Chapter 3 Vera
Vera
I stare at my laptop, bile rising in my throat.
No fucking way.
This can’t be happening.
It can’t.
A Bun in the Oven? Transport Tycoon Mathew Page is an Omega!
With shaking hands, I click on the article and am greeted with a picture of us leaving the hospital from a couple of days ago.
Mathew and I with the printouts of the scans in our hands, his arm around my waist, and we’re laughing about something.
It should be a happy picture, but the article has turned it into something bad.
The angle of the shot makes Mathew’s belly even more pronounced, especially since they’re contrasting it with a picture of Mathew from some event a while back.
Fuck.
My stomach rolls and I put my laptop aside, trying to get up, but my legs won’t work.
This is so fucking bad.
I cover my mouth with my hand, trying to not bring up the lunch I just had.
We always knew that Mathew being an Omega was going to be revealed at some point, but the way it’s come out is bad. It’s very bad.
I push myself off the couch, sliding to my knees on the floor, trying to get to the bathroom, not wanting to puke all over the library.
I feel sick.
“Breathe. Keep breathing.” Caleb surrounds me with his dark forest pheromones. They’re filled with tension, but still make it easier to breathe.
He tries to lift me up, but I push him away, shaking my head. I don’t want to dirty him.
“Bring me that trashcan.” His voice is low, and the next moment, Luca’s bitter caramel pheromones mix in with Caleb’s, and an empty trashcan appears in front of me. “This is the best we can do. Sorry.”
He helps me sit on the floor more comfortably, rubbing my back, as I feel Luca move, and then I feel Luca’s fingers in my hair, quickly braiding my hair, so it’s out of the way.
“His secret is out.” The moment I say the words, my stomach heaves, and I pull the trashcan closer.
Nothing comes out. False alarm.
“It seems like it.” Caleb sits next to me, his pheromones also a mess as he starts up a low and calming rumble in his chest.
“There you are.” Riley barges into the library, her fearful pheromones like a wave ahead of her.
I try to look up, but the moment I move my head, my stomach rolls again. This time, it keeps going and I empty everything into the trashcan.
My head is a mess. I have no idea what to think. I can’t even move.
I just want to be with Mathew.
I need my whole pack together.
More footsteps, and Eli speaks up, his voice tight. “We’re going into lockdown, immediately, until we know what kinds of threats we’ll be dealing with. I need your phones. Tim will scan them to make extra sure that they can’t be hacked or traced. You’ll get them back after.”
Fuck.
I take my phone from the couch, the screen almost a blur as I’ve got messages coming in at a high speed. As I stare at it, more and more keep showing up. Most of them are from Erika’s pack, worried about us. Their messages getting more and more frantic by the moment.
Then, a call. Erika. I automatically accept it.
“Where are you? Are you safe? Is Mathew safe?” She sounds rushed and her panic sets me further on edge.
I open my mouth to reply, but no sound comes out. Tears flow down my cheeks, my chest going tighter and tighter, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to speak.
Caleb reaches around me, picking up the phone. “We’re at home. We’re safe. We’re going into lockdown. Mathew and Jorge are on their way to a client, but they’re with Derrick and Timothy. They should be fine.” His voice cracks slightly on the last words.
“They’re on their way back. They won’t be long.
” Eli seems to be the calmest of us, but when I look at him, he’s distressed too.
Of course, he would be. He knows what kind of danger this puts the organisation in, not just Mathew and the pack, but the organisation as a whole, including his mates and family.
I jolt as loud footsteps sound from the hallway and outside the house.
What’s going on?!
“There will be extra security on all floors. Someone from the security team will always keep an eye on you, around the clock. You can’t leave the house without the okay from Mathew and you’ll need someone from the security team with you.
” Eli rubs his arms. “I’m sorry. It appears that the person who took the pictures followed you for quite a while that day.
There are pictures from the hospital and also from the lunch you were having after. ”
No.
No.
That’s just...
Why are people like that?
This...
“We’re getting on the next plane.” Erika’s voice is firm.
“No.” Caleb takes me in his lap, pulling me against him.
“We’re going into lockdown. Nobody in or out.
Part of your team is still here, they’ll be a great help.
But you can’t book tickets until we’ve got a better view of the situation.
We knew this was going to happen at some point. We’ve prepared for it.”
“I can’t just leave—”
“Yes. You can.” Caleb cuts her off. “You have your own things to worry about. And we’ll see you soon anyway, the raid is only a few weeks away. We’ll be fine until then.”
Caleb’s phone starts ringing, and he pulls it out, checking the name. “I’ve got to go. Jorge’s calling me.”
“Of course.” Erika seems calmer now. “You need to do what you need to do. Let me know how we can help.”
“I will.” He disconnects the call with Erika as he accepts the call from Jorge. “How are things?”
It’s quiet for a few moments before Jorge speaks. “It’s good to hear your voice.” He sounds out of breath and my heart starts racing again. This can’t be good.
“What’s going on?” Caleb frowns as he rubs his hand over my side, trying to soothe me.
“We’re safe. We should be home in not too long. It’s just...” He moves, and then his voice returns, strained, like he’s on the verge of crying. “Can Vera talk to Mathew? I can’t get through to him.”
I pull on Caleb’s arm with shaking fingers, pulling the phone closer. “I’m here.” My voice feels strange.
“Can you talk to him? He’s not said anything since the news broke.”
