Chapter Seven
Conrad
Jasper was in a hurry to get home and just be with his baby and not hanging around the clinic. When you don’t feel well, you want to be home. Except his home wasn’t his.
I didn’t know how I knew it, but I did. It was Dash’s, and Jasper was just the current occupant. I could fix it, but not with sweet baby Owen around. What needed to be done not only was loud, but it would include a massive amount of dust and fumes.
If he was my omega, I’d insist he stay and relax while I fixed things up. But he wasn’t my omega.
Mine.
My tiger didn’t understand. What was meant to be was meant to be, in his mind. Done. If only that was the case.
Standing there, not wanting to leave him, either of them, but knowing anything else would be pushy, I asked Hayden to walk me out. Travis growled—Hayden smacked him—Jasper giggled.
What a glorious sound. I needed to add Make Jasper Giggle to my daily to-do list.
“Thanks for honoring me with holding your little man.” It was like a punch in the gut, saying he was Jasper’s and not ours. I knew this was going to be challenging, but when little things like possessive pronouns hurt, the depth of pain became apparent.
It was worth it. Anything to make Jasper’s life better was worth it.
We held the young.
My tiger flashed an image of little Owen as he held my finger. Blasted beast was right. That had meant something. More than something. It meant everything.
Jasper trusted me. Not completely. Not even close. But he trusted me with his young, and knowing he did was overwhelmingly powerful.
“Thanks for letting me take a shower.” His face blushed a deep red before he looked down at his son.
Something had changed. It wasn’t huge, but it was there. And I held on to it as a beacon of hope like nobody’s business.
“In our clan, omegas and mothers are taken care of after birth.”
His eyes bugged open. Crap, he thought I meant something not what I was trying to say, not that I even had an inkling what I was trying to say.
“No. No, I mean like since you live alone and—”
“What the tiger is saying is you will stay with us until you are both healed and rested.” Hayden stepped closer to the bed, Jasper shaking his head no.
“Jasper.” Travis’s darn alpha power pounded into me, and I wasn’t pack. It wasn’t painful but was a clear indication whatever he said next was law. “You will stay with us.” He signaled the door with his head, and I followed him out, not chancing his disapproval for the half idea I had brewing in my head. I gave a wave and a shrug and headed out, shutting the door behind me softly so as not to wake the sweet babe.
“If your tiger is in that much turmoil over a mated male near Jasper, you need to do everyone a favor and leave while he heals,” Travis finally spoke as we got out of earshot of the cabin. Not that Jasper would be listening. He had a babe to coddle and adore, one he’d waited for so long.
“Not why I asked,” I reassured, though it was an added bonus he was no longer near my omega. “I was asking because Jasper needs his own place.”
“Watch your tongue, tiger. Our pack takes care of their own, and he has a cabin.”
“No.” I shook my head, trying to form the words to express what I meant without pissing off the alpha any further. “I meant right now, it is Dash’s.” Saying his name had me wanting to vomit. “It needs to not hold all the memories.”
“You wish us to move him?” This time he quirked his head to the side. Why couldn’t I form a coherent explanation? Why?
Because Jasper had my mind, my senses, and my tiger all in a tizzy.
“I want to bring a crew in and redo the floors, the walls, heck the curtains—all of it while he stays with you, so when he comes home, it is ready for both of them for a completely new start.” One where he no longer flinched at shadows, which I’d witnessed twice already. The horrors he’d lived through no omega should ever know.
“He has a pack.”
“And they can help.” Because giving the project over to anyone else wasn’t working for me.
“I’ll talk to Hayden tonight. We can figure out a small crew to box up things and put them in storage.”
I wanted to buy him all new. I would, too, but getting rid of his things without asking first would never win me a place in his life—not that I wanted to win it. It wasn’t a game. But I sure as shit planned to earn it. He deserved everything and so much more.
“I plan to buy all new, but storage is prudent.”
The alpha nodded.
“Umm, Travis?”
“Yes, tiger.” Great he was amused again, Mr. Smirking Alpha.
“What colors does he like?” Something I should’ve known. I knew so little about him. The reality of my ignorance hit hard.
“Conrad.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “All will work out. I knew Hayden was mine—or my wolf did at least—the first time I saw him. My human side was dense and needed some time to catch up. He is yours and you are his. The rest is just details.”
“Details and healing.” I sighed. So much healing. But he was strong. Stronger than anyone else I’d ever met.
“He loves all things retro—like make-you-nauseous-teal stoves and crap. He was watching one of those house-flipping shows with Hayden a while back and was mortified the new owners were going to gut and modernize the retro kitchen it had been sporting.”
I could work with that.
“And those floors, I forget what they are called, but they are made with small pieces of wood all fit together.”
“Parquet?”
“Sounds about right. He thinks they are elegant yet homey. Did I mention he likes watching home shows?”
“I’m beginning to see that. I’m going to try and arrange all things. Do you think we can start the day after tomorrow?” As much as I wanted to be there for all parts, the packing was too personal for me to be a part of. Anything that might make him uncomfortable was a no-go on my part, even if it sucked. I had a lot to plan for anyway, so the time wouldn’t be wasted.
“Consider it done. And, Conrad, be patient. It will take time. Jasper hid things too perfectly, and both my father and I missed the cues we should’ve seen. It went on too long.”
It broke my heart to listen to his guilt-riddled voice.
“You did the best you could, alpha. That’s all any of us can ever do.”
I only hoped the best I could was what Jasper needed.