18. Daisy
My back ached as I hauled my groceries down the street. The bus had stopped farther from my apartment building than the normal stop, making me walk that much more to get home—much to my displeasure, because the low burning sensation at the base of my spine was starting to infuriate me. If grocery delivery wasn’t so darn expensive, I would have opted for that. Then again, in a neighborhood like mine, I doubted the delivery boy would be willing to walk up a set of stairs.
As soon as I got home, I was going to lie down with the heating pad on my back—it was hands down the most practical gift I had ever received, and I loved it so damn much. It had been with me pretty much constantly since Devon had given it to me.
Every few steps, my eyes would travel down to look at my bags as I took wobbly step after wobbly step. Part of me was convinced my center of gravity would never be the same again.
“Daisy?”
I looked up and found Jeremy standing on the pavement. “Oh, hello!”
“What on earth are you doing?” he asked, his lips turned down as he took me in.
“I needed groceries?”
“You should have told me. I could have driven you!”
“It’s only a short bus ride, and it’s a nice day,” I insisted. Yes, my back was in agony, but I didn’t want to put him out any more. Not until I had made him a mountain of cookies, at the very least. I had been riding the bus at least once a week since moving in, so I was more than used to it.
I couldn’t let myself become too reliant on Jeremy, either. Part of me had to stay realistic—his interest in me would only last so long. That had been my experience with alphas, anyway. Soon enough, I would be a mother, which meant that I had to be sensible. My abysmal living situation was thanks to me blindly placing faith in a man.
“Give me those.” Jeremy took the bags off me without waiting for me to hand them over. “You shouldn”t be carrying things with your sore back!”
“You have a life. I can’t keep interrupting it,” I insisted.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, leaning over to place a quick kiss on the top of my head. “You aren’t an interruption; you’re a joy.”
His warm sawdust and hay scent washed over me, and the pain eased up ever so slightly. His smell was like a drug that eased all my troubles.
Who was I kidding? I was a goner for this alpha.
“Fine,” I grumbled playfully, letting him take the bags.
“Have you eaten yet?” he asked as we entered the building, tapping the pin into the rusty old door lock. It was so old that with one good shove, it would fall to bits.
The moment I had some decent money, I was moving to a much better neighborhood. One with a good school district, so my little parasite could grow up with plenty of opportunities.
“I had the leftovers you gave me just before I left,” I told him with a smile, happy I could give him a satisfactory answer for once.
“Good.” He nodded happily as we slowly started ascending the stairs to our third-floor apartments.
“I got all the things to make fresh strawberry shortcake cookies as well.”
Jeremy groaned. “You’re going to make me so chubby—my trainer is going to kill me.”
“I can stop baking for you if that helps?”
“Please don’t!” Jeremy rushed to say. “That old bastard can deal with me gaining a few pounds.”
“Don’t talk about gaining a few pounds while you look like that.” I gestured to his body. He had the body of a sexy lumberjack. Defined, but not garishly so. “You look far too good, and you’re not even out of breath?” I puffed. He was carrying the groceries and wasn’t even slightly out of breath, whereas I was panting like a beached whale.
“That’s because I’m an athlete who gets to have no fun. If you deprive me of cookies?—”
He stopped still, and I almost ran headlong into his back. “—Daisy. Stay back.” His voice took on a hard tone. Firm, no nonsense.
“Wh—”
“Stay,” he growled, his eyes firmly on my apartment door.
My open apartment door.
“Did you forget to close your door?” Jeremy asked, his voice overly calm.
“I’m pretty sure I locked it. I knew that if you came home before me and found my door unlocked, you would have been unhappy with me, so I triple checked!” The only reason I had actually remembered was because I hadn’t wanted to displease him.
So, the fact that my door was wide open was more than slightly disconcerting.
“Stay here,” he instructed, slowly putting the shopping bags down before heading forward.
Part of me wanted to follow him, but I got the distinct impression he would not be happy with me if I did that.
