14. Shiloh
Chapter 14
Shiloh
I feel like I’m going to pass out as Mack helps me get into a large SUV. Waking up after my heat felt like getting doused in boiling and freezing water at the same time. Pain was radiating up my right leg, but after taking the pain meds, I just feel numb.
That’s a good word for how I feel—numb.
Another heat that wasn’t perfect—wasn’t what I wanted. I’m thankful for what they did for me, and I don’t blame Jonah in the slightest, but I’m still allowed to be upset.
Luckily, I’m too tired to cry or feel much of anything outwardly right now. I lean against Mack’s shoulder, and he seems a lot more at ease than when we first met. I’m sure the more the sedation wears off, the more I’ll remember about my heat. I’m just too out of it to even care. I just want an Alpha’s comfort right now.
He places his arm around my shoulder and I inhale his peppermint scent. It’s comforting.
“How's your ankle? Do you need to prop it up?” he asks.
I shrug my shoulders and hands are shifting me around in the seat before my eyes get heavier. They could be taking me to a dungeon for all I know, but the exhaustion is too heavy. You’d think I’d be wide awake after being sedated, but it’s quite the opposite. I feel like I could nap for days.
“Are you hungry? Do you want us to pick something up on the way home?” Cole asks and I shake my head, leaning my weight against Mack.
My stomach is unsettled, and the idea of eating right now might make me throw up. I just need to sleep off this post-heat haze and the result of my injury. I’ll be back up and running in no time and I can get out of their hair.
Though, the thought of that seems almost as unsettling as my stomach. They offered to take care of me.
I’m not a burden. I repeat it in my head over and over, trying to undo all these feelings of never being good enough for anyone to keep.
I’ll let them take care of me. I won’t sabotage this—whatever this is.
They’re still perfect strangers.
Strangers who were there for me, and with scents that drive me wild. Once this post-heat fog releases me from its clutches I’ll be able to think straight.
All of this is crazy and sudden, but I owe it to myself to see how it plays out.
So I do what any Omega would post-heat. I snuggle into the Alpha holding me, and let them do what they’re supposed to do, take care of me.
I wake up with a groan, my stomach churning and the pain in my ankle throbbing. When I blink open my eyes, the room is dark and unfamiliar. The bedding I'm wrapped in is soft, a blush pink, maybe? The bed is a king size and I feel small, cocooned in it, but lonely.
Glancing at my left, there’s a window, but the curtains are closed. I smack my lips together; they feel dry and I’m almost positive I could house an entire gallon of water.
“Can I get you something?” a deep voice asks and I nearly jump out of my skin as I clutch the blanket against my chest.
The figure approaches me and taps the light next to me. It’s a pink and white Turkish lamp that gives off a gentle glow in the room.
I slowly relax as I realize it’s Jonah. But unease fills me as I take a look at his handsome face. Dark circles rim his heavy-lidded eyes, and he looks paler than I remember.
I rub my tongue against the roof of my mouth, trying to get rid of some of the dryness.
“How long was I out?” I croak.
“About fifteen hours,” he says with a shrug. “Hungry? Thirsty?”
“Yes, very,” I reply, and I’m making the motion to get up, until Jonah puts his massive hand on my shoulder.
“You need to stay off your feet for at least a week. We have crutches for you, but the more you can stay with your ankle propped up, the better. I’ll get you what you need. What would you like?”
I rest back into the bed, and I can tell the sheets are high end as I snuggle back against the pillow.
“Maybe something light for my stomach to get back into eating. Some toast, soup, or applesauce. Some water and ginger ale, maybe. Whatever you have is fine.”
“I’ll be right back,” he says, and it seems like he wants to say more, but doesn’t.
I take a deeper look around the room and I swear it’s like someone scooped out my dream bedroom and spat it out into the space. Everything is soft, light pink sheets and curtains. While the dresser and nightstands look like European antiques, along with everything else in the room.
It’s expensive and elegant and I wonder if maybe I’m dreaming, because surely this can’t be my life right now, right?
My head is pounding slightly and I’m having a hard time recalling much from my heat right now. But I have a sense that this room was designed with an Omega in mind and that just sours my stomach even more.
I know I don’t have the right to feel jealous. Hell, I don’t have the right to feel anything. We don’t even know each other, and they’ve been kind enough to agree to take care of me while my ankle heals. Nevertheless, I’m just an Omega. The thought of someone else lying on these sheets has irrational panic licking up my spine.
While there’s no lingering scent in the room, it’s the idea that I’m encroaching in someone’s space. While it might be a perfectly decorated space, I find myself kind of hating it.
