“I’ll be fine when Greg gets back with some food.” But suddenly the idea of food makes my stomach do a backflip, and I have to swallow repeatedly to keep from having to scramble on my weak knees back to the bathroom.
He goes over to my mini fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. I need to ask him if they want that for their room when I leave. There’s not much point in taking it with me when theirs is so old and makes funny noises all the time. He passes the cool drink to me and I press it against my face while he continues to stare at me. After a few moments, he pulls out his phone and types something across the screen before shoving it back into his pocket.
“Did you already pack all your blankets and pillows?” I nod at the random question; everything but the two pillows and blankets we used on my now very bare nest last night are stuffed away in bags or boxes. He nods in reply and sits on the other end of the couch. “Ok, well, we’re just gonna hang out till Greg gets back. In case you need any help back to the bathroom or anything.” His eyebrows scrunch together while we sit in silence.
“Not worried about germs now?” My throat feels raw, but he’s acting squirrelly as fuck, so I need to know.
“I’m…not sure you’re sick, but let’s wait for Greg.” Adam pulls out his phone again and scrolls across the screen before stuffing it back in his pocket. “He should be back in a minute; he had to make a quick detour.” Lily watches us from the floor and I wonder why the hell he’s messaging my beta. I’m not jealous or anything, just confused. The stupid swirling in my head isn’t helping.
Greg walks in about ten minutes later, murmuring a quick thanks to Adam, who immediately gets up and goes over to Lily. He touches her on the shoulder, and she looks up, smiling at him before standing up. He leans in, murmuring quietly to her, and she turns to look at me on their way out the door. Just what the suspicious fuck is going on around here?
My beta settles in beside me. “Hey, I’m gonna get you fed here in a minute, but…um…have you gone to the bathroom yet this morning?” That seems fucking random, but I still shake my head. He nods, as if he figured as much. He was there when I landed after barfing, and I haven’t exactly felt like moving a lot since. “Ok…um…good. These things are best at detecting early when you use your first…um…let me help you to the toilet.”
Well, this is embarrassing.
For him.
I don’t know…
My eyes latch on the little pink box in his hand, and I feel my gorge rise as I scramble back to the bathroom again. That can’t be fucking right. Sure, I’m not on birth control, but Doc said I would have a hard time having kids, so there’s just no fucking way I could—
Only bile comes up this time, and my head feels like it weighs a ton. I want kids, I mean, I’ve always wanted a family, but it was just one of those things I was told I couldn’t have. Never going to have a pack, never going to have kids, probably grow old ina house full of rabbits or cats or cabbits or some shit, smacking people with a walker and shouting to get off my lawn.
Greg helps me up and watches to make sure I’m not going to fall over and knock my brains out on the sink. Not that I want him in here with me when I’m pissing in a cup, but I still love it when he’s protective.
Making sure I’m stable, he leaves, but doesn’t close the door all the way. I can’t unclench until I hear him in the living room talking to Shaggy about breakfast.
The whole process takes less than three minutes between catch, dip, dump, and washing my hands. I’m about to call out to him to set a timer on his phone, but there’s no point…the stupid pink lines started to show up as soon as liquid moves across the strip.
Well…fuck.
I’m pretty sure I’m gonna need to start cussing less…sometime in the next year or two, anyway.
Chapter 97
Sarah threw up again when she smelled the scrambled eggs. So that’s a no. I swap her out with my waffle since the syrup hasn’t been added yet, and I figure it might be easier on her stomach since it’s just bread. She’s keeping it down, but she’s also curled up on the couch in what’s left of her nest blankets right now. The guys should be here soon, so I call Adam and Lily back to keep an eye on her while I recruit some of the other guards to help me take her stuff down to the storage unit. Coincidentally, it’s the same one we put Teddy’s stuff in when he moved out last year.
My boss isn’t super happy about my leaving on such short notice, but she knows that being mated to an omega meant we might have a pack eventually, and I would have to leave. She’s been super supportive about the whole thing, and mostly seems annoyed that she lost the excuse to throw me a going-awayparty. I swear that woman finds any reason to bring cake into the break room.
Mitch gives me a bro hug while I get a high five and congratulations from Atticus as we’re moving the last few boxes. I didn’t realize that I had gotten somewhat attached to these guys in my time working here. We never hung out, and I always just considered them acquaintances, but they were the first two who volunteered when I said I needed help moving Sarah’s stuff, and they both insisted on getting my email address before we parted ways. I don’t know if I’ll ever hear from them again, but I’m still thankful for it.
My phone pings me at exactly nine A.M. to let me know that our pack is sitting in the parking lot with the moving van. Had they gotten here half an hour earlier, we could have just loaded everything straight up.
This is even more awkward when Spence climbs out of the cab of the truck. “Hey, we’re sorry if we woke you up. We’ve been hanging out here for the last hour and a half, but Al was getting antsy about the drive. Did we wake you up? I’m sorry.” My loud bark of laughter surprises even me, but I never know what’s going to come out of this alpha when he opens his mouth. At least my life will be interesting.
“No, me and the guys just got done putting everything in storage. If y’all want to help me move it into the truck, we can go round up our girl and get on the road. We’ll need to turn all our keys and stuff in at the office, but then we’ll be good to go.” The big guy looks at the keys that Paul is holding, and his brow creases.
“Their keys, for their dorm room, as well as his security badge, I suspect,” Paul clarifies before Spence can give voice to any confusion. “Probably also some last-minute paperwork, if I had to guess.” I nod again, forgetting that he’s a police officer andprobably used to all the flaming hoops of bureaucracy he has to jump through on the regular.
“Yeah, Sarah has a few more things she needs to take care of, but we’re just about ready. So no need to stress.” It’s hard for me to bite my tongue, but it’s not my place to tell the alphas her news…our news? I was part of her heat too, so the little bean could belong to any of us, and doesn’t that just make my chest feel tight.
We finish loading the truck up and get Bs on the trailer that’s hitched to it, so it’s after nine-thirty when we start across campus towards the dorms. I messaged Sarah so she could get Shaggy ready to go, and she’s sitting on the steps, laughing with Adam when we walk up. Lily is sitting behind the two of them, her fingers in the bars of Shaggy’s carrier. I can see her lips move as she speaks softly to the fluff-nugget, but it’s too quiet for me to make anything out.
Sarah sees us and hops up, all her earlier signs of fatigue gone now that she’s had some solid food and rested again, or it could just be the sight of her mates that fills her with a sudden burst of energy. She didn’t sleep well last night, and I fully expect her to nod off once we’re on the road. Al’s assured me that we’ll be stopping regularly at hotels and rest stops on the way back so Shaggy can have time to get his wiggles out.
She’s barely made it to us when Spence scoops her up, and I expect I’ll have to warn him not to squeeze her, but instead he cradles her gently in his arms, his purr starting up as he presses kisses all over her hair and face. Part of me was worried I’d be jealous of them now that they’re officially together and not just for her heat, but I’m not. I know she loves me, and I heard her tell Spence that she loves him last night. I’m pretty sure she’s already gone for the other two as well, even if the words haven’t come out—I can see the way she looks at them.
Adam stands and crosses the space between us, his hand coming out to shake first Al’s then Paul’s. He looks at Spence, but since his arms are full of Sarah, Adam just smiles and nods.
