17. Sunny
Chapter 17
Sunny
I was bonded.
I had a mate.
What the fuck had just happened?
I paced the bathroom, desperately running a hand through my hair as I tried to make sense of everything.
Between my legs burned, a delicious reminder of what Walker and I had just done. I had no idea that sex could be like that . My legs were still shaking, even long after his knot had deflated.
Sex with Gregory had felt cold, impersonal.
With Walker, it had been very different.
Despite the emotional roller coaster I was experiencing, something in my chest just felt right.
That was Walker.
I could feel him in my chest.
Because we were bonded. There was no taking back a bond. It was stupidly permanent. There was chemical unbonding, but that wasn’t really an option. Many people didn’t survive chemical unbonding. It was unnatural and painful.
Like it or not, Walker and I were stuck with each other.
Wiping away my tears, I ripped off Walker’s shirt and hopped in the shower, running the water as hot as possible.
What did this mean for Luka and me? Walker was now, legally speaking, his father. Would he be okay with that? Would Rune and Blaze? Sure, they’d been sweet and kind while just helping me as the little lost omega with no home, but that was temporary. This was very permanent.
Part of me hated washing Walker’s scent off me as I stood under the stream of hot water. Tears gathered in my eyes and my body shook as my mind ran a million miles an hour. How could I be so stupid? I had potentially put me and my son in a very dangerous situation. I had just bonded us to an alpha I didn’t fully know.
And I had been the first to bite.
“Sunny…”
A yelp escaped my mouth as the shower curtain drew back, pulling me from my emotional doom spiral.
“Walker!” I cried, automatically going to cover myself.
He gave me a disbelieving look. “You are freaking out, I can feel it, and I think we are past modesty at this point.”
“I disagree,” I said breathlessly.
“Sweetheart, twenty minutes ago, you were coming on my knot, which was hands-down, well, the best experience of my life. I think we can handle showering together.” As he spoke, he shucked the rest of his clothing and stepped into the shower, pulling me in for a hug.
Logically, I knew I should have pushed him away, but that was the last thing I actually wanted to do. All the pain and turmoil that had been swirling around my chest instantly muted the second I was in his arms.
I was fucked.
Simply being in his presence made everything better.
That was dangerous.
Walker hugged me for a moment before reaching for the body wash and slowly lathering up his hands, running them over my arms.
“Are they angry?” I asked, biting my lip, secretly enjoying the way he was slowly cleaning me. It was caring, almost adoring. When was the last time I’d let someone take care of me?
“They're surprised with the bonding but not angry.”
“Rune looked pretty damn pissed…” I trailed off.
“He walked in to find you crying while still on my knot. I understand why he was mad at me for a moment.”
I winced. “Oh, god, yeah, it probably looked bad, didn't it?”
Walker nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Luckily, I managed to avoid being punched. They’re watching over Luka, but I’m sure they’ll want to see you soon.”
I sniffed. “What do I say to them? Technically, they are my pack mates now! Oh god. It's not like I am a single omega who is free and open to bond. I have a child, for god’s sake, Walker. I can't be bonding alphas willy-nilly.”
Walker snorted, his hands gliding over my shoulders, massaging.
Fuck, his hands were magic.
“I'm not sure what came over us there, but I don't think it was willy-nilly.”
“What the hell even was that?” I asked, resisting the urge to stomp my foot. “One second, I was normal, the next…”
Walker took a deep breath. “I have no clue. I felt like I was suddenly in the middle of a rut.”
That explained the hungry look on his face. Alphas basically became fucking machines during ruts.
“Why aren't you freaking out more?” I huffed.
Walker shrugged. “Oh, I am freaking out. It's just internally. One of us needs to keep it together in this situation.”
“Well, you’re doing pretty good at it,” I mumbled.
“I know I’m probably not everything you wanted in an alpha, but there ? —”
I whipped around to face him, my jaw dropping. It took a second for my brain to comprehend that he was suggesting that he wasn’t good enough for me .
“Walker, you are more than everything I wanted and imagined,” I assured him. “I'm the one with a bunch of history and baggage and a child!”
“Luka is a damn sweet baby. You’ll hear no complaints from me, or my pack mates. Honestly, we knew that when we eventually got around to finding an omega, though probably closer to us in age, they would have already lived a life.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How old are you?” I asked, biting my lip. I probably should have known how old the alpha was before I bit him.
“Thirty-two… How old are you?”
“Twenty-one,” I replied quietly. He was over a decade older than me. Not that I minded; he had an air of experience and maturity to him that I appreciated.
Also, the gray hair was hot as fuck.
Walker raised an eyebrow as he brushed some of my hair away from my face. “I would have pegged you for a bit older than that. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders and seem to have taken to motherhood like a duck to water.”
Now it was my turn to snort. “I most certainly did not take to motherhood easily.”
“You could have fooled me.” Walker smiled. “You must have been, what, nineteen when you got pregnant?”
“Yeah, nineteen.”
We were quiet for a moment while Walker washed my hair. I leaned into his touch, resolving to just enjoy it for a while.
My bonding was going to cause problems, I knew it. There was no way in hell that Gregory would let my bonding slide; he would be pissed.
The last thing I wanted was for him to rain his anger down on these sweet alphas who had helped me so much.
“You’re exhausted, I can feel it. After this, you need to sleep,” Walker said with a frown.
“I want to go check on Luka first,” I mumbled quietly. “I think I can feel you… you’re content?” I asked with a frown.
There I was freaking out, and through the bond, I could make out Walker’s contentment.
“Of course. You’re a good mother, Sunny. I should have known you’d want to see him first. As for the second part… I am content. I can’t explain it, but I usually have to work hard to keep my alpha under control. Right now, he’s purring like a docile newborn kitten.”
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth at that mental image. Walker was much fiercer than a newborn kitten. If he really wanted to compare himself to a feline, he was a lion or maybe a leopard.
“I understand, bonding is settling in many ways.”
Walker chuckled. “Not for you.”
“Frankly, I’m surprised you’re so calm. It’s creepy. That’s some serial killer voodoo,” I mumbled, making Walker laugh loudly as he pulled me into a hug. Our naked skin pressed together, and my nipples hardened as my body tingled from the touch.
It didn’t help that his own arousal was obvious through the bond.
“Nope.” Walker took a step back. “We can cuddle once clothing is on. You’re too tempting for your own good.”