Chapter 31
Savannah
“A re you sure you don’t want me to go?” Leroy asks as I shove a few extra diapers in Athena’s bag.
“I’m sure. I’ll be fine, okay? The school is literally a few blocks down the road. It’s a nice day. We’ll enjoy a little walk and go visit Daddy Jake.” I grab the bag and sling it over my shoulder. “Won’t we, Little Bug?” I coo.
She squeals, then blows raspberries. Spit covers her face and flies everywhere but god, she's so damn cute!
“Fine,” he sighs. “If you're sure you can handle her, I’ll go do a bit of grocery shopping.”
Crossing my arms, I raise a brow. “And what makes you think I can’t handle her?” I ask, a little annoyed. “I get up with her at night, I change her diapers, and I give her bottles. I know how to take care of her, Leroy.”
His face falls. “Shit. I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.” He blows out a breath, placing the baby in her car seat that's attached to the stroller. “She’s just been very cranky today.”
“Oh.” My shoulders drop.
“You thought I was second-guessing your ability to take care of her?” he asks, pulling me into his arms.
“Maybe,” I grumble into his chest.
He chuckles, placing his chin on top of my head. “You're an amazing mother to Athena, okay? She’s lucky to have you. And I can tell that little girl loves you just as much as we do.”
My heart races at his words. “You just called me her mother,” I whisper, leaning back to look up at him with teary eyes.
He smiles down at me, brushing some hair behind my ear. “Because you are her mother, Savvy. The only one she will ever need.”
“Stop.” My voice cracks. “I hate crying. Ugh. I’ve never cried before I met you guys. You're bad for my image,” I whine, burying my face in his chest again.
He laughs. “If it makes you feel any better, you're pretty when you cry.”
“Why does that sound like something you would say if your cock was buried down my throat and I was gagging on it?”
“Fuck,” he groans, and I feel him getting hard against my belly. “Now I’m going to be stuck with that image in my mind.”
“Happy to help.” I smile, patting his chest.
“Brat,” he grumbles.
“Sorry... Daddy.” I bite my lower lip, loving the way his eyes darken.
“Go before I drag you up to the room and fuck you into the mattress.”
Oh, I like that idea.
“You know, maybe you’re right. We can go see Jake another time.”
“Go.” He laughs.
“Fine,” I grumble. “You're no fun.”
“Not what you were saying when my tongue was buried in your pussy last night,” he replies, voice husky as he slaps my ass on the way out of the room.
And now I’m wet. At this point, I’m concerned if my panties are dry.
I’ve called Duchess and asked her more than once if this much slick was normal or even healthy. And every time she tells me yes, and I’m just a horny bitch who’s addicted to dick.
I mean, she’s not wrong.
But not any dick. Just for that fine-ass silver fox of a Beta and my Alphas.
“I swear if someone gives me another dirty look like I’m kidnapping this baby one more time, bodies will start going missing,” I warn him as we head towards the door.
“To be fair, you did yell after Caleb and I quote, ‘Get back here with that baby. You might have had her first, but she’s mine now’ when we were at the grocery store.”
“I was holding her, and he snatched her from me!” I huff.
“Yes. But then later when we were at the park, you literally grabbed the stroller from him when he wasn't looking and took off running while screaming ‘she's mine now, bitches.’ It was bound to turn a few heads,” he chuckles.
“Whatever,” I grumble.
“Hey.” He grips my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I love you.”
I melt at his words. “I love you, too.”
“Have fun.”
“We will. I plan on giving all the girls evil eyes. And there’s this one gay teacher, and I swear to god, if he eyes up my man one more fucking time, I’ll piss all over Jake. Don’t fucking test me.”
Leroy rolls his lips together like he’s trying not to laugh. I don’t know what's so funny, I’m being serious.
“Don’t you mean slick all over him?”
I think for a moment. “You know what, that too. The more scents, the better.”
He lets out a breath. “Be good.”
“Never.” I flutter my eyes, laugh, and blow him a kiss.
“Attitudes like that get naughty Omegas a spanking,” he warns as I push the stroller out the door.
“Promises, promises, Big Guy!” I shout. “But don’t plan to dish it out if you're not willing to take it.” I grin, shooting him a wink over my shoulder.
“You are not spanking me,” he growls, looking horrified.
“Whatever you say, Daddy,” I sing-song before laughing like the madwoman I am.
I feel good. The sun is shining and the breeze is light, but feels nice on my arms. And I’m going on a lunch date with my favorite girl and one of my favorite men.
If I’m being honest with myself, I need the distraction. Walker has been working crazy shifts at the fire station lately, and I feel like I never see him anymore.