“I probably just forgot,” I admitted with a grimace.
“Considering I can see your doorjamb is broken from here, I don”t think that”s the case,” Jeremy said in a low voice. His hand reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out his keys, and without even looking at me, he handed them back to me. “Go wait in my apartment.”
“But—”
“Do it. Please.”
I nodded, even though he couldn”t see me, gently taking the keys out of his hands and turning toward his door. His doorway was untouched. There wasn”t even a scuff mark on it. It was clear from the outside that it was a very well-sealed door. The door was thick and sturdy, and there were several obvious locks.
It took me a moment to open both locks, especially with my hands shaking. I was trying to convince myself that I’d just had a pregnancy brain moment and forgotten to lock the door and left it open. The damaged doorframe made it painfully obvious that wasn”t the case, though.
Gilbert greeted me excitedly at the door, and I quickly pushed him into the apartment, giving him a quick pet as I made my way toward Jeremy”s living room.
Unsure what to do with myself, I sat down on the sofa for a moment. Should I have been calling the police? The neighborhood was so bad, I reasoned there was probably no point in calling the police because it would take them half a day to even answer the call.
When Jeremy didn”t return in ten minutes, I couldn”t stay still any longer and opted to get up and start pacing his kitchen, pulling out any baking ingredients I could find. At least I could fill my time with something useful, like baking apple pie cookies.
He had mentioned he”d been having a craving for apple pie. As if he could feel my stress, Gilbert stayed glued to my side. Even while I was baking, he refused to leave my heels, staring up at me with those big puppy-dog eyes, like he could tell my insides were churning violently. There had been a brief moment when I’d first moved into my apartment when I had considered getting a dog for safety. Then I realized how expensive it was to feed a dog and concluded that it wasn’t a viable option.
Even though Gilbert wasn”t exactly a guard dog, he was still good company, especially when I was feeling stressed.
I was putting the first batch of cookies in the oven when Jeremy came in, his lips turned down in a frown.
“I”m guessing I didn”t just forget to lock the door?”
“No, someone broke into your apartment,” he growled. “The place has been ransacked. I”m so sorry, sweet girl. There”s no way in hell you”re going back there tonight.”
“Where else would I go?” I asked, bewildered. I had admitted to Jeremy a long time ago just how bad my family situation was. There was no one I could go and seek sanctuary with.
“You”re staying with me,” he declared.
“I thought this place only had one bedroom?” Though I wouldn”t be opposed to staying with Jeremy—I was quite fond of his apartment—I felt like it would be a massive imposition.
“Not here. You”re coming back with me to the packhouse. Tonight.”
I stuttered, trying to find the right words. He wanted me to go to his packhouse with him. Where his pack lived? What sane alpha would bring a random pregnant omega back to their packhouse?
“Jeremy, I . . .”
“It”s not safe here—they trashed the place. I spoke to some of the neighbors, and a few other places were broken into. It”s only sheer luck that this place wasn”t, because I installed some good security, but that doesn”t mean I think the security is good enough for you. The packhouse is far more secure. We”ve got plenty of space. And we have a whole omega suite.”
“I can”t just encroach on your pack’s space!” I cried.
“It”s not encroaching. I”m inviting you.”
“Well, I”m turning down your invitation,” I said haughtily, tilting my head up.
Jeremy frowned, thinking deeply for a second. “Okay, in that case, I”m kidnapping you.”
“Excuse me?”
He took several steps until he was right in front of me, looking down at me, only mere inches away. “My alpha is very close to the surface right now. He is infuriated that there’s a chance you were in danger. What if you had been home when this had happened? I can”t even think about that. I need you to be safe, okay?”
“But . . .” I struggled to find the words.
“I know I keep having to remind you, but I”m serious about us. I will never be able to forgive myself if you get hurt and there was something I could have done to stop it.”
“Nate hasn”t even met me.”
“He”s a big boy. He can handle it.”
