Page 35 of A Nest of Maple & Mist

“At that point, I was just old enough for no one to want me.”

“Ty,” she whispered, pain straining her soft voice.

“I bounced from foster home to foster home until I aged out at eighteen. I worked as many hours as I could at the café, trying to scrape by. Then, I saw a job opportunity at Hawthorne Farms. And coming here was the best decision I ever made.”

When I showed up for the interview, my mouth went impossibly dry at the sight of Jason Hawthorne. Corded muscles swirled up his forearms, disappearing under his flannel.

I shoved every inappropriate image aside. He was an alpha—an Apex one at that—and he wasn’t interested in me.

How fucking wrong I had been.

Jason enjoyed taking care of me, loving me, and correcting me when I dared to think I didn’t deserve something. He stepped into a role I never knew I needed until I met him.

Something that I knew Mia needed as well.

A daddy.

I knew it, and so did Jason. But he’d take it slow with her. Just as he had with me. That man had so much restraint and patience. I had no idea how he did it.

Then there was Shane. Sweet, protective, misunderstood Shane. He closed himself off from everyone besides his pack. Despite what he’d been through, he showed me more love than I thought possible.

I still struggled to understand how two gorgeous, perfect alphas were content with someone like me—a beta. I couldn’t take their knots. Even though I begged many times for them to let me try. They refused. Not wanting to hurt me.

And now, this ball of sunshine sat in my lap, genuinely curious about me and my life. My brow furrowed as I tried to rationalize it. What had I done in my life to deserve this pack?

Mia might not have accepted it yet, but she belonged here, with us. I’d do everything in my power to show her. To cherish her. My mouth turned dry. I longed to kiss her soft lips, to leave them bruised and swollen until she forgot the world around us.

And selfishly, I hated the pitying look on her face.

“You’re wanted, Ty,” she whispered, scraping her nails along my scalp.

I blinked, something short-circuiting in the recesses of my mind. Without saying it, she deciphered my biggest insecurity from the few words I shared. My mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came.

If Jason and Shane hadn’t said those exact words to me a million times, I would have cried. Instead, my hand slid along her jaw, holding her face as my thumb stroked over the swell of her cheek.

“And you don’t have to do it alone anymore, Mia.”

THIRTEEN

MIA

“I’m not panicking.”

“You’re definitely panicking.”

I glared at the phone. The worn spot in the rug under my feet supported Fern’s claim. I’d been pacing back and forth all day. Ever since the note arrived with the morning coffee and breakfast outside my door.

Ty told me he was taking me on a proper courting date tonight, insisting that our heart to heart in the sugarshack hadn’t counted. When I texted him, he said to wear something fancy and he’d meet me in the living room at eight.

Fancy.

The prettiest thing I owned was the black dress I had worn to my parents’ funeral. It didn’t fit anymore. When I presented, my hips flared and my chest filled out. My poor lower lip turned raw until I finally gave in and called Fern, in the middle of an active doom spiral.

Part of me wished I didn’t have the next two days off from work so I’d have an excuse not to go. My omega released an impatient hiss, angry at the idea of me not spending time with the beautiful beta.

A series of raps banged on the door, and I swiveled to face the sound.

“Open up, Mia.”