Chapter 26 Kane
Kane
I’ve been searching for her for so long that I’m going insane.
I say so long, but it’s barely been a week. Her phone call spoiled me. Staying up with her for half the night let me prep her for pack life. Or, tell her all the weird things about myself so she can decide if she wants me. Even if my stories put her off, she still promised me a date.
That isn’t the problem, really. It’s how Timber is gatekeeping the hell out of her, and he doesn’t know he’s doing it.
He doesn’t know the torture I’m going through when he cracks open his lunch box, and I want to deep throat every carrot she’s stroked with her gorgeous fingers just to show Timber what I could do to him if he let me.
Every day I have to deal with the blend of maple syrup and coffee, and she still hasn’t agreed to meet up.
And, like a crazy alpha, I keep going back to the hospital to find her.
I can’t go on game days, but I can slip away at the oddest times when we’re at practice so that I can run into her.
The end result is that I drift toward the children’s wards because they’re always so happy to see me. At least some people are. And the kids’ wards are off from the main hospital corridors. So I can play with them while also keeping an eye out for her.
Miles, the Head Coach, is furious because I keep bailing at whatever time suits me during the day, but he doesn’t realize it’s all meticulously planned.
He says he’s going to put me in holdouts if I don’t stick around for the whole practice, but I have Marilyn to back me up.
Because I’m not only hunting for my omega.
There are tons of photos and articles online and socials about how I’m such a good Samaritan for keeping the kids’ company.
And I’m not exactly going to come out and say I go to the hospital every day to find the omega I ate out and can’t stop thinking about.
Parents love me hanging out with their kids, and it’s way more fun than sitting in the waiting room, hoping for a glance of her. Plus, my stupid alpha brain keeps wondering how many babies Ollie and Timber want when we finally pack up, so it’s practice for our future as well.
It takes a week of messing around before I finally see her again.
I’m sitting on the floor in the middle of the play area, stacking blocks with the younger kids, when I hear a familiar voice.
I shoot up like lightning.
“I’ll be back in a while, okay!?” I shout to them and their nurses, and I get a chorus of cute yeses in return.
I’m running to the doors of the ward just in time to see a familiar beanie, band shirt, and ripped jeans float past, pushing a guy in a wheelchair who looks suspiciously familiar.
Ollie’s laughing with him as they enter a room at the farthest end of the corridor.
I try to be sneaky about it, but the problem with being hotter than hell is that people notice me. So a passing patient asks for an autograph, and another wants a selfie, and suddenly I’m being dragged away from her.
When the door to the room opens, and I finally see her again, I break through the crowd and race down the corridor. But I nearly lose her on a corner, and I sprint like a mad thing to get to her.
“Ollie!” I shout. She freezes, spinning around, and her eyes widen as she sees me. She takes a shaky step back, but I’m not letting her get away this time.
It doesn’t matter how she bolts like a greyhound; I’m on to her.
We race down corridors, dodging past nurses moving beds, visitors making their way around the hospital, and doctors shouting at us to slow down.
My grin spreads wider the more she runs. It’s only when she cuts around a corner and whoops that I realize she’s having as much fun as I am. But I gain on her quickly, and it doesn’t take me long to catch up.
As soon as I’m in arm’s reach, I growl as I put on a burst of speed, cutting in front of her, and she slams to a halt. Her palm slaps against the wall to stop herself from falling over, but she’s laughing, and I beam back at her.
“Found you, sweetness,” I singsong, resisting the urge to throw my arms around her. I don’t want to spook her after she’s run like that.
Even having her close so I can breathe in maple syrup straight from the source is enough for me. At least for now. I know I’ll be hungry for more in less than five minutes.
She’s panting as hard as I am, and we eye each other up as we catch our breaths.
I have so many things I want to ask, especially questions Timber won’t give me the answers to.
I just need to know where she lives, or where I can meet her again, so I don’t growl at Timber every time he snaps open his lunch box.
She suddenly straightens, glancing left and right, and it’s easy to see what she’s anxious about.
“I’m sorry, I need to go,” she murmurs.
“Hang on, you can’t just—” She doesn’t think twice as she pushes past me and starts to walk away.
Panic flares up inside me as I suddenly realize I’m going to lose her, but I don’t feel like I’m enough to make her stay. She doesn’t know what I’ve been going through to find her again. And her phone call made everything better and worse.
