Chapter 6 #2
Then, if I had the energy, I’d do things outside of my immediate job. Unfortunately, I was over ambitious and crashed. I can grit out words if I have to, but I am white knuckling things until I get home.
My heavier medication is there, but it’ll knock me on my ass. I’ll be asleep within seconds and completely vulnerable. Dammit. I’m going to have to wait for him to leave after dropping me off before I can take it. Possibly.
I hope he doesn’t insist on staying. He’s being so sweet, but scent match or not, I don’t fucking know him. I know that they’re generous with their money and support to the community, I can sense that he is truly apologetic for the way his pack behaved, but nothing else.
It’s too much vulnerability for me to be able to share with someone.
My phone rings, and I whimper because I’m going to have to pick that up. God, I don’t want to fucking human right now. Leaning down as slow as possible because my head feels like a ten pound bowling ball, I pull my phone out of the front pocket of my bag.
A semi glance shows that it’s Cian, which means I definitely need to answer this.
“Hello,” I rasp. I sound like death.
“ Hollis. What’s wrong?” he asks, sounding horrified.
Yeah, me too, buddy.
“I feel like death. Going home,” I say. See? I can force the words out when I absolutely have to, but they crack like dry clay.
“ Fuck,” he hisses.
“Nothing can be more important than you going home, Hollis,” Brice says.
The phone isn’t on speaker, so I ignore him as I rub my tender head.
“Going to go to sleep to kick this migraine, Cian,” I say. “Anything you want will have to wait.”
“ Of course. The Senior Families want to meet with you,” Cian says. “ Get some sleep, and please feel better. They can wait.”
“What… what do they want?” I ask, stumbling over my words as my head drops back on the head rest. I can tell that my breaths are coming faster as I push myself to talk.
“ Hollis, you can’t meet with them like this,” Cian admonishes.
“Cian,” I complain. “Tell me. I don’t have any…new information for them.”
“ Emilia is being her normal self,” he grumbles. “ People are worried that she’ll attract a large crowd at her event.”
“I’m doing the best I can,” I sigh. Tears are starting to flow, and I hide it as I keep myself from voicing any of it. “I need seventy-two hours, Cian.”
“ Do you need a doctor?” he asks. “ Hollis, you sound like shit, and you’re the absolute worst at accepting any help. Who is that with you?”
“Brice Ledger,” I say. “In case I die, you can kill him.”
“Hey!” Brice says. “Hollis, I have the feeling whoever you’re talking to would fucking kill me and not blink. Don’t say shit like that.”
I can hear Cian as he chuckles, making it obvious he heard that.
“ What are you doing with him? Is there something I need to know?” he asks.
“Later,” I say. “Okay?”
“ Yes, later. Can I please send my doctor, Hollis?”
“I saw him before. I have medicine. It knocks me out though,” I explain. My sentences are short and choppy because I can’t get them out any other way.
“ Fine,” he grumbles. “ Seventy-two hours, Hollis.”
Cian hangs up with that, and I make a face as I drop my hand to my lap. It’s as if I don’t have the strength to hold it up anymore.
“Is he threatening you?” Brice asks worriedly.
My eye opens just enough to look at him before saying, “In his own way. He worries.”
“I’m glad to see others worry too,” he mutters. “What causes this to happen?”
“Stress, work, life,” I sigh. “They’re random and hurt.”
“I know you want to do everything by yourself, but why?” Brice asks, pulling into the parking lot of my apartments.
I’ll either call a ride-share to get to my car when I feel better or Cian will come kidnap me in his eagerness for me to talk to old mafia men who can’t contain their anxiety. Ugh.
“Too complicated,” I grit out.
What I mean is that it’s too much to explain when my brain is trying to fucking kill me. Between people like Cian and Aisling coming to speak to me about confidential things, my own clients, and my dark web research and side gigs, I don’t need anyone else in my office.
They’d just be a liability.
It’s why I’ve always worked alone. The neighborhood I bought my office space in has always been rough, but it’s slowly gotten better over the years. I have never been mugged, and I can usually scare off anyone who comes by who could be a problem.
The truth is, I’m just used to figuring things out. The curse of an independent person, I suppose. Aisling is the exact same way.
Her pack is well aware of this and does everything they can to ease her load. That’s the kind of pack I’d want if I was looking.
Brice parks the vehicle and comes around to my side of the car.
“Hollis,” he says gruffly, putting my phone in my bag and hitching it over his shoulder. I have to say that he looks really good wearing it. Better than Lars and Caleb even. “After listening to you talk to that guy Cian on the phone, it’s obvious that you work with dangerous men.”
Reaching over me, he unbuckles my seat belt and eases it over me. Carefully picking me up, he settles me in his arms before closing the vehicle door and locking it up. His long legs walk quickly toward the elevator, and he hits the button as he waits for it.
“Putting things together, I can see how you wouldn’t want someone in your space. Am I drawing the correct conclusion?” he asks. “Just nod. Don’t try to talk.”
Nodding, I close my eyes again as the elevator doors open. The lights in here are like the surface of the sun. It’s the only thing I hate about this building.
“Fuck, these lights,” he mutters, stepping inside. “Floor?”
“Twelve,” I reply. “You need the key card.”
Pulling it out, since it’s attached to my key ring, he scans it before hitting the button.
“That’s security,” Brice growls in approval.
My lips twitch at his possessiveness, but I don’t say anything about it.
“I don’t like seeing you like this, Hollis,” he adds. “It’s like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.”
