33. Hendrix
Chapter 33
Hendrix
September, Baltimore
“ G ood morning, sunshines.”
I lifted a groggy head to see Ellie at the entrance of the nest, Meadow stiffening in my arms. “Go back downstairs.”
Ellie pouted. “I have your breakfast smoothies ready, though. They’re going to melt if you don’t drink them right away. It’s important to start the day right for the baby.”
Meadow grumbled, burrowing her face against my chest.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” I told Ellie. “Don’t come into the nest.”
With her lips painted bright red, it was impossible to not notice her frown. “Five minutes, and then I’m coming back. Meadow needs to be on a strict schedule if she’s going to thrive.”
Once Ellie was gone, I traced my fingers down Meadow’s spine. “Come on, dream girl. I know you’re comfy, but I would feel much better knowing you’ve got some nutrients in you before we have to head out for the day.”
“I don’t like her being in here.” Meadow pouted, but hers was a million times cuter than Ellie’s, and I loved seeing it on her face. I kissed her perfect lips until she was purring.
“I know. We can look for someone else. Do you want me to get the applications from Gary, so you can look through them?”
“Please.”
“You’ve got it. Want me to pick out some clothes for the day for you, or was there something specific you wanted to wear?”
“Any of the dresses are fine. I’ll have to pick up a few maternity items soon. My leggings are stretchy, but they only have so much give.”
“Buy yourself a whole wardrobe, my treat.” I picked out a little summer dress for her with a stretchy bodice and flowy skirt to easily contain her changing body. Pregnant Meadow in a sundress might be a new favorite. The baby still had a lot of growing to do, but I was pretty confident Meadow was going to look cute as hell through the entire process.
She wiggled her way into a bra and panties, lifting her arms for me to pull the dress over her head. I kissed her again when her face emerged, delighted when she hooked her arms behind my neck to keep me close until she was finished with me.
“You keep kissing me like that, and I’m gonna take you right back to bed.”
“What a tragedy.” Meadow giggled and kissed me again.
“Smoothies!” Ellie yelled up the stairs.
“What a cockblock,” I muttered.
Meadow laughed again. “Don’t blame me. You’re the one who wanted a doula. Any cockblocking that happens is your own damn fault.”
I took her downstairs, and Ellie cheerfully handed us each a bright green smoothie. It was surprisingly good, considering how it looked. Meadow wrinkled her nose and seemed to choke it back as quickly as she could, making displeased whimpers as she drank. It tasted like pineapple and banana, but maybe Meadow didn’t like that combo.
Ellie grinned. “We’re getting you lots of folate for the baby.”
“Can’t I just take a prenatal vitamin?”
Ellie waved her off. “We’re getting you all of the nutrients with none of the fillers.”
“Why don’t you two go shopping today?” I offered.
If looks could kill, Meadow’s would have lit me on fire. I only suggested it because I didn’t want her out and about by herself in an unfamiliar city, and we had obligations this morning we couldn’t get out of to take her shopping for some new, comfortable clothing.
“I would love to! We’ll get you some things to accommodate all of this…growth.” Ellie reached out to pat Meadow’s belly, and I snatched her wrist before she could make contact.
“No touching the omega without her permission.” Meadow gave me a look of relief, and Ellie’s eyes were wide as she stared at where I was touching her. I dropped her wrist and focused on Meadow. “Let us know if you need anything today. We can’t get away much, but we’ll do our best.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to try and get through some coursework, so I can stay ahead of the game. I probably won’t even leave the nest.”
“Except for meals,” Ellie added. “You can’t spend all day in there. You need fresh air. Why don’t we go see the art museum?”
“No, thank you,” said Meadow firmly. “I have work to do.”
It didn’t seem very fair that Meadow was getting to go to all of these cities and not actually see anything. If she preferred staying in, that was okay—a lot of omegas did—but I didn’t want her to miss out. Maybe we should think about flying Clover in for another visit. Atlanta would probably be a good choice for that, since they’d had so much fun at the aquarium in Kansas City.
“You’re coming to the show tonight?”
“I’ll be there with bells on,” Meadow promised.
“Me too!” Ellie added.
I didn’t really care one way or the other if Ellie was there, but she seemed excited, and it was no difficulty to get her into the venue with Meadow if she wanted to see us play.
A knock at the tour bus door had me turning, and Gary slipped inside. “Let’s go.”
The pack and I bid Meadow goodbye and headed out for an interview at one of the local radio stations. We had done probably a thousand of these at this point, but it was still fun. They usually hosted a giveaway for tickets to that night’s show to fans who could correctly answer trivia, and they always got wildly excited about it. It reminded me of the early days of our career, when everything was still so bright and shiny. I knew it was important to hold on to those things so I would always appreciate the people who made our careers possible.
Even so, the day passed in a blur. Before we headed into a sound check, Gary pulled me aside. “Come on. I’ve got your dose in my car.”
“No.” I pulled away from him. “I can’t take anything. Meadow feels it through the bond.”
Gary’s mouth twitched. “Kid, don’t be stupid. You can’t just quit cold turkey. How are you going to get through the rest of the tour?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“This is ridiculous. She felt everything this entire time, and she survived. It’s not like she’s the one taking something.”
I had to protect Meadow. Even if she wasn’t the one consuming whatever the hell Gary gave me, it couldn’t be good for her body to feel the effects. “I’m not doing it. Drop it.”
