It’d been a week and Chance still seemed so lost. He was like a ghost, haunting this house with his timid smiles and his wary glances; it was like he was here, but he wasn’t quite here at all. It made my chest ache with a sudden fierceness, because all I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and hug him until he was okay again.

But the broken look in his hazel eyes told me that he might never be okay again. I didn’t know what he’d been through, but I was smart enough to know that whatever it was, he’d suffered. Charlie told me once that Chance had gotten involved with a rough crowd. He’d worried endlessly about his brother, not knowing if Chance was safe or not. It was the not knowing that ate at him.

Regret was a bitter pill to swallow. I wished I’d stepped up and offered to help bring Chance home the first time Charlie brought it up. I wished that I would’ve grown a pair and saved the fox when I had the chance, before everything blew up around me. Before I lost the one person that truly mattered to me.

I couldn’t change the past, no matter how much I wanted to turn back time. Science had only come so far. All I could do now was be there for Chance. All I could do now was offer my kindness and my protection from the ghosts that haunted his every waking moment—because they did.

This is what Charlie would’ve wanted, so here I was.

Soren accepted him without any effort at all, offering gentle touches and kind reassurances to the other Omega. That was my brother in a nutshell—he was generous and too sweet for his own good, and I’d done my fair share of protecting him from unwanted advances from Alphas daring to stick their noses too close.

Now I had two Omegas to protect.

Dinner on a Friday night was a quiet affair, if you didn’t count Dresden finger-painting his highchair tray with ketchup and then tossing his plate onto the floor with a bout of raucous laughter. Soren had made hamburger macaroni—one of Charlie’s favorite dishes—and I didn’t miss the way Chance’s eyes brightened a little when we sat down to eat.

It was the little things.

Finishing up my plate, I grabbed a warm washcloth and began to wipe Dresden’s glorious artwork off the stained white plastic. After a quick rinse, I attacked his hands and face with the cloth. “You are a hot mess, kiddo.” I laughed. “Look at you. You’ve got ketchup in your hair! How the… No, I don’t wanna know.” I made a face and unsnapped his bib, then hefted him up out of the seat. He squirmed. “You need a bath.”

“I’ll do it,” Soren announced, holding out his hands, so I deposited the baby into his arms. He swung Dresden up over his shoulder, patting his diapered butt before adding, “But that means you get kitchen duty. Make sure you label the food in the Tupperware!”

“Yes, Mom,” I said with a wry grin. I met Chance’s gaze from across the table. He was fighting a smile of his own, it was so obvious, and when I winked at him, his cheeks turned pink. I cocked my head and nodded to the dishes. “You wanna help me clear the table?”

“Sure.” He shrugged a shoulder and stood, then began to help me with the dishes. We worked in silence, side-by-side in front of the kitchen sink, which was soon filled with suds. I washed, he rinsed and dried, and within fifteen minutes, everything was put away and the table wiped down.

When we finished, he hesitated in the doorway. “Um.”

“What?” I dried my hands off on the kitchen towel, then hung it over the oven door.

“I’m gonna go watch TV?” It was spoken like a question, which threw me for a loop. It was like he was waiting for instruction.

“Chance. You’re a guest here. You can do whatever you want. You don’t need my permission, okay?” He quickly nodded, biting down on his lip, but he didn’t move from that spot. My stomach knotted. Had he been a slave? I softened my tone. “You don’t owe me anything, okay? I want to help you any way I can. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I can’t imagine it was too kind…”

He didn’t meet my gaze, so I let it drop. I stretched my back with a low groan. “I’m gonna go see if Soren’s done in the bathroom. I need a shower.” With a smile, I breezed past him. I didn’t make it two steps before Dresden came thumping down the hall in nothing but a towel, giggling like crazy with a very wet Soren trailing behind him.

“I’ll clean up,” I told him.

“Thanks, bro, you’re the best. Be careful, it might be slippery!”

It was. I mopped up the soapy puddles with a couple of towels, then stepped into the tub and pulled the curtain shut. I took my time under the hot spray of the dual shower heads until I was sure I smelled good. I dried off, got dressed and piled the sopping wet towels in the hamper, then meandered towards the living room.

But I stopped in the hallway to watch the magic that was Chance and my son playing with cars. Chance was sprawled on his side on the play-mat, making honking noises whenever Dresden’s little red buggy zoomed past and cut off his path. Dresden squealed with laughter as the cars collided. Chance made an explosion sound and scattered the toys.

“Again! Again!” My heart squeezed, tight in a vice. Dresden seemed so happy. Charlie’s death had taken a toll on everyone. Many nights had been spent curled up on my son’s bed, comforting the pup as he cried for his Daddy, and damn if I didn’t cry too.

With Dresden, Chance was calm, not startling at every little movement, even though the little boy flailed his arms. When he spoke, his voice was soft and gentle. I didn’t miss the way he gazed at my son with a sort of sadness in his eyes. With longing. Like he had as many regrets as I did. Once again, it made me wonder what the hell happened to him.

At the center of my chest, I felt my wolf push against my skin and growl. He wanted to keep Chance safe as much as I did. Drawing in a deep breath, I walked out into the living room. Just as I expected, the minute he saw me, Chance went stiff and scrambled to sit up, every muscle in his body radiating with tension. I could smell his anxiety and it made me ache.

“Hey, it’s just me,” I murmured low. “C’mon. Let’s go take a walk.”

His eyes flashed wide. “A walk?”

I nodded. It took him a few moments, but he clambered to his feet and tugged his jeans back up from where they’d slipped off his bony hip. He offered a nervous smile, but I motioned for him to follow me.

He did.