Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
TYDE
“Hockey…” I murmur, glancing at Nova who shrugs.
“There are hot guys and I get to yell a lot,” she confesses, laughing. “Come with us tonight. You’ll forget it’s a sport once you’re watching them throw off their gloves and beat the hell out of each other.”
She’s curled up in the window seat of her house in my hooded sweatshirt and nothing else, a sketchbook in her hand as she leans her head back on the wall. Nova looks comfortable right now.
“What are you sketching?” I ask, interested in the book.
“This? Ugh, Louise liked to make me practice drawing for thirty minutes a day, every day. I hated it because it never felt like my drawing was good enough,” she sighs.
Not for the first time, I wish Hollis could bring them back to life so she can kill them again. The people who kidnapped and raised her did her a disservice in the way they manipulated Nova to stay small.
“Why do you say that?” I ask.
“There was never a single compliment when she’d go through my sketches. I can still remember the loud sound of her sighing as the paper crinkled each time she’d turn the page. It reminds me of disappointment.”
“It’s possible it wasn’t,” I say gently.
“Louise would backhand me after going through the sketches and tell me to do better,” she whispers. “Every day, it was the same thing. She managed to do it in such a way that it wouldn’t leave a mark.”
“Then fuck her. Can I see them, please?” I ask.
As she purses her lips, I wonder if she’ll tell me no before she finally nods.
It’s been three weeks since her first therapy appointment, and I think that it’s been helping.
All three of her bites are in different stages of healing.
The therapy is opening up tiny and large holes into the containers where she stores her trauma in her mind.
I can tell that she has moments where she’s raw as she processes her trauma. Nova’s eyes will get unfocused as well, as if she’s far away in a time where no one stood up for her.
“Okay,” she breathes, handing me the sketch pad.
Opening it, I begin to look through the sketches. My jaw drops at the level of detail that she has in each one. I can see the branches outside of her window, the piles of fresh snow, and the clouds above. In some sketches, she included herself at the window with the snow in the background.
“Holy shit, baby,” I whisper. “These are beautiful.”
“I think you’re biased,” she says ruefully with a small smile.
“Maybe, but I’d never lie to you,” I say vehemently. “These are amazing. How is the business license process going? I think you should hang some of your drawings up in the building once you’re open.”
Nova gets very singleminded when she’s in the middle of a project, and after she spoke to the co-founders of the Omega’s Haven, she’s been planning and working on the necessary items she’ll need to open a birth center.
Several business owners have already heard through the grapevine that Nova wants to do this, and have offered to help raise funds.
At work, several nurses have come up to me to demand that I treat Nova well. I have no idea how they found out who my omega is, but they bombarded me at the hospital. They’ve also told me how good a midwife she is, and all I can do is smile proudly.
Nova is a calm space for her clients, and I’ve known that since the day I walked in on her pulling off bloodied gloves. I’m simply an awkward bastard.
“You really think they’re good enough for the birth center?” she asks, looking up at me. “John went through an oil and acrylic painting phase, and I remember how much I hated it because of how different the drying time was for both. Switching between them at his whim was obnoxious.”
“I think that having your paintings or sketches on the walls would bring a personal touch to things. Remember that you have more to offer the world than you think,” I tell her. “When are you planning to open the birth center?”
“I’m going to make an announcement tomorrow on Omega’s Link,” she says.
“Hollis says that may help get both interest and money toward the center. She thinks I should do a video about it, and while I tend to shy away from the camera, there’s no real reason for me to do that anymore.
I need to get used to having that freedom. ”
Tugging her up to stand, I take her place on the window seat before sitting her on my lap so she can lay on my chest. It’s surprisingly comfortable for such a small nook, and that’s mostly due to all of the pillows surrounding us.
“Is it weird not to have to run anymore?” I ask.
“I think it’s the fact that I also don’t need to make that my every waking thought too,” Nova admits. “I can just be. And that’s enough for now.”
Snuggling into my chest, her breaths get deeper and slower as I rub her back until she falls asleep. Smiling, I pick up her phone to text Hollis. I want her to see what I’m doing later because it involves the birth center as well.
Me
Is there anything I can do to help Nova raise money for the birth hospital? I would just donate a shit ton of money, but I don’t know if that’ll fly with her.