The night Leroy and I went out on our date, we came back and showed off our new tattoos.
The guys were all happy for us, and we ended up snuggling in bed. We slept for about an hour before both Caleb and Walker got called into work.
It was some big fire down at the medical center where I found Caleb with that girl. The girl who turned out to be his work partner. Ex-work partner now. He went down to the police station right after we were done and flat out told his boss he wanted to be switched or to work alone.
On his way out, that girl pulled up. She got out of the car, and I not-so-subtly eavesdropped.
He flat out told her they were not going to be working together. He didn’t explain why, but when she spotted me giving her the evil eye, I think she got the picture.
When he got back into the car, he looked at me with an amused look and said, “A case of raging diarrhea, huh?” referring to the text I sent from his phone.
“If loose bowels scare a girl away, she’s not meant for you anyways,” is what I responded with.
He tossed his head back and laughed at me. Asshole.
Anyways, I’m getting off track.
That night of the fire, a few of the firemen got injured. Thank fuck, Walker was not one of them. Thankfully, they were all treatable injuries. So, because they’re down a few men, everyone has been taking on extra hours.
That means I can’t bond with him like I was planning to because he can’t take the extra time off to fuck my brains out.
Shouldn’t there be some kind of work leave for that?
Jake told me they have it for when a pack’s Omega goes into heat, but what if she’s just very horny?
“I think I might be a sex addict,” I tell Athena. “I can’t stay off your daddies.”
She blinks up at me, sucking on her hand.
“It’s a good thing you have no idea what's going on, or I’m sure you would be scarred for life.” I laugh.
Chittering catches my attention, and I see Thor climbing down from a nearby tree and over to me.
Stopping, I look around, making sure Leroy isn’t looking and whisper-hiss, “Quick, get in.” I point to the basket at the bottom of the stroller.
He does, climbing in and covering himself with one of the baby's blankets.
The guys don’t like it when I take Thor off the property, other than when I take him on my kills.
It’s not my fault people freak out when they see him. They look at raccoons like they’re some sort of deadly monster. Have you seen his cute, adorable, chubby, fuzzy face? He’s harmless.
Okay, so one time he stole a little boy's cotton candy, but Thor couldn't help it. It’s his favorite treat.
And then there was that time he snatched that guy's toupee off his head, but in Thor’s defence, he thought the guy was a zombie. The man's toupee was literally peeling off his head, blowing in the wind. Thor was just defending us.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t just that he took his toupee, but that he bit him and ran away, too. But I still insist he was just trying to protect.
The guys, on the other hand, didn’t believe that.
They just don’t understand Thor like I do. It’s okay, they will learn.
By the time we reach the school, it’s lunchtime and the baby is asleep.
“Why are they so loud?” I mutter as the kids run around the school yard, screaming their heads off like a bunch of banshees. “You won’t be like these little crotch goblins, will you?” I coo to my sleeping baby.
“Excuse me?” someone gasps.
I look up to see a woman looking at me with very judgy eyes.
“I wasn’t talking to you, was I?” I ask. I look down at the kid who’s standing next to her. His finger is shoved up his nose, and I cringe. “Maybe I was,” I tell her. “Kid, if you dig any deeper, you're going to scrape out your brain.”
The kid's eyes go wide, and he starts to cry. He doesn’t even bother removing his finger from his nose.
“Kids are gross,” I mutter. “So is yours.” It’s true about the brain thing. Duchess said so when she caught one of the guards with his finger up his nose. “I was trying to save the kid's life, and all I get is dirty looks.” I roll my eyes. “You're welcome, by the way.”
Ignoring the crying kid, because now is not a time for me to get a headache, I head into the school.
“Can I help you?” someone else stops me.
“Nope,” I tell her and try to keep going.
She holds out her arm, and my eye twitches. Bitch, touch me, I dare you. I will fucking snap you like a twig.
It’s a teacher from the first day of school, the one who gave me all the dirty looks. Jake had to make me promise not to claw her eyes out.
Well, he’s not here right now, and if she doesn’t fuck off, I’ll do it this time.
“You're Jake’s Omega, aren't you?” she asks, and there she goes, eyeing me up like one might look at a pile of cow crap.
Jesus take the wheel with this one before I do my first public stabbing.
Well, one that people will actually see. I’ve stabbed a guy once in passing. Fucking catcalled me, and I made him cry like a little bitch as he crumbled to the ground.
“Yup.” I grin brightly because I’m damn proud of it.
