Chapter 42
Hailey
Despite how hard I tried to stay awake, sleep had claimed me while I was waiting for Preston to come back.
It wasn't until several hours later that I started to wake up. The moment conscious thought returned to my brain, however, I sat up straight, shooting a glance around the room.
It was still dark, probably late at night, but something prickled in my awareness, and I looked at the chair in the corner.
There, in the armchair, was a vaguely familiar alpha.
Preston was reclined in the seat, one elbow on the arm of the chair, his face resting in his palm as he dozed lightly. In the dim lights of the nest, I really observed him for the first time in months.
He looked just like he had in that bar. Annoyingly handsome. That rich dark liquor scent called to me, which was funny because the smell of alcohol had been making me nauseous throughout my pregnancy. Preston’s scent did the opposite, though.
It settled me.
As I took several deep, measured breaths, something in my chest resonated, a sense of calm I hadn't felt in so long. For the first time in months, my omega felt at peace. Truly at peace.
Shuffling toward the edge of the nest, I inched closer to him. I did my best to keep quiet because I didn't want to disturb him, but I still wanted a better look.
He had lost weight. Maybe it was the dim lighting of my nest, but his face had a paler tone than I remembered.
Despite my anger at him for being away, I had to remember that he had been in a prisoner camp. Camp Bower wasn't a walk in the park. It was brutal.
It took prisoners who were probably not eating well anyway, who hadn't been exercising much, then threw them into firefighting, which was a rigorous and grueling job.
Everyone in the camp volunteered, they wanted it, but that didn't change the fact that it was physically draining.
On top of that, Preston knew he didn't belong there. He had gone in with an ulterior motive and had been watching his back for months.
His eyes cracked open and met mine as I was watching him intently.
“Hey,” he greeted softly.
“Hey.”
I wasn't sure what to say. After waiting for this moment for so long, words now failed me.
“Are you okay?” I eventually asked.
He sat up straighter. “Shouldn't I be asking you that?”
We were only a few inches away from each other, staring like we couldn't believe we were finally together.
“I think we've both had a pretty rough time the last few months.” I shrugged. “Is it over for good?”
He nodded. “I’m not going anywhere. I'm going to be stuck to your ass like a barnacle if you allow it.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I have got an amazing ass. Definitely one worth being stuck to.”
“Unfortunately, I didn't get up close and personal with your ass last time.”
“That's what happens when you have a quickie in an alley.” I laughed. “God. Our whole situation is so stupid.”
Preston smiled. “Yeah, I'm looking forward to a bit of boring normalcy now.”
I hummed. “You know what? That sounds really nice. Though, I think my sense of normal is about to be shattered when this one enters the world,” I said, glancing down at my stomach.
“May I?” Preston asked, reaching out a hand. I was kneeling, so my bump was on display.
“Of course,” I said softly.
His large hand rested on my belly, and his eyes widened.
As I was only a few weeks away from giving birth, I had a considerable bump. According to Sunny, it was rather small, but I felt like a whale. Having my center of gravity completely different was also so jarring, and I still hadn’t got used to it.
I didn't have the best balance before I got pregnant, so once I was off center, everything was worse.
“I’ve missed so much,” he whispered.
“You've mainly missed morning sickness and me complaining about back pain. Trust me, there's plenty more to come if what I've been told is true.” I chuckled.
“I thought you'd be angry at me.”
“Oh, I am. I just don't have the energy for that right now. I understand why you did what you did, but that doesn't change the fact that it put us in a very shitty situation.”
“I'll spend the rest of my life making it right.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped when my stomach let out an embarrassingly loud gurgle. My face heated as I couldn't meet Preston's eye for a moment.
“Are you hungry?”
“Always.” I groaned. “No one should be able to eat the amount of food I've been putting away the last few weeks. I feel like a bottomless pit. I had a gigantic dinner: chilli with all the fixings, and still I'm hungry. It doesn't help that all I can think about is double cheeseburgers.”
“Double cheeseburgers?” he asked curiously, cooking his head to the side.
