CHAPTER 55

 Beatrice’s POV

The second after I opened the front door I hardly had time to breathe before being attacked by three forces of nature; Sarah told me something about aunty Silvia. I suppose she had already taken them home.

"Mommy!"

"You're finally back!"

"You were gone forever!"

I stumbled a little but managed to keep standing as Caleb, Cooper and Charlotte all wrapped around me like overexcited puppies. I laughed, the tension of the past few days evaporating as I hugged them back.

“I missed you guys too,” I said, tousling Cooper’s hair then hitting Charlotte’s forehead with a kiss. I gripped Caleb’s arm, warmth spreading in my chest. But “it’s not that long ago.”

Charlotte recoiled, her lips retreating into a theatrical pout. "It has! You were gone for days, and you hardly called us!”

Cooper huffed, his arms crossed. "Yeah! And do you know how boring it is without you? There was no one to adjudicate our beefs.”

Caleb smirked. "Not true. I settled them my way."

Charlotte shifted to look at him, her eyes narrowing. “By saying that you were always correct?”

"Well…" Caleb shrugged. "I was right."

Charlotte gasped in indignant disbelief and slapped Caleb’s arm, making him chuckle.

My head shook as I struggled to mask my amusement. Some things never changed. The familiar heat of home embraced me as if I were wrapped in a blanket and for the first time in days, truly at peace.

But their words also put guilt in my chest. I had been so wrapped up in my conflicting feelings for Xander, in the storm of emotions I didn’t know how to talk about, that I hadn’t considered how far my siblings had missed me.

I sighed gently and gazed at them fondly. “I’m honestly so sorry, you guys,” I said. “I didn’t intend to make you feel lonely. I will make it up to you, I promise.”

Caleb smiled, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "You promise?"

Cooper smiled, clearly already plotting. "Good. Because we had already made plans.”

A Night to Remember

Charlotte was bouncing on her toes, practically vibrating with energy. “Game night, movie night, and —

"Ice cream for dinner!" Caleb concluded, smiling like a child who just hit the lottery.

I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms. "Ice cream for dinner?"

Cooper nodded, deadpan serious. "It’s a limited-time offer. One night only."

I shook my head, sighed in exaggerated resignation. "Fine. But only for tonight."

The triplets yelled with jubilation, and I couldn’t help but smile through my mock reluctance; they were all so happy. Before I had even set my bags down, they latched onto my hands and pulled me toward the kitchen, their giggles echoing through the house.

I allowed them to guide me, laughing as we lolloped into the kitchen, a tangle of human limbs jostling.

This—this was home.

The kitchen lights cast a warm glow on the marble countertops, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon still faintly wafting from whatever Charlotte had baked earlier. Within minutes, the triplets were plundering the freezer and pulling out as many pints of ice cream as they could find.

“Okay, let’s see what we got,” Cooper said, placing the tubs onto the counter. “Chocolate fudge, cookies and cream, caramel swirl, mint chocolate chip —

“I mean, who even bought mint chocolate chip?” Charlotte wrinkled her nose. "It tastes like toothpaste."

Caleb gasped dramatically. "You take that back!"

“Nope,” she said with a smirk.

"You have no taste."

"And you have too much taste. Your favorites change week to week.”

I laughed, watching them argue as if they were five years old again. Some things never changed.

“Okay, okay,” I interrupted, before they could escalate the argument into a of full-blown ice-cream war. “It’s going to be a little bit of everything, and no one has to eat anything that they don’t want to.”

Charlotte and Caleb shot each other playful glares before they both sighed. "Fine."

We scooped up different flavors into bowls and piled on silly toppings — whipped cream with sprinkles, crushed cookies and pretzels. It was just childish enough, perfectly unhealthy, and absolutely delightful.

As we gathered around the kitchen island and attacked the ice cream, the conversation descended into meaningless.

“The time Bea tried to bake cookies and almost burned down the kitchen?” Caleb teased, licking his spoon.

I groaned. "That was years ago!"

“And yet it’s still what we’re talking about,” Cooper said, smirking.

Charlotte giggled. “There’s the small matter that you confused salt and sugar.”

