckily looks a lot better than he did this morning.

“Hey.” I kneel down and he gives me a tight hug, then he pulls back.

“Where is Daddy?”

“Daddy is… At the hospital. The doctors are making sure that he’s going to be okay. He needs to heal now.”

Oliver’s face falls, but he nods. “Doctors will make him better.”

“Yes. The doctors will make him better.” I see Sterling and Felix stand a little off, their eyes on me, serious. “I need to talk to the other adults for a bit.”

Oliver nods again. “I will make something to make Daddy smile.” He goes off to the low table in the middle of the living room, which is covered in paper and pencils and crayons and other things.

I stand up again, going over to Sterling and Felix. “Is Zeke still here?”

“Yeah. He’s in the bedroom with Mia, the little girl won’t sleep unless there’s someone with her.” Felix walks to the back, to the dining table.

I peek into the bedroom and Zeke is sitting on the bed, Mia cradled in his arms. “Hey.”

Zeke looks up, his eyes red-rimmed. “Hey. How is he?” His voice is unsteady.

“He’ll be okay. Thank you for helping out.” I step in, kneeling next to him. “I’ll take you with me when I go back.”

“Thanks.” Zeke eyes Mia. “She’s so precious.”

“She is.” I trail my fingers over her cheek. “But I need to talk to you. Can you come join us at the table?”

Zeke opens his mouth, but then lets out a breath. “Just help me put her in a wrap. I don’t think we’ll be getting any rest if I leave her here.”

“Will do.” I look around.

“My bag in the living room.” Zeke helps with a smile.

“Right.” I stand up, going over to grab the wrap and help Zeke into it.

Then we both sit down at the table with Sterling and Felix.

“Right.” I take a deep breath. “In the next few hours, my mummy will arrive and I’m going to need a plan.”

Chapter Four

AIDEN

Wilder and Sarah, his dead Alpha’s older sister, being here was really helpful, and they gave some good ideas. But I could also see the look in their eyes, the way they didn’t just look at me, but especially at Wes.

This isn’t going to get easy, which we knew, but now we’re at least more sure of our options. We’ll have to talk to the police and get Wes’ Alpha declared dangerous, and then we’ll have to jump through all sorts of hoops to make sure that he can never get near Wes or their kids ever again.

“Aiden?” Wes’ voice is slow, low. We’re on our own again, a little calm to ourselves.

“Yeah?” I reach out as Wes is curled up on the bed.

“Did you ever think this could happen? To end up having to look after a whole family?”

“Why would I? But Wilder never expected to become a father, let alone to an eight year old girl, and now his own son too. Life isn’t what we expect it to be.”

“I thought my life was perfect. I got married out of high school, and then immediately got pregnant. Like, that was the dream, right? Have a family, become a parent, look after your kids… That’s life as an Omega.” He sounds so sad. “But that never turned out the way it was supposed to.”

“I don’t know what was supposed to happen. My parents always insisted on education, college degrees, before anything else. Before dating, before having sex, all of that. First our education, then the rest.” I lean back.

“Clay was your first ever date?”

I nod. “Yeah. After graduating, I was taking care of Hailey and then with Seb… I never got the chance to date.” I let out a little laugh. “I don’t think anything could ever have surpassed our first date anyway.”

Wes also lets out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think so either.”

The door opens and Zeke looks around it. “Hey.”

Wes immediately pulls himself up a little, looking at the door. “Hey.”

“Ehm. I was sent in advance. Clay and your mummy are down the hall. They wondered if they were allowed to come in, your mummy anyway.”

Wes shakes his head, his eyes on me, panic and fear flashing through them. “No.” The sound is only soft, barely audible.

I nod, standing up. “Zeke, you come in. I’ll go talk to the other two.”

Zeke passes me, and when I look back, I just catch the way he takes Wes’ hand, holding on tight, staring at each other. This whole thing may have gotten a little more complicated than expected anyway…

I walk down the hallway, catching Clay’s eye and he comes over. “I’m here to come see you. Wes doesn’t want too many visitors.” I now look at Clay’s mummy. “I’m sorry.”

She nods, her eyes shadowed, a pain hidden in it. “I get it. I don’t expect him to suddenly accept my help, just because I came by. It’s okay.”

Clay reaches out and I slide my hand into his. “I told her. I told her about the wedding, about taking Wes in, all of it.”

I look at his mummy again, and she nods. “I know now. I should have seen it sooner, but I know now. I should have asked questions. I should have pressed for actual answers, but it was so much easier not to. Everyone told me everything was fine, and Wes didn’t speak at all.”

She lets out a sigh. “I’ll help any way that I can.”

“I’m going to see Wes for a moment.” Clay squeezes my hand and then lets go. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Clay has disappeared down the hallway, his mummy talks again. “I heard that I should thank you for all of this.”

“For all of what?” I’m not exactly sure if that was something nice or not.

“Clay seeing his family. Wes being rescued. Someone looking after my sons.” Her face softens. “Thank you. Thank you for being this brave.”

