Forever Yours

Chapter Fourteen

Ethan Williams

"I think you should apologize"

"I know, I will. I'm sorry E" Pop says, turning and leaning against the counter.

"Should've kept your thoughts to yourself" Uncle Xan grumbles, crossing his arms.

"I know, okay? I talked to Noah about it, and I see where I went wrong. I just worry, okay? My babies are about to have babies, and one of them is about to adopt kids with a mate he just got. It's a lot, and I don't feel like anyone is thinking things through" Pop says, he's flustered, but it won't change my mind.

Connor wants to adopt them, so we will.

"Just because they aren't doing things in a traditional way doesn't mean it's wrong," Uncle Xan adds.

"I didn't say it was wrong, just a little rushed. A lot rushed. Two kids? That's a lot to take on. And three pets? So much is happening in your household. Plus you have his sister to take care of. It's just a lot."

"Yeah but it's my life to handle, and to manage. I appreciate the concerns, but when you voice them in that way it's not healthy."

"Our son lecturing you on healthy communication? What a day" Dad says, coming into the kitchen. His hair is messy, like he just woke up. To be fair, it is like 8am.

"He's mad about what i said to Connor-"

"Rightfully so" Uncle Xan cuts in.

"I said I was going to apologize"

"The kid is fragile, and you just destroy more of him." Uncle Xan shakes his head. "That poor kid has gone through enough, Bran. Maybe if you spent more time with him you'd get to know him" Uncle Xan's voice is snappy, and he's upset. Connor and Xan have gotten pretty close lately.

"Okay. I'm sorry, I'll do better. Can we drop this now?" Dad kisses Pop on his forehead, but doesn't say anything.

"Just fix it Bran."

"He gets out of school at 2:30." I offer "We could do a dinner here?"

"Okay. I'd love that. I'll see if Willow is free too."

"Okay. I gotta go do my alpha duties now. And see how the mom is holding up" i push to a stand, stretching. "Love you guys" i murmur, before heading out.

—-

"I'm so sorry. She flatlined an hour ago. We pronounced her dead at 11:35" The doctor that was overlooking the kids mom says. She's about my parents' age, and she's been here for a long time.

"Thank you" I nod, and let out a heavy breath. This woman came here to be safe, but she was too late.

At least we can keep her children safe.

The kids are in the daycare center, and I have a lot of work to do today. So I suppose we will wait to tell them the news. I can't imagine what it would be like to hear you lost your parents. My heart breaks for them. I wish there was more we could do, but all we can do now is support and love them.

I hope that's enough.

—-

"She passed?" Connor chews his lip, his eyes glossing over.

"I'm sorry. Yeah she's gone. We have to tell the kids now though, and be there for them. I just don't know what to do honestly"

"I lost my dad a couple years back. I can try to talk to them about it"

"Yeah, okay" I nod. "We should get them now and tell them. How do we even do that?"

"I'm not sure. But we need to sit them down and just lay it all out, honestly. I don't know how else to do it" Connor is chewing his lip raw at this point. I nod, because I don't know how else to do it either.

My hand slips down to his thigh, and I squeeze. Then Connors hands are gripping mine, and he's holding tight. And he does the whole ride back to the pack house.

We collect the kids, and Connor carries the girl to our suite with the boy holding his hand. I let the daycare people know they will be coming regularly now, and that they will be ours from here on out.

Then I'm taking the stairs two at a time. By the time I get to the suite, Connor has the little girl and boy sitting on the couch.

"Where's momma?" the little boy finally asks. It's like he can sense what's about to happen.

"We gotta talk to you guys about momma" I say softly, crouching down in front of them. "Momma won't be around anymore. She went to live with the moon goddess now. "My voice is gentle, and I give a sad smile.

The boy's eyes water, and he nods. The girl just stares at us.

"Z-zach" the boy murmurs. "I'm Zach" his voice is sad, and he stares at his hands.

"S-she's Ana" my heart breaks at how sad his voice is. "We-we can't go back to dad. H-he not safe" his big brown eyes find me. "Please"

"How would you feel about living here? With us?" Connor asks, rubbing Ana's back as he stares at Zach.

"Like forever?" his little voice wobbles.

"Yeah, forever"

"Okay" he nods. Ana claps, and clings to Connor. I'm not sure she knows what's going on.

"How old are you guys?" Connor asks.

"Five" he points to himself, "2" He points to his sister. Zach throws himself into me, and I catch his little body holding him. "Keep us safe?"

"We will keep you safe, buddy" I murmur, holding his small body as close to me as I can. Ana giggles, and throws herself at me next, and I catch her. Connor has tears in his eyes, and he's staring at us.

"Come here, Pretty Boy" I yank Connor over, and he falls into us, knocking us down.

"We stay here" Zach tells his sister.

"Wif the kitties?!" she gasps, and stares at us.

"Wif the kitties" he nods. This little boy is so grown for his age, it makes me wonder what they went through before.

"We're gonna have dinner at my parents house tonight, which will be your grandparents. Is that okay?" I ask, and Zach nods.

"We be good"

"You be yourself, that's all we ask" Connor says, ruffling his hair.

"I be" Ana smiles. She has short blonde hair, and matching brown eyes to Zach. They had bruises all over their bodies when we first brought them in. Now they're practically healed.

"Come on, let's get changed and get some toys together. Maybe E will let us blow some moneyyy on toys" Connor says, and that catches both the kids' attention.

"After we go to my parents, we can go to the store. We need some more clothes and stuff too anyways "I smile, and scoop up the kiddos.

I kiss both their heads, then set them down and they race off.

"I hate to say this, but we need a bigger place. They need their own room, and my sister does too. We need a bigger place than this"

"My parents moved out of the pack house. It's not mandatory to stay here. We can look at some house options and see what's available?"

"This is all going so fast-"

"Or we can wait"

"It feels right to me though. I'm kind of impulsive, and I do these things and normally I'm alone doing them. I don't want to trap you in this life if you don't want it"

"I want whatever you want, Connor. I've felt this strong for so long. It's a lot, and it's not traditional. But I don't think we are. So I think it's perfect for us. It's fitting"

"Yeah" he nods "I think so too" 

........

A family dinner? I bet that's gonna be so overwhelming for Connor. What do you think?

They're officially adopting the kids! Wow. They definitely are rushing things. We're gonna have to see a lot more into Connor's mind to understand. 

Thoughts??

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