Come Home

Chapter 57

Alice woke up to a soft breeze caressing her face. She slowly opened her eyes to see the window opened and her sheer curtains blowing softly. Rolling from her side to her back she let out a groan as her body ached. Running her fingers through her hair, she hissed as her hair got caught on something.

Pulling her hand free she gasped at the silver ring on her left finger. It was a celtic band and there was a simple chain bracelet fastened by a heart shaped lock on her wrist. Getting out of bed she went to the bathroom and gasped as there was a simple silver chain hanging from her neck with an Ethiopian opal heart hanging from it. Taking a good guess, it was fastened by a lock as well. Looking down, she had a matching anklet to her bracelet wrapped around her ankle as well.

(Pictures found on Pinterest)

"Hey, you're awake."

She turned to see Jackson standing in the doorway. "My King."

"Sugar," he smiled as he walked over to her. "So beautiful," he whispered as he cupped her cheek.

Feeling something cold against her skin she pulled back to see a matching celtic band on his left finger. "You..."

"All of us," he nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," she whispered honestly.

"About what?" He asked as he stepped back to start a bath for her.

"Everything," she watched him as her mind replayed the night before. "Did you–"

"After I went down on Owen?" He smirked and she nodded. "Yes, once he caught his breath we continued. Everyone finished, Cub, and everyone agreed it was better than before now that you are home where you belong. Now let's get you in the tub so you can relax that sexy body of yours."

She hummed in agreement as he picked her up and gently sat her in the bubble bath. She gasped as the hot water started to work its magic on her muscles.

"How?" she whispered after a few moments of silence.

"We'll keep as we are," he answered honestly. "Just taking it one day at a time, but now with the understanding that you are it for us, Alice. You are our queen, our wife, our heart, our life."

"And you and Jasper are okay with this?"

"Yes," he said instantly. "Those years you were gone, we tried to leave but it didn't feel right. Ever since you told us about them we knew there was always the possibility of joining them. You can never forget your first loves and we knew that. It was hard at first after you left but we also had a feeling you would come back eventually so we stayed and figured out how to work together. The first year we weren't together but over time we started to blend together and form our family. The only thing missing was you. When you came back it just reinforced that that was where we belonged. We were meant to be there with them to be there for you. As Jasper likes to say–"

"Everything happens for a reason," she whispered back.

"Exactly," he said as he kissed her ring. "I'm so sorry we hurt you, Sugar."

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she whispered back. "And I ran."

"We understand," he smiled softly, "we really do. But no more running, okay?"

"I don't want to," she shook her head. "Promise."

"Hey, breakfast is...fuck," Luke's breath left him as his eyes fell on Alice in the bath covered in bubbles.

"We'll be right there," Jackson chuckled.

Luke walked over to her, fell to his knees and kissed her. She giggled and kissed him back. "Chocolate chip pancakes?"

His eyes lit up as he chuckled, "You know it, Cupcake."

"Okay, be right there," she murmured as her eyes fell to the ring on his hand, making her smile grow even bigger at the sight of it.

He smirked and nodded, "I'll tell Gabe you're in the bath and about ready to get out."

She nodded as he kissed Jackson then left the room. "One day at a time, Sugar," Jackson said as he watched the mixed emotions cross her eyes. She smiled and nodded as she stood. He rinsed her off then wrapped a fluffy towel around her before picking her up. "I'll give you a few moments, need to make sure they don't overload your plate."

She smiled at the black leggings and her favorite Queen band shirt laying on the bed with some fuzzy socks next to the outfit. She dressed then picked up her brush and hair tie before grabbing her Jack horse stuffed animal as well.

Entering the dining room, happiness filled her as Gabe took the brush from her and instantly went to work. "Morning, Darling," Owen said as he kissed her forehead before sitting down with his cup of coffee. "Your pony is running the field causing chaos as usual."

She internally sighed as everyone went about their business like normal. "Sounds like he's just having some fun."

"Driving Justin crazy," Nathan chuckled.

She shrugged, "Just making sure he's staying on top of everything."

"Well the farrier will be here in an hour," Axel said as he pushed his plate away, "he will need your help."

She nodded and hugged the black horse stuffed animal closer to her. "Everything okay, Cub?" Jackson asked as he watched her closely.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Just need him close to me."

"Okay," he nodded. "Understandable."

"How about you just rest today after that?" Sean asked. "Your body and mind needs time to adjust."

She opened her mouth to protest then shut it and nodded, "Okay."

"Thank you for being a good girl," Gabe said into her ear as he finished braiding her hair. She smiled as he kissed her head then went to put her brush up.

She watched as they finished eating then went about their business. She spent most of the day on the couch watching TV and relaxing with them stopping in every so often to give her kisses but she really knew that they were checking up on her and looking for any signs of her dropping.

That night while they were watching a movie together a tear slipped down her cheek.

"What's wrong, Meine Liebe?" Jasper asked when he noticed.

Corey paused the video as everyone turned to look at her. She shook her head and smiled as she wiped the tear away. "I just realized that Oma knew what she was doing when she created that stipulation for us. She knew all along that I would just need that push to face reality. No matter how much I tried to run from the pain, I couldn't run forever. I had to go through those hardships and pain to really learn how powerful love is. I finally have my happily ever after and all it took was for me to come home."