But could he? Everything I”d heard about him made him sound like a complete enigma.
“Someone could have hurt you or the little one,” Jeremy reasoned. “Even if you”re not 100% on board, surely, you”ll do it for the safety of the baby.”
“Bastard,” I grumbled, even though the word held no heat.
“I”m not above playing dirty to keep you safe.”
“Can I at least go and get a few of my things?” I asked.
Jeremy nodded. “I”ll go with you. I have to warn you, though. The place has been ransacked, and it smells like someone threw bleach around. Most of your belongings won”t be salvageable.”
“Why would they destroy my belongings if they were there to steal things?”
“Probably angry that they didn”t find something better to steal,” Jeremy admitted.
“That”s fair. I definitely didn”t have anything decent to steal.”
I should have been freaking out, screaming, crying. I had just been told that my home was broken into and most of my things ruined, and yet, I felt oddly calm.
“Just pack things of sentimental value. We can grab you new clothes and that sort of stuff.”
“I”m not letting you buy me things!”
“We”ve covered this. I”m rich and I want to.”
“You’re a stubborn asshole,” I grumbled.
“Can call me all the names you want, as long as you”re safe. Now, I”m going to go pack a bag for myself. You need to get your cookies out—they’re burning—and then we will go and get your stuff,” Jeremy said in a matter-of-fact tone, striding off to his bedroom and pulling out a duffel bag.
Crap! The cookies. Turning to the oven, I quickly pulled the tray out. Thankfully, they were just slightly browner than I would usually let them get. I could add a butter glaze, and that would make everything better and softer.
Butter improved everything.
He wasn”t kidding. My place was destroyed.
Bookcases had been upturned and my sofa slashed open. The whole place stank of bleach, and I couldn”t see a single item of clothing that had survived.
“All stuff. We can replace it,” Jeremy said lightly, rubbing my lower back as I took in the carnage.
“It was all I had,” I said around quiet sobs.
“I’m sorry,” Jeremy soothed, pulling me in for a hug.
In the end, we only managed to rescue one or two T-shirts, a few items from the kitchen, and some old photos I had stashed under the bed.
My tears had been quite small until I found the baby blanket I”d slowly been crocheting destroyed, pulled apart and covered in bleach. Finding the small blanket I’d been working so hard on for my future child destroyed in such a violent manner, I broke down into full body-wracking sobs.
Strong arms wrapped around me, and I was dragged into Jeremy’s chest. “I shouldn’t have let you see this,” he muttered.
“N-no. I needed to see it,” I said, still sobbing.
I had nothing. What little I had fought to build for myself had been taken out in one fell swoop.
“I”ve texted Devon. He knows you”re coming, and he said he’ll order several pizzas. They’ll be there by the time we arrive.”
“Where do you guys even live?” I asked as my sobs quieted somewhat. In all the time I”d known Jeremy, I”d never actually bothered to ask where his pack lived. Maybe I just didn”t want to admit to myself that he lived somewhere that wasn”t next door to me.
“We live in Guildford,” he told me softly.
That told me everything I needed to know. Guildford was an infamously wealthy area. My parents had been firmly middle class, and they had dreamed of owning a house in Guildford. Every property there came with a price tag in the millions.
“That”s a very nice area,” I said uneasily. “Probably not the kind of place I should be.”
I was pretty sure that Cole”s parents lived in Guildford, and they had more money than they knew what to do with. The type of wealth where they would just buy another holiday house because they were bored. They made every penny of that money by exploiting our very broken medical system.
No wonder their son was such an asshole.
“If there”s any place you belong, it”s our packhouse. Come on, there”s no point in hanging around here. Let”s get you back. You”re exhausted, and you could do with a nap.”
He wasn”t wrong. I’d already been exhausted and in pain before I realized my home had been burglarized. The agony in my back was only spreading, and the idea of lying down was blissful.
“I”m only agreeing right now because my back hurts,” I admitted with a pout.