“Because it is,” I say. “There’s no other way to explain it. It’ll always be like this. I highly suggest that you turn in the other direction and run away.”
“When pigs fucking fly,” he says. “And if that happens, I expect elephants to do the tango and lions to samba. I’m not going anywhere. It physically hurts me to see you like this.”
My lips purse because it’s hard to say anything to that, and he gasps as he walks out into my loft.
This is the reason these floors have key cards.
I don’t have a front door, just the elevator doors.
There’s no way to hack into this system, and I should know because I repeatedly try to just to make sure.
“This is gorgeous, Hollis,” he says softly as he walks through the open floor plan. “It’s still too bright, isn’t it?”
“Controls,” I murmur, squinting as I point toward the remote for the tinting in the large plate glass window overlooking the city.
Once it’s in my hands, I turn everything down and off until the barest light is available.
“Very cool,” he says, walking me toward a chair. Dropping to his knees, he pulls off my boots and socks, brow raised.
“I can take care of the rest,” I say. The darkness is helping for now. I just need to strip and get my medication.
“Can I help you get into bed?” he asks.
“I have medication that I need to take and it’s going to knock me out,” I say gently. “I just don’t…”
“I know,” he says, sounding frustrated with himself. “I want to accelerate things, but you’re right. I shouldn’t be here while you’ll be vulnerable. Your space is set up for your needs, I just wish I could hold you while you sleep.”
My cheeks are still wet from crying from frustration and pain earlier, and I struggle not to start up again. I have no control on my emotions when I feel like this. It’s a yo-yo of sadness and anger.
I hate that I’m at my body’s mercy.
“Brice…” Do I tell him that I’m willing to give them a chance?
Swallowing hard, I go through what I do know about them. I know that they are prone to leading with their emotions, especially when they feel slighted. God only knows what they’ll think if I don’t say something.
These alphas are already so much work.
“Tell them I’ll give them a chance,” I say.
“Can we take you out to dinner when you feel better?” he asks.
“It’s going to be busy for a while,” I remind him gently, standing and walking slowly toward my closet.
I can feel Brice vibrating with the need to help, but he stays still.
“Working dinner,” he suggests. “Our back patio, with dessert.”
“Isn’t that rude?” I ask from my closet. I don’t know if he can hear me, since my voice doesn’t project the way it typically does.
Pulling off my clothes, I throw them in the hamper and put my weapons away. Feeling more naked than ever, I pull on a camisole and shorts, knowing I’ll be sleeping for the rest of the day. My panties are also in the hamper, as long as I don’t perfume or slick, I doubt it’ll be an issue.
Practically stumbling to the bathroom I find my migraine meds and shake out a single tablet. This shit is strong. Holding it in my fist, I walk back out to find Brice close by.
“Can I pick you up? Please?” he asks, the muscles in his throat strain as he forces himself to wait for me to agree.
Now that I have to walk to my bed, it feels a lot further away. Nodding, I watch as Brice lets himself off his own leash to scoop me into his arms.
“To answer your question,” he rumbles, his lips pressed against the shell of my ear, “it’s not rude because I’m suggesting it. This way I know you’re eating, and I can insist on breaks to keep you from getting a migraine.”
“Mmhmm,” I say.
His entire chest is vibrating, and it feels so soothing. He’s warm, smells delicious, and I want to wrap him around me. Sighing softly, I can feel my eyes beginning to shut. Ugh, I have to take this medication first or I’ll wake up alone and want to die.
I started getting these about five years ago, and there is no rhyme or reason for it. Sometimes it’s due to staring at a screen, others it’s a warning that I’m going into heat soon. Since the reasons vary so widely, it’s impossible for me to figure out what’s happening until it’s too late.
I think that there are a few things keeping me from the heat clinics. One is my severe lack of sexual experience, and the other is how difficult it is for me to pinpoint when I’m going into a heat. Walking into a clinic and saying I have a migraine would make people give me funny looks.
It’s also not a common symptom for omegas to have before their heat. I’m simply an enigma. I love that for me.
“I can see the smoke coming out of your ears,” Brice says, pushing open my curtains.
“I’m sure you can,” I say, my lips curling up a bit.
Pushing myself up higher to sit up, I glance at the water on my bedside table. Speaking is getting beyond me now, so I’m glad Brice immediately grabs it for me so I can take my pill.
“You’ll leave right after I take this?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip.
He gazes at me for a long moment before nodding. I appreciate that he doesn’t give me shit about it. My home is sacred to me. It’s something I’ve created for myself that truly reflects who I am. It feels so odd to have an alpha in my space that’s someone other than Caleb or Lars.
They never count in my mind because they’re family.
“I swear it, baby. I’ll see myself right out,” he says. Taking a deep breath, I nod before putting the pill in my mouth and swallowing it down with the water he holds out for me.
Immediately, a wave of tiredness hits me, and my hand holding me up slides out from under me. My body just collapses, forcing a concerned sound from the alpha next to me.
“Holy fuck that was fast,” he says. Grabbing a blanket, he pulls it over me and ghosts his hand over my hair. “I’ll go when your eyes close, Hollis. I hope you feel better. I hate that you feel like shit.”
His fingers slide deep into my hair, massaging my scalp. A sound of enjoyment slips from my lips, and I wish I could hire him as my own head massager.
“I would be happy to be your own personal scalp massager, baby,” he says softly.
See? This pill fucks me up. My eyelids crash closed and the world disappears as I pass out. All I can do now is hope that he keeps his word.