My mind spiraled, and I begged it to turn off, to go back on autopilot until I crashed into bed and took a much needed nap, but it wouldn’t listen.
The rest of the shower was spent in a panic. The water was still running hot by the time I was done scrubbing, so I slid down the wall, letting the hot water wash over me. The warmth and pressure kept me grounded, and I was able to push through the panic.
Teddy could handle this. We would be okay. I wouldn’t lose something I had only found a day ago. This was new, but it was good, and it would be sorted out. I had to believe that, forced myself to believe the words that ran through my head.
There was no other option. I couldn’t panic and make the situation worse. I would get out of here, dry off, do myusual after-shower routine, find some new clothes, and talk to Teddy. She was being nonchalant about all of this minus the understandable irritation. I had to find out if that was just an act or if this really wasn’t that big of a deal.
With my body dried and lotioned, I slid into a pajama set with a pale-blue tank and a matching pair of shorts in the same blue with white pinstripes running down them. I grabbed a similar set in yellow with little ducks on the shorts and a cropped tee for Teddy. After wrapping my hair up in a towel so it was off of my shoulders, I ventured out to the living room before slipping into the guest bath and leaving them on the counter for her.
I made it out without her noticing me, or at least saying anything about it while I was in there, so I grabbed us some ice water before collapsing onto the couch. There had to be a movie or a distracting show somewhere. I didn’t know what I wanted or needed, but something had to keep my mind off of this crazy situation.
After a few minutes of flipping through, I found a Walking Dead marathon, and it was in the middle of season one. “Perfect.” I clicked on it and let the zombie world take over my mind.
All my favorite characters were still around, and knowing what was coming relieved some of the stress, but it had been so long since I’d originally watched it that it was new enough to distract me. The perfect combination.
I melted into the couch, wrapping a fuzzy throw around my shoulders and covering most of my body minus my feet that stuck out and were set on the coffee table.
The monotony and familiarity eased the panic a little more, but it was still there, waiting for Teddy to explain.
I couldn’t believe they started with so many characters I had completely forgotten. The first few seasons were so good, and Imade a mental note to finish watching it and the spinoffs. The world was vast now, and I was sorely behind.
“Ooh,The Walking Dead! Love that show.” I turned just enough to see Teddy walk in from the hall, drying her hair some more with a towel.
“How are you feeling?” The worry in my voice was annoyingly present. She had to be okay. This was too new, too chaotically lovely to end so soon.
“Nauseous, irritated, a little horny, and my revenge will be swift and sweet.” Her face morphed into that of a wicked witch plotting her enemy’s downfall, and the last bit of the knot in my chest was slipping free. “So nothing too outside of the norm.” Her cackle would scare a lesser being, but I reveled in it. Teddy was so free and wild but somehow grounded. It didn’t make sense, but it worked for her.
“So you’re going to be okay?” She sighed, tossed the towel over the back of the couch, then jumped over it to plop down beside me.
“Yeah, he’s dumb enough to fuck with me but not dumb enough to try and kill me. I still have no idea what he could have used, but you’re doing okay, right? It’s only affecting me?” I nodded, and she let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m guessing he slipped something in that messes with Betas, or I could have just had a reaction to those pheromones. Either way, I blame him, and he will be hearing from me soon.” Her bright smile was the last thing I needed to let go, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed about it.
“If you need help fucking with him, tell me. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I want to be involved and watch him suffer.”
“Oh, Suki, that’s hot.” I rolled my eyes, and she laughed, her head falling back. Teddy nearly fell off the couch but caught herself at the last minute. After clearing her throat, she said,“Anyway, I would love your help. He’s an Omega, so maybe a little dose of rut-filled pheromones will do the trick.”
I raised a brow at her. “And how do you expect to get these ‘rut-filled pheromones’?” I wasn’t going anywhere near the heat-inducing ones she had used on me earlier. Not a fucking chance.
“I can be patient.” Teddy leaned forward onto her arms, the loose tee falling forward and giving me a shot straight down her shirt. “And I’m all for trying to get you into a rut on my own.”
“Teddy.” I glared at her. After the last twenty-four hours, I just wanted to sit here, but despite my brain thinking that, my cock was already hardening beneath the blanket.
“Yes, Suki?” Her face was a few inches from mine, and the smile she had on never faltered.
I shook my head. “You’re ridiculous.” It sounded like an insult, but the soft smile on my lips said otherwise. “One question though. Birth control. I definitely?—”
She sat back, and the smile was wiped clean. “Right.” A pregnancy wasn’t something I was ready for. We barely knew each other, and— “I’m infertile.” Teddy shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t want to mention it in my half-fake profile, but I am, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Oh, okay. Are you upset about it, or are you thinking I’m upset about it?” I sat up and turned to face her, the blanket pooling around my waist.
“Both,” she said with another shrug, worry filling her eyes along with a slight sheen of unshed tears.
EIGHT
Teddy
“It’s so far gone, I don’t even get a period.” I found out when I was sixteen and my mom dragged me into the doctor because she was no longer convinced I was simply a late bloomer. It turned out that she was right, and I was a different kind of mess. “I’ve come to terms with it for the most part, but it still hurts knowing I’m defective.”
I sat back, crossing my legs on the couch in front of me. I refused to cower though, maintaining eye contact with Suki. The shame was long gone, but it was still irritating.