“That's the latest craving. I didn't have many in the early days, but now they are getting vicious.”
“Do you want me to go get you one?”
I sat up straighter. His tone was so sincere, but I wasn't sure, considering it was the middle of the night.
“It's pretty late. You must be exhausted.”
“I'm used to not sleeping much. Plus, I've got a lot to make up for. If you want a double cheeseburger, I'll get you a double cheeseburger.”
I was quiet for a moment. Part of me felt like it was rude to ask, but also, given the absurd nature of our situation, I had every right to demand that man get me whatever I was craving.
“There's a really good burger joint that’s open twenty-four hours, only ten minutes away from here,” I admitted.
His brows rose. “That’s awesome. We didn't get that in Seattle. Is it just a burger, or do you want anything else?”
“Fries and extra pickles on the burger and maybe a milkshake, strawberry or chocolate, I don't know.”
Preston laughed, a warm, rich sound that made my toes tingle. “One double cheeseburger with extra pickles, fries, a chocolate shake, and a strawberry shake, coming right up.” He stood, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, much like Merrick usually did. “Thank you for giving me an opportunity.”
“There's something very bizarre about being thanked for giving you a job to do.”
“Better get used to it.”
“Why the hell are you eating a cheeseburger at three in the morning?” Merrick asked from the doorway of the nest.
“She woke up and had a craving,” Preston explained.
I was sitting in my nest, my food spread out in front of me, happily dancing as I ate the delicious, still-warm fries smothered with ketchup.
“Three a.m. hamburger runs will win you some brownie points for sure.”
Preston laughed. “I have a feeling I'm going to be the snack bitch for a while.”
“But you're a very pretty snack bitch,” I added, taking another large bite of fries.
Preston threw his head back, a deep, rumbling belly laugh escaping him. “You can call me your ‘Pretty Snack Bitch’ anytime you want, darling.”
He gave me a look that I could only describe as adoring, even though I felt possibly the least cute I had ever felt. I was bloated, I was tired, and I was pretty sure I hadn't washed my hair in like three days…
I demolished the burger in record time. The pickles were perfect. I didn’t know how Preston had done it, but he’d procured me the best burger-to-pickle ratio sandwich I had eaten since getting pregnant.
Meaning there were more pickles than there was burger meat.
The baby was making me lose my mind, but I still loved the little parasite.
“I always loved pickles, but now I love pickles.” I groaned.
“There’s a jar of the dill pickles you like in the fridge. I grabbed them on the last grocery run,” Merrick said.
“Thank you.” I beamed as he turned and headed, I assumed, to the kitchen.
I could tell that my pregnancy cravings were getting out of hand because I was more distracted by the burger than I had been by my very shirtless alpha standing in the doorway, looking like a different kind of snack.
As soon as I slurped down the last bit of milkshake, Preston took the wrappers out of my hand, making them vanish in record time as I nestled down into my blankets.
“We really should get to know each other better,” I muttered as he returned, sitting in the same arm chair.
“What do you want to know?”
I thought about it for a moment. There were so many potential questions to ask, and they would all be important.
“Did you have any pets as a child, and do you have any particular feelings toward ferrets?”
Preston laughed, shaking his head. “I had dogs growing up. I don't have any particular feelings toward ferrets, but we both know, I'm pretty sure that a certain member of this pack has very strong feelings toward ferrets.”
“But they're so cute!” I whined.
“Have you guys been thinking about a pet?”
“Yeah, a good friend of mine, Melody, owns an animal rescue. We've been talking about going down one day and seeing who needs help.”
“Well, Wilder has nothing against ferrets but hates chickens.”
“Chickens. Really?”
Preston nodded. “His grandmother owned chickens, and they pecked at his feet when he was a toddler, and ever since then, he's hated them.”
“But he treats eggs like they’re their own food group!” It was true. Wilder had eggs for breakfast every morning and snacked on hard-boiled eggs regularly.
“I think that's his weird way of getting revenge on the chickens.”
“Do you have any animals you have a vendetta against?”