She looks me over again, and my skin crawls. Her tongue runs along her teeth before making this clicking sound that makes my eye twitch. “Huh,” is all she says before turning around and walking away from me.
I stand there, gaping after her.
Huh? Fucking huh! I’ll show her, huh .
“Savvy?” And just like that, Jake’s voice settles something inside me.
Spinning around, I grin widely when I see his smiling face. “Surprise!”
“What are you doing here?” he asks, laughing as he walks over to me.
“Thought I’d bring my Alpha some lunch. I ordered sushi from your favorite place. The idea of eating raw fish makes me think of their cold, dead eyes.” I shudder. “Like, you’re eating their carcass.”
He chuckles. “It’s not any different than eating cows, pigs, or chickens.”
“Ah, yeah, because we cook those.” I roll my eyes.
“Don’t knock it until you try it.” He winks.
“I’ll stick with my chicken and ramen, thanks.”
He grabs the stroller and pushes it to his classroom. “You're just in time. Lunch just started. The older kids are outside playing while the younger ones eat.”
That's when I see him. “Carter!” Excitement blossoms within me.
“Savvy!” His big brown eyes light up when he sees me.
Laughing, I crouch down and let the little guy run right into my arms. “Missed you, little dude.”
“I missed you, too.” His hugs are so tight and warm. I could get used to these.
“How are the bullies?” I ask when we pull apart.
“What bullies?” he shrugs, grinning. “No one will come near me because they’re afraid of the big scary blonde lady.”
That has me laughing. “Good.” I ruffle his hair. “You here to eat with Jake?”
“Who’s Jake?” he asks, scrunching his nose up.
“I am.” Jake laughs. “Holloway is my last name.”
“Ohhh.” He nods as if it’s an obvious answer. “Yeah. I always come here at lunch.” I knew that, and I knew he would be here.
“Well, come on, let’s eat.”
The baby is still sleeping, so we push her over to the side of Jake’s desk, where he has it cleaned off, and I place the food down.
“What do you have to eat?” I ask Carter when we all sit down.
He looks at his lunchbox and frowns. “A ham sandwich the cafeteria gave me. It’s got nothing on it. Just bread and ham,” he sighs heavily.
I look at Jake and see a sad look on his face. He gives me a forced smile, and something tells me this isn’t a new thing for Carter.
Do his parents not even fucking feed him? And is that all this damn school gives him?
Jake leans in and whispers. “I’m not allowed to buy him anything. I tried once, but the school says I can’t show favoritism.”
My brows shoot up, and I snort. “Fuck that shit,” I whisper back. “You might not be able to, but I sure as fuck can. If they have an issue with it, I’ll deal with it.”
“How about we put that sandwich away. Make room for this.” Reaching into the bag, I pull out a box.
“What is it?” His eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning. Yeah, I’m gonna be looking into his parents more.
“Open it.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
With newfound excitement, he opens it up, and his eyes go wide. “Pizza!”
“And it’s all yours.”
“Really?” He looks up at me like I just handed him a million dollars. Nope. Not gonna cry. Not gonna cry.
“Yup. Go on. Eat.”
The way Carter digs into the pizza breaks my heart because it looks like he hasn’t eaten in days.
Jake and I talk about his day. What the kids are doing and what he’s teaching in class.
Carter asks questions here and there, but I can see how happy he is just to be here, with his pizza and around people he feels comfortable with.
About halfway through lunch, Athena wakes up.
“Hey, Little Bug.” Jake takes her out of her car seat. She looks so adorable with her messy hair and sleepy face. But when she sees Jake, her face lights up and she gives him a big, toothless grin. He laughs and starts to kiss her cheeks, making her giggle.
I watch the two of them, a smile on my own face because how can I not feel anything but pure joy while looking at the two of them.
I’ve been with the guys for about a month now, and Jake and I have spent hours in deep conversation, telling me about his life and how it’s been for the past few years. He told me some stories about our past life together, but none of my past has come back to me.
I’m not ready to know everything because sometimes I find it frustrating that I can’t remember but he can. For the most part I try not to think about it and get to know my best friend for who we are now. It’s a fresh start with no pressure from the past.
There is one thing I realized and I have no idea how I didn’t see it before, but when in that room, locked up away from the world, one of the things they allowed me to have was tea.
I’m not sure if I asked for it, or if they just gave it to me but it was always chamomile and lavender. It settled something inside me, gave me an inner peace I didn’t know I had.
All along, I had a piece of him with me, something to settle my heart and soul while we were apart. Chamomile and lavender will forever smell like home. I can’t explain it. It just is.
