39. Sarah
It doesn’t take too many of Greg’s long purposeful strides until we break out into the fresh air, and my head starts to clear.
My skin suddenly feels clammy and cold, a hard one-eighty from being nearly feverish moments before.
My beta growls low, hustling towards the minivan we rented for this trip where Kelly and the twins have staked out the third seat.
It was the only thing that was big enough for all of us to fit in, plus have some cargo space if I did buy anything here.
Greg pushes my hair back from my forehead, pressing his cheek against it.
“Any idea what that was about? Your temperature was spiking like crazy. I thought you were going to go into heat right there in the store.” He sets me in the second seat of the van, and I’m vaguely aware of Kelly and Steve in the backseat, lightly bickering over a stack of books they just bought at the mall.
Garret is sitting beside Kelly, keeping her head turned towards Steve while he twists tiny braids in her hair, occasionally stopping long enough to leave a soft kiss on her ear.
The whole scene is cute in a slightly disturbing way.
Kelly acts more like Steve’s twin than Garret—but from what I’ve seen, he basically lives for that girl.
Like, if they weren’t together, he would be a red flag stalker and shit, but since they are, it’s kind of adorable.
Greg cups my cheeks, bringing my attention back to him.
“What do you want me to do? Should I call and get us checked in, or do you think it was something else? Are you feeling sick at all? Aches, pains, nausea, sore muscles?” One hand moves to my forehead while the other slides down my neck to settle over my pulse, and he looks like he’s counting quietly to himself.
I love this man; for all his being a freak, he’s my freak.
My protective boy who wants nothing more than to make sure I’m ok.
I know he worries about not being enough for me, and while I’ll admit that I enjoyed Spencer’s purring a little too much, I wouldn’t trade Greg for the world.
He still doesn’t believe me, but any pack that might want me—not likely, according to my family—gets a beta in the mix.
I wish he’d let me bond him so he could feel how much he means to me, and so nobody could separate us.
He says he’s worried about the rules at the center, but I think he just doesn’t want to limit my options or thinks that I’ll regret him later.
I’m not sure if he’s worried about getting fired anymore, but being bonded to one of his charges could look bad for him, regardless.
And if he does get fired for it, I can’t imagine how hard finding a new job would be.
It’s not like he could go around collecting random omegas anyway; we aren’t known for sharing our mates well.
I’ve heard of it happening before, but it’s rare.
His eyes are watching mine and he finally calms down since he verified that I’m ok. Maybe it is just jetlag, maybe too many smells, but I feel fine now, so the fresh air helped. My phone beeps, drawing both our attention, and it’s a text from Thicc.
Thicc: Are you coming back in? I want to grab a couple of new blankets for the game room. But I can come back later if you’re in a rush.
Greg looks between me and my phone, his brows raised in question.
Sarah: No, take your time. I feel a lot better. I’m just taking a breather. Might be back inside in a few minutes, so grab what you need, no rush.
I stare at Greg, trying to decide how worried he’ll be if I try to go back inside, and my phone buzzes again.
Thicc: Spence has some paint samples he wants to ask you about if you come back inside. They are hovering around the pillow stuffing area, freaking out security. So lemme know if you want me to bring them out to you…or if you’ll deal with him yourself. I think the big guy has a crush on you.
Greg starts giggling as he reads over my shoulder, causing Steve and Kelly to finally look over from their argument.
The alpha looks between us for a moment before snatching my phone and looking at the screen.
He stops my protest with a raised palm. “If it’s from my Bear, I have a right to see it.
” I don’t get his logic, but since there’s nothing incriminating going on, that’s fine.
His resulting short laugh when he reads the messages causes Kelly to make grabby hands at the phone.
Garret reads over her shoulder before staring from me to the phone again with a look of puzzlement.
Kelly looks at me hopefully, handing my phone back.
“Oh my gosh, that’s so cute. Spence is such a sweetie, you could certainly do worse.
I don’t know much about Alistair, but Paul is nice too.
He’s been in some trouble this year with his job, but he’s a steady guy.
He did a lot to keep my bosses out of trouble last year.
And trust me when I say after what Xan did, he needed the help. ”
Steve’s mouth drops at her words, and he looks genuinely shocked, so she rushes on.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Xan was right. I mean, he saved me and Jake.
And Steve. But the whole situation was pretty messed up.
