23. Daisy
Iwas bored.
Jeremy was at an all-day practice before a game, and Devon had a contractor meeting he couldn’t reschedule. Not that I wanted him to reschedule anything—he couldn’t stop living his life just because he had a pregnant omega cramping his style.
For the past few months, I had been just fine with my own company, so why was I struggling so much now? Boredom and I were old friends.
Thanks to the laptop they had loaned me, I’d gotten through all my work in a few hours, taken a nap, and had a long shower.
With a huff, I rolled out of bed, ignoring the slight spinning of the room as I righted myself. I really needed to go see a doctor, but the free clinic had very specific hours and long wait times. There was no way in hell Devon or Jeremy would let me go on my own, and I didn’t want to subject them to that.
A snack was the best thing for me, something sweet but covered in salt. The craving had been pretty persistent for the last two days, so I decided it was about time I indulge it.
Padding down the hallway, I took my sweet time; the closer my due date became, the harder it was to walk. Taking thirty steps to get to the kitchen was a full-on workout.
Hands supporting my belly, I waddled down the first flight of stairs.
“Ugh!” The pained groan made me pause—was that me? My condition was messing with me, but I was fairly certain that noise hadn’t come from me. In fact, it had come from the closed door to my right.
“Hello?” I called out, knocking on the door. No answer.
It wasn’t a sexy moan; it was a struggling one. Hesitating with my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath, opening the door and taking in the room before me.
It was an office. A very traditional one, with an imposing wood desk and high-backed leather chairs.
That wasn’t what grabbed my attention, though. Nate was on his knees, hunched over, groaning in pain.
“Nate! Are you okay?” I cried, running up to him as fast as my heavily pregnant state would allow, gently grabbing his arm.
“Shit. I’m fine!” he snarled, pulling his arm away from me with such anger, I flinched back at the sheer vitriol in his voice.
“Nate . . . I can help you,” I tried to reason.
“I don’t need help, I’m fine,” he growled.
It was utter bullshit—he was white as a ghost, sweating, and visibly shaking. His dirty blond hair was falling in front of his face, sticking to his damp forehead.
“Yes, you”re clearly fine,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Go away!” He tried to stand up but lost his footing and ended up back on the floor. Balling up his fist, he slammed it on the floor, like that would improve his situation.
“Okay, you can be mad at me all you want later, but why don”t we get you to the armchair over there?” I suggested, nodding over to one of the stuffed high-back chairs in the corner of the room. “Or I could call Jeremy.”
Nate looked at me with anger. “Fine. Don’t fucking call him.”
“Then you better do as I say and let me help you. Come on, between the two of us, we almost have the strength of one human being,” I joked as I gently gripped his upper arm and helped him hobble over to the armchair.
“It’ll pass soon enough,” he grunted, not meeting my eye.
“Does this happen often?” I asked as he sank into the chair, visibly shaking.
“Every now and then,” he admitted.
“What helps?”
“There are pills...they’re in the top drawer of my bedside table. I’ll get them when this has passed.”
“I’ll get them now. Stay put,” I instructed, running out of the room before Nate could even open his mouth to complain. Running was the wrong word...it was more of a speedy waddle.
I had never been in Nate”s room, but I knew where it was, thanks to Jeremy”s tour when I’d first moved in. Thankfully, there was only one flight of stairs I needed to take. By the time I reached his door, I was huffing and puffing.
As I opened the door, Nate”s scent hit me square in the face. Every member of this goddamn pack smelled like warmth, and Nate was no different. He smelled like delicious fresh baked bread or, possibly, pastry. Just warm and freshly baked. It kind of reminded me of toast that I”d left to cook until it was just a little browner than I usually liked.
Every time I had seen Nate, he had been dressed impeccably in a suit without a hair out of place, so I expected his bedroom to be a reflection of that. I don”t know why, but I was imagining cool gray tones, an impeccably made bed and a closet where every coat hanger was exactly one inch apart.
The reality was very far from that.
Nate’s bedroom was chaos.
There wasn”t a single surface devoid of clutter—textbooks piled up, knickknacks, and random shirts thrown over surfaces. His bed wasn”t made and looked like someone had been tossing and turning in it all night. The sheet was even beginning to detach from the corner of the mattress.
There were piles of clothing on the floor and even a textbook he was using as a doorstop.
Taking in the space, I laughed silently to myself. It served me right for judging him. Padding over to the bedside table, I opened the drawer and was met with a mess of cables. How many power cables could one alpha own? Surely, he didn”t own that many electrical devices.
Nestled between the cables, I spotted what I was looking for—the orange pill bottle. I had never heard of the name of the medication, so I was hoping it was what Nate needed.
Grabbing the bottle, I waddled back down to the office, taking a quick pit stop in my nest to grab a bottle of water out of the mini fridge.