“She’s so cute.” Carter gets up from his chair to walk over to the baby. She looks at him and smiles around the fist that's in her mouth. “Hi there.” She babbles away, making him laugh. “She reminds me of my sister.”
“You have a sister?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Carter's face falls. “But she’s dead.”
My fucking heart slams into my ribcage.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, looking at Jake. But if the look on his face is any indication, he didn’t know.
“She died when she was two. My dad was supposed to be watching her, and she choked and died. He was too busy watching TV. I tried to help, but I didn’t know what I was doing.”
I can see him on the verge of crying—hell, so am I—so I think fast, trying to figure out a way to get his mind off it because what the hell is going on right now?
“If you ever need baby cuddles, Athena gives the best ones. Don’t you, Little Bug.”
She screws up her face and lets out a big fart.
And because farts are the funniest things ever to little boys, Carter bursts into laughter, forgetting all about what was making him sad, and we join him.
Once we get the baby back in the stroller and set up to play with some toys, I grab some black nail polish out of her bag.
“Really?” Jake chuckles, shaking his head, but he knows the drill and places his hand on the table.
“What's that?” Carter asks, leaning over to get a good look.
“Nail polish,” I answer him as I uncap the bottle and take out the brush. Wiping off the excess, I start to paint Jake’s nails.
“Are you painting his nails?” Carter asks curiously.
“Yup.”
“But why?”
“Because he likes it.” I shrug, moving to the next finger.
“But that's for girls.”
“Says who?” I flick my gaze over to Carter.
“The boys in my class.”
I huff. “Those boys don’t know what they’re talking about. Anyone can have their nails painted. Boys or girls. It’s just color. It’s fun and it looks cool. Jake always has them done at home, but never wears them to school.”
“Why not?”
“Yeah, Jake, why not?” I raise a brow at my Alpha. I know the reason. He said it’s because one time, one of the female teachers made fun of him right to his face. Asked if he was gay, and when Jake told her no, she looked at him like he was out of his mind.
Can you guess which teacher that was?
Ding, ding, ding. The bitch from the hallway.
We hate her.
He hasn’t worn them to school since. And because I think her opinion isn’t worth shit, I’m painting his nails anyways. And because he doesn’t like to upset me, he’s gonna keep it on. At school. Because fuck what anyone else thinks.
“All done. Next hand.” Jake gives me his other hand, and I wink. “Good boy.”
His cheeks go bright pink, and I grin wider as I continue to paint his nails.
“You play dirty,” he leans in and whispers.
“I’ll show you just how dirty I can be later.”
“Can... can you do mine?” Carter asks after Jake is done.
I want to say yes, but if his father is anything like what I think he is, I don’t want him to go home with polish on his nails and get in trouble. The idea of anything happening to that little boy makes me sick.
“Tell you what.” I reach over and grab the pack of markers from the shelf next to me. “How about we use these, that way you can wash them off before you go home.” I look down to see that his nails are short. He bites them. “Nail polish isn’t good for you if you bite your nails. It will make you sick. This is better.”
“Okay!” he agrees right away.
We get lost in the moment, Carter picking different colors from the pack and telling me which finger he wants the specific color on.
By the time we’re done, the lunch bell rings.
“Oh man,” he sighs. “I was having fun.”
“How about I come back in a few days?” I tell him as I get up and grab the stroller.
“Really? That would be awesome.” He grabs my legs and squeezes me hard. “Bye, Savvy.”
“Bye, Carter,” I call after him as he takes off.
“Bye, Mr. Holloway!” Carter calls out from the hall.
“I think you’ve taken my spot as his favorite person.” Jake chuckles.
“I mean, can you blame him? I’m pretty awesome.” I grin.
Jake wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me towards him. I can’t help the whimper that leaves me from his simple touch, and the smell of candy apple fills the air, making him groan. “You're amazing. You’re kind. You're loving. Thank you.”
“For what?” I whisper as he looks down at me with emotion in his eyes.
“For having a big heart. For caring for that little boy when he needs more people on his side. For not allowing me to hide myself because I care too much about what other people think sometimes.”
“You're with me now. I’m not going to let you be anyone else but yourself. Because you, Jake Holloway, are pretty fucking amazing.”
He growls, leaning in and kissing me hard.
“You better go before we scare these poor children,” Jake murmurs against my lips.
I don’t wanna go. I wanna lock that door and demand he take me right here and now over his desk.
“Tonight. You’re mine.” I kiss him before taking a step back.
“Always.”
He says goodbye to the baby, and we leave his room.
