Chapter 9
Mable
Usually, my classes on urban plant production were fascinating. Growing food in cities was an important part of feeding the population, and I enjoyed learning about it.
Yet as I sat in the back of the lecture hall, my eyelids drooped.
I had expected morning sickness and sore boobs.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the sheer exhaustion that came with being pregnant.
It hit me only a week after I learned about the pregnancy, but when it came, it came with a vengeance.
Before I was pregnant, I needed a very comfortable nest in order to fall asleep.
If there weren’t enough soft surfaces, I wouldn’t be able to get any shut eye.
But now I was falling asleep in chairs at my desk.
Even standing in line at the cafeteria, I’d begin to doze off.
The class dragged on, painfully so, but I had to get through it, since attendance was counted towards my grade. I already knew I would have to research after the class to figure out what the heck I was supposed to learn that day because I was absorbing none of it.
The moment it was over, I made a beeline for the door, not bothering to talk to anyone. I was too exhausted to chat. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me, and all I could think about was crawling into my nest and about forgetting all the assignments I had due. They were a post-nap problem.
Climbing to my third-floor dorm room was almost impossible. My feet felt like they were weighed down with bricks. It was exhausting in a way I’d never experienced. I had pulled a few all-nighters in my time, and even in those instances, I had never felt so lethargic.
When I closed the door behind me, enveloped in my own space again, I almost sobbed with relief. One of my biggest pet peeves was wearing clothes in the nest that I had worn outside. I much preferred to wear comfortable pajamas or loungewear.
So, despite being tired enough to drop at any moment, I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower, pulling out a comfy pair of lightweight pajama shorts and T-shirt while the water warmed up.
I kept the shower basic, not bothering with my hair and just rinsing off my body before drying off and pulling on my pajamas. The warm water had felt glorious pounding down on my sore back, but if I had stayed in there a moment longer, I probably would have fallen asleep under the spray.
The familiar scent of my nest made my mind hum with happiness. It was the scent of comfort and home. In the back of my mind, I realized I probably should have looked into getting something to eat, but that felt like too much effort. I could order some takeout after my nap.
My plan was to sleep for no more than an hour at most before getting back to my tasks for the day. When I finally opened my eyes, my entire body was heavy. That kind of muscle-deep exhaustion you experience after a really good, long sleep.
Through the gap in the windows, I could see that darkness had descended. It had only been lunchtime when I crawled into my nest. Huffing, I rolled over and stared at my ceiling. I knew I needed the rest, but I couldn’t help but mourn how many hours I had lost to my elongated nap.
From somewhere deep within the fabric depths of my nest, my phone beeped.
Sighing, I sat up and fumbled around, searching for it.
Many times, I’d thought about getting a little dock for my nest-side table, but I’d never actually done it.
My phone always ended up under my pillow or tangled up in the masses of blankets, lost to the abyss of fabric.
It took a few minutes, but I eventually managed to find it tangled up in a fluffy yellow throw blanket. The screen was full of notifications, but I swiped most of them away, things like university emails, and social media notifications.
I had a private message from D—and one from J.
D
Did you remember to pick up your prenatal vitamins?
Everything I knew about this alpha led me to believe he was the ultimate caretaker.
Granted, he was a bit bossy, but not in a way that seemed too insufferable.
Would I like having that kind of alpha in my future pack?
I was under no illusions that I was particularly organized or put together.
If I remembered to buy fruits and vegetables to eat throughout the week, I often let them go bad in the fridge, forgetting they were even there.
Maple
Not yet. I’ve been exhausted, so I’ve been spending every spare moment napping.
D
Chronic fatigue is quite common in the early stages of pregnancy. The prenatal vitamins may help with that.
Maple
Are you the expert on early pregnancy now?
D
I may have done some reading.
I bit my lip. Had he been doing some reading because of me? I didn’t want to make assumptions, but it did seem like quite the coincidence that he was reading up on pregnancy shortly after learning I was knocked up.
Maple
I’ll pick them up tomorrow morning, everywhere is closed now.
D
Make sure you do.
Smiling, I switched to the conversation with J.
J
Hey, pretty girl! You’ve been quiet today, is everything okay?
Maple
I may have accidentally napped most of the day away…
J
I’m jealous, I had meetings. They were super boring and they didn’t even provide snacks.
Maple
How rude!
A picture filled my screen of someone in bed. He was in a very similar position as me, lying on his back, the view from his waist down.
J
I have snacks all the way over there, and I don’t want to move.
Naturally, my eyes were drawn to the bulge in his gray sweatpants. There was definitely a considerable mass there… had he meant to share that?
Maybe I was thinking too much about it. He was simply showing me where his snacks were.
Maple
Those snacks are too far away. I’m not sure how you’re going to survive.
J
I’m probably going to waste away here.
Maple
Where are your pack mates?
J
They have abandoned me.
Maple
Explain?
J
They’re out getting fried chicken.
Maple
Are they at least bringing some back for you?
J
Of course they are, but they won’t be back for ages. I’m going to wither away to nothing before then.
Maple
I thought S was the drama queen?
J
*Gasp* Mean!
Maple
Honest, not mean!
