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Food waited when Devin woke. Bacon and pancakes with scrambled eggs sat in a Styrofoam container on the nightstand. She imagined it was what woke her from her dead sleep.
She hadn’t noticed anyone coming or going, and that bothered her more than the intense roiling in her belly threatening to spill whatever remained in it. Still, she took up the plastic spork and tried a bite of eggs. Devin spit them out before she could even taste them, the slimy concoction tingling over her tongue. Edging to the other side of the bed, as far away as she could get from the food while remaining huddled in the blankets, she viewed her surroundings once more.
Someone had also cleared out the space.
Every bit of casual violence was gone, which was to be expected, but so were the clothes thrown around the room. It looked as if someone had gone through and scoured every trace of a weapon or implement of self-injury from the bedroom. Not that she’d be hanging herself with a t-shirt, but it was odd someone had gone to such lengths.
Had Max done it? Again, she tried to dredge up some memory of anyone else being in the room while she slept and came up emptyhanded.
Pulling the blankets higher around her shoulders, Devin slouched and watched the door with bleary anticipation. She’d be ready the next time someone came in.
Only she startled awake sometime later, the short shadows of early afternoon sprawling over the floor in lazy heat. More food waited for her, just as disgusting as breakfast had been. The dry turkey held no appeal, the no longer crisp lettuce hanging limp from the sides. She poked at the watery tomato and gagged.
Devin crawled to the low couch as far away as she could get from the food and curled up on the warmed leather swaddled in the blankets she’d carried with her.
Was this what being without an Alpha was like? She shuddered at the very idea of continuing on like this, wondering if this was how Max would break her down. Pregnant Omegas needed an Alpha like they needed air. She’d refused him outright. It would make sense, though it seemed strangely out of character for the man she didn’t even know. Devin didn’t know what to make of that, so she snuggled deeper into the blankets and drowsed for a time, letting the darkness steal her back.
When her eyes opened again, the room was illuminated in soft, golden light from the lamps scattered through the room. Far brighter than she thought necessary, she grumbled and tried to burrow deeper into the blankets to nod off once more. Only her gaze caught and held on something out of place, watery eyes refusing to make sense of it for a too long moment before it came into focus.
Max sat on the edge of the bed, a tray of simple grilled cheese and tomato soup sitting before him. “You can quit the hunger strike now.”
“Something’s wrong with it. It’s gross,” Devin mumbled, words smearing over her tongue as she hitched the blanket higher to cover her nose as the smell invaded her lungs.
“There’s nothing in the food. You need to eat.”
“I can’t.”
Rising with slow, careful movements, giving Devin every chance to see him, Max came closer. He settled on the couch beside her, the tray put on the small table before them. Moving as if she was a wild animal and not a bedraggled female, he slipped his arms around her.
“You have to eat, little one,” Max whispered against her ear as he settled Devin firmly in his lap. At her half-hearted growl, he leaned forward so that his chest was held snug against her back, reaching for the tray to pull it closer.
Then he began to purr.
It wasn’t loud and obnoxious. There was no force to it at all. Quiet and unassuming, it soothed something deep inside of Devin as deep-seated knots unkinked from her neck and back at the low reverberation. She wasn’t pliant in his embrace, but she felt the calming force of it as a balm. It quieted the plaintive growl of her stomach as the scent of food came to her, silenced the grumbling darkness trying to edge its way back in at the Alpha’s nearness.
“Just try the food, honey,” Max said through the extended resonance, skimming his fingers down her arm to give her elbow a light nudge towards the tray.
Lips already twisting in disgust at the idea, Devin pulled her hand back against her chest. She wanted nothing to do with it. Max wasn’t deterred, continuing to purr as he gave light encouragements for her to simply try it. He didn’t demand or order her about but suggested. It made it easier to reach for the sandwich eventually, tearing off a chunk though the gooey strands of cheese made her want to gag. Pushed between her lips, she expected the same results as the eggs that morning.
Except it melted over her tongue in glorious perfection. Several kinds of cheeses, not just the cheap stuff, she realized as she began to chew. Bread crispy and warm, it crunched as she tore off another piece to savor. She was starved as she reached for the whole thing, shoving it into her mouth by the huge mouthfuls until she could barely close her mouth over the thick ball.
“Hey, take it easy.” Max gave a light touch to her arm, taking his hand away before Devin could even startle, having almost forgotten the man. “There’s more if you want it. No good if you choke on it.”
Chewing laborious, she eyed the soup with some trepidation. She wasn’t the biggest fan of tomato, but she was too hungry to care as she picked up the large mug and sipped at the thick contents. It made chewing easier, the whole lot washed down with a gulp of water from the glass Max pressed into her hand.
It took mere moments for her to demolish the meal, and it sat heavy and uncertain in the pit of her stomach. Now that she was finished, she had nothing to distract her from the male whose lap she sat on, or the way he curled her hair around his fingers in an idle touch.
As if realizing her predicament, Max slid out from under her. When he gripped the blankets, Devin had a split second of terror to think he’d demand far more, only to have him pull the covers tight to her chin.
“I’ll go get you some more.”
Devin settled back into the couch in cautious degrees, unsure of this change. He didn’t seem to be interested in forcing an exchange, didn’t try to rile her instincts. He’d purred all through her meal, and the loss of it felt poignant in a way Devin didn’t understand. She wanted nothing to do with him.
All pregnant Omegas needed an Alpha though.
Sniffling hard as inexplicable tears trickled free of her defenses, Devin curled deeper into the scant protection of lofty fabric. It should be Rey doing this for her, if it’d even be a problem with her safe at home. Hell, she’d been eating fine until they’d stolen her away, kept her captive in a single dirty room.
Working herself into a fine temper, she snarled when voices came from the other side of the door. It took her a moment to realize they were paused there, talking quiet enough she couldn’t quite understand them. Sneaking off the couch, she stole closer to the entry to eavesdrop.
