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“BY THROWING YOUR LIFE AWAY IN A GROTESQUE DISPLAY OF REBELLION.”

“Throwing my life away?” I glanced down at Delaney, who was quietly observing the melee. “My life began the moment I met Delaney.” I raised my eyes to look at my father. “He gives me hope and purpose. He helps me to see that it’s okay to be myself because the right person will accept me for who I am and not what I am. How is that throwing away my life when he adds to it?”

“As an alpha your inherent God given right is to—”

“No,” Delaney interrupted softly, so softly that I almost didn’t hear him. “No,” he stated again, this time louder as pushed back from the table, rising to stand alongside me. “There isn’t some sentient, omniscient being in the sky that decides, based on some stupid and unrealistic merit, our ‘right’. And if there is, you”— he pointed at my father—“aren’t it. You don’t get to force what you want onto your son. Either of them. It’s Eli’s life to live and if you still want to be a part of it, which is more than kind enough if he allows it, you need to let him make his choices. Even if—one might be a mistake.”

My chest tightened at his words. “You’re not a mistake, Laney.”

“Please.” He rolled his eyes. “I know that. Your wardrobe is, though. I’ve never seen so many color block shirts in one closet in my life.”

I stared at my chosen mate, my life partner, and snorted. Covering my mouth was pointless. A loud laugh spilled between my fingers. Delaney’s giggle, on the other hand, was more dignified. Despite this being anything but the appropriate moment, I couldn’t help myself. “Maybe the timing is awful—,”

“I swear to god Elias—,”

“—and it probably is but—,”

“—if you—,”

“Don't interrupt me, okay?” I asked, taking Delaney’s hand in mine. When he nodded, I repeated his words from the day before, “I need you to promise me.”

“Okay… I promise.”

“I am madly in love with you, Delaney Richardson. Being with you is equivalent to the first thaw in spring. I didn’t know I was freezing or that I craved the sunlight, until everything else around me began to warm underneath your touch. And maybe it’s selfish of me to take that away from the rest of the world, but I so desperately want to.”

Delaney inhaled deeply before replying. “If you’re trying to propose to me in the middle of destroying your family with the news of our mating, I don’t accept.” My father breathed a sigh of relief but was immediately gagged when he clarified. “You can do better.”

I took his face in my hands, kissing him deeply. When I pulled away, I rested my forehead against his, my smile wide. “You’re absolutely right, baby. I can.” Turning to face my father, brother, and an inconsolable Taylor, I announced my departure. “I guess we need to go ring shopping. Tell Mother I said thank you for a wonderful evening.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Icouldn’t help but stare at the ring sitting on my left hand. It was a simple gold band, like I wanted, with the day we first met engraved on the inside. I was a little hesitant to wear it out of the house, but the way Eli’s eyes lit up whenever he saw the flash of gold was enough to push aside any concerns I had about what others would think. I smiled fondly at the band, elated as I thought about how lucky I was to be engaged to someone like him; someone so kind, gentle, loving, funny, handsome…

I sighed softly as I ran my finger along the band. Our engagement wasn’t a huge ordeal and honestly, that was what I wanted. We had dinner at Eli’s restaurant and the next morning in bed, I woke up to breakfast and him beside me, hand trembling as he held out a ring box and expressed how his life changed for the better when we met.

But little did he know just how much he changed my life. My world was so dark prior to meeting him. I was lonely, constantly chasing after what I believed to be love. Now that I had Eli, I knew what it felt like to truly love and be loved. Foolishly, I had hope. And it was that hope that led me to suggest…

“I think we should try.”

Eli was at the stove, preoccupied with preparing dinner. “Try what?”

I’d given this a lot of thought and done extensive research. There were a handful of cases of omegas with a similar medical condition that were able to conceive once they bonded with their mate. Due to Eli being a dominant alpha, I believed that would increase our chances. There was a part of me that believed this was a fool’s errand, but who knew… just maybe…

“To… get pregnant…” I hesitantly answered, trailing off and waiting with bated breath for him to remind me that I was empty, barren, broken, incapable of—

“Okay,” Eli answered. He turned to face me, a timid smile curling the corner of his lip and brightening his face. “If that’s what you want, I’m willing to try.”

“What do you want?” I questioned from my seat at the table. Eli turned the flame down and washed his hands before joining me. He held my hand, the pad of his thumb brushing along the precious metal on my ring finger.

“I would love to have a child with you, Laney. It makes my heart incredibly happy to know that you want me to be the father of your children. I would also love it if we spent our lives together, traveling and seeing the world like we’ve talked about.”

I couldn’t keep the pout of my voice. “That’s not a firm yes. You sound as if you’re on the fence.”

“I’m not on the fence about you, love. It’s hard to find the right words to say here but just understand that I'm fine either way, like I’ve said.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s more important to me that you’re fine.”

I grabbed him by the collar, pulling him in for a kiss. When we pulled apart, I backtracked. “We don’t have to. I just thought that now that we’ve mated—”

Eli tenderly cupped my face. “I would go to hell and back for you, Delaney Richardson-Bordeaux. Anything you asked of me, no matter the cost, would be yours. I am eternally yours, which means I’m not going anywhere if you still can’t—”