“Okay, I”ve got your medication and a bottle of water. Is this the right stuff?” I asked as I entered the office.
Nate was slumped over in the armchair, his face pale. “Nate?” I asked, dashing over to him and giving his shoulder a small shake. “Nate? Talk to me. I swear to god, if you don”t start talking to me right now, I”m calling Jeremy and Devon. Don’t test me!” My voice took on a shrill note as I spoke.
“I”m fine. I”m just exhausted,” he grumbled in a low voice that was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear it. “That’s the right one.” He nodded at the pill bottle in my hand.
“You”re a funny man, you know that? You’re the furthest thing from fine right now!” I said as he lifted his head to look at me through blurry eyes. “Take these,” I instructed, popping open the pill bottle and placing two pills in his hand. He tossed the pills into his mouth, and I cracked open the bottle of water, handing it to him so he could take a sip. Once he was done, his head slumped back against the armchair, and he looked at me with an oddly neutral expression.
What was going through his mind? I knew he wasn”t a fan of mine, but I didn’t think he hated me, either.
“How long does the medication take to kick in?” I asked. “You look really pale.”
“I’ve been busy with work, so I haven’t been taking my medication or injections all that regularly,” he admitted weakly.
“Okay.” I nodded. “Your butt needs to get to bed and rest.”
“I’ll be fine in ten,” he insisted.
“The only way you’ll be fine in ten minutes is for you to let me help you get back to your bedroom, so you can lie down in bed. I would insist on carrying you, but unfortunately, you are a lot bigger than me, and I am very pregnant.” I gestured to my stomach.
“You don’t need to?—”
“Well, I”m going to, and you are going to let me help, or I am calling Jeremy and Devon.”
“Objection,” he mumbled, his eyes drooping. My hand flew to my mouth as I tried to muffle my snort of laughter.
“Okay, Your Honour, let’s get you to bed, shall we?” I said, gently pulling him up. He swayed ever so slightly. I reached my hands out to grab his forearms and balance him.
He was grinning lazily, his eyes drooping, like he’d had a few too many drinks. Was that the medication taking effect?
“Fineee, you can take me to bed,” he moaned, throwing his arm around me.
“Good boy. Come on.” I gently guided him out of the office. Thankfully, he was pretty mobile. I just needed to keep an eye on him as he wobbled every so often.
“You smell annoyingly nice,” Nate grumbled as we reached his door.
“Thank you?” I honestly wasn”t sure if it was a compliment or an insult.
“I”m tired,” he admitted.
“Then, I guess it”s a good thing your bed is only a few feet away!” I told him. “Now, how about you sit in the desk chair while I make your bed? Your sheets are all coming off, and that”s not going to be comfortable to sleep in.”
“Thank you. You’re pretty,” he mumbled, plopping down on the desk chair with an impressive thud.
Laughing to myself, I turned to his bed. I had no idea where they kept the clean linens, so I simply had to make do. Throwing off the comforter, I focused on realigning the sheets and tucking them in tightly, so he could sleep on a smooth surface.
It took me longer than I wanted; thanks to my beach-ball-sized stomach, I wasn’t the speediest.
When I turned back to Nate, he was looking at me with hazy eyes, his elbow on his desk, his chin cupped in his hand. He was acting like a drunken toddler, and it was frankly adorable. I was struggling to remain firm with him when he was looking and acting like that.
“Okay, let”s get you to bed,” I told him, taking his hand and gently tugging him over to the bed. He sat on the edge, and we were eye to eye. “Can you take off your shoes for me?” I asked. He was wearing some sort of leather dress shoe—the type that would be a nightmare to sleep in.
He nodded sleepily, leaning down. My hands flew to his shoulders to stop him from toppling over completely as he undid his shoes and threw them across the room with a triumphant smile.
“Did it,” he declared proudly. His hair was sticking up at every angle, and he looked so disheveled and loopy.
“Good. Now, let”s get you into bed.” He probably should take his slacks off, but I was not going to be present for that. Getting him to remove his shoes was about the extent of what I was willing to do with this alpha I hardly knew.
“Don’t tell the others about this,” he whined with his eyes only half open as he watched me throw the comforter over him. “They worry so much. I don”t want them to worry.”
“I won’t tell them,” I assured him. I immediately regretted saying that. If he was sick, shouldn’t his packmates know?
“You’re so nice,” he grumbled as he crawled into the bed, nestling down into the pillows. “I can see why Jeremy really likes you. And Devon. You”re pretty, you smell good, and you’re nice.”
Smiling like a loon, I watched him as his eyes closed and he promptly started snoring. Turns out, he was rather sweet when medicated. What the hell happened to that grumpy alpha I had met just a few short days ago?
Once I was sure he was asleep and wasn”t going to hurt himself, I grabbed a bottle of water and left it on his bedside table, along with the bottle of pills, in case he needed more.