Chapter Twenty-Eight
Spencer
Isat on Grace’s bed, working on my laptop. Okay, it was more like I was texting my publicist, putting out fires, and answering ridiculous questions about mating gifts from relatives. Invitations had gone out, also, thanks to the entertainment news, the entire world knew that I’d taken a mate.
People were even sending random gifts for us to Compass BioTek.
What did I ask my family for? When Elaris and I mated, it made sense to let them buy us a home, furnishings, and all the things we needed to start our lives together, given we’d been living in the dorms.
But now? We had most everything. Would it be odd to ask for donations to our foundation?
Unless they wanted to buy us a jet that would not only get us to Grace’s island but land on it. I mean, they bought my cousin a yacht. Or perhaps they’d expand our airstrip?
Possibly both?
“What do you think, Grace? Is there anything special you’d like?” I inquired, even though she wasn’t going to answer. But I’d ask her again later. Just like I wore my glasses because I knew she found them sexy.
The doctors had finished administering the medicines; now it was up to her body to do the rest. The doctor seemed optimistic.
As was I. She looked better, smelled better. Soon enough she’d be fully awake and asking for that ice cream.
Right now, I was alone in her hospital room with her. Brennan hauled everyone else off for sleep and showers.
“Spencer?” There was a knock on the door. Mrs. K stood there holding a large container.
“Mrs. K. Come in. I wasn’t expecting you.” It was Saturday.
“I brought some soup. You all need to eat, and she might like something homemade.” She came in and put the container on the table.
“Thank you so much.” That sounded perfect.
Mrs. K glanced at the bed. “Is she awake?”
“She’s still in and out.” I got up and came over to my assistant. We sat at the table. Mrs. K wore her I want to talk face.
“I can’t find any lists of anyone Demitra and Nick sent away when they were getting those with illegal designations to safety," she told me. “I know that they were working with an underground organization to help those who needed it. There weren’t very many they sent, especially compared to the hundreds they took in, but that’s it. ”
“That’s fine. Thank you. I’d expect all of that was lost when the Temporal Authority blew up their research.” And somehow they had all their backups erased.
But that made sense. It wasn’t Rosalind who had the connection; it was someone in whatever organization she’d found to help her.
“I might be able to find Grace a therapist, though,” Mrs. K added.
“Oh, there’s a list of those brought here?” It would be interesting to see.
She shook her head. “One that survived? Not that I know of. But I’ve met a few. Also, most, if not all, of the male omega miracle births we’ve had in the past few decades were omegas that they smuggled in, coming from worlds where it’s possible.”
“I thought so. I appreciate it, Mrs. K.”
Mrs. K glanced back over to her. “Should we postpone the party?”
“Not yet.” I shook my head. I’d leave that for Grace to decide when she woke up. The doctor made it sound like she’d be fine in a couple of days.
“I’m logging all the gifts that come in so that we can thank everyone. There are a few that you should keep, but I’ll let you and Grace sort through them. I’m sure we can donate the rest to the Omega Center or a shelter,” she informed me.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea. Thank you.”
“I should go, but please let me know if you need anything.” She patted my shoulder and stood.
“I will. Thanks for the soup.”
Mrs. K left, and I tried to get a few more things done.
The soup was still warm… and smelled delicious. Using an empty paper cup and a spoon left from dinner last night, I got some and sat down on the bed next to Grace.
I took a bite, letting the soup of lemon, eggs, rice, and chicken explode over my tongue.
“This will make you feel so much better when you wake up,” I told Grace. I finished and put the empty cup on the bed table.
Grace stirred, and her hand moved in that way that meant she was searching for one of us.
“I’m right here. Do you want to wake up now?” I pulled her into me.
“Mmmm, dunno.” Her face buried in my chest.
“Okay. I have soup. Such nice soup to make you feel better.” I stroked her hair.
She made a non-committal noise. “Ice cream.”
“Yes, Wes will bring you ice cream later.” I looked at my phone. They were up, eating, and then going to Riley’s school. The semester ended in a few days, so they were starting to move her things back to the house for summer.
“Okay.” Grace snuggled into me and went back to sleep.
I went back to my phone, which was again full of mating party questions.
But, my friend was all set to come and grill, my cousins would play the music, the rings were ordered, and the wine selected.
