Chapter 29 #2
“I mean, unless you wanted to get pregnant your very first heat away from your parents.” She shrugs, and when I fervently shake my head, she grins. “I thought not.”
I had completely forgotten all about birth control. Thank fuck omegas can only get pregnant during a heat, otherwise I could be in some serious shit right now.
“Not that I think any of us would have been upset by the development,” Brennan crosses his arms, “but, yes. I’d rather you have more than a week of freedom from your parents before anything like that happens.”
My cheeks flush crimson as I nod. I’ve never really thought about having kids before. That’s definitely a conversation we’ll have to have in the near future. For now though…
“Thank you,” I clear my throat, “I appreciate you coming all the way down here.”
She gives me a soft smile. “Of course. I couldn’t let my new little sister get left hanging, could I?”
Heart pounding, I look up at her. Little sister?
My vision turns blurry, and when her expression turns panicked, I realize I’ve started crying.
“I’m so sorry,” I say quickly, wiping my eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Baby Girl,” Maverick says as he comes up next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I don’t know when he came downstairs, but I’m glad he did. “You’re just not used to having so many people that care.”
I lean into his hold, and he presses a kiss to my hair. A wistful expression passes over Maggie’s expression before she shakes her head. “I also didn’t like how that phone call ended,” she admits, looking at me. “How are you feeling with everything?”
“What phone call?” Ethan frowns, looking between us.
“Oh…” I let out a nervous laugh. I totally forgot to fill in the rest of the guys.
“I…may have had an itsy-bitsy panic attack. It’s okay though!
” I add quickly at my guys’ worried expressions.
“Maverick got me…un-panicked.” Another nervous laugh leaves me.
“Maybe we should sit down? Maggie, do you want to stay for dinner?”
Maggie gives me a soft smile. “I would like that.”
“How much longer until dinner is ready?” Maverick asks Ethan, his arm tightening around me.
“About ten minutes, I was just about to put together a salad.”
Maverick nods. “Alright. Wren and Maggie, why don’t you go take care of the birth control shot, and then we can all discuss what you two spoke about on the phone earlier.”
Lasagna is fucking delicious.
All I can taste is the tomato-cheesy goodness as I look around the table. My arm isn’t really that sore from the birth control shot anymore either. Maybe it’s the healing magic of Italian food.
“So, Wren, are you going to fill us in on what had you upset enough to trigger a panic attack?” Ethan asks pointedly.
I purse my lips. I was really enjoying this food, and he had to ruin it by bringing up that.
Swallowing, I reach for my glass of water. “Apparently, my hormone levels are high enough that it’s unusual that I haven’t had a single heat spike yet. So…it’s possible I have something called SOHS.”
“Sudden Onset Heat Syndrome,” Teddy nods once, and my brows shoot up.
“How did you know that?” I tilt my head.
“Pho’ographic memory, Dove,” Teddy grins, tapping his head.
What?
“What do you mean?” What the hell is a photographic memory?
His face blanks. “‘Ave…’ave I never told you that?”
I arch a brow. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means he can read or look at something one time and basically remember it whenever he needs to,” Brennan sighs. “Makes him absolutely insufferable. Especially when we were nest shopping.”
“Is that…” my heart beats a little quicker, “is that why my nest is so perfect?” I hadn’t put much thought into it before, but…
“Thir’een throw pillows, four full-pillows, and seven blankets.” Teddy nods.
“Okay, wait—back to the SOHS thing,” Ethan interrupts. “What does that mean exactly? Sudden Onset Heat Syndrome?”
Maggie looks at me. “Do you want me to explain?” When I nod, she turns to Ethan.
“When someone without SOHS has a spike, it’s the body’s way of ‘warming up’ for the upcoming heat.
If an omega doesn’t have heat spikes, their body is hit with an influx of hormones all at once, which can make heats longer and more intense. ”
“Aw, Little Bird,” Ethan gives me a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m sorry. It could hit at literally any moment, and you’ll have to drop whatever you’re doing—”
Brennan snorts. “Believe me, Song Bird, we’d much rather be in your heat than working.”
My eyes widen and I jerk my head towards Maggie. “Boo Bear, not in front of company.”
