"You're okay," Aiden said. He grabbed the last bottle of orange juice from the fridge, opened it, and handed it to me. "Drink this and you'll wake up a bit more. Do you want some coffee? I can make coffee."
"No." I drank the orange juice and waited until the sugar hit my system, just watching the man I'd loved for so many years. "Why are you watching me? Why take shifts?"
"We can't stay up for multiple days," he reasoned.
"But why are you watching me? You don't care about me. You wanted me gone." A tear escped and I swiped it angril yway. "You threw me out like trash, Aiden. You can't just decide that maybe you do care after all."
"But we do. We realized right after you left that you were our stability. The one that we all needed."
"Isn't that convenient? Right after you got rid of me and hooked up with Andrea."
"We never . . Andrea?"
"Blond beta who mattered more than your mate at the grand opening?"
His eyes widened as he recalled. "Oh, right. She's just a business partner. She was there to support us at the ribbon cutting."
"And you chose her over me."
"We didn't." He frowned, shaking his head. "I remember that day, but you were there. Beside us."
"No, that was her. Look at the photos." I sighed, leaning back against the headboard. "I thought you were feeling love and pride for me, but it was for her.
Aiden looked striken. "We didn't even realize. I'm so sorry, Liora. You were a huge part of our success and we never realized just how much until you left."
"I left? Or you got rid of me?"
He dropped his head. "We thought it was the best thing at the time. It wasn't. We're sorry."
"Like I told Finn, sorry doesn't fix what you broke."
"We want to make it up to you, Li. Whatever you need, we'll do it."
"I need a world where an omega isn't forced to have a pack of useless alphas to survive." I shook my head, sliding off the bed. My stomach cramped again and I frowned. "I think I'm sick."
"Do you want me to call the doctor?" He was on his feet in a split second.
"No. I want . . . fuck." I stared at the broken door. "This place is so safe, no one even cares that someone broke in at this hour?"
"Come home with me," Aiden started gathering up the few items I had. "You can stay in the guest room if you don't want your nest."
There wasn't a lot I could do. I had no money. Nowhere to go. And probably a pack of furious alphas after me. Reluctantly, I nodded. "Fine. But it's not my home and I'm leaving as soon as I can figure something out."
"Deal." He reached for me and I flinched away. "Sorry." The look on his face was heartbreaking, but I steeled myself. I didn't need to feel the pain through the bond to know he was upset.
We drove to the mansion in silence, with me blocking the bond as thoroughly as possible and trying to also block the cramps that threatened to take me over. On the way, I sent a message to Dr. Nova to let her know what had happened and where I was. She was supposed to check in on me later today. I asked her to bring suppressants.
Aiden pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car. As he rounded it to grab my stuff, I stayed put, watching the front door. No one came out. They must still be asleep, I thought. Maybe Aiden got the full brunt of things because he'd been so close when I had the nightmare.
Finally, I got out and followed Aiden up the wide steps to the front door. There was the sound of an engine roaring and we both spun around to see a sportscar race up to the house, skid to a stop and lurch as it parked. Mace burst out of the driver's seat, dressed only in black pajama pants, his eyes frantic.
"You're okay!"
"I told you she was," Aiden muttered.
"Li?" Finn got out of the passenger side of the car, also in pajamas. "Are you alright? We felt . . . you were so scared."
"It was a dream," I said flatly, wrapping my arms around myself. "Nothing of importance, but Aiden broke the door down so now I have to stay here."
