16. Chase
Chase
A sk anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I’m the furthest thing from a morning person. The apocalypse could be happening outside and I’d still be asleep.
Maybe I’m a changed man now. I manage to jump out of bed at my third alarm.
That’s a record for me.
I can still remember Madden throwing one of my alarm clocks out the window of our fourth-story dorm room back in college because it went off for the dozenth time.
Well, I can definitely remember everyone telling me about that happening. To be completely honest, I don’t really remember since I was still asleep.
I shoot my sister a text as I head to the bathroom.
Chase
Morning Char, just got up, are we still on?
Charlotte
Holy shit, you’re actually awake
Chase
Shut up
Charlotte
You don’t get to tell me to shut up, I don’t even know if this is actually you right now
For all I know, this is just someone pretending to be you 'cause you’d never be awake three minutes after you told me you’d be awake
I laugh as I send her a selfie rolling my eyes and flashing her the middle finger.
Chase
Stop being dramatic, there, proof of life
Are we still on for today or not?
Charlotte
Totally, that sweet omega deserves things of her own
Chase
Awesome
I’ll pick you up from your place in an hour
Charlotte
Got it, see you soon!
I speed through getting ready, chugging down an energy drink and grabbing one for the road. Even though I had the willpower to get up this morning, I know the likelihood of that motivation sticking with me without help is slim.
I pick up the keys to the Escalade on my way out to the garage.
This is technically the pack car, but Kane and Madden drive it most, for their work.
I normally drive my Porsche 911 when I’m going out without them, but as much as I love that baby, she doesn’t have enough space to carry all the things I want to buy for Luna.
As I pass by my flashy red sports car in the garage, I wonder what she’d think. If I took her for a fun drive, would she like it? Would she laugh, throw her head back, and let the wind flow through her hair with the top down?
Or would she think it’s a douchey car? Or worse, would she think I’m a douchebag?
I know what a lot of people probably think about things like my car and the house I was raised in, but I don’t care. They make me happy, so why should I choose not to be happy just because people make assumptions?
But I can’t help but care about what Luna would think.
I pull out of the garage, the heated driveway making sure the couple of inches of snow aren’t a concern for the car. When I pull through the gate and into the driveway of Char’s house, I shoot her a text letting her know I’m outside.
“Oh my god, it is you!” Char teases as she climbs into the car.
“Shut up,” I say, rolling my eyes before waving to two of Char’s mates and pulling out of the driveway.
“Fine, fine,” Char laughs. “How’re you holding up?”
“Pretty good, considering my track record,” I laugh, taking a sip out of my second energy drink. “Still needed a bit of help though.”
“Let me guess, is that your third?”
“Second, actually.”
“Holy shit, that’s impressive! Progress right there.”
“Yeah, I uh, I think I’m just really excited to get things for Luna,” I say, nervously tapping my fingers on the steering wheel.
My sister goes quiet, just watching me, making me even more nervous. The rhythm of my tapping grows faster as the silence continues longer and longer into our drive. I’m practically at the shopping mall we’re headed to when I finally break.
“I can hear you thinking from over here,” I say, turning into the parking garage. “If you have something to say just say it.”
I don’t know what I expected, but it’s not seeing her tearing up after I park the car.
“Fuck, shit, oh my god, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”
“No, no, you didn’t make me cry,” She laughs, wiping away tears.
“Well, you’re clearly crying! What did I do?”
“No, you seriously didn’t do anything! I swear, these are just the pregnancy hormones.” She takes a second to collect herself before she smiles at me. “It’s just so wonderful to see you get so excited about being able to take care of someone.”
“Oh,” I say, relaxing into my seat. “Yeah, I really am.”
“I’ve never seen you like this, Chase.”
She’s right. I’ve never been this excited for anything before. Sure, I’m the usual go-to guy for fun shit, but I’ve spent so many years of my life chasing after the next hit of something, whether that’s drugs, sex, or adrenaline that it’s hard to feel all that much for anything anymore.
It’s almost like that whole persona is, well, a persona.
“You’re totally psychoanalyzing me right now, aren’t you,” I sigh, tapping my fingers against the wheel.
“Sure, if that’s what you want to call it,” Char shrugs. “I call it making sense of everything. Ever since mom first got diagnosed it was hard for all of us.”
“Stop blowing smoke up my ass,” I say, my tapping reaching a crescendo.
“I made mom being sick all about me. I was a fucking little shithead when I was a teenager and you fucking know that.
You took mom getting sick as your calling to medicine and I took it as my calling to disappear for days getting drunk and high at god knows where.
You know where I ended up 'cause I was a fucking idiot?—”
“Shut up,” she says, her growl surprising considering she’s an omega. It’s surprising enough that it snaps me out of my weird fog. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
I don’t believe her. She knows I don’t believe her, by the way she rolls her eyes.
“Something like that isn’t that person’s fault, especially if they were a kid.”
“I was seventeen,” I grit out. “Old enough to fucking know better than get myself in a situation where someone thinks they can kidnap me and ransom me for fucking money.”
“Could you have made better choices?” she says, growing more irritated at me by the second.
“For fucking sure. I’ve cleaned you up after your benders more than enough times to tell you that with a hundred percent certainty.