“I wouldn't call it a vendetta, but horses occasionally freak me out. They’re just so large. I know they could crush me like a twig if they really wanted to.”
“I feel like that's a valid concern.”
“My favorite color is green.” He tapped his chin, as if deep in thought.
“I didn't grow for like three years when I was thirteen, so I was the shortest kid until one day I suddenly shot up like a weed. My parents were convinced I was going to be a beta. I have an unhealthy love of those little meat sticks you get at the gas station and blue-flavored drinks.”
“Blue-flavored?” I giggled.
“Yes. Blue is a very specific flavor, and I reject anything that says otherwise.”
Despite my interest in our conversation, exhaustion started to tug at me.
“Sleep, Hails.” Merrick laughed, having returned from the kitchen as I started to doze off.
“No!” I sat up straight, looking at Preston. “Stay here!” I insisted, clambering out the nest.
“What’s happening?” Merrick asked, following me as I ran to the dresser.
Understanding spread across his face as I pulled out the envelope that had been burning a hole in the drawer for weeks.
“Wake the others?” I asked.
“Of course.” He leaned down, kissing the top of my head before turning and leaving.
Returning to the nest, I held the envelope up as a very confused Preston watched me.
“What is that?”
“The gender of our baby! I waited to find out. Merrick is waking the others. We’ll find out as a pack.”
Preston’s eyes widened. “You waited for me?”
I nodded. “It felt right to wait until we were all together.
“What’s with the three a.m. wake-up call?” Nolan grumbled, scratching his head as he walked into my room wearing nothing but gym shorts. Wilder was bounding ahead of him, smiling. He was like a toddler that could wake up instantly, that one.
“I wanted you all here for this,” I explained, holding up the envelope.
The tiredness dissipated from Nolan’s eyes, and a smile spread across his face as Wilder hooted with joy, jumping into the nest.
All my alphas piled in. Thankfully, my new nest was large enough that they could fit comfortably.
I sat in the center, my legs slung over Merrick's lap, Preston's hand on my thigh. Nolan settled behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist, and Wilder practically laid his head in my lap. It was an awkward position, but I fucking loved it.
For the first time ever, I had my entire pack in my nest, and everything felt right in the world. The hollow ache in my chest that had been dulled by my multiple bonds was finally whole. I wasn’t missing a thing.
For once I was…complete.
Things with Preston still needed discussing. I wasn’t over what had happened between us, but the middle of the night, when I was tired and hormonal was not the time. My happiness over him being back was at war with my lingering irritation at my whole situation.
That was a problem for tomorrow.
For now, I wanted to bask in my omega joy from having all my alphas in one place finally.
Plus, I was really freaking excited to open the damn envelope.
Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as that realization hit me with shocking force.
“Hails?” Merrick asked.
I shook my head. “This is good… I like having you all here.”
“We all like being here,” Nolan assured me.
I gripped the envelope in two hands. “Shall we do this? I know it’s not important. We’ll love any baby, boy or girl. We just want a healthy baby, and all that jazz…”
“But I want to know!” Merrick laughed.
I looked each of them in the eye, hoping that my love and happiness was clear in my gaze. Lifting the flap of the envelope, I pulled out the slip of paper.
“It’s a boy!” I choked out a sob, tears coming thick and fast.
I was smothered with hugs so fast, my head was spinning. I couldn’t make out the words the alphas started babbling off, either, all of them talking at once. It was chaos and cuddles and I adored it.
We were having a boy. My first baby would be a boy, and I already loved him.
“Oh, wow,” Wilder said as the others settled—a tiny bit. “We need a name. We can think on it, but Wilder Junior has a nice ring to it.”
Pillows hit his face in no time, and I just laughed, settling back against Nolan. Stillness crowded in alongside everyone, and that exhaustion I’d been fighting roared back to life as the relief and happiness took hold.
“Slumber party?” Wilder suggested.
I giggled, deliriously excited at the prospect of falling asleep surrounded by all my alphas
I nodded, closing my eyes. “Fuck yes.”