“Something smells.” I give Athena a funny look. She grins up at me, not a care in the world that she just crapped herself. “Alright, stinky girl, let’s go get you changed before we head home.”
Heading to the nearest bathroom, I see that it’s a teacher’s only bathroom. Well, my Alpha is a teacher, so that'll have to be close enough.
Heading inside, I walk into the biggest stall, and I’m grateful when I see the changing table. Why are these things always in women’s restrooms and never in men’s? What about the single dads? Why can’t they be given the ability to change their kids?
Once I’m slipping on the fresh diaper, I hear women's voices.
“Can you believe she came here?” Lovely, it’s the bitch. “She’s so pathetic. Why doesn’t she just piss on him already? The way she shows off her bite marks. We get it, he’s your Alpha. I don’t even know what he sees in her.”
“They’re scent matches,” says another voice, one I don’t recognize. “Not much of a choice there.”
“I’d bet if he did, he wouldn’t have picked her. She’s crazy, like, stalker vibes crazy. Poor guy. Someone should check in with that pack and make sure they're okay. It’s a blink twice if you need help kind of situation.” Her laugh makes my fucking ears bleed.
Looking over to Athena, I lean in and whisper in her face. “Tell Mommy not to stab the stupid Lady,” I coo. It’s the first time I referred to myself as her mom. I like it. And I think my baby boy would, too.
I want to. I want to cut a bitch so bad right now. But I can’t. It will draw too much attention and cause drama that Jake doesn’t need.
I need to control my urges and breathe.
They laugh and continue to talk, but I hear the sounds of stall doors shutting.
As I put the baby back into the stroller, the sound of chittering reminds me Thor is still in the stroller. He was sleeping the whole time.
With that realization, an idea comes to mind, making me grin.
“Hey.” I lift the blanket, and he looks up at me with his beady little eyes. “Wanna have some fun?”
That has him sitting up. Leaning down, I whisper my plan in his ear before he scurries out. Opening the bathroom stall, I look back at Thor and grin, giving him the thumbs up.
The baby and I head into the hallway.
“And now we wait,” I say in baby-talk to her. She has no idea what's about to happen, but that bitch deserves it.
A few seconds later, blood-curdling screams come from the bathroom, and that’s my cue to jump in. Looking around, I see no one out in the hall and open the door.
Thor comes running out and jumps into the back of the stroller, ducking under the blanket.
I start down the hallway as if nothing happened while the women continue to scream.
“I’ve been bit!” she screams. “Help me, I’ve been bit.”
My feet move faster when she busts out of the bathroom and into the hallway.
Casting a glance over my shoulder, I grimace when I see her hand dripping with blood.
“I’m gonna die. I’m gonna get rabies!”
Jake’s head pops out of his classroom, and I smile and wave as we pass him. “What the—” he starts, looking behind me just as she screams. “A raccoon. A raccoon bit me.”
Jake’s eyes snap over to mine, wide and accusatory. Rude.
“See you at home.” I blow him a kiss, and a second later, I hear the sound of the woman's body hitting the ground. She’s fainted.
Using the distraction, I rush out of the school and get as far away as I can before bursting into laughter.
Squatting down, I lift the blanket and raise my hand for a high five. “Thanks, buddy.”
Thor responds with a chitter before grabbing the bag of chips I brought for a snack and ripping into it.
My phone chimes. Pulling it out of my pocket, I see it’s a text message from Jake.
Jake: Did you bring Thor to school?
Me: Noooo
Jake: Savvy!
Me: Okay, so I did. But he was sleeping the whole time.
Jake: Clearly not. He bit Julia.
Julia. Ugh. How dare he call her anything but cunt muffin or ragging troll bitch.
Me: Jessica had it coming. You should have heard the things she was saying about me in the bathroom! She called me crazy.
Jake: You're not crazy, but you're not helping that accusation.
Me: You wanna see crazy? I’ll fucking show you crazy.
Jake: Nope. I trust you on that one. She insulted you?
Me: Yes! And you. And our pack.
Jake: Does Thor at least have his shots?
Me: Yes. Of course. I’m not that stupid.
Jake: I’d never call you stupid, Sweet Girl. But in that case, have a good day, baby.
Grinning at the phone, I send him a kissy face and put it back in my pocket.
“Today was a good day,” I tell Athena. “Now, let’s go home and put you down for a nap so your daddy and I can have some naked wrestling time.”
Sex. We’re going to have sex. So many orgasms. I pity these poor men when my heat hits. They won’t even stand a chance.
The thought of my heat has my stomach turning. Nope, not going to let that bring down my good mood. I’ll cross that bridge when it comes. If it ever does.