Chapter 16 #2
“Thank you. I appreciate the information,” I murmur, straightening.
Walking away, my eyes narrow resolutely. Whoever you are now, I’m going to fucking find you.
For Hollis.
Four days later
MALCOLM
The bruises lighten day by day, and Hollis finds a rhythm as she gets better.
We were all worried that the transition to having her live with us might be difficult, but she fits so perfectly with us.
We’re not above insisting on small perks, which means one of us sleeps with her each night.
I’ve noticed that she sleeps deeper this way, and she’s only had one nightmare.
Remy was with her last night, and he held her while she cried.
His panic through the bonds woke us all up, and that night was spent with all of us in his room. I’ll gladly baby the crick in my neck if it means we are all together.
During the day, one of us has made sure to work from home each day this week to stay with her. She’s really cute as she finds a different part of the house to work from to test out the light.
She’s also refusing to take medication since she left the hospital, saying that she hates it unless there’s no other choice. I don’t blame her since it knocks her out.
“I’m going to make lunch,” I say, putting my laptop to the side. “Want to come join me?”
Hollis looks different from her usual office attire. Her hair is up in a bun, she’s in comfortable loungewear, and her fuzzy pink socks are my favorite part of her outfit.
“Lunch sounds good,” she mumbles, typing. “I just need to finish this email. I’ll meet you in the kitchen?”
“Sounds good,” I say, pushing her water bottle closer to her.
This omega is a machine. Focused, beautiful, dedicated. The bruises are fading to a sickly green, but they’re still healing at a higher rate than they should. I have no idea what to think, which means I’m settling on being grateful for it.
Seeing Hollis in that hospital bed was one of the worst experiences of my life.
I found a new gray hair this morning, and I doubt it’ll be the only one.
She throws herself into new projects, tries to find solutions to impossible situations, and it’s one of the things that makes her shine so brightly.
In a world where people tend to be selfish dickweeds, it’s both refreshing and terrifying.
Standing, I walk to the kitchen. Pulling out ingredients for an adult grilled cheese sandwich and a green salad, I move on autopilot, not realizing that Hollis is at the island until I hear a podcast coming from her phone.
“ Emilia Richardson is a damn menace. I have evidence to prove that she’s not someone you should trust. If she continues to slander Hollis Edwards, I’ll be forced to release it.”
“Who is that?” I ask, eyes narrowing.
“Hmm? Sorry,” Hollis mumbles. “It’s an omega who goes by The Little Rabbit.
She’s an advocate for omega and equal rights.
She doesn’t show her real voice or face, but damn does she piss off Emilia.
I got a notification that she just posted.
I’m missing things I need to be on top of, so I am following a few podcasts now. ”
“What evidence does she have about what Emilia did?” I ask her.
“No idea, honestly,” she says with a shrug. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I do think I need to do a video now that I look less scary.”
“You’re beautiful,” I say immediately. It’s how I see her, and no one can tell me differently.
“Thank you, but I think you’re biased,” she teases me.
“Go make your video, and I’ll work on our sandwiches,” I say. “The light is good in the backyard unless you’d prefer a ring light.”
“A ring light, listen to you,” she murmurs with a grin. “I need to change first. Ugh, at least my hair is clean.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. I really don’t think she sees what we do. Remy insisted on washing her hair in the tub the day she came back from the hospital, and we’ve been pampering her when we can over the last few days.
I adore her fire, the way she wants to help people, I just also want to erect a giant bubble around her as well. I’m working on it.
“Hollis, you’re perfect,” I insist. “No makeup, don’t change, just go do it so I can feed you.”
Her gaze changes from panicked to more heated, and I feel as if she wants to eat something else.
“Fine, I’ll go,” she says, her voice throaty and sexy as hell. I swear, she could read a grocery list to me, and I’d be rock hard the entire time.
Hollis leaves to go outside, and I open the security app on my phone to watch her in the courtyard. If she’s not in the house, despite the fence, one of us watches the cameras if we’re not with her.