Maggie snorts a laugh. “It’s alright. I’ve been privy to worse. That being said, it’s also completely possible that you could… ‘grow out of it’, so to speak, the more heats you have.”
Oh. That’s…that’s better, right? Even if I have SOHS for this heat, that doesn’t mean it’s forever.
“Well, that’s good, innit?” Teddy grins, echoing my thoughts before he turns to me. “I dun told ya, Dove. Fings always ‘ave a way of workin’ out.”
My mouth gapes open. “Teddy, you said no such thing.”
He shrugs as Brennan and Ethan chuckle. “Well…I was finkin’ it.”
Maggie hasn’t been gone for more than two minutes before we’re all collapsed on the couches, my ass in Brennan’s lap, and my feet in Teddy’s.
“So…” Teddy turns to Maverick. “”Ow is that goin’ to affect ‘ow we deal wiff her parents, if ‘er heat can come at any time and will last for days?”
“We could lock in and do nothing but work the next couple of days. The Messinas did another press release, shifting blame. So we’ll reach out as soon as the file is completely put together.
I want absolutely every single infraction, every suspicious transaction, every email—and then we corner them with it.
If her heat hits before we can do that, then so be it, but we can work to get her parents in line as soon as possible.
” Maverick concedes. ”No more lounging around, doing nothing. ”
Not that they were exactly “lounging around” before, but they had at least made sure that we spent at least a couple hours together as a pack.
“They won’t stop looking for me.” My hands tighten into fists.
“They have a lot of money invested in me with this whole Nest Luxe situation, they aren’t just going to let me go unless we make them.
So what can I do?” I ask, looking around the room.
“I want to help, this whole mess is because of me anyway.”
Brennan shakes his head. “No, Song Bird. This whole mess is because your parents are shitty. The way you can help is by giving yourself as little stress as possible. Why don’t you paint? Or find a good book to read?”
I frown, looking up at him. “That seems…lonely.”
Ethan chuckles. “Didn’t you just say earlier today that you needed some alone time to decompress?”
Scowling at his laughter, I purse my lips.
“Yep. And now I’m totally completely decompressed.
” And that may have something to do with falling asleep on Maverick’s cock–but I’m not telling them that.
“So, put me in, Coach. I can make sure you all have snacks, or give shoulder massages. I can be helpful, I promise”
“Nobody’s saying you can’t be helpful,” Brennan presses a kiss to my hair, “but it’s better if you’re well rested, especially if your heat could hit at any moment.”
My bottom lip juts out. “So you want me to be…by myself? For days?” I wanted a few hours of alone time, not days.
There hasn’t been a day that I’ve been completely by myself since I woke up. I went years sleeping alone, eating alone, just being alone and now that I’ve had the comforting presence of at least one of the guys at all times, I really don’t want to go back.
“Well…” Brennan falters, a helpless look taking over his face as he glances at Maverick.
My burly alpha sighs. “I suppose we don’t all need to work…”
“I volunteer!” Teddy says quickly, squeezing my feet with a grin.
Ethan shakes his head. “No, I need you to help me tomorrow. I get through the footage so much quicker with you, and Pack Caruso goes to trial in a week.”
Teddy deflates.
Maverick sighs. “And I’m finishing up combing through the data on your parents Ethan uncovered…so that just leaves…” he glances at Brennan, who has a huge smile on his face.
“Oi, why does Boo Bear get Dove to ‘imself?” Teddy grumbles, making me giggle.
“We’re just accepting the names then?” Ethan sighs, looking around the room.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Maverick shrugs, shooting me a wink.
“Yeah, you’re ‘Daddy Bear’. I’m ‘Bossy Bear’.”
Brennan huffs a laugh. “That sounds about right.”
The rest of the evening flies by, and before I know it, I’m yawning as Brennan carries me up the stairs.
“I’m not tired,” I mutter, wondering why I’ve been so drained of energy these last few days. Is it possible that instead of heat spikes I have…what? Sleep spikes?
The notion makes me chuckle to myself, and Brennan whispers in my ear, “What are you so giggly about, Song Bird?”
All I remember is muttering something about sleep spikes before falling into a deep sleep.