Chapter Twenty-One
When Joe was calm enough, Axel asked him to call ahead and let the den know they were coming. Joe spoke to Cade, keeping it brief. His voice was still hoarse from crying, and Axel knew Cade was perceptive enough to pick up on it.
There weren’t many people waiting when they arrived, to the relief of all three of them. They climbed out of the car, Axel grabbing the bag while Kai supported Joe. The beta seemed listless and exhausted.
Cade and Ollie took one look at them before Cade whispered something into Hunter’s ear. Hunter nodded and went to Axel, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, your old place is still empty. I’ll help you set up camp.”
Axel looked to Joe and Kai, finding Cade leading Joe away while Ollie was chatting to Kai.
“They’re in good hands,” Hunter said softly. “Come on.”
He walked with Hunter, explaining what had happened, what his mom had said and Joe had overheard.
“Damn, she really said that?”
“Every word. I was too busy seeing red to realize that not one, but both, of my mates were within earshot. Kai was distraught, but Joe… I’ve never seen him like that.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t just what your mom said?”
“We haven’t had a chance to talk it through yet, but I think you’re right. I’ve been so busy with all the pack stuff and Kai’s pregnancy, I must have missed it.”
“Missed what?”
“Joe feeling like a third wheel. I thought it couldn’t happen, not with how things were between us. But…”
“But pregnancy is one of the most stressful times in any relationship and yours… well, it’s no different. In fact, with three of you…”
“Thirty-three percent more stress?”
“Something like that.”
They got to the house, and Axel went to leave the bag in the bedroom. His mural was still on the wall and he stopped to look at it. He must have been longer than he realized as Hunter appeared in the doorway.
“Everything okay?”
“Just… thinking.”
“About what to do now?”
“I’ve already done it. We’re here not there.”
“For how long?”
“Until I can be sure bringing Joe and Kai back there won’t hurt them. Until I can be sure it’s a healthy environment to raise our kids in. Until my parents… I don’t know, have a personality transplant?”
Hunter laughed. “For most people, I’d say that was unfair but your father being Shane…”
“It’s a fair assessment. And there’s nothing I can do about it. If they’re still acting like this after I made my conditions for returning clear, then I think the whole thing is hopeless.”
He told Hunter about Shane’s refusal to have anything to do with Seth and the other packs’ plans.
“Nevan knew what he was doing when he had Dex killed. He knew it would only make Dad more insular, would drive a wedge between him and the other packs. But I think he was betting on it dragging Seth off course, too. But, thanks to Dara, Seth is very grounded. He won’t be easily deterred.”
He took one last long look at the mural, remembering how he felt when he painted it. He didn’t want to lose Joe, or what the three of them had. If he had to give up his pack for that, he would.
“Come on,” Hunter said, “let’s go get something to eat.”
Joe followed Cade back to his place, feeling wrung out and exhausted. It was surprisingly toddler-free.
“Where are the kids?”
“Nursery school. They’re learning to sing rhymes and play nice with others. At least, that’s the theory. Sit down, I’ll make us a hot drink.”
He returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of coffee, sitting down next to Joe on the couch.
“Start at the beginning,” he said.
Joe didn’t even know where the beginning was, but the words came anyway. His happiness at Kai’s condition but that tiny voice inside telling him that he was surplus to requirements. How that voice only got louder with the way Axel’s family treated him. How it all came to a head when Axel’s mom couldn’t understand why they were keeping him around.
By the end, he was sobbing in Cade’s arms, coffee forgotten as the omega made soothing noises.
“I tried to make it work, Cade, I really did. I kept telling myself that things would get better, that they’d come around. The pack themselves aren’t so bad but Axel’s parents… they’re a nightmare.”
“I’ve heard enough from Hunter and Seth to know what Shane is like. And I know firsthand what traditional wolf pack values feel like when they’re being shoved down your throat.”
“I’ve lived with them all my life, but it was easy to ignore them when they didn’t impinge on the way I lived. And when I couldn’t ignore them, I came to the den. But now, I can’t get away from them.”
“You can. Here.”
“But the Weir needs Axel…”
“Yeah, well, they should have thought about that before they drove you away, shouldn’t they?”
Joe and Cade talked for a while longer about what living in the den again might look like for all three of them.
“You’re very welcome here, you know you are. But there’s another possibility, one that would let you be closer to the other wolf packs.”
“The new den.”
Max was there, they would have a handful of houses habitable soon and they had links with supportive packs nearby.
“You wouldn’t be able to go there right away, but the three of you could visit, see what you think of the place. We already have a bunch of families from here and Hilltop who’ve said they’re interested in moving. It’s just another option to think about.”