Grace needed a dress, but that wasn’t an issue.
I’d just take her to Andre’s shop unless she had something else in mind.
My grandfather even planned to attend, which surprised me considering his age.
Grace stirred again. This time she opened her eyes and looked at me sleepily.
“Hi, Darling.” I stroked her hair again.
“Spencer, you’re home?” She frowned and looked around. “Where…”
“Shhh.” I pulled her back into me. “You’re in the hospital, Baby Girl. You got sick, but you’re going to be okay.”
Her nose scrunched. “I have been spending way too much time in hospitals for my taste.”
Mine, too. At least she was awake. Relief flooded me.
“Your body is literally adjusting to being in a different world. It’s to be expected,” I murmured.
“Where’s Wes and Evan?” Her eyes teared a little.
“They’ll be back. Should they bring you the ice cream with extra fudge you keep asking for?” I texted them that she was awake.
Grace nodded and snuggled into me. “Yes. What happened? I remember throwing up and…”
Embarrassment flooded the bond.
“None of that.” Holding her tight, I explained what had happened–and what choices we made for her. “I hope it was the right one. The doctor asked you, and you said that you wanted ice cream.”
“I’m so glad that you didn’t choose the first one.” Her lower lip quivered.
“Unfortunately, it might still be in your future. We have to do what’s best for your body.
But even if it’s in a hospital, I’ll make sure that your heart and soul are still taken care of, as will the others.
” I kissed her. We’d been shown the medical heat suites; they weren’t awful, but it was still a hospital.
Grace made a face and then stared at her body. “Be good or else.”
I kissed her temple. “That’s my girl.”
“I… I was going into heat and didn’t know it? I thought heats were supposed to be magical. I’m fucked up.” Her shoulders rounded in defeat.
My heart broke as her scent went salty with sadness.
“It’s not you, it’s everything that happened to you.
Electrical currents can disrupt a body’s ability to go into heat.
Your body tried, but once you got to a certain point, it just didn’t know what to do.
But hopefully it’ll be better now. Don’t worry about it one bit.
We love you.” I pulled her, so she was on top of me, careful of all the monitors.
“Okay.” She rested her head on my chest and looked up at me. “I love your glasses.”
“I’m glad. Are you thirsty? For water,” I added.
She nodded.
I got her some water and helped her drink. “Why don’t we call the nurse?”
“How about if Wes brings me ice cream?” She pouted.
“I will absolutely ask him to. How about I feed you some of the nice soup Mrs. K made you, first? It’s still warm,” I suggested.
“She made me soup? Mrs. K is so nice.” Grace nodded. “I want a bite. It smells good.”
Getting my cup, I spooned some soup into it, trying to get mostly broth. I sat back down, and I fed her a bite.
“That’s my good girl,” I praised as she swallowed spoonful after spoonful of soup.
A nurse came in. “Oh, you’re awake!” She looked at me and frowned. “What are you feeding her?”
“Homemade soup.” I offered Grace another spoonful. Her mouth opened like a baby bird, and I fed her some more.
“At least it’s not ice cream.” The nurse sighed and went over to the monitors.
Grace made a face at her.
“You can have ice cream later. You should have a little food first. The soup smells nice,” the nurse said. “How about if your alpha goes and gets some coffee and I’ll get you checked over and taken care of?”
That wasn’t an actual question.
“Oooh, coffee sounds amazing. Thanks, Spence.” Grace smiled at me.
Putting the almost empty cup back on the bedstand, I gave her a kiss and stood. “I’ll be right back.”
“Are you serious?” Grace laughed as we looked at jets on my laptop. “They’re going to buy us a plane as a mating gift?”
“Yes, which one do you want? These all will fit on your island, and these,” I clicked to another tab, “will fit with a few modifications to the runway. These are not allowed on your island, but we could still have one. We’d just then need to keep another plane someplace to take to your island.
Or get a helicopter.” It was a little ridiculous, but my family in Greece was ridiculous.
My parents tried to give me what they deemed a normal upbringing. And they did. But I had plenty of experience with the finer things in life, too.
Also, in my family, the mating gift from the alpha’s family to the new couple was usually substantial. My family was also very excited that I was taking a mate again. While they loved Elaris and knew that it would take time for me to heal, they also worried about me being lonely.
