Page 153 of The Other Omega

Lucien watched me. “My darling, you haven't left the residence in a month.” His voice softened. “Is it because you're frightened? You would have all five of us with you, along with your security detail. No one would be permitted near you.”

I shook my head and moved my hand over my stomach. “It isn't safe out there. It's safe here.” Even saying it eased some of the pressure in my chest. “We stay here.”

Lucien's gaze dropped briefly to my hand over the babies before he exchanged a glance with Alaric.

“My heart, I want you to understand that you're free to leave the residence whenever you wish,” Alaric said. “You would have two security teams at your side, with additional operatives positioned nearby. We would take every precaution necessary to keep you and our daughters safe.” His expression softened. “But if you wish to remain at home, we won't press the matter.”

“Home,” I repeated softly. “I want to stay home.”

Alaric inclined his head. “Then that is where you shall remain.”

Nobody brought it up again, and honestly, I already had everything I needed here. I knew everyone around me, the food was safe, and nobody would get anywhere near me without Darius knowing. If I wanted to sit outside, I had the garden, and I’d even claimed a tree.

I hadn’t actually told anyone it was mine, but I’d spent so much time sitting beneath it that everyone seemed to have accepted it anyway. My mates definitely had, because one afternoon I went outside and found a huge daybed underneath it, right in the shade. Obviously, I covered the whole thing in blankets and cushions until I had a little outdoor nest, and nobody questioned that either.

The garden was built into the side of the mountain beneath a huge glass dome. Special lights above it mimicked spring sunshine, but I could still see the real sky through the glass. They kept the temperature comfortable too, so once I was lying under the trees with grass and flowers around me, it was easy to forget that most of our home was actually inside a mountain.

I spent a lot of time asleep out there, usually with one cushion under my head, another under my increasingly enormous belly, and enough blankets to make the daybed look like I’d moved in permanently. More than once, I woke up and found one of my mates sitting there with me, usually Leon. Once it was Darius, sitting on the edge of the nest, a pad in one hand and the other resting on my ankle. He told me he’d only been there for ten minutes, but Eira later told me it had been almost two hours.

Today we were sitting at the new outdoor dining table on cushioned benches at my favourite picnic spot. I’d only mentioned once that it would be nice to have a proper place to eat outside, and by the next afternoon the whole thing had appeared. It was under the trees, close enough to my daybed that I didn’t have far to waddle, and big enough for all six of us.

At this point, I was fairly sure I could casually say I wanted a fountain and wake up the next morning to find Leon had ordered one, Caius had decided where it could safely go, Lucien had investigated whoever was building it, and Alaric had somehow got all the necessary approval before breakfast.

I moved slightly against the cushions and rested a hand on my stomach. Five pairs of eyes turned towards me.

“Are you comfortable, sweetheart?” Leon asked.

“Yes.” I smiled.

“Any pain?” Caius asked.

“No.”

Darius's gaze dropped to my stomach. “Pressure?”

“No.”

“Would you like another cushion?” Lucien asked.

“No, thank you, darling.” Alaric was still watching me, so I added, “Nothing's wrong.”

They all relaxed a little, and I felt some of it through the bonds. They were good at keeping things from me that way. Very good, actually. But I was getting better at noticing when something slipped through, especially from Leon. Poor Leo was nowhere near as good at keeping his bond closed as the others, although I couldn’t really judge him. Mine was open all the time, and I still found the idea that I could simply decide not to let my feelings reach them a bit strange.

I felt guilty about how much they worried, and even guiltier because I secretly loved the fussing. Very secretly.

They were genuinely worried about me and the babies, and there I was enjoying the fact that five very capable Alphas couldn’t watch me move slightly in my seat without checking whether I needed a doctor. I couldn’t help it. Nobody had ever cared about every tiny thing before—whether I was comfortable, whether I’d eaten, whether I was tired or whether I needed another cushion. Half the time I didn’t need anything at all, but it was still lovely knowing that if I did, five people would probably trip over each other trying to get it for me.

I reached across the table and touched Leon's hand. “I'm okay, sweetheart. I promise.”

His fingers closed around mine. “Very well.”

Two months ago, we’d discovered I was carrying the first twins born to an Omega in more than three centuries, during a pregnancy nobody properly understood. If it had been one of them, I probably would’ve panicked every time he sneezed.

All five of them were home all day, which hardly ever happened. Alaric worked almost every day and could still disappear at any hour if the Army needed him. Caius was even worse because his absences were unpredictable and I was told almost nothing about them. Lucien could sometimes work from home, but whenever he did, I usually ended up finding him in the office eventually.

The last time, I’d gone in with Eira and Ada behind me, both carrying far too many cushions and blankets.

“Elowen, be careful,” Eira whispered. “Lift the blanket a little higher, or you may trip.”