I sort of shrug. “I don’t know if it’s bravery or if I’m just a sucker for punishment.”

“Having a kind heart can never be punished.” She reaches out, putting her hand on my arm for a moment. “Please, keep helping my sons, I know I’m not always able to. And they seem to really care for you, both of them.”

I nod, not sure what to say right now. Luckily Clay is coming back again, he meets my eyes, a little frowning and confusion in them.

“I think we’ll have to wait until this evening before we can talk to Wes again. He’s fallen asleep.” He takes my hand.

“What about the other boy, Zeke?” Clay’s mummy looks back.

“He’ll stay here with Wes for now. I don’t want to leave him on his own.” Clay starts walking and even though his mummy looks confused, I can’t help a little smile.

Yeah, not letting Wes be here on his own isn’t exactly why Zeke is staying here right now.

But it’s a good enough excuse.

We’re all holed up in Wes’ apartment again. There are a lot of papers in front of us. These are all of the things Wes will have to sign, fill out and send off to all different places just so he can get situated here. So Wes can move here officially.

But we also know that this is no use until we get Wes away from his Alpha. Until we push that through. Which means we need to talk to Wes, we need to get Wes fully on board with all of this.

“Daddy?” Maddy pushes between me and Sterling, then she tries to crawl into his lap.

“Yes, sweetie?” He pulls her closer, the action intuitively.

“Oliver says that his dad is angry with his daddy. Why?” She seems confused by this.

“I don’t know. Did he tell you why?” Sterling keeps his voice level, but I see the worry in his eyes.

Maddy shrugs. “He says that Daddy keeps doing things wrong and that Dad gets upset when that happens. And he says that Daddy hasn’t even made lunches for school for tomorrow. That he needs lunches for school for tomorrow. He says that Dad will be really angry if Daddy doesn’t make them on time.”

Sterling nods. “Well, luckily, that’s not something he has to worry about today. I don’t think Oliver is going to go to school tomorrow anyway.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s a little hard to go to his school when he’s staying here. Right?”

This makes Maddy think for a moment. “I guess…” Then she slides off his lap again. “Do I have to go?”

“Yes. You have to go to school tomorrow.” Sterling laughs and Maddy bounces off, back to Oliver and Josie.

“Okay.” Clay stands up. “Enough with the waiting. We’re going to go and get them out of this crappy situation, and we’re going to do it now.”

He grabs all the papers together, then sorting them out into different piles. “First, we need to get Wes to talk to the police, and to get things in order as quickly as possible to get him divorced. While that is going on, we’re going to have to get Oliver enrolled in school here, we need to get Wes a doctor here and we need to find a doctor who will take on Mia and Evan and all the stuff that has to do with little kids. And…”

He looks at his mummy now. “We need to get their stuff here. We need to get clothes, toys, anything like that. Which means… The rest of the family will probably find out.” He looks at her, and she keeps his gaze, steady.

She takes a breath, not looking away. “I’ll do it.”

“Good.” He nods. “For now, I’m going to need some people to look after the kids while Wes is in the hospital.”

“I’ll do it,” Felix speaks up, but I shake my head.

“You need to go back to college, today. You can’t take time off to do this. You need to go to class, finish your degree.” I look at him.

“But—”

“No. You need to do that. I’ll take care of things here.”

Felix glares at me, but then sighs. “Fine, but I’ll be here, if needed, anytime I can find time away.”

“Sure.” I also stand up. “I think we’re going to have to go see Wes now. We need him to start all this.”

Clay nods. “I’ll come with you.”

“Me too.” Felix sighs. “I’ll grab my bag and you can drop me off at the train station on your way back.”

I look back at the table, at Clay’s mummy, at Wilder, at Sarah, at Sterling, everyone there. “Thank you.”

“No problem. You go talk to Wes.” Wilder smiles encouragingly. “We’ll take care of things on this end.”

“Thanks.” I quickly walk to the door, where Clay is already waiting.

“You have work… You can’t take care of the kids all day.” He frowns. “That’s not something you can combine.”

I shrug. “Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t leave the kids alone here. I can’t ask Wilder or Sterling or Zeke to look after them during work hours, they have their own jobs and their own families to take care of. And you run a company. You can’t take the next unforeseeable time off from that either. I’m the best choice.”

“But…” He reaches out. “You take pride in your work. You want to work. I love that about you. You’d go crazy sitting at home.” He takes my hand. “I don’t want you to give up on being you.”

“I’m not. I like my job, but it’s only part-time. I’m already combining it with taking care of Seb.”

I squeeze his hand. “Wes is family. My meagre income is not worth anything if I can’t help my family. I want to make a family, not break one. Right now, that means I need to be here for Wes.”

Clay pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Fuck. You’re just too amazing.” His voice is thick and I wrap my arms around him too, suddenly surprised by his emotions. “You’re right. We need to make a family. We need to make this family, heal it.”

I nod against his chest. Yes. We need to.

“Okay, lovebirds. I think it’s time we get going.” Felix’ voice behind me sounds amused. “We kind of have a schedule.”

Yeah, yeah.