Chapter 42
1098 Words
Gwen
The scent of bacon hit me before I even made it out of the bedroom.
I padded down the hall barefoot, wrapped in one of Cash’s oversized T-shirts. It fell to mid-thigh and still smelled like him—rain, leather, and just a hint of mischief. My skin was still tingling from the slow-burning night we’d shared. We hadn’t gone all the way, but it had been… intimate. Real. A shift in the tide.
The suite’s kitchen was already alive with the sound of sizzling and the hum of quiet conversation.
Cain stood at the stove, shirtless, flipping something in a cast iron pan with focused precision. His silver markings glinted in the sunlight pouring through the tall windows. Cole was setting the table, arranging silverware with neat, practiced movements. Cash was leaning against the counter, sipping from a mug and watching his brothers like he was exactly where he was meant to be.
All three of them looked up when I stepped in.
“There she is,” Cole said, smiling. “Sleeping Beauty finally rises.”
Cain’s eyes tracked the hem of the shirt I was wearing—his nostrils flared slightly, just enough to notice. “That shirt’s not yours.”
Cash smirked. “It is now.”
Cain rolled his eyes but didn’t push it. Instead, he gestured to the pan. “Made you an omelet. Spinach, mushroom, cheese. Hope that’s okay.”
I blinked. “You cook?”
“He cooks when he’s trying to avoid punching something,” Cole muttered.
Cain shot him a look. “I cook because I like it.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Boys,” I warned gently as I slid into one of the chairs.
Cain brought over a plate and set it down in front of me. “If you don’t like it, blame Cole. He bought the groceries.”
“Noted,” I said, giving him a small smile. “Thanks.”
Cole brought over juice and coffee, and Cash slid into the seat beside me, nudging my knee with his.
“So,” he said casually. “We all sleeping in each other’s rooms now or was last night just my turn?”
Cain’s fork paused mid-air.
I groaned and covered my face. “Cash.”
“What? I’m proud.”
Cole snorted. “You would be.”
I peeked at Cain. His face was unreadable, but he didn’t look angry—more like… thought-filled.
Cain set his fork down and leaned forward. “Look, if we’re doing this—really doing this—then we have to stop acting like we’re rivals.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“You’re right,” Cole said after a beat. “It’s not about which of us gets her first or most. It’s about her feeling safe with all of us. And trusting all of us.”
Cash nodded slowly. “Agreed.”
They all looked at me then.
“Are you… comfortable with this setup?” Cain asked, voice softer now. “Us. Together.”
I looked around the table at the three men fate had tied me to. Not just by the Moon Goddess, but by something deeper—by shared pain, shared healing. Shared love.
“I am,” I said, meaning it. “And I want this to work. All of it. All of you.”
Cash bumped my knee again. “Then we’ll make it work. Even if Cain needs to cook his feelings every morning.”
Cain flipped him off.
And just like that, the air lightened. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t simple.
But it was ours.
Jordan
I watched Derrick from the kitchen doorway, arms crossed over my belly—the one that hadn’t started to show yet, but I already felt its weight in the curve of my spine and the quiet ache behind my ribs.
He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of our guest suite, surrounded by a storm of papers. Brothel reports. Middle Moon Pack files. Council transcripts. Somehow, even when the world around us threatened to fall apart, Derrick made sense of it all.
“You’ve been up since dawn,” I said softly.
He looked up, and his whole face changed. “Couldn’t sleep. You okay?”
I stepped in, walking carefully over the stacks of paper to sit beside him. “I’m pregnant, not dying.”
He gave me a crooked grin and leaned in, resting his forehead gently against mine. “Still not used to the idea. You, me… a baby.”
“You better get used to it, because there’s no turning back now.”
A comfortable silence settled between us.
After a moment, I reached for one of the pages. “Anything new from the brothel message boards?”
He sighed. “More chatter about moving operations west. A few vague posts mentioning new merchandise.”
I stiffened. “Gwen?”
“No name. But enough to make me uneasy.”
I bit my lip, my hand instinctively resting over my stomach. “We need to end this, Derrick. We can’t let Karl get his hands on her.”
“He won’t,” Derrick said, his tone sharp now. “He won’t touch her. Or the baby. Or you. I swear it.”
We sat like that for a while—two warriors suddenly forced into roles neither of us had ever trained for. Alpha-consort and mother. Protector and strategist.
“Do you think she’s really okay?” I asked after a while.
“Gwen?” he said. “She’s been through hell. But yeah… I think she’s finally starting to let herself heal.”
I smiled faintly. “She told me last night she might be ready. That she’s going to take things slow, one brother at a time.”
Derrick chuckled. “Poor Cain. He’s not used to waiting for what he wants.”
“None of them are.”
He turned toward me again, brushing my hair behind my ear. “What about you? How are you feeling? Really.”
I hesitated.
“Like I’m living someone else’s life,” I admitted. “But I love it. I love you. And I love this baby.”
His eyes softened. “You’re going to be an amazing mom, Jordan.”
“And you’ll be an overprotective dad.”
“Damn right I will.”
We leaned into each other again. The world was still on fire somewhere beyond these walls, but for now, in this sliver of calm, I let myself believe we could make it through.
- Writer
