Perilous Action (Her Vicious Pack #9)

Chapter 1 Mathew

Mathew

The waiting room at the hospital is empty, apart from our pack. We’ve got to wait here until Derrick’s got the car ready for us. We attract too much attention when we wait in the lobby.

“I just want to look!” Jorge wraps himself around my shoulders as he keeps trying to sneak peeks at the pictures in my hand. His cedar pheromones are filled with joy and he keeps rubbing them all over me, like he’s trying to claim me all over again.

“You were there during the scan. It’s not even been five minutes. Are you really that desperate?” I don’t step out of his embrace, enjoying his enthusiasm.

Today, Vera and I had our twenty-week scan. Seeing how much the babies had grown and watching them move was so magical that I’ve not been able to stop smiling.

After the stress from the last months, we really needed something good like this, something purely good, something to make us all happy.

During the scan, we learned that I’m pregnant with a girl and Vera is pregnant with a boy. Both babies are doing well and the doctor had no comments, aside from ‘try to avoid stress as much as possible’ and ‘make sure you eat healthily’.

The eating healthily part is no issue. Eli has made sure of that from the start, and Vera has also been cooking a lot lately. She seems to really enjoy it.

I’ve found the two in the kitchen in the early hours of the day, or late at night, discussing and making new recipes, plenty of times lately.

I’ve never seen Eli so excited to try new things.

But, it makes sense, as most of the new recipes have been a big hit with both our packs, including his kids, who tend to be picky eaters.

The ‘avoid stress’ side of things has been harder.

We know how important it is, but applying that knowledge isn’t always so easy.

The pheromone withdrawal Vera and I went through a couple of weeks ago demonstrated how important it is to take time off to relax and wind down.

And we try our best, really, since we don’t want to hurt our babies or go through another episode.

But we’ve also been hard at work since we recovered, just to stay on top of things. Between running the organisation, getting things ready for the raid on the brothel and general pack and life things, we’ve not been able to truly relax and enjoy our pregnancy yet.

Ultimately, I don’t think there really is a way to avoid stress in our line of work. That’s just part of life when you run an organisation like I do, like we do.

Jorge kisses my shoulder as he takes my hand with the picture and holds it up to the light so he can see it better.

“Of course, I’m desperate. This cute little girl is growing inside you and I don’t want to miss a single moment.

” His other hand slides lower, covering the light baby bump that’s starting to form.

“It feels like it’s only been weeks since you went into heat.

I can’t believe you’re almost at the halfway point. ”

I laugh as I lean against him. He’s not wrong, but it also feels like I’ve been pregnant for half an eternity. My first trimester wasn’t much fun, as I was sick a lot, and waiting for that to settle down felt like ages. But once I started feeling better, I enjoyed the pregnancy a lot more.

Vera comes over, leaning against my arm as she holds her picture next to mine.

The pictures aren’t much more than grainy scans, but they’re still clear enough to see our babies’ faces, fingers and things like that.

It’s hard to believe that they’re already this developed, this detailed —for a lack of a better description.

My heart beats faster and I nuzzle the side of Vera’s head, taking in her warm honey pheromones. “Do you want to go somewhere for lunch? Or do you want to go home?”

After we had our very first scans, Jorge took us all out for lunch to celebrate and we’ve kind of made a habit of going out for lunch after every appointment, but Vera’s mind has been elsewhere today.

Which makes sense, as we’re in the middle of preparing for the raid, and things are starting to ramp up.

Deciding who does what, getting as much information about the people who will likely be inside as possible, security details, organising all of that is no small feat.

Especially since this raid is bigger than any we’ve done before.

But we also need to celebrate when good things happen, that’s also important.

“I think I’d like to go out for lunch.” She flashes me a grin. “Or we’ll get scolded again for working too much.”

I can’t help the laugh bubbling up inside. “Sounds about right.” I lean over to give her a kiss, her soft lips giving in so easily, welcoming me. When I break away, her cheeks are flushed and her pheromones have taken on a hint of desire. “You choose where we go. I’m fine with anything.”

“Okay.” She darts off to Luca and leans next to him on the table. Not getting so close to him that her pheromones overwhelm him, but close enough that she can still take in his pheromones.

He’s gotten a lot better at dealing with our pheromones in the last month and a half. He doesn’t immediately get a panic attack when he smells them, but things are still iffy when he gets surprised by them or when he’s too close to us for too long. It’s a balancing act we’re still figuring out.

I have a hard time pulling my eyes away from Vera. She’s wearing a soft grey sweater dress that clings to her every curve, leggings and army boots. And I mean it when I say the dress clings to every curve.

She always had a good ass and a good set of tits, but pregnancy has made her even more irresistible.

She’s now more ‘well endowed’ —as Riley says when she’s trying to be polite— than Riley.

Which is quite a feat as the female Alpha is ‘well endowed’ enough to struggle buying bras at most regular stores.

Vera’s belly bump seems to be extra pronounced in the dress too.

Every time I see it, I want to touch her, hold her, marvel at how her body is changing to accommodate the life growing inside her.