“I”ll take it. You know, my car has heated seats. I”m sure that”ll help with the back pain and there”s also a jetted tub at the packhouse you can use.”
I groaned. He was fighting dirty, and he was winning. You couldn”t just dangle a jetted bathtub and heated seats in front of a pregnant woman and not expect them to jump at the opportunity. It would be like putting the tastiest bone in front of a rabid dog. It just wasn”t fair.
“I”m going to have to open up a bakery at the rate that I”m making cookies for you.”
“As long as I”m the only customer at the bakery, I”m okay with that. I did eat one of those apple pie cookies before we came over here, and it was absolutely divine, as always.” Jeremy grinned, taking the small bag of possessions I had gathered off me before gently guiding me out of the apartment.
“Are we just going to leave it open? It”s not like the door will lock now,” I said, looking at the shattered door jamb.
“Devon is already on his way over. He”s going to replace the door quickly with a temporary hardware one and then meet us back at the house.”
“Thank you. I know there”s not really much left here to protect, but it”s all I”ve got in the world.”
“I know, but you deserve so much more,” Jeremy said. “Hopefully, in time, you”ll understand just how amazing you are. Cole was an idiot, but I can”t complain, because his loss is my gain.”
After a quick trip back to Jeremy’s to grab the cookies and Gilbert, he led me down to the parking garage. I had never actually been in the shady parking garage next to our building—everyone in the building had a space, but a lot of us didn”t have cars. I certainly couldn’t afford one, and I imagined that was the case for many of the residents.
“Here I am,” Jeremy said, pulling out his keys and unlocking the car.
His car stuck out like a sore thumb—I was shocked it hadn’t been stolen or taken apart. The large, dark-green SUV looked expensive. Cars were not my area of expertise, but even I could tell someone needed serious money to own a car like that.
“This is a little fancy,” I said.
Jeremy grimaced. “This is the most low-key car I own,” he admitted sheepishly, making me laugh.
I reached out for the door handle of the passenger side as Jeremy opened the back door, Gilbert jumping in with ease. It clearly wasn’t the dog’s first rodeo.
“Uhhh . . . Jeremy?”
“Is everything okay?” he asked from the back of the car, where he was placing my meager bag of possessions into the trunk.
“How am I supposed to get in?” I asked. “I’m vertically challenged, and this car is clearly made for giants.”
Were I not smuggling a beach ball under my shirt, I would have made a good effort at jumping into the seat, but in my heavily pregnant state, it was far more likely that I would hurt myself instead of landing in the seat.
Jeremy rounded the car, a frown on his face as he looked between the passenger seat and me. “I need to get an appropriate car. I can’t have my girl struggling,” he mused, leaning down to gently grab my hips. Before I could answer and tell him that there was no need for him to buy a new car for me, I was in the air, then being placed in the passenger seat.
As much as I liked being referred to as his girl, I knew we still had a few barriers in the way. The fact that I still hadn”t met his third packmate was quite the issue. Then again, from the sounds of it, I would be living in the same house as him, so we were about to get very well acquainted with each other.
That was a terrifying thought.
Both Jeremy and Devon had made it clear that my relationship would be with them and not with Nate, because he was still mourning the loss of his ex. Something about that didn”t feel right, though. Dating a single member of a pack could be seen as normal, but dating two-thirds of a pack and leaving one member out? I”d never heard of anyone doing something like that before.
“Have you asked Nate about me staying with you guys?” I asked as Jeremy slid into the driver’s seat.
“I sent him a message.”
“A message isn”t a conversation. You can”t just bring a stranger into his home. It”s rude!”
“I”m allowed to invite whoever the hell I want into my home, and both Devon and I are firmly on the same page that you will not be returning to an apartment someone broke into”
“I swear to God, you are a stubborn old mule,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
“Yes, I am stubborn, and I am not going to compromise when it comes to your safety.”
The firmness in his voice shouldn’t have been such a turn-on.