I won’t make the same mistake I made at the gardens the day she was hurt. None of us will. This gives her the space she needs to not have us hovering around her, and we get some peace of mind.
Hollis doesn’t know about the cameras put in the backyard, but I doubt she’d care if she knew it was for security. I’m not watching her for any other reason.
Once I see that she’s curled up in the porch swing, I go back to cooking and checking on her. I’m an obsessive alpha. I need the people I care about to be happy, fed, and fucked. In that order.
Brice told me about their conversation the day our omega left the hospital. I had no idea she had a sister, or a twin at that. Someone who is literally the other half of her. I hate that she felt if her sister didn’t have a future, then neither should she.
That’s the wildest form of ‘you go, I go,’ solidarity that I’ve ever heard. Still, knowing the loyalty Hollis has for people, I can understand the way she holds herself away still. Getting too attached or too happy isn’t supposed to happen because she misses the sister she had.
Scent matches drastically change things. Hollis could lose her mind in her next heat based on all of the things she’s not saying. I did some research to find out more about the bonds and matching, and once they’re found, it's end game without rejecting the other pack or omega.
There’s no way in hell I’d ever reject her. My pack mates and I are completely enamored with Hollis. We’re going down hard, especially after the last few days of being with her more.
Huffing out a breath, I make sure the bacon is crispy, the bread is perfectly toasted before adding cheese, and then put together the sandwich with a slice of tomato.
It’s a perfectly prepared adult grilled cheese sandwich. I’m just sliding the plates onto the island as Hollis reappears, my phone screen hidden in between canisters on the counter.
“All good?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says, nodding. Her brows knit together, and I feel my stomach twist in worry. I won’t be able to eat until I hear what’s wrong.
“Please, tell me more,” I drawl, making her lips twitch as I push her food in front of her.
“I got another email from Emilia from her lawyer, asking me to cease and desist from having any more dating events,” she says.
“I have to call my lawyer to counter respond. This is my job. I’m not going to stop doing it because she doesn’t want me to.
Think about it. If she can get this to stick, she could go for Cupid’s Call too and?—”
Hollis gasps in a breath as she spins out, and I shake my head, moving over to pick her up and place her on the island so we’re eye to eye.
“She won’t,” I growl. “The bitch can try, but she won’t be able to make any of that stick. Now, how long have you been in business?”
I know damn well how long, I just want to hear it.
“Ten years,” she mumbles.
“Again but louder, or I’ll take you over my knee, Baby Girl,” I say.
Her cheeks heat as she gazes at me and yells, “Ten years!”
“She’s not taking anything else from you,” I murmur, kissing her hard. It’s slow, all consuming, and has her moaning onto my mouth. “Eat for me so I know that your stomach isn’t going to grumble as you talk to your lawyer, and then go knock that bitch down a peg or two.”
“Okay,” she rasps. “I really fucking hate her.”
“So remind her of that with your presence, Baby Girl,” I say. “Shine brighter, take away her control, and shit in her oatmeal.”
Hollis’ head drops back as she laughs, and I bury my nose in her exposed throat, breathing deeply. She no longer smells like the hospital, the scent of chemicals and bleach washed away. It’s like that all clung to her scent while she was laying in that bed, and I fucking hated it.
“Eat,” I insist, moving her back to the stool and sitting beside her.
Taking a bite of my food, I chat with her when I hear my phone beep loudly. Lurching up quickly, I cross the kitchen to pick up my phone. Nova is outside at the gate looking a little panicked and I immediately hit the button.
Shit. I always have the phone in my damn hand. I need to just give her a clicker for the gate so she’s not waiting on any of us. We did it at first because Nova was still a stranger, and then later we kept the system as is since it was nice to know when she was home.
I don’t want her to feel as if she can’t get into her home. In my eyes, it’s hers for as long as she wants it.
