"Will..will you please take me home?"
Trevor
Once Colby had fallen asleep, I lay awake and listened to the silence in the room. It was a strange silence to my ears.
Back in Coruscation territory, the silence was white noise made up of the sounds of the forest dwelling creatures, the gentle wind, the deep, satisfied growling breaths of my alpha scenting me in his sleep, and the occasional whimper from my pups as they slept in the room next to us.
Here it was a pure but artificial silence. The concrete building blocked all exterior sounds, and the thick door kept noise from the hall and the beeping of machines from filtering through.
It was..unsettling.
In the dim light that seeped in around the edges of the thick blinds on the windows, I studied Clint. My memories of the events leading up to my collapse outside Doc's office were a little patchy, but I remembered enough to know that he'd scared me witless.
Still, he seemed fine now. Between the stress of my strange behavior from the dysphoria, the strain of the spell that had temporarily removed his claim on me, and the shock of finding that he'd knocked up an Omega he no longer had a claim on, I suspected that he'd merely lost his usually steady head.
And, in all honesty, if an Alpha werewolf had actually been trying to hurt me, I wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed watching him sleep. I'd be a few floors down in the morgue.
Deciding to forgive Clint was relatively easy. Working up the nerve to slip from the bed and approach Clint, to ask him to take me home, that was a lot harder. When I finally did, he was leaning back in the chair and had to look up to meet my eyes.
"Home?" he repeated softly, the muscle in the corner of his left eye twitching. "Of course, but where? Blue Ridge? Your village in Hopewell?" He paused and swallowed hard. "Or the pack lands?"
"Our home," I clarified. "I want my babies. I don't like it here."
"Are you sure?" Clint's gaze was locking me in. "You know that there aren't going to be many options for you there."
"Options?"
"For mates," he clarified. "Even the unattached Alphas in the area aren't likely to want to risk pursuing my..that is…pursuing an Omega who used to wear my mark." He hurried to add, "Not that I want to stand in your way. Assuming that you're looking."
"I see." I sank down next to him, sighing in pleasure and cuddling closer when his delicious Alpha scent drifted over me. A familiar growl rumbled in his chest, making me freeze. "I'm sorry. I..I didn't think.." I started to move away, only to have one muscular arm wrap around me, gently pulling me back against him as comforting pheromones washed over me.
"Stay," he said soothingly, dropping his chin to rest on my head. "Please."
I relaxed back into him, my heart rate instinctively slowing to match the steady beat of his under my ear. "I don't want another Alpha," I admitted into his shirt. "I wantyou."
I don't know what I was expecting, but a heartbroken sigh from the strong Alpha holding me was definitely not it.
"I wish I could trust that," he murmured into my hair, "but right now, you're sick, you're scared, you're carrying, and, other than mine, you don't have a home." His voice was sad. "The same rules apply now that did the day I brought you home. You always have a home with the Coruscation pack regardless of what happens between us, so, if the doctor says you can leave, I'll take you home, but not as my mate. Not yet. I'm afraid that you're settling for me just because I'm here." He stroked my back gently. " I love you too much to let you sacrifice your happiness just because it's easier."
"I'm not.." I started to argue but silenced myself when Clint gave another of those deep, weary sighs.
"Sleep, Trevor. Doc is supposed to come see you in a few hours. We can figure this out later, okay?"
That answer was far from satisfactory, but it was better than Clint stating flat out that he didn't want me. And, a bonus in my mind, he was still holding me close instead of sending me back to the bed, so I acquiesced and, burrowing deeper into his embrace, closed my eyes and let the steady beat of his heart lull me to sleep.
~*~
"Trev? Wake up." Clint's voice rumbled under my ear.
"No," I whimpered, too exhausted to force my eyes open. I felt better – likely due to the Alpha pheromones that had wrapped around me in my sleep and encouraged my body to heal. I was warm and felt so safe that moving just wasn't appealing.
"I thought you wanted to go home?" he teased gently, his hand stroking lightly down my side.
Grumbling to myself, I dragged my eyelids open and realized immediately why I was so comfortable. At some point during the night, we had shifted position. We were lying down on the couch, and I was sandwiched between the soft cushions and the werewolf's hard, delicious Alpha body. I could feel my skin warming up, my blood thrumming through my veins at the contact.
"Ah-ah," Clint mock scolded, a laugh in his voice as my scent took on a familiar tang. "None of that." He gently pulled away from me, but I caught him adjusting his pants as he turned away. If nothing else, at least I could be sure that he wasn't immune to me. I smiled to myself. Maybe I could work that to my advantage.
"Mmm-kay, I'm awake," I yawned.