This is Tyde by the way.
Hollis
It doesn’t look like you’re trying to hide that you’re messaging me, so I’ll let it slide, I suppose. I think that helping her host an event would be helpful. What do you think rich people like?
Me
You are a rich person, Hollis. Don’t act like you aren’t.
Hollis
Yes, but I also walked away from it all very early on.
Me
You’re so difficult, woman. While silent auctions do well, so do things that are different. Ballet, dancing events, etc.
Hollis
Oh fuck, if aerial dancing is something you think they’d be interested in, then I may have an idea. Let me call an omega about some silks.
My lips twitch at her enthusiasm and I thank her. I think aerial dance would go over really well at a charity event. I’m glad she has some kind of pull and a direction to run in, because I’m still trying to convince myself not to open my wallet.
Ugh, I suck at this shit. All I want to do is give my omega the world. If I can’t donate money to the cause, then what good is it?
A light knock on the door warns me before it opens, and Lars and Caleb come in.
“You feel anxious,” Lars growls as he comes in. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’m having an existential crisis,” I grumble.
“Hello, dramatic,” Caleb smirks. “Try again.”
“Nova is making some progress on her birth center but needs the funds to make things happen. There’s the building, staff, renovations and equipment, and more things I’m sure I’m forgetting as I spiral,” I mutter.
“I really want to give her the money for it, but I’m not sure if she’d take it the wrong way or not. ”
“Or I can make an umbrella shell company to donate it from and you can do it that way so it’ll be anonymous,” Caleb shrugs. “You can even wait until the night of the charity event. This way you can be the overflow donation that puts her over her goal.”
“I don’t mind secrets as long as they don’t hurt anyone,” Lars agrees. “Our new pack bed in Nova’s bedroom is that type of secret. She knows now, and she was delighted that her sister surprised her. This is no different than that.”
“If you're sure,” I say. “I’m terrified of it going sideways. I want to help build her up. I believe that she’ll do really well with raising funds for this. However, I don’t want her to have to wait to get this off the ground if she doesn’t have to.”
“You’re overthinking this,” Caleb reassures me. “I understand where you’re coming from, but she’ll appreciate your support. I’ll also help you donate in a way that she won’t know it’s you if you want.”
“Yes please,” I say.
“She fell asleep,” Lars murmurs, gazing at her. “Damn, should we stay in?”
“No,” Nova moans. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Tyde is really comfortable and he smells so good.”
“Yes he does,” Caleb purrs, making my cheeks heat.
“Do you want to go splash some water on your face and change?” I ask. “I can make you coffee if you need it?”
“I’ll make coffee,” Lars decides. “You can carry sleeping beauty to the room.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. Adjusting my hands, I lift her up as I stand. Nova smiles as she stays curled up in my arms, and I walk her to the bathroom.
“I’m going to take a quick shower,” she decides, swallowing back a yawn. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
Nodding, I leave her so I won’t end up joining her in the shower, but detour to grab a couple of things from the bedroom that I’ll need so I’ll be ready to go once she’s done.
“Did you decide if you’re coming?” Lars asks. “I know you were on the fence. We got you a ticket from our friends just in case.”
“That was nice,” I admit.
“Besides the fact that they’re free tickets, you should probably just get used to being immediately invited to everything,” Caleb says.
“Should I?” I ask, brow raised.
“Do we need to threaten you with attaching ourselves to your ass?” he asks, chuckling.
It’s a deep and rich sound, and makes my cock twitch as it thickens. These alphas don’t just make Nova perfume, they make my dick hard as well.
“Well your brother has already been in my ass, so you may be a little late there,” I tease him.
“There’s always tonight,” he purrs. “Hockey makes me horny.”
“Is that why you go?”
“It’s certainly a perk,” Lars says. “Nova is adorable at a game. She doesn’t know what all the plays are, but she’s very enthusiastic.”
Snorting, I grin as Nova comes out. Lars pours the coffee he was making while we talked into a to-go cup and dresses it for her before handing it over.
“My precious,” she says happily.
God, she’s seriously so cute.
Bundling up, we walk out the door as she sips her cup of coffee, and climb into Caleb’s SUV.
“Who do you know on the team?” I ask the brothers. “That’s how you get tickets, right?”