Which was weird, consideringthatlife was well and truly gone.
When I poked my head into the nest, a lamp was still on next to the sleeping area, illuminating Hailey with a deep yellow light.
She was curled up on her side, hugging an extremely large, overstuffed pink bunny. Her face was pressed into its fur, and she was snoring lightly, the sounds positively adorable.
The entire room was coated in that strawberry and cream scent that had been haunting my dreams for months.
She was wearing tiny sleep shorts and a T-shirt that I believed belonged to one of the guys. It was baggy on her shoulders but tight on her stomach where her bump sat.
She was just as beautiful as I remembered. More so, in fact.
Crouching at the edge of the nest, I couldn't help but watch her for a few moments. Raw emotion hit me right in the gut. I’d missed out on so much. Even though it was my fault, I mourned every milestone I'd already missed with Hailey.
The sonograms, the shopping trips, all of it.
As I watched her chest slowly rise and fall with her adorable little snoring, I vowed that I wouldn't miss anything ever again. I’d worked enough to take an early retirement if I wanted, and Idefinitelywanted that.
I’d be stuck to Hailey's side like glue, whether she liked it or not.
Outside the room, I turned to Merrick, who was waiting in the hall, leaning against one of the walls with his arms crossed.
I still hadn't formed a true opinion of the alpha, but I knew he was a good man. Everyone had told me as much, and I trusted Walker and my pack to tell me the truth.
“That stuffed bunny was Wilder, wasn't it?” I smiled.
Merrick chuckled. “How did you know?”
“It’s a veryWilderthing to do. Does that make sense?”
“Having spent some extended time with him, it makes perfect sense.”
I stared longingly at the door to the nest. Everything in me wanted to go back, to be closer to Hailey.
“You can stay there, you know. Just don’t disturb her,” Merrick said.
“Are you sure? That feels like more than I deserve…”
The alpha shrugged. “Don't worry, I'm not beingtoonice. That armchair isextremelyuncomfortable.”
Comfortable or not, I’d take it. In fact, I’d take anything I could right about now.
Chapter 42
Hailey
Despite how hard I tried to stay awake, sleep had claimed me while I was waiting for Preston to come back.
It wasn't until several hours later that I started to wake up. The moment conscious thought returned to my brain, however, I sat up straight, shooting a glance around the room.
It was still dark, probably late at night, but something prickled in my awareness, and I looked at the chair in the corner.
There, in the armchair, was a vaguely familiar alpha.
Preston was reclined in the seat, one elbow on the arm of the chair, his face resting in his palm as he dozed lightly. In the dim lights of the nest, I really observed him for the first time in months.
He looked just like he had in that bar. Annoyingly handsome. That rich dark liquor scent called to me, which was funny because the smell of alcohol had been making me nauseous throughout my pregnancy. Preston’s scent did the opposite, though.
It settled me.