“Nova is home,” I murmur, walking back. “It’s been a few days, I forgot I needed to have my phone on me.”
“Why hasn’t she been back?” Hollis asks. “Is there a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
My matchmaker.
“Not that I know of. She’s been with a client who was having a difficult birth,” I explain. “Brice says that he saw her while he was in the waiting room at the hospital.”
“Oh wow. I hope the mom is doing okay with the baby,” she says.
“Me too. I’ll be right back. I want to check in with her,” I explain. Brushing my lips over her temple, my steps quickly turn into a jog so I can catch her.
What’s dumb is that I have a clicker to open the gate. Digging through a basket at the front door, I find it and slip out the door without my coat, though I make sure it locks behind me.
I’m thankfully wearing shoes, and I jog across the yard, the light dusting of snow crunching under my boot as I run. Waving at Nova, I make sure she sees me so that she doesn’t run me over. I can tell she hesitates before she stops, and finally the window opens.
“Yes?” she asks. Her voice sounds funny, and I frown as I see that she’s trying to hide in the van.
“Roll down the window all the way, please. I want to talk to you without a pane of glass between us, and I need to give you something,” I say.
I hear a disturbing gasp before the window is rolling down the rest of the way, and I see that her eyes are red and puffy. There are tears rolling down her face, and I gape at her.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, worried. Shit, her client! “Did something happen to the mom you were with this week, Nova?”
“No,” she sniffles, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, it’s so…dumb.”
I can tell it’s not dumb, and now I’m worried that I did something without realizing it.
“Can you tell me?” I ask
“The gate. It usually opens right away, and when it didn’t, I started to… panic.”
Nova is gulping in huge breaths and I sigh as I pull open the door wide.
“I fucked up, and I knew it the second I wasn’t going to get to the phone in time,” I tell her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I did. It’ll never happen again.”
A huge shudder runs over her body as she tries to talk herself down. I don’t know a lot about her, but a blind man could see that I triggered her.
“It won’t?” she hiccups.
“Nope. I should have done this before, but we like knowing when you come and go, even if we don’t always see each other,” I explain, pressing the gate opener into her open hand. “Now, if we’re all busy, you open the gate yourself. I’m so sorry, Nova.”
“Don’t be,” she says, shaking her head. Her hair is up the way that Hollis’ is, and I have to admit she looks a little like her. “This is my bullshit. Thank you for the key to the gate, it’ll help my ghosts I think.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, we have booze and are good listeners,” I say. I really want to hug her. God, I’m kicking my own ass for making her cry.
It doesn’t matter that I didn’t do this intentionally, when she first moved in as our tenant, we promised there would always be someone by their phone, and that person is typically me, even if I’m at a meeting.
The thought that something happened to make her this scared about being locked out makes me pissed off for her as well.
Forcing myself to take a step back, I close her van door.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “Katee and her baby are fine, by the way. I’m her post partum doula too, so I’ve been at her house taking care of them. Food, laundry, diapers, sleepovers, whatever they need. The baby is so sweet.”
A smile creeps over my face until it breaks free.
“Good. I’m glad they’re home,” I say. “I expect there’s a lot that comes into play when a baby is born. Is her husband helping?”
“He’s not,” she sighs. “He’s divorcing her and refuses to help. It’s okay, though. Katee is such a good mom, and her husband always made me uneasy. That’s why when he was away from home is when I’d make a home visit. It’s for the best.”
What a piece of shit.
“Are you home for a bit?” I ask, noting how tired she looks.
“Till tonight, and then I’m on night duty for at least five weeks. Tomorrow, I have clients to see. My schedule had to shift with the birth, so I’ll be working through the weekend,” she explains.
“Understandable. Try to get some rest,” I suggest, raising my hand in goodbye as she begins driving again.
Walking back to the house, I wonder what the hell could have happened in her past for her to have freaked out so badly. Our society is so damn broken, and I’m learning every day how much.