“You know, I have been really fucking generous with you, not pressing charges for your assault, but I can’t sit by and watch you tank your career.”
“There’s no other option. I can get by just fine if Meadow is on hand.”
“Hendrix, be reasonable. Do you really think she’s going to stick around? This is no life for a woman with a newborn. You can’t raise your kid on that bus, letting her do everything all day while your pack rolls up for the fun shit. I don’t even know her, and I know she’s not going to tolerate that. Are you actually going to give up your entire career for her?”
There had to be a way to do both. Plenty of people in the spotlight had partners and families. We just hadn’t figured out how it would work for us yet.
“Can we not talk about this right now? Let’s just get through the show.”
Gary sighed, but he didn’t press the issue further. I made it through sound check, and once the venue started filling, my nerves began to get the best of me. Meadow was escorted into the green room about half an hour before we were due on stage, Ellie on her heels. I scooped Meadow straight into my arms, letting her sweet floral scent wrap around me and soothe my anxieties.
“You okay?” she asked quietly.
“Just a little stressed. I’m always like this before a show.”
Phin and Arlo sat down on either side of me when I gathered Meadow onto my lap on the couch and Beckett passed her a bottle of water.
“Could you scent mark my shirt for me?” I asked.
“You bet.” Meadow swiped her cheeks over the fabric, lacing her fingers together behind my head and sweeping her wrists along the neckline and my jaw. “Double dose. Is that going to help you onstage?”
“I guess we’ll find out. Hopefully it’ll be enough.”
It wasn’t, not really. At every opportunity, I got a fresh hit of Meadow to get me through the entirety of the show. I couldn’t exactly go out there with her koala clinging to me, but maybe we could figure out something a little bit more potent than scent marking my clothes.
By the time we were ready for the meet and greet, I was dead on my feet. Even with Meadow’s scent, my anxiety had been unruly, draining my energy stores and depleting my mental battery. All I wanted to do was climb into the nest with her.
“You can go, if you want,” offered Phin. “We can handle the VIP.”
“That wouldn’t be fair,” I protested.
“Dude, that’s literally how you got with Meadow to begin with. Just take the out. I’m sure Meadow could use a break too.”
Our omega looked like she was ready to fall asleep standing up. Before I could get to her, Ellie was trotting up to me, a giant smile on her face as she squealed with excitement.
“That was incredible! I haven’t seen you live for years. You were so amazing!”
She was a fan? Gary should have asked that before hiring her. She hadn’t been too weird about it, though, so maybe it was fine.
“Thanks,” I said as I sidestepped her. I didn’t miss the flash of hurt in her eyes, but Meadow was my priority. “Hey there, beautiful. Let’s get you some rest.”
She smiled gratefully, letting me loop my arm around her shoulders and guide her back to the green room. The venue and everywhere around it would be crawling with fans and paparazzi, so it wasn’t safe to go straight to Meadow’s nest, but hopefully she would be comfortable enough in the green room for now.
I got her situated on my lap so I could support her back on the plush couch, my purr triggering with the proximity.
“Where are the others?”
“At the VIP meet and greet. They shouldn’t be more than an hour. You’re stuck with just me for now.”
Meadow let out a laugh and snuggled against me. “What a hardship.”
I cuddled her close, breathing in as much of her scent as I could. White rose and lilac unraveled my nerves, applying a cool balm to my anxiety. The show had gone well, and I had survived it without a drop of what Gary wanted me to take. I was twice as exhausted afterward, but I could cope with that if this was possible each time.
“You hungry, dream girl?”
“Starving. I need something super duper greasy.”
“Any particular preference?”
“Double cheese quesadillas? I’ll get veggies and chicken added in, so Ellie isn’t up my butt about not having appropriate nutrients.”
I kissed her hair and borrowed her phone to put in the order, adding a bunch of options for the others and sending one of the staff to collect the order from the back door.
By the time the food arrived, the rest of the pack was walking into the green room.
“Fucking finally.” Arlo grinned. “I smell my omega and tacos, officially the two best scents in the world.”
Meadow laughed and accepted a kiss from each of them. Even with all of the chaos going on outside those doors, it was oddly peaceful to be tucked away back here with all of them. Meadow inhaled her quesadilla, slathering each bite in liberal servings of sour cream and salsa. I ate my weight in buffalo chicken taquitos, sucking back an unhealthy amount of cola to accompany it.
Our omega was purring up a storm once her stomach was finally full. She picked at a chocolate cinnamon brownie, nibbling the confection until everyone was well-fed and security informed us we were safe to return to the bus.
We would be moving on to Richmond overnight, and hopefully the movement would rock us to sleep.
“I feel like an old lady,” Meadow said as we ascended the stairs to her nest. “My feet hurt from standing, and I was ready for bed five hours ago.”
“You’re growing a whole human,” Arlo pointed out. “That sounds exhausting.”
“It is . I just wanna nap all the time.”
“Luckily you have a mobile nest. You can nap whenever you want.” Beckett helped her out of her dress, and Phin brushed her hair for her before she finally succumbed to her exhaustion.
“Decide between yourselves who’s in here tonight.”
Arlo and I locked eyes, both yelling, “Dibs!”
“That’s not fair,” Phin lamented.
“Should’ve been faster.” Arlo was already stripping down and crawling into the nest with her.
“Better luck next time.” I waved to Phin and Beckett, discarding my clothes and sliding in along Meadow’s back, snuggling as close as I could possibly get.
Heaven had a location, and it was right fucking here.