Page 19 of An Alpha’s Guide to Finding the One

Wyatt’s purr, which has been steady this whole time, stops abruptly before picking up twice as hard. “Lainey,” he whispers softly. “You could quite literally spend every dime we have, use one of our cars to run us over, and then lock us out of the damn house and we still wouldn’t think you were too much. Your omega is part of you, just as much as this baby and now Lawson because of the bond. Be loud, be needy, be emotional. We won’t want you any less.”

My eyes water and a few tears escape before I can stop them. “But what if⁠—”

His lips meet mine in a soft caress. “But nothing. You’re ours, honey. But more importantly, we’re yours. Nothing in the world could ever change that.”

With his reassuring words whispering through my heart and his warm body weighing me down into the cloud-like bed, I drift off to sleep feeling completely safe.

“Call me when you get out of class and I’ll meet you here, okay?” Wyatt asks carefully.

I cock my hip, placing a hand on it so he knows I mean business. “I do not need an escort to and from every class, Wyatt Hanna.”

He shrugs, grinning that shy boy grin that makes it impossible to stay annoyed with him. “I know you don’t. But you’ve got precious cargo and you never know what could be lurking around the corner.” Just as he says that, Lucky rounds the corner with his usual cocky swagger firmly in place. “Hey, little mama. Ready for English?”

My eyes bug out of my head. “What do you mean?”

Lucky shrugs, checking his smart watch. “We have English in about five minutes, so I was asking if you were ready.”

Wyatt just chuckles and kisses my temple before walking away, a shouted “text me!” thrown over his shoulder. The whole pack approached me with a brand new smart phone this morning before the three of us left for campus and despite my many protests, it’s now burning a hole in my pocket and programmed with all four of their phone numbers, plus Lawson and Rhys’ work numbers and the number for the boys’ football coach. I asked why I would possibly need that and Wyatt very calmly explained it was in case something happened and I needed to get ahold of them during a game or practice when they didn’t have their phones. I had to stop Wyatt after that when he tried to add the dang water boy.

After that thoughtful point, I begrudgingly agreed to keep the phone.

“No, Lucky. I mean why are you acting like you have this class, too? It’s a freshman English class and you’re a senior.”

He tosses an arm over my shoulder and leads me into the packed classroom. This also happens to be the one class I share with Posey, who I can see gaping at us from the back of the room. Our other shared class has two of her alphas in it, so we never get any good girl talk done in there. And now it’s looking like we won’t in this one, either. “Oh, well that’s easy. I had a free hour and wanted to spend it with you.”

The sweet gesture startles me and when I get spooked, I get mean. Probably a byproduct of growing up with a mother that constantly throws barbs at you when you least expect it. I throw his arm off my shoulder and glare at him. “The last thing I need is my jock baby daddy coming in and distracting me from learning. You know, the thing I have to do to graduate?”

He just grins. “I love it when you get all righteous. Makes my dick hard.”

I groan in exasperation and stomp up the stairs while intentionally ignoring all of the eyes on us. I spot more than a few hateful glares from some of the students, both men and women. I knew Lucky got around, but knowing it and seeing the effects of it are two different beasts. I have a feeling my omega is going to get extremely territorial, especially since I’m pregnant with his baby.

My best friend’s eyes are wide as saucers when I collapse into my seat next to her, but I pretend I don’t notice, instead focusing on getting out my book and notebook for today’s lesson. Unfortunately, my efforts do nothing to distract her. “Lainey,” she hisses, poking me with her pen.

“What?” I keep my tone calm, hoping she’ll drop if it I act like nothing weird is happening.

That hope is shot to hell when my baby daddy appears next to me, leaning on the seat and smiling this sexy little grin at the guy on my other side. “Hey, man, you don’t mind if I sit next to my girlfriend, do you?” He winks, and I watch the beta practically swoon. “Gotta keep an eye on her, ya know?”

The beta nods frantically, vacating his seat and moving a few rows down. He instantly starts whispering with the girls on either side of him, a chorus of giggles breaking out. I drag my hands down my face with a groan and turn to the alpha next to me. “Why do you have to be such a goddamn nuisance?” I hiss.

Lucky smirks, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “You say nuisance, I say man obsessed.”

Something pokes my arm hard. I whip around to glare at Posey, rubbing the sore spot. “Hey! What was that for?”

She glares right back, which is completely at odds with her cotton candy hair and sweet demeanor. “Don’t you “hey” me, Lainey Ryan. You have a lot of explaining to do.” Then she turns to Lucky and points a finger at his face. “Don’t think you’re getting out of an explanation either, Lucky.”

I have no idea how she knows my baby daddy, but I nod anyway, deflating. She’s right. The last time I saw her I was crying over a positive pregnancy test on the bathroom floor and now I’m showing up to class with an alpha claiming he’s my boyfriend. “Coffee later?”

She nods, reaching out to squeeze my hand. That’s the thing with me and Posey; we fight like sisters but make up just as quick. And I know she’s just worried. I’m sure she has drawn the conclusion that Lucky is ball boy, but she obviously doesn’t know that I’m bonded to Lawson or that things have progressed with the rest of the pack beyond what I initially told her. I just have to make it through the next two hours, and then I can get her opinion on all of this insanity.

Class is unbearably long. Between Lucky pretending to be a perfect student (when he’s actually just staring at me and occasionally glancing at his notes) on one side and Posey constantly looking at us from the other, I catch maybe thirty percent of what the professor is saying. By the time the hour is up, I’m cranky and ready for a nap.

They both follow me down the stairs like lost puppies but when I get to the bottom, I pass the same guy from last week with the onion scent. My stomach roils, mouth watering in a warning of what’s coming. I slap a hand over my mouth and sprint to the same bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before the eggs Lawson made me eat make a reappearance. I hear a hushed argument and light footsteps before someone pulls my hair away from my face while another warm hand rubs my back in soothing strokes. “It’s alright, kitten. Let it out.” Lucky’s deep voice is quiet and now that I know it’s him, my nose finally registers his scent filling the stall. I grab his wrist and drag it to my nose, pulling in deep huffs of air like his scent is oxygen and I’ve been holding my breath. Something about the sweet peppermint is settling my stomach, and I desperately need that right now.

Lucky uses his other hand to sweep sweaty strands of hair off my forehead and the sweet gesture makes me whine. The sound is pathetically omega but I didn’t have a chance at holding it back. “I’m sorry,” I whimper pathetically. “Everything I read said the morning sickness typically ends after the first trimester, so I don’t know why I keep getting sick.”

“Shh,” Lucky soothes me, cupping my head in his big hand and pulling me to his chest. “I’m so sorry you aren’t feeling well, kitten. If I could take it from you I would in a heartbeat. But since I can’t, what can I do to help?”

I blink bleary eyes at my alpha, slightly confused as to where this caretaker side of him came from. Although, maybe it’s not all that surprising. Lucky has been taking care of me in his own way since the day they found me in that hospital room. He cracks jokes when things get too heavy, he tries to make me laugh, and now he’s taking care of me when I don’t feel good. Maybe Lucky Daire is more than just a dumb jock, and I’m not sure I know how to handle that. “I want to spend some time with my best friend and drink tea far away from any other scents.”