Weirdly though, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. We kept each other company and it was almost… pleasant.
Around midnight, a sharp cramp in my lower stomach rocked through me, and I excused myself to use the bathroom, groaning at the spots of red on the toilet paper. As an omega and shifter, we were fertile for the week before we bled and during the first few days of our periods.
I’d always been very consistent with my fertile time—every six weeks—with the pain and blood finishing in four or five days. Despite the faint cramps and overall general neediness I’d had recently, I’d been hoping this portion of my cycle would give me another day.
Periods wouldn’t be an issue if I wasn’t in a house with no pads, tampons, or painkillers. “Fuck,”I muttered, as I opened every drawer again, triple-searching in desperation. Slade hadsaid he’d be done in a few hours, so I’d just have to tough it out and use toilet paper until then.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
Bundling up layers of paper in my underwear, I pulled my jeans back up and rubbed my hand over my stomach. The discomfort would continue to worsen over the next two to twenty hours, and without painkillers I’d struggle to sleep. Again, though, a few hours without sleep wouldn’t kill me. I was tougher than this, and if we got out of here before the Rogers pack returned, then any amount of pain and blood would be worth it.
When I returned to the living room, the hole was now big enough to get my head and shoulders through but was still a way off for Slade’s massive form. Holding my stomach, I sank gingerly onto the old, dusty couch, its floral patterns all the rage in the eighties.
Slade lifted his arm to smash into the corner again, only to pause, his nostrils flaring as he turned from the window. “Are you hurt? I smell blood.”
Ah, fucking excellent. Alphas and their sense of smell.
“I have my period,” I said shortly, nipping this shit in the bud immediately. I also refused to feel embarrassed about a perfectly normal biological occurrence. “There’s nothing but toilet paper in the house, which isn’t the best for absorbing the scent. But I’m not injured.”
I had no idea how the generally reserved shifter would take this information, but to my surprise he didn’t blink an eye. “Are you in pain?”
He’d warned me not to lie to him, and I took the warning seriously. “Moderate discomfort, which will most likely grow worse over the next few hours. How long until we’re out of here?”
Slade rolled his thick shoulders, rotating them as if to work out muscle fatigue. “I’ll continue for another two hours, take the four hours of required rest, and then have us out of here by morning. Just hold on for a few more hours, Snow. I promise I’ll get you out of here.”
“I trust you.” Another truth.
Despite every shifter in the world, even my own pack, warning me that Slade was a loose cannon and couldn’t be trusted, my gutand wolfsaid differently. My wolf couldn’t always be trusted when it came to her pack, but when my gut backed her up, it felt like a safe bet.
“You don’t want to bond with me, do you?”
The words slipped out, and it took me a second to realize I’d said the quiet part out loud—the part that was my realization of why I trusted this alpha. Slade showed no inclination that he wanted me or my power, and it was… nice.
Slade met my gaze, his biceps bunching as he slammed the iron shovel into the spot he was working on—the poker had snapped two hours ago. “No. I don’t.” There was no tone to tell me why, just the matter-of-fact statement.
I remained quiet in the hopes he’d expand on his reasons, but he didn’t, and I wasn’t about to push. I’d never expanded on my reasons for not wanting to bond either, and despite the ache in my chest at his rejection, I wasn’t a hypocrite. I had absolutely no grounds to demand anything more from him.
Half an hour later, exhaustion got the better of me, and despite the pain shooting through my uterus, I slid down on my side and curled up in a ball. “Wake me when it’s time for you to rest,” I said around a yawn. “I can keep an eye out for theassholes to return.” My last words were mumbled, but I heard his grunt, which I took as alpha speak forOkay.
My sleep was fitful, the pain keeping me from falling too deeply. Add in the chilly winds streaming in through the ever-widening opening in the wall, and it was an uncomfortable rest. At some point, while dreaming about bleeding to death in the snow, a band of heat pressed against my stomach, and it brought such blessed relief that every tense muscle in my body relaxed.
Half asleep, I remained too drowsy to explore where the heat originated from, and when I eventually woke, it was to find a dragon shifter on the floor in front of me, his head very close to mine—I could smell his sweet scent—as he pressed his hand against my shirt.
No other part of him touched me except that one huge hand spanned across my stomach, the natural heat he exuded easing my pain. Despite the uncomfortable way he was sprawled across the hardwood floors, he appeared to be asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
Scared to move and disturb him, I let my gaze drift around the living room to find that the hole was now large enough for me to escape through, and?—
A face appeared in the gap, and I almost screamed, only managing to stifle the sound at the last second. The early morning light reflected off familiar blond hair, and warmth flooded more than just my stomach.
Kellan!
I met his wide-eyed and shocked stare, which would have been comical if I wasn’t so fucking relieved to see him. Hunter’s snarling, gorgeous face appeared next, and I caught a glimpse of Finley standing a few feet back.
“You okay?” Slade rumbled, and I jumped, wondering if he was ever asleep enough not to be aware of his surroundings.
“Yep,” I squeaked. “Our pack found us.”
Another rumble, his chest shaking the couch. “I sensed them as soon as the witch appeared. Her magic is strong enough to leave an echo.”