” My confusion at how vague she’s being must be showing because she shifts from side to side.
All the little braids her mate put in her hair swing back and forth, already coming undone since he didn’t tie them off.
Her voice is quieter when she starts again.
“I don’t know if Teddy told you or not, but last year Steve and Garret’s dad showed up while he was back in Los Angeles getting all their stuff.
He was nuts, and he set the workshop on fire, shot my poor Jake…
and Steve.” The alpha in question looks annoyed at being an afterthought. ..again.
Kelly turns slightly towards Garret, giving the underside of his jaw a quick kiss before continuing.
“The fire department and police showed up because I called 911, but the guy wouldn’t stand down.
Jacks was freaking out, Jake was bleeding, and I was half-conscious ’cause one of his goons was choking me, so Xan took Paul’s gun and shot the guy…
That sounds bad, but Paul had warned him multiple times, and he was gonna shoot Steve again.
Xan’s a good guy, just a little…” Her hand waves back and forth in a so-so gesture.
“Morally plaid would probably be accurate. He really is a sweetheart, but he doesn’t take threats to his people well, and he’s super protective of Jacks and Candice.
I guess since I was working for them at the time, I fell under that umbrella.
Even though he used Paul’s gun to do it, they didn’t throw him under the bus. ”
Steve’s voice is quiet when he finally joins the conversation.
“The fucker had it coming. He wasn’t so much a father as a controlling piece of shit that tried to ruin our lives over and over until he finally died.
He’s the reason Teddy…” His voice trails off like he’s said too much and I can feel my eyes narrow as I stare the scrawny alpha down.
“He’s the reason…what?” If he was about to say what I think, then it’s a good thing the motherfucker is already dead, so I don’t have to hunt him down and kill him myself. Steve just mutters incoherently, grabbing a book off the stack between him and Kelly and burying his face in it.
Kelly draws my attention back to her and Garret as he starts a new line of braids.
“Yeah, no. He was awful. But my point is: Paul’s a good guy.
I don’t know much about Alistair. He started teaching after I got my core credits out of the way, so I never had him for class.
But I don’t recall ever hearing anything bad about him, as a teacher or a guy in general.
Just kind of mysterious. He showed up in the area one day in that little VW of his.
He’s brought it into the shop a few times for oil changes.
Gabe grumbles because the damned thing needs a lot of work, but it just keeps going.
Something about German engineering, I don’t know.
I just think it’s cute and could use a paint job.
Though I do sometimes wonder how the heck all three of them fit in there. ”
She taps her chin a few times, as if deep in thought.
“Anyway. Spence has been super excited because they just bought a house, and he’s working on the nest. Alistair is frustrated about the situation, and I’m guessing he has a bad history with omegas.
He’s been seen around town with a couple’a beta ladies, but it never seems to be anything serious.
Not sure if that’s ’cause he has a pack or they think he’s an omega and get disappointed or what, but if he’s in a pack with Spence and Paul, he can’t be all bad. ”
Kelly looks thoughtful after that speech and leans back again, crowding into Garret’s space before tilting her face up for a kiss.
He obliges with a happy little smile and then tips her forward again so he can get back to her hair.
Without the fighting, it’s a rather idyllic little scene, and part of me wants that.
Not Garret or Steve, fucking hell, gross. But companionship.
I love Greg, but we don’t share a lot of the same interests other than music.
He’s not into working out, like I had with Thicc and he’s more into history books than romance or comedy.
Not that he’s mean about it, but we can’t talk books easily.
I could try historical romance, but I’ll need to look for something with orcs or dragons or something big.
What can I say? I enjoy the size difference trope.
Plus, as sweet as he can be with Shaggbutt, and fully embraces the role of bun-dad, he seems to worry about hurting him.
I think he would probably do better with a bigger bun, one that weighs more than five pounds.
Maybe when we finally get out of the dorms.
I look down and notice I’m petting Greg’s hand.
He’s looking at me warily. He worries so much about everything, and it’s frustrating when he won’t tell me what’s bothering him.
I can make a guess that right now it’s me and my crazy as hell body, but I’ve been living with it for twenty-nine years; a few heat flashes are nothing.
I wrap my hand around his fingers. “Let’s head back inside.
I would hate to have made this trip for nothing, and I really do want to check out that damned pillow stuffing machine now that Thicc mentioned it. ”