I was going to have a baby.I mean, I guess that’s where I’m at. Did I want to pursue other options? Adoption was a thing. Icouldgive it up.
Guilt smacked me in the face. That felt wrong, even though I hadn’t planned this. I loved babies, and I had pictured myself as a mom one day.
I just thought “one day” would be a lot later.
Something hit me then that filled me with shame, a thought I couldn’t stop, but I knew was the least of my problems.
Who the hell would want me now?
Not to be conceited, but I knew I wasn't particularly bad looking, and I was an omega, so if I really wanted a bonded mate, I’d be able to find one pretty quickly. Only, now I was bonded to an unknown alpha and pregnant, which made me quite possibly the least attractive omega in a hundred-mile vicinity.
The rather unsavory termused goodscame to mind.
By the time we arrived at the apartment, I was spiraling. I leaped out of the car with a shouted goodbye and headed straight for the door. I knew it was rude. I could hear Merrick calling out after me, but I just played it off like I had to pee, insistent he needed to go to work.
But I wasnotokay.
Chapter 15
Nolan
When it came to our small pack, I usually assumed that Wilder would be the one causing problems. He hadzeroimpulse control, and it often ended badly, but Preston, I expected more of.
Anomega.
We’d talked about the day we would finally settle down with someone and make a family, but Preston had taken that choice out of our hands. I knew he hadn’t intended to, but it didn’t change the facts.
Having smelled Hailey, I understood it, though. That strawberries and cream scent made my alpha beat my chest in a way he’d never done before. Everything in me screamed to protect and help this small omega, and I didn't think it was the bond; it washer.
Under any other circumstances, I was confident that I would have pursued Hailey on my own, anyway.
But these were not those circumstances, and that was a hard pill to swallow.
“Did she have to spray that cheap crapeverywhere?” I asked as I opened the windows shortly after Hailey left.
“Can you blame her for it?” Wilder asked with a shrug. “Preston is nothing more than a convict to her, and she knows nothing about us, not really. Her entire life has been tipped upside down. I think we need to give her alotof leeway here.”
He wasn’t wrong.
My limited contact with Preston was starting to piss me off. His work was important, I knew that, but why the fuck was he in the convict camp, and why couldn't we get any answers?
Was he even aware that Hailey was unwell? It didn't matter how important his work was; if his omega was sick, surely that was the priority?
We were all pretty involved with our jobs. As a lawyer myself, I spent many,manylong hours in my office. We’d all put work first in the past, but now that we had an omega, that had to change.
Omegas were precious. They needed to be taken care of, even though I had a strong suspicion that Hailey could usually take care of herself.
Everything about her screamedindependent. She had her own place, she worked, and she had a mouth on her that made me hard as a rock.
I never thought a sassy omega would do it for me, but apparently, I was obsessed with it.
Shoving us in the bathroom was probably a touch too far, though. Then again, given how Preston had fucked up, could I blame her?
“I refuse to get pushed into a small bathroom again,” I grumbled.
“Then go back to our hotel.” Wilder shrugged. “This is Hailey’s apartment, and we need to respect that.”
I took a deep breath. Again, the annoying fuck was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.