I need something more to make her stop.
“When do you plan on telling Timber that you’re Luke?” I call after her, my voice bouncing around the empty corridor.
She freezes, her shoulders hunching as she whips around, narrowing her eyes at me.
“I smell your scent all over him every day. I’d be dumb if I hadn’t figured it out.
” I shrug. I feel like I’m winning as she walks back to me.
“And it’s easier to find your business website than you realize,” I say as I arch a brow.
Ollie cringes, and I wonder if she even considered it for her ruse.
“That’s what the call was about, wasn’t it?” I ask softly, and her expression grows dark. She shoves her hands in her pockets, glaring hard. If her body language doesn’t tell me to fuck off, I don’t know what does.
“What happened, sweetness? Why are you pretending to be someone else?”
She pauses, definitely weighing up whether to tell me. And it stings. I’m used to omegas throwing themselves at me, and it’s kind of wild how desperate I am just for her to look at me.
“I’ve got some circumstances, things to do with my brother.”
“Luke?”
She nods. “He’s here at the hospital. What’s your excuse? I don’t know if I believe it’s all for the children when those videos only popped up after we met.”
“Oh, so you’ve been keeping track of me?” A nice rumble of pleasure goes through me at the thought that my omega is looking for me.
“I click on one video of you, and the algorithm treats me like a hardcore fan.”
I smirk, only half-believing her. I like to think maybe she got lonely and scrolled for videos of me, mainly because I wish I could do that with her.
All I’ve got are the scarce photos on their website.
They must have deleted all their socials, because I only found their website by coincidence when I spent a sleepless night scrolling through Nashville catering businesses trying to find a sign.
Because there’s no way Timber’s lunchboxes come from a store.
And I liked her even more for calling it Knot Those Kind of Bites.
“Did you call me because of Timber?” I ask.
She rocks back from me as she drags in a sharp breath, and fear pierces my chest. When we’re on the phone, she can hang up on me, but it’ll hurt so much more if she walks away again and I have to stand here and watch her leave.
She tugs at her lip ring with her teeth, and I ignore the roll of need as she nods.
“And the reason you asked me, ‘How much is too much’ is…?” I ask, sure she won’t tell me.
I hope it’s what I’m thinking. I’m praying that Timber has already made a move.
From the way he scowls whenever I bring up Luke, I don’t think he’s even realized how protective he is.
And that doesn’t make it any better for Ollie.
“I’m his employee,” she says, her brow furrowing. “It’s supposed to be a job, and it’s become too messy.”
I should be a good alpha and give my omega space, but it’s too hard when I want ‘messy’ to mean she has feelings for him. I thought I was the only one pining after her while Timber was being stubborn, but to know she cares is enough to get me all worked up.
“Can I hug you?” I ask as I open my arms.
She glances up and down the corridor again before determination settles in her eyes.
The minute she steps into my arms, she lets out the biggest sigh.
“Fuck,” she breathes, and her whole body relaxes as I hum in agreement. Because I need to hold her so badly as well.
“I’ve been going crazy,” I murmur against her as I hug her even tighter. “Being able to scent you and not knowing where you are is torture.”
I feel her nod against my chest. “I’ve been so freaking turned on whenever I smell you on him, it’s mental.”
“I guess my evil plan worked.” I chuckle.
“You asshole,” she growls, and it’s the sweetest thing. I want Timber and Ollie pairing up to growl at me. It would be the ultimate KO.
“Well, it didn’t completely work. Why didn’t you just call me? I would have come to help, sweetness.”
She sighs against me, rubbing her face in my chest. “I don’t know you, Kane. I had to keep away in case you told Timber who I really am. Even now, I still don’t know if you’ll tell him.”
“I won’t,” I say hurriedly. “I swear I won’t.” I’ll just keep pushing him and dropping hints so he can reach the conclusion himself.
“Ollie?” She stiffens as I run my lips over the shell of her ear. “You know I can give you what you want. I can make all those precious parts of you happy.”
Her scent thickens, and she shudders and purrs.
“That’s it, sweetness. Just tell me you want me. I’m right here.”
She pulls away, tilting her head back, and looking at me with her gorgeous hazel eyes.
“It’s so hard not to kiss you,” she confesses, her tongue darting out across her lips. “Where’s a heat room when you need one?” she sighs.
Just one sentence and I’m already hard.