"It was an honest mistake!"

“Tell that to our traumatized taste buds.”

I rolled my eyes, but a warmth spread in my chest. What I had missed was the late-night nonsense, the playful teasing, the sense of being whole that came with being with them.

By the time our ice cream bowls were cleared, our bellies ached from laughter.

“Okay,” Cooper said, raising his arms above his head. "Movie night. What are we watching?"

Charlotte gasped. "Romance!"

Caleb groaned. "No. Absolutely not."

"Come on!" She put her hands together. "Just one?"

“Nope,” Caleb said, shaking his head. "We’re watching action."

"Or horror," Cooper added. "Something exciting."

I chuckled as they began to bicker again, leaning back in my chair and watching them, smiling fondly.

This—this was home.

And no matter what might have been happening beyond these walls, as long as I had them, I would always belong.

As usual, dinner was chaotic with the triplets.

Caleb and Cooper started going at each other about whether superheroes were stronger than werewolves while Charlotte rolled her eyes at them and ignored them in between bites of her food.

“I’m telling you,” Caleb said, thrusting his fork through the air for emphasis. “A werewolf in full alpha mode could definitely take out a superhero.

“But what if the superhero had laser eyes? Cooper countered. "What then?"

Charlotte let out another groan, stabbing at a chunk of food vehemently. “Do we really need to reiterate this? Just tell them werewolves are stronger so we can eat in peace, Bea."

I smiled, sipping my drink slowly just to savor the moment. “Well,” I said, “I do think a werewolf would win.”

Caleb whooped, while Cooper moaned.

"But—" I smirked. “Unless the superhero isn’t a fire user. Werewolves hate fire."

Caleb’s face fell. "Wait—"

Cooper perked up. "Ha! So I was right!"

Caleb let out a theatrical groan as if to collapse again on the table; I chuckled.

Through all the chaos, through all the noise and endless debating, this was my favorite kind of moment — simple, joyful and brimming with love.

We retired to the living room for game night after dinner.

Charlotte was setting up a board game, while Caleb and Cooper whisper-huddled in the corner, I sat on the floor in front of her cross-legged.

“I see the two of you hatching a plot,” I said teasingly.

Cooper feigned innocence. "Who, us? We would never cheat."

Caleb smirked. "Not on purpose, anyway."

Charlotte huffed. “If so, I’ll tell Beatrice.”

I rolled my eyes. "Please. I always catch them."

The games started, and before long, the room echoed with laughter, groans over defeat and Cooper dramatically accusing everyone of “conspiring against him.”

"Face it, Cooper," I teased. “You’ve just got bad luck.”

"I don’t! “You’re just too good at this game, you guys,” I huffed, crossing my arms and leaning back against the couch.

Charlotte giggled, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “Or perhaps you’re just no good at it.”

Cooper feigned dramatic gasps, clutching his chest. "Betrayed by my own sister. Unbelievable."

“Face it, Coop,” Caleb said with a smirk. “You just have really bad luck.”

We played deep into the night, alternating board games with absurd card complications. There were so many chuckles, mocking banter and groans of anger when a person lost, I almost forgot I was a text. It’d been a long time since I’d felt this light, this unburdened.

For a few hours, I wasn’t Beatrice Emberlyn, the omega with a past she never escaped. I wasn’t the woman who was constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting to be betrayed again.

But as the excitement started to subside and we lay sprawled on the floor, chatting about nothing in particular, Caleb piped up.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?" I was lying on the rug, with my head on the couch, limbs heavy with fatigue but heart full.

Caleb grinned, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Do you like Emm. Someone named Xander?"

I froze in the middle of gulping my drink — only to immediately choke.

Charlotte gasped. "Mommy! Are you okay?"

I coughed and then set my drink down as my face turned red. "W-What?"

Cooper smirked. "He means, do you like him? You’ve been spending a lot of time together lately.”

My face felt hotter, if that was possible. "I—he’s my boss! That’s all."

Caleb snorted, obviously not buying it. "Yeah, right. You never mention him, but when you do, you kind of get weird and flustered.

Charlotte straightened, her eyes glimmering with excitement. "Oh my gosh. You are flustered!"