“But it’s not just about what would be best for me. There’s Kai to think of. And Axel. And, as much as I hate to say it, the Weir.
“You have to put your family first, Joe.”
Cade was right but that didn’t make it easy.
“Speaking of family, I should check on Kai. I’m sure I gave him quite the scare trying to take off like that.”
Cade nodded. “Go talk to him. With everything he’s been through, he’s got to be anxious at the idea of losing you.”
“He’d never lose me.”
“I know that, and you know that. But he might not.”
Ollie was doing his best to keep Kai entertained, but the omega found his attention kept wandering. Was Joe okay? Was Axel? What did today mean for their family? He felt like everything was on the verge of falling apart. What would that mean for him? For the babies? He didn’t want to be alone again.
He couldn’t sit still, walking back and forth along the bank of the river. Usually, he found water soothing but not today. He had the urge to shift into a fox, find a hole, and hide in it. The only thing that kept him from doing that was Ollie.
Just when even Ollie’s companionship wasn’t enough, and he was about to seek solace in his shifter form, Joe arrived. Kai took one look at him and knew it wasn’t good. His eyes were red, his cheeks pale.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Ollie said, heading back toward the houses. “If you want to come by later, I’m making lasagna.”
The other omega hurried away, and Kai hovered there, unsure what to do or say.
“Are you feeling any better?” he asked finally.
Joe opened his arms and enveloped Kai in a hug. “I’m so sorry if I scared you. I’m okay. I’m upset, sure. But it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
“But if it wasn’t for me…”
“If it wasn’t for you, what? The problem isn’t you, Kai. It was there long before you came into our lives.”
Kai huddled against Joe, almost afraid to let the beta go.
“What happens now?”
Joe pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Now we go find Axel and talk. But first, there’s something important I need you to know.”
“What’s that?” He held his breath, assuming the worst.
“I love you, and I love Axel. And I love our babies with all my heart. Nothing will change that. We will always be a family, and you will never be alone.”
Kai muffled his sob against Joe’s shirt.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” Joe murmured. “It’s all going to be okay.”
“He’s right you know. As long as we’re together, everything will turn out just fine.”
Kai lifted his head to see Axel standing nearby. He reached for him, and Axel came, wrapping his arms around them both.
“I love you,” Axel said to Joe, pressed a kiss to his cheek. “And I love you,” he said to Kai, kissing him as well. He crouched and spoke to Kai’s belly. “And I love you guys, very much.”
He stood, taking both of their hands in his. “Let’s go veg out in bed for a while and talk this through. You two look exhausted.”
Kai nodded agreeably. His feet were tired, his body weary, and he just wanted to know everything was okay.
Axel helped them both into bed then disappeared, returning with a basket.
“Ollie sends his love and some food.”
Kai didn’t think he was hungry until the smell of food reached his nose, and his stomach grumbled. Axel climbed in next to them and they shared out the food.
“Alright, first things first,” Axel started, between bites of a sandwich. “In my opinion, we should not return to the Weir as things stand. It’s not a good place for us and not a place I’d want to raise my kids right now. Any other opinions?”
“But the pack…” Joe started to say. Axel interrupted him. “This is not about the pack. This is about us. About our family.”
Joe nodded slowly.
“We’ll put it to a vote,” Axel said. “All those in favor of not returning to the Weir?”
There were three ayes.
“So, that’s settled. Second thing is to decide where we stay until the babies are born. River Den is happy to host us as is the Cove. The question is where we’ll feel the happiest, the most comfortable.”
“I don’t know the Cove that well,” Kai said. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Me, too,” Joe agreed. “The Cove might be my first home, but I feel more at home here now.”
“And I’d be equally as happy here as in the Cove. So that settles it, we stay here for the foreseeable.”
“And after that?” Kai ventured.
“That’s not a question for today, I don’t think,” Joe said. “It’s something we’ll want to spend some time thinking over. Cade mentioned us visiting the new den to see what we thought.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Axel chimed in. “But, whatever happens, we’ll be together.”
Kai knew that was for his benefit.
“That’s all I want,” he said. “Us to be together. I love you both and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’ll never have to wonder,” Joe promised.
Axel cleared away the plates and the three of them lay down on the bed together. Joe was in the center, cuddled between him and Axel, safe and protected. One of Axel’s arms lay across Joe as the alpha spooned against him. Kai lay face to face with him, one of the beta’s hands pressed against his stomach. All the fears and stresses of the day melted away as, within his belly, the babies kicked. He smiled at Joe as Axel kissed the beta’s shoulder. He knew that, whatever happened, none of them would ever be alone.