I now totally understand what people mean when they say that seeing their partner pregnant turns them on even more than before.

I awkwardly pull on my suit jacket, trying to straighten it out as much as possible.

I’m not showing as much as Vera yet, mostly because I’ve got stronger abs and male Omegas tend to show less than female Omegas anyway.

At least, that’s what I’ve heard. Eli also didn’t show much with his first, but did start to show earlier and more with his later pregnancies.

The tailor dropped off a couple of new ‘pregnancy’ suits earlier this week, as the first ones he’d made started to become uncomfortable in the chest and belly areas.

The old ones still mostly looked like what I wore before, just lightly modified around the waist area, but the new suits have been adjusted much more and are no longer the ‘slim fit’ that I’m used to.

Today is the first time I’m wearing one of the new suits, and, comfort wise, it’s so much better. I can finally breathe and sit again without things getting tight or worrying that I’m going to pop a button or a seam.

But emotionally, it’s been rougher.

I like seeing my belly grow, seeing how my body is changing as the pregnancy progresses, real evidence that I’ve got new life growing inside me.

But when I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or a reflective window —especially when I’m wearing suits— I can’t help but feel uncomfortable at how ‘Omega’ I look, how my status as an Omega is becoming more obvious by the day.

And, after having lived as an Alpha for a decade, specifically because I don’t look like an Omega, and the advantages that has brought me with the organisation and with getting hired for jobs, it’s hard not to have complicated feeling about it.

And I can no longer use the excuse that ‘I’ve gained a little weight after finding my Omega and establishing my pack’. By now, it’s very clear that the way my body is changing is because I’m pregnant and not because of a little weight gain from other reasons.

“Derrick is waiting in front of the hospital. What are the plans?” Caleb stands up from the couch, where he was discussing something with Riley, the two Alphas deep in conversation.

“Lunch! I want to go back to the place we went to after our first appointment. I want to have a lake picnic.” Vera pulls Luca along, who’s looking intently at his phone, not even trying to resist the short Omega as she drags him around.

Then he looks up. “I can order two baskets with snacks and some drinks through their online form. They should be ready by the time we arrive.”

“Fine with me.” I go over to them. “What are our options?”

The first time we were at the cafe, having a picnic by the lake seemed like a fun idea, but we’ve not been back yet. The early October weather is nice and warm, so this would be a great way to celebrate today’s good news.

Because it’s still early in the day, there aren’t many people at the cafe, which allows me to relax at least a little. Last time, Jorge rented out the whole place for us. But this time, we’re just normal guests, and that feels a lot less awkward.

“Have you tried one of these yet?” Riley holds out a plate with sandwich bites, though there are only two pieces left. “Before Vera devours them all.” She grins as she looks over to our cute little Omega, who sends the tall Alpha a pretend-glare.

“They’re really good. I’m going to try to make them myself at home.

And to do that, I have to try as many of them as possible, you know?

” She leans back on her hands as she looks over the lake, her eyes softening, her voice light.

“And I’m growing a brand new life inside of me, I need to eat enough. The doctor said so too.”

“Sure, sure.” I pop one of the sandwich bites into my mouth and I immediately understand why Vera likes them so much.

The balance of the flavours is great. The cheese works well with the dressing and the cucumber and other greens.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. These would be great to have on the side when we’ve got a barbecue. ”

“Right?!” Vera scoots over and snatches the last bite from the plate, before leaning against my shoulder, letting her honey pheromones flow around us.

“I should have ordered two of that basket instead of two different ones.” Luca laughs as he bites into a berry tart, relaxed. The filling drips out and falls on his chin.

Without thinking, I reach out, run my thumb over his chin to wipe it off, and then suck the sweet berry compote from my thumb.

Luca’s eyes darken with lust, just as his caramel pheromones, as his eyes are fixed on my lips. Next to me, Vera’s pheromones flare too.

Crap. Not the right time…

Trying to divert their attention, I glance into the second basket and shake my head. “I don’t think so.”

While Vera has been making her way through the one with sandwich bites, veggies and dip, the ‘light lunch’ basket, Jorge, Caleb and Riley have finished off most of the other basket, which was more meat and cheese focused, more of a heavier ‘end of the day’ basket.

“I don’t think I’ve tried anything in here that wasn’t amazing.” Caleb looks inside a basket, before pulling out a bottle of fresh apple juice. “We should definitely come here more often.”

“I’m all for that!” Vera grins, sitting up straighter.

I smile, kissing the side of her head. “That much is obvious, with how you’ve been devouring everything.”

“Hey!” Vera pretend-pouts at me and I kiss her puckered lips, making her laugh as she pulls back in surprise.

“It’s a good thing. I like seeing you happy.” I kiss her again and she wraps her arms around me, leaning into it.

It’s nice to have a relaxing lunch like this with everyone. We’ve been so busy lately that we’re usually all over the place during lunch and we’re lucky if we get four dinners together most weeks. I know it’s because of work, but having everyone together like this is really the best.

Everyone together like this is the only way I really get to calm down, a rarity in our lives right now, and likely for the foreseeable future too.