“We have a plane.” Her eyebrows rose as she looked over them.
“The company has a plane. This would be for our family. Honestly, a pack plane is a good thing. It’s about safety, and convenience.
Brennan’s business trips would be quicker and easier because he could just take the jet.
Same with family vacations. Or quick business trips for you.
Let’s say that you get invited to speak at a university in New York.
We could simply fly over, you could speak, we’d have dinner, and return right home,” I explained.
“New York?” She laughed.
“The math department at the New York Institute of Technology has a speaker series. Narif has spoken to them. They’d love you. Also, if we don’t specify exactly what we want, my family will pick. That happened with Elaris and me,” I laughed.
“What?” She laughed.
“We told them that we’d like a little house but were like, Oh, we’ll be happy with anything.” With a laugh, I told her about our little starter home, the ostentatious decor, and the insanely expensive appliances.
“I mean, a house is a house,” she laughed. “Did you sell it after she passed?”
“I gave pretty much everything to her family to do what they wished with it. They were lovely people who worked hard but didn’t always have the resources to give their kids all the opportunities they would have liked.
” I hadn’t heard from them in years. Which was fine. I understood if they blamed me.
Sometimes I blame myself.
But the investigation had been reopened, and perhaps we’d get justice for her.
Also, I had my sweet Grace. I kissed her.
“This is the yacht my cousin got. You’ll love her. She and I were close growing up–she loved terrorizing Evan when he’d come visit.” And was the reason he didn’t like pizza. This was not the cousin who wanted to build an artist colony in downtown Rockland, but she was part of the cousin band.
I showed Grace some pictures.
“That is a floating mansion.” She giggled at the ones of my cousin’s yacht.
Leaning in, I touched my forehead to hers. “It’s a floating eyesore. The yacht that came with your island is much better.” My phone beeped. “Oh, look, my aunt is trying to send you the ugly jewelry that no one wants. It keeps getting passed around.”
I’d probably be forced to wear the horrid cufflinks we all wore for our mating parties.
“They’re a lot,” I added. “But they’re good people.
My grandfathers taught me as much about business as my father taught me about science.
More even. I attended Rock Tech because they have one of the few science business programs in the world.
You see, I wanted to combine what I loved with what I was good at–and I did.
I know some people question why a biotech company has special projects like we do, but I never set off to actually do biotech or even pharmaceuticals.
All I wanted to do was to find brilliant people who could change the world and help them carry out their work. ”
“The Thanukos Incubator for Interesting Projects. We will change the world. If I ever actually work,” she laughed. “Margie is going to complain that I’m never there.”
“You and Blaise are forming your team for the simulator. It is fine. You’re doing a great job,” I reassured her.
I had a feeling that I might need to create an additional campus just for Special Projects so that they could do what they wanted without the zoning limitation we had in our current building.
Especially if they ever got into space travel.
My phone beeped, but it wasn’t from one of my relatives. It was a warning from Wes. However, Grace was dressed, and we weren’t in any compromising positions.
“Incoming. Someone is bringing you ice cream.” I nuzzled her, making her giggle.
“About time.” She laughed.
“Fuck of the morning, bitches. We have ice cream.” Riley came in holding a bag.
“We also have food,” Evan added. “And more things for you.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Riley gave her a hug, her anise scent a little worried.
“I’ll be okay. The doctor says I might even be able to come home tomorrow.” Grace smiled. “Which is good. I have a lot of work to do.”
“Grace, Darling.” My voice went warning.
“I can work from home, Dearest. Thinking about all the stuff I need to do is making me anxious.”
That was something I understood.
“I’m so relieved that you’re okay.” Wes rushed over to her. “I was so worried.”
“I’m okay,” she reassured. “Really, I am.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, too.” Evan also gave her a hug.
“Give me some of that, Babydoll.” Jett joined them and kissed her.
Grace looked at Brennan and made grabby hands.
Silently, he rushed over and looked at her like she was everything. He leaned in and kissed her so deeply that Riley cleared her throat.
“There are children present, you dumb fucks,” Riley grumbled. “This is why I like to live at school.”
Brennan looked right at her and turned and kissed Grace again.
“Well, then.” Riley laughed.
But it wasn’t like we didn’t all feel that way.