Chapter 23 Life Flight
Life Flight
Sebastian
Ihave sisters who are omegas, alpha brothers, and come from a large A/B/O clan, yet I’ve never seen bond sickness.
But then again, my sisters have always been spoiled and well taken care of.
They have found alphas, and all left our home.
It’s not common to keep seeing your family after bonding, so I haven’t seen some of them in years.
Oh my god, if I ever found out one of them got bond sickness, I’d take Jake and Shadow, and we’d go murder every last one of them.
And here I am, with my own sick omega.
Ok, enough with the pity party.
Ondine and I are on the street. There are several grown men with blood on their faces and holding their bodies, wounded. Looks like Freddie made his way down here.
There’s no way I’m getting a car in this melee.
There’s an Omega Clinic nearby. Just a few blocks away. In the opposite direction is Sky Nest. They have suites with nests in them. I have to decide. If I took her to Sky Nest, she’d rely on me to get her through this.
Do I trust myself enough to help her?
I pull her face up and peel her eyelids back gently with my thumb. Her eyes are watery and pinkish all over. I let her close her eyes, and I cup her face, then lean in to kiss her forehead.
Earlier today, with Boone, he had practically convinced me that my fears are true—I’m not enough for her. He tried to convince me by bringing up Bunny. I don’t know the details of that story, but it’s not this story.
She’s leaning on me, panting terribly. Her skin is thin and cold. Her body is shaking. She needs me.
There’s this primal pull inside of me that says I have everything I need to care for her. Does she even know how much I want to show her what I can do for her?
I can help her. She’s going to be ok.
Ondine whimpers, but it’s involuntary and comes deep within her. It’s a call to any alpha nearby to help her.
“Ondine, my heart, I’ve got you. Do you understand? You’re going to be ok.”
She doesn’t react to me with positivity. She probably doesn’t have any trust in me at all at this point. And I don’t blame her.
I get her away from the Fine Bastian Club, away from the de-scenters. I smelled Freddie on the street, so it should be far enough, but I keep moving her further away, just in case.
I stop her and turn her shoulder so we are facing each other.
“Ondine, I’m going to scent you. Stop me if it’s not what you want,” I warn her in case she doesn’t want me to.
She gives me a little nod. I pull her closer and dip my head down.
The alpha in me starts to come to life. I place my cheek on her cheek.
I slide my face over hers until our necks are connecting.
Then instinct fully takes over, and I run my skin over her.
The contact relaxes me as it does her. I carefully draw her in so I can feel her reactions more closely.
Her shoulders noticeably fall. Glorious.
I lean into it more. I rub up her head and into her hair.
My scent blooms around us and takes her over.
She chases my touch with her body. That’s a good sign.
I move to her other side. One side isn’t enough.
She’s sick. She needs as much as she can get.
I know we are standing in the middle of the sidewalk on this random street, but this is an emergency.
Scenting is a wholly private event. It’s considered sexual. Doing it in public is crass.
But who fucking cares?
Her shaking has considerably lessened.
I’m breathing in and out, deep and long, pushing our chests together, getting her to mimic me. And she does.
“Good omega,” I praise.
I wrap my arm around her shoulder and direct her to keep walking. We gotta get out of here.
My skin is buzzing. The air around us feels like a comfortable blanket. I think I needed the scenting as much as her.
We get to Sky Nest, and I take her to the lobby. I ask for a room with a nest. There’s a small one in a different tower than where everyone is. I take it. I use the pack’s credit card for the room.
The staff rushes away to get us nesting supplies. Every person who takes a look at this pale, sick omega knows exactly what’s happening to her. I see some of the staff whisper to each other, asking if they should call the authorities.
A sick omega is a smoke signal to a larger problem. To get this bad means she’s been mistreated for years. It’s not something an omega gets because she’s a bit needy or has been ignored a few times. It means Ondine has been suffering. She’s been denied.
Omegas are the canary in the coal mine for how society is doing. The happier and well off their omega population, the better everyone is doing.
And not just that. They are rare. So, having a young, unbonded omega who’s sick? Everyone has failed her.
Bond sickness is a result of being touch-starved, alpha-starved, hormone imbalanced, along with deep psychological stress.
But I’m going to take care of her.
We are going to get through this.
A group of staff members ushers us out of the elevator to the hall with nest rooms. They said it’s pretty empty, and they’ve set us up without any neighbors.