Did you deserve the shit that happened to you because of your stupid decisions?
Fuck no. And I’m sure Luna would think the same as me. ”
I lean my head against the cool leather of the steering wheel, my heart twisting in my chest. “Are you sure?” My voice cracks in a way that would be embarrassing enough to kill me if I were with anyone else except my big sister.
“Of course. You were a kid and you were hurting. I get why you turned to stuff like the drugs and shit, Chase. It’s 'cause you felt helpless. You couldn’t help Mom, you couldn’t help Dad who was spiraling too since he couldn’t help Mom either.
God knows neither of them were in a state to help you when you needed it. ”
I turn my head, my cheek still resting against the steering wheel and meet her eyes. “You had it rough too.”
“Sure,” she snorts. “We all had our bad coping mechanisms. Mine was just working myself half to death to the point the hospital knew me before I even started my clinical rotations, since I ended up there so often.”
“Do you think I’m going to fuck up with her?”
“With Luna?”
“Who else would I be talking about.”
“I don’t think you will. If anything, I think you thinking you’re going to fuck with her is going to be the thing that makes you fuck up.
You’re going to want things to be completely perfect and you’re going to forget that what she wants doesn’t need to be perfect.
You just have to show her how much you care. ”
I nod slowly, my tapping resuming its familiar rhythm. “I can do that.”
“Totally. Now let’s get inside, I have to use the bathroom.”
When we make our way inside the shopping mall, I make a mental checklist of all the stores I want to make sure we stop by.
We made it through a nesting store where we ordered all the custom bedding and stuff for the nest at the packhouse, a store that specialized in winter clothes, and a lingerie store.
Well, technically, Char shoved me out and made me wait outside while she did the bulk of the shopping.
I did manage to snag a couple pairs of lacy panties that I really liked the look of and add them to the very functional-looking pile of underwear and bras she had when she brought me back in to pay for everything.
We’re walking through a general clothing store, picking Luna up the basics with our third cart worth of stuff when things go south.
“Do you think this looks cute?” Char asks, holding up a flowy sundress with lavender flowers.
“Totally, throw it in.” Even though it won’t be warm enough for her to wear that out for a few months, every part of my brain likes the thought of Luna in a dress like that.
“I don’t know if that’s your size,” a sickly-sweet voice sneers.
I turn to see a brunette with narrowed eyes looking at the two of us, her hands on her hips.
I recognize her, but it takes me a second to remember where from.
She was the omega from the last party we went to that seriously would not let Archer breathe.
She was following him like gum stuck to his shoe.
What was her name again?
Billy? Bella? Bailey?
“No shit, Brandy, last time I checked, I’m pregnant with the child of my bonded mates , of course this isn’t going to fit me.
” Char rolls her eyes before putting the sundress into the cart.
“You should seriously stop talking about situations you’re obviously too stupid to understand, your jealousy is showing. ”
Brandy! Now I remember. Maybe I don’t remember 'cause I was blackout drunk the night she introduced herself to our pack.
Damn, I feel bad for Archer. Brandy seems like a bitch, especially since I’m sober right now.
“Well—well then who is this for?” Brandy sputters, her cheeks going redder than my Porsche as she crosses her arms over her chest, squishing her boobs so high it almost looks like they’re going to touch her chin.
Not that I was looking. At least not on purpose. They’re just seriously fucking hard to miss when she’s the one purposely doing that shit.
I’m about to open my mouth to answer, though, to be honest, I’m not sure with what. Maybe something realistic like “my pack’s scent match” or something a bit crazier like “the love of my life,” but Char pushes the cart back so it rolls over my foot, shutting me up.
“None of your business, Brandy. I’d suggest taking the memo and sticking to where you’re wanted.”
Brandy’s eyes narrow at Char shutting me up. “How about you let your brother speak for himself, he’s not a child, you know.”
She shifts on her legs, popping her hip out and practically posing. She knows her angles, I’ll give her that. But the sharpness in her eyes makes my dick want to shrivel up into itself. It’s nothing like the warmth in Luna’s.
“Actually my sister can speak for me totally fine, thank you very much,” I answer. “But if you want to hear it from me, I’m not interested in anything you’re selling, lady.”
“You heard him,” Char says, a smug smirk on her face as she crosses her arms over her chest too. “Now shoo. ”
Brandy sputters one more time before turning on her heel and practically running away.
When she’s gone, Char bursts into laughter, bending at the waist to try and catch some air. “Holy shit, ‘I’m not interested in anything you’re selling, lady,’ was fucking gold!”
“Thanks, did you know her?”
“Yeah, we went to the same college. She’s a couple of years younger than me but we were both in sororities. She’s always been a bitch.”
“Ahhh, yeah, I can definitely see that.”
“She’s obsessed with your pack, if you couldn’t tell.”
“Yeah, I was absolutely plastered and still remember the way she was hanging all over Archer the last ball we were at.”
“Shit, Archer must’ve hated that.”
“Totally, especially since she’s got it in her head that her tits are enough to get us to drop Madden from the pack.”
“Holy shit, that’s some A-tier-level delusion right there.”
“Yup,” I say. “Anyways, let’s finish this so we can get back to the house, I want to see Luna’s reaction to everything.”