“I’ll try.” I have no idea if it’s going to work, but hearing Jorge and knowing that they’re safe takes away a lot of my fear.
“Mathew? Everyone at home is preparing for the lockdown. I don’t think I’ve heard this many people running around the house before.”
I don’t really know what else to talk about. Asking him how he’s doing isn’t going to help, that’s trite and doesn’t feel right.
Something silly comes into my head, but I know that Mathew would understand it.
“We should ask the person who took the pics of us for the originals. The one at the hospital is really well shot. We can print it off and hang it in the library or the living room. Then, when our kids ask about it, we can tell them about today and laugh about it.”
“Vera!” Jorge and Riley call out at the same time, and I try not to laugh at their indignation. Then, there’s a sound on the other side, and I hear a soft chuckle, Mathew.
“Do we really look that good?” He sounds exhausted, but he’s talking.
“The one pic I saw looked very cool. I haven’t seen the others yet, but Eli said that they also had shots from the picnic. With the weather and the setting, I’m sure those will be good too.”
“At least, we’ve got a stylish pack, so candid pics like this aren’t too much of an issue.” His voice gets stronger. “How are the others doing?”
“We’re fine. How long until you’re back?”
“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Shouldn’t be too long. I can’t wait to be home.”
“Me neither.” I can’t wait for Mathew and Jorge to get back, for the whole pack to be together.
That’s the only way I’ll feel safe.
I’m waiting in the doorway between the garage and the rest of the house, shifting my weight from one leg to the other, as I watch the doors of the garage open and two cars drive inside.
I stay in my spot until both cars have stopped, and then dart to the one with Mathew and Jorge, opening the door on Mathew’s side.
He immediately pulls me into the car, into his lap, his nose in my neck, taking deep breaths.
The whole car reeks of distress, even Mathew’s pheromones are mixed in. He must have felt really bad, if his pheromones were strong enough to seep out this much.
I wrap my arms around his neck and look at him, trying to meet his gaze.
His eyes are weary, his face pale, and he looks like he’s about to fall apart from exhaustion.
Then he pulls me closer, giving me a hard kiss, his lips demanding, desperate, before another set of arms surround us and Jorge’s cedar pheromones flow around us.
“Let’s go inside.” Jorge carefully tries to move us, and Mathew complies, carrying me, as he slides out of the car, still holding me tightly.
The moment we get out, we’re surrounded by our other three mates, everyone pushing close, everyone trying to be near each other. Our pheromones mix, creating our woodsy-flowery-sweet pack scent, trying to soothe each other, trying to feel whole in a situation that’s out of our control.
After a couple of minutes, Mathew moves slightly and our pack becomes individual people again. “Let’s get to the office, see what’s going on and what we’ve got to do.” The others nod solemnly. He still doesn’t let me down as we all walk into the house.
Derrick and Timothy are waiting outside the office, deep in conversation with Eli, as Milo is waiting near the stairs, ready to follow any of us anywhere.
The first couple of days Caleb and I were here, we were mostly locked in Mathew’s bedroom, but even though we can go basically anywhere we want right now, just as long as the security team is with us, this feels a lot more stifling.
That’s probably got more to do with the fear of the outside world than any real restrictions of where we go.
Back then, Caleb and I had been on the run from my promised husband for years and knowing that he was finally dead, even if we were suddenly in an unfamiliar situation didn’t feel so confining.
This time, we’ve been able to go and do whatever we wanted for months, and to suddenly have to fear every person, every time someone looks in our direction, those things, it feels like a step back, not a step forward.
Mathew sits down behind his desk, keeping me in his lap, as he wakes the computer up. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.” He seems so focused, but I still feel his nerves and fear in the way he holds me, how he’s keeping me close, like having me with him is the only way he feels safe.
Riley pulls her laptop from under the couch —I have no idea how or why it ended up there— and lets herself fall onto the couch, immediately focused on her screen.
Jorge also grabs his laptop —from a drawer next to the couch, a much more sensible storage location— and sits down next to her, also getting to work.
Both of them used to have their own freelance jobs before joining the pack, so they’ve got their own systems of getting information, separate from Mathew’s systems.
My eyes are drawn to Caleb, who’s standing next to the door, his focus on each of us, making sure we’re safe, making sure we’re all okay, before he does anything.
He meets my gaze, giving me a soft smile and a nod that let me breathe a little easier, that let me relax just a fraction more than before.
Years of being together, years of trusting him, are easy to tap into in stressful situations. It might not be rational, but as long as Caleb is there, I feel like we can overcome any situation.
“Here.” Luca slides my laptop in front of me, his voice is quiet, nervous, and I take his hand before he can pull away.
“Are you okay?”
He nods, but his eyes keep shooting all over the place, his movements are jerky. He’s trying, but this is definitely freaking him out.
The rest of us are used to dangerous and unexpected situations, we’ve all been living lives where we’ve had to get used to them quickly. But Luca hasn’t, this is all brand new to him.
“Let’s go somewhere a little quieter.” All the loud noises, the strong and alarmed pheromones and everything else going on must be wrecking havoc on his mind.
I turn around, give Mathew a quick kiss, and then slide from his lap.
I pull Luca to the storage room we’ve converted into a quiet space.
It’s not exactly a nest, and it’s definitely not big enough for our whole pack to fit into comfortably all together, but it’s a quiet space attached to the office that lets us calm down without having to be away from our mates.