We make it around several bends and into our room.
Staff unbox and remove packaging on all sorts of nesting materials.
Blankets, pillows, and other soft things.
They put slipcovers and pillowcases on new pillows they pull out of plastic.
They ask me questions, and I direct them on what needs to happen.
One woman adjusts the lighting. A man puts new sheets on the bed, spraying it down with de-scenting spray.
They all look stressed and worried about Ondine.
I continue to rub and touch her wherever I can. She’s too needy for me to hold back, and I don’t. I’m running on instinct and everything I’ve been raised to be.
The room has a receiving room with couches and a tv with a table and chairs. There are two exits in the nest, one to a bathroom and one to the hallways. There’s a double-king bed, low to the ground, and the staff are piling the nesting materials around.
“There’s a fridge with snacks and drinks. Should we put in an order in the kitchen, Alpha Meier?” A woman asks me.
I wouldn’t want to wait if she needs some food. “Yeah, some cold cuts would be great.”
She nods, but pauses and says, “If she doesn’t improve, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone. The lobby can call emergency services. What’s important is getting her better, ok?”
I growl. “I understand.”
As soon as the door shuts on the last staff member, Ondine doubles over and vomits. I yank her to the bathroom and put her over the toilet. Her hair is short, so I have to hold it back with my whole hand. She vomits twice more before falling limp. She curls around the toilet.
“Fuck me,” I huff. I grab some towels and clean up the vomit by the door. When that’s done, I pull her up and clean her face, then make her swish some mouthwash.
She’s so cold.
She’s not talking. But I guess neither am I.
I lead her (carry her) to the nest and lay her down. My phone has buzzed a dozen times, so I finally pull it out.
So many texts and missed calls.
I call Jake.
“Sabbies, where the fuck are you? And why are your emotions so damned intense?! What is going on?” Hearing his voice relaxes me, even though he’s yelling at me.
“Jake, what’s going on with everyone?”
I adjust her body over the pillows and continue to pet her. Over her breasts. Up her neck. Down her thighs.
He sighs. “I’m firing Freddie as a client. This is a shit show. I’m almost at Sky Nest. I want everyone there. Shadow is here with me. I threw his machete into the river, but he wasn’t upset at all, so I think he’s got a second one. Freddie said you have Ondine?”
She’s lying on her side while I cage her in. She’s chasing my touches.
“It’s bad,” I say, at a loss for words.
“How bad did Man-ho hurt her?”
“Man-ho? I think this is more than that. Jake, she has bond sickness. I got her in a room at Sky Nest.”
There’s silence.
“Ondine has bond sickness?”
I can hear Shadow in the background asking him if he heard what he thinks he heard. Ondine looks like death is at her door. I nuzzle my nose into the space below her ear.
“No, no, no! Fuck! Where are you going?” Jake shouts at Shadow. “Fuck, Shadow just jumped out of the car at a red light. I’m hanging up. I’ll be there soon. Take care of her Sabbies or I swear to god.”
Of course, I’ll take care of her. Ondine needs me. Her little tongue comes out and licks my wrist.
Jake ends the call. I toss the phone off the bed.
An alpha purr emits from my chest and sings to her. She looks so small. So vulnerable. I pull away, and she whines.
“It’s ok, my heart. We need less clothing.
I’m just taking off my clothes.” I stand up to unbuckle my belt and slide off my shoes.
I take everything off and lay it on a puff thing nearby.
Then I take her dress off. She has these sexy little black panties on.
It’s a thong. Her bra comes off last. We are both naked.
I lift her up and pull her to the center of the bed.
I settle in on her side and curl around her. She fits into my lap, lying on her side perfectly. I lay my arm across her. Her skin is ice. But it feels good, actually. I use my hand to touch her in a few places, seeing if she’s tense.
My hand rests on her hip.
“You did so well tonight, escaping Man-ho all on your own. But I saw this,” I say and hold up her right hand.
Her thumb is all bruised up. “You don’t know how to punch, do you?
I’m impressed you tried, anyway. When you are feeling better, I’ll teach you.
” I put her hand back down. Careful not to jostle it.
Omegas heal very fast—she probably won’t even have bruises later. “Tell me how you’re feeling, Ondine.”
She gulps, and her lips part. “How do you think I’m feeling?”
“Oh, sarcasm, that’s real nice, Ondine.”