When Jonah comes back to the room with a tray of food in his hand, he must sense something is wrong.
“Is your ankle hurting?” he asks, and I nod.
He grabs a pill bottle off the nightstand and hands me a pill and goes back to the pink velvet chaise he was sitting on before. It’s almost comical how small he makes the piece of furniture look.
I take the pill and drink nearly the entire glass of water he gave me. Every item I asked for is on the tray and I start with the toast, taking small bites.
“I hope I’m not imposing staying in someone’s room,” I say, acting like I don’t care. I’m a cool Omega. Jealousy? We don’t know her. I just don’t want to inconvenience someone.
It’s not like I didn’t just leave my own nest behind, though this room is nicer, even if it isn’t a nest. I know my jealousy is unfounded but it simmers in my empty stomach anyway.
“You’re not. This is the room my sister uses when she visits.”
“Your sister is an Omega?” I ask, feeling more at ease.
I’m still not sure I like the idea of using another Omega’s room, but the fact that it’s his family has me feeling a little less crazy.
“Yes, her and my mother are both Omegas. Two of my dads are Alphas and my brother and other father are Betas.”
I shift slightly, wincing, and Jonah is immediately on his feet. He helps me slide up the bed, so more of my back is pressed against the tufted bed frame, making sure my ankle is properly and gently on top of a pillow.
“Do you have any siblings?” he asks as I tear at my toast more than eating it.
“No. My mom is an Omega and I have two Alpha dads. I don’t see them much,” I say, feeling embarrassed.
His brows furrow, and I realize then that Jonah is one of those people who has an idyllic family. Hell, he has a room for his sister when she visits. They probably have inside jokes, play board games, and know too much information about each other.
I’m not sure why, but my eyes begin to water.
It’s definitely my hormones all over the place after my cluster-fuck of a heat. The pain medicine, the being in a new, unfamiliar place.
Jonah sits his large frame next to me on the bed.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I do want to know you,” he says the last bit softly and I blink away my forming tears.
“They travel a lot all around the world. I’m pretty sure they’re in Malta or something right now. Having a kid and traveling don’t mix. When I was five, they went backpacking in Chile and left me with my Gran. They’d come back for holidays sometimes. I’d get a birthday card. They paid for everything, but they weren’t there. My Gran raised me, she’s a Beta,” I say, looking down at my food.
Jonah places a hand on my thigh, and his thumb rubs soothing circles against my covered leg.
He looks like he’s at a loss on what to say, like what I just told him is unfathomable behavior. I’m used to the pitying looks, but that’s not what I get from Jonah.
“Your Gran seems like an amazing woman.”
I smile, loving that he didn’t say he was sorry, or make excuses for my parents’ behavior.
“Oh, shit. She’s probably worried sick,” I say, wanting to push the tray away.
“I’ve been on the phone with her. She asked me to tell her when you were ready for visitors. She has our address and all our information.”
“I should probably call her,” I say anyway.
“It’s three in the morning, maybe at a more reasonable time?”
“You’re probably right,” I say, taking my chances with the soup. It tastes far better than I thought it would. Did Jonah make it or is it from some high end grocery store?
I look at Jonah’s face, seeing how desperately exhausted he looks.
“Jonah, have you slept?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” he says and I tilt my head at him.
“Please don’t feel like you owe me anything. Seriously, Jonah, it was an accident. I don’t blame you. There’s nothing for me to even forgive.”
He shakes his head, his hand not leaving my leg. “I don’t think it would’ve mattered if you were hurt or not, I don’t think I can…I’m not sure how to not be around you right now?” He phrases it as a question.
I’m not going to judge him, because in all fairness I quite like that he’s been in here looking after me. His scent is soothing, along with his presence.
I’m not sure how to answer his question, which was also a statement, so instead I eat as much as I can, and finish my water. Jonah takes the tray and places it on my nightstand.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” he asks nervously, glancing between the chair and the door.
Is he worried I’m going to ask him to leave?
“I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think I need some more rest. Stay with me?” I ask pulling the comforter back.
He takes off his shirt and pants. I get a flashback of his strong, beautiful body in the shower as I gawk at him. He’s by far the largest Alpha I’ve ever been with, and I quite like how small he makes me feel as he slides in next to me.
“Can I touch you?” he asks, and I know he’s not being sexual as I nod my head.
He scooches closer to me. The warmth of his body and his citrusy scent nearly lull me to sleep as he pulls me into his arms. He’s cautious of my leg as he holds me. The large Alpha falls asleep in seconds and a sense of immense pride fills me.
I did that. I comforted him just as he did me.
Maybe flying home and breaking my ankle was fate. Maybe this is where I was always meant to be.