Page 133 of The Other Omega

The work on the Residence was finished, though a scuff beside the sitting-room door still showed where they’d brought the enormous sofa back. One morning, Livia caught me trying to rub it off, handed me a cloth, and showed me what to use. Her cleaners worked around the officers coming and going, and I was beginning to know who preferred a quiet greeting and who would stop to tell me about their children.

I spent part of most afternoons in the kitchen or the garden. I baked something almost every day, and Gilda was now a pizza fan. Ada seemed obsessed with cinnamon rolls, and Titus, the head gardener, had ordered the trees we would use to create something special for Lucien.

Eira tracked my mates’ changing schedules, doing her best to make sure we still had breakfast together, even when only two of us sat at the table. I settled on a different mate’s lap each morning, choosing from whoever was there and sharing my fruit between my own bites. Leon learned to pause when I lifted a piece toward his mouth, while Darius moved my cup closer so I didn’t have to lean across his plate.

The rest of the time, I filled Team Stormforge with pictures, questions and plans. My latest list was:

Elowen: Ten things we need to do before we’ve been mated for a year

I refused to change the title even though the note I sent had fourteen entries.

1 Go somewhere none of us has been before.

2 Have a picnic.

3 Learn to cook each other’s favourite meals.

4 Spend an entire day in the nest.

5 Go on a proper date.

6 Take a Pack picture where EVERYONE is smiling.

7 Find somewhere I can swim.

8 Celebrate everyone’s birthdays properly.

9 Let me plan an entire Pack day without anybody asking what I’m doing.

10 Dance together.

11 Have sex somewhere we’re definitely not supposed to.

12 Go away together for at least two nights.

13 Everyone has to choose one thing from their childhood to show me.

14 Find out whether five Alphas can fit in a bath with one Omega.

Elowen: This is a living document. Suggestions accepted.

Leon: I’ll arrange the photograph, sweetheart. You may choose the location.

Lucien answered nearly three hours later.

Lucien: I’ve kept several things from my childhood. You may see them when we next have an evening together, my darling.

Darius: For the day you wish to arrange, I’ll need the locations in advance. Eira may provide them privately if you wish to preserve the surprise.

Elowen: All right, you can have the locations. No guessing the activities.

Alaric: I’ll ask my secretaries to reserve a day for the Pack, my heart.

I read Alaric’s message twice before sending Eira a copy. If we were going to have a whole day together, I wanted her to know before anyone filled it with meetings.

By the time she messaged me that night, I’d showered and fallen asleep beside Darius. His arm was across me, and I had to slip one hand out from under it to read my pad.

Eira: Master Alaric’s final scheduled meeting has ended. He is completing a handover in the office. His secretary confirms you may join him.