AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-eight
Calai
Am I dead? Does the afterlife exist? At the moment, I’m not quite sure about anything. Except for the fact that I’m very naked, and there’s a hand on my ass. Make that two hands.
I have this undeniable need to slap them off of me, to never be touched again. But I know that that’s not realistic; one whiff of those alpha scents has me sitting upright. Is this my life now? Am I just to be a slave to these stupid hormones?
I use my hands to try and rub some sense into my face, having a moment of panic immediately. “How likely is it that I’m pregnant now? Don’t know that it’s possible, but maybe all of us are after all the sex we just had.Somebodyin this room has to be pregnant at this point.”
There are a few low masculine chuckles, and then some mild attempts to get me to lay back down in bed. Which I only acquiesce to because I want to. Not because all that skin next to me is tempting. Nope. I’m done with sex. Possibly forever.
“We’re way ahead of you there, omega. We figured that birth control wouldn’t be on your mind since this is your first heat, so all of us took a drought to prevent pregnancy. None of our sperm would have been viable, so you’re free and clear. If that’s something you want, we can talk about it for the next heat. We just didn’t want you to rush into it without a good discussion first.”
I sigh into James’ hold, part relieved and part sad. I know I was all ready to carry young inside my body when I was at the compound, but that feels like somebody else’s life. Like a different woman put herself up to be impregnated by a stranger. I appreciate their thoughtfulness on this topic because they are absolutely correct that pregnancy was the absolute last thing on my mind each and every time I mounted one of them or begged for a knot. But a child with them? I think I could really want that someday. I’m shelving this topic for later.
“The idea of you carrying our child is one hell of a vision, though. If we do ever decide we want that, you'll be the sexiest pregnant woman ever.”
I have nothing to say to that, so I don’t even try. Instead, I pull Colter closer, tucking my head against his chest. For the first time in days, I’m able to fully appreciate this nest around me. At some point somebody took time to drape the fabrics I liked best over the wires strung on the ceiling, the lights are soft and glowing, and there’s soft pillows and blankets absolutely everywhere. I feel safe and comfortable, completely at ease with my surroundings.
I’m even more comfortable in my surroundings as the scent of bacon wafts towards me, making my stomach clench in a different kind of pain. We ate intermittently throughout the last several days, but nothing resembling an actual meal crossed my lips. With all the energy it took to mate over and over again, I’m beyond ready to eat some calories.
My beautiful beta parts the fabric, carrying a tray laden with food. He lays it in front of me with a smile. I remember to sign a hearty thank you before inhaling everything he put on my plate. I have no idea how many eggs this must be, but I’m definitely about to eat all of them. I’m basically swallowing the food without chewing it, but every bite that does touch my tongue tastes incredible. I lazily use one hand to sign my compliments towards August as I continue to eat, not stopping until my plate is empty. There’s a piece of toast crust leftover, but that’s about it. All the berries are gone, all the bacon, all the eggs, all the juice.
I fall back onto the bed in a stupor, almost ready to sleep the rest of the day away. But of course, life has other ideas for me.
Kit is scrolling through his phone that's been pretty much ignored the entire time we've been in this sex nest, and he’s got a frown on his face. “I managed to send a message at one point to the policeman we were working with, but we’re kind of out of time to answer questions. It seems they’ve been digging into the compound, but we’ve been out of touch, and they have more than a few things they need to uncover. Yeah, they want Calai’s help to tour it, to find it. They want her to walk through it with them and help them understand. They want to help find the true homes of all the women trapped up there.”
Four sets of eyes land on my face, weary. I think they’re expecting for this to trigger me, for me to freeze like I did when I was confronted with Great Mother in the car. But honestly, I don’t feel much of anything. After riding through my heat with all of them, I know exactly where I’m supposed to be. I feel like I can almost look at the compound now as an experiment. As if there’s a lens I can just put on in front of my eyes and view it from a distance with total separation.
Maybe it will be different if I actually go there in person, but part of me feels like if I were to walk through those halls, I would feel like I was just at a museum or something. “Go ahead and let them know I’m happy to cooperate.”
Colter places a hand on my thigh, wanting more reassurance from me. “If this will be too hard for you, I’m sure we can find a way around it. I highly doubt they will force you to walk through those halls if it’s going to damage anything inside of you or put you in a bad place.”
“No… I think it’s actually OK.”
“You do?” Kit asks.
I start playing with my hair for something to do, immediately stopping when I realize it’s mostly kind of crunchy and gross. “Well, that’s sort of disgusting. Which one of you managed to get your essence way the hell up here?”
August is ready to point fingers, signing furiously. “That was totally James. I have this clear memory of you begging for it. Totally consensual. You were desperate for him to-”
“Nope,” I say cutting him off. “I do not need any further details thank you very much. I'm having déjà vu right now because I'm about to ask for a shower. But after that, I need to soak in the tub, because I feel like that’s the only way I’m actually going to feel any bit clean.”
“Well, aren’t you a demanding little thing?” Colter says as he scoops me up and carries me to the bathroom.
I found that I'm over feeling self conscious about my weight when they keep hefting me around like this. It’s hard to have a complex when they do it with such minimal effort.
“If you didn’t want a demanding omega,” I sass back, “then perhaps you shouldn’t have stolen me. From everything I’ve read, omegas are notorious for being demanding. You’re stuck with me now mate, so you’re going to have to deal with it. Stop whining. You just had the best sex of your life for days on end. I don’t remember you complaining about any of my demands when you were knotting me.”
“Fuck I love hearing you call me your mate. That’s the first time you’ve done that, you know?
Was it? Hmm…
There’s this cheesy sort of affection between us all as we wash up, the aftereffects of my heat settling in. Apparently days of unending couplings was all I really needed to feel like I was bonded to them. I’m sure we’ll still have some issues occasionally, but I feel like I know them inside and out right now. I’m… content.
Once I finally feel human again, I make myself check my own phone for messages. It was strange to feel guilty for leaving everything unread, and I shoot a quick text to Parker to explain why, and he insists that no further reasons are necessary. I’ve also got some sort of anxious texts from my father, a bite of melancholy finding its way through them.
I look around my new family as we get ready to leave, ideas churning through me. “Do you think it would be inappropriate to invite my father and Parker to the compound with us? I just sort of feel like there’s this block in my relationship with them, which will be hard to overcome unless they really see who I am now. Something tells me that if they were to walk around and see where I existed all these years, it might help. I want to share this experience since I was taken from them. Maybe it will be a good way to start opening up to them, to build a relationship.”