For a few seconds, he was typing, then he went away. I stared at the phone screen, biting my lip. Had I gone too far by calling him a drama queen? He had referred to his pack mate as a drama queen many times before, so I didn’t think it was over the line.
Then a voice note popped up on my screen.
My back straightened as I sat up, fully alert. I had never shared voice notes with them before—so why had J decided to do it now?
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself, clicking on the message.
A deep, rumbly voice spoke. “You know what? I am too tired to type, but I’m going to say it right now, Maple, that was downright mean.
I’ll have you know that I am a drama king, not a drama queen.
Wait, does that mean I am married to my pack mate who is the drama queen?
You know what, this talking thing is way easier than typing, but I wish you were willing to hang out with us.
Just think, we could both be lying here looking longingly at the snacks.
Then again, I won’t get up to get snacks for myself, but I probably would to get snacks for someone else.
Not sure what that says about me. I probably need therapy.
I hope you don’t mind the voice message. ”
Even after he finished talking, I stared at my screen for a moment longer, trying to absorb his voice.
It was one thing to know he was an alpha, but it was another to hear it, because his voice had that deep tone that was undoubtedly alpha.
The kind of voice that made me feel mushy, yet at the same time, light and playful, just like the man himself.
Chewing on my lip, I contemplated my reply. Should I type or speak? I wasn’t ashamed of my voice, and it probably would be a good thing for them to know I was actually a woman and not some psycho man who was stalking them. It was a line we hadn’t crossed before.
I wanted to, though.
Swallowing, I lifted the phone so it was closer to my mouth and pressed the record button.
“You know what? A voice note might be a lot easier than typing,” I said, doing my best to keep my tone friendly.
“I hate to break it to you, but if you are the drama king, then I do think that means you’re married.
I’m sure many women will be heartbroken by that revelation.
S, on the other hand, will probably be elated. ”
Before I could reconsider and delete the message, I hit send and threw my phone into the nest. My stomach churned as I waited for his response. Increasing my anxiety was probably not a good idea, especially since I already had severe morning sickness, but it was too late to change anything.
When he didn’t reply immediately, I started rearranging the blankets in my nest in a desperate attempt to distract myself.
Even though I was awaiting his reply, when it finally came through, I paused before opening it.
I had put myself more out there with his pack than I had in the past two years.
I didn’t know what had possessed me to be so forward, but my head was swimming with panic.
What if he hated my voice? What if it grated on him or irritated him?
“Maple girl,” he sighed. “You sound pretty. You know that? I mean, I was convinced that you are stunning, anyway, but now you’ve just gone and confirmed it. I hate that you’re feeling so tired, but if it means I get voice notes instead of text messages, I’m not going to complain.”
I bit back a smile before replying.
“Ah, this is where I break your heart. See, actually, my name is Gary, and I live in a far-off country, and I’m just using you for snack pictures. I sell them for profit.”
“Snack pictures? I didn’t realize there was a profitable market for those.” His voice came out as a deep, rumbly laugh. Lying in my nest, I kept the phone near my face as I listened, enjoying the relaxing yet warm tones.
“Well, if I’m honest, I was simply waiting to become good enough friends so I could convince you to send me foot pictures, and then I would be making the big bucks.”
“In that case, I think it’s my turn to break your heart, because I have some hideous feet. I’m serious, Maple girl. They’re like a hobbit’s feet.”
“Luckily, the Internet is full of weirdos, and I will find a market for hobbit feet somewhere,” I said with a giggle.
Usually, I found guys difficult to talk to, but this time, it was oddly easy.
The chat and banter flowed. I wasn’t scared or anxious, and I was actually starting to enjoy myself, curled up in my nest talking to him.
“In that case, I better start selling my foot pics myself if I am sitting on a potential gold mine.”
“But I think I deserve at least a cut of the profits, considering I introduced you to the weird world of Internet hobbit foot fetishes. I have all these johns lined up, just waiting for prime hobbit feet pics.”
Our chat was taking the stupidest turn, but I wasn’t mad at it. It’s hard to be nervous when you were talking about hobbit feet and selling foot fetish pictures.
“I’m sure we could work something out. What do you think?”
The next message was a photo. He was still in bed, but he had lifted his leg into the air, displaying his bare foot.
It was surprisingly well manicured for a guy’s foot, and judging by the hair I could see on his ankle, he was blond. That little snippet of information felt oddly intimate.
“Is this good enough for your prospective clients?”
This time, I looked at the room in depth, noting that it was clean and pretty basic. Beyond the dark gray duvet cover, there was a large TV in the corner of the room, easily larger than anything that could fit in a dorm. The space was big, so he must live off campus.
“That foot is way too nice!” I laughed loudly, shocking myself. “I promised the Internet freaks hobbit feet, and that does not qualify.”
“I’ll let myself go a little more—only for you, Maple girl.”
“This is insanity,” I said, smuggling deeper into the blankets. “Have you got your snacks yet?”
“Nope,” he said, popping the p. “I didn’t want to move. My bed is too comfy...”
I hummed in agreement. “I’m in my nest, and it’s also much too comfortable. Snacks are too far away. I got some new blankets recently, and they are so soft and cozy, I’m obsessed.”
I snapped a photo of one of the corners of my nest, showing off multiple colorful blankets and throws.
“Oh, that does look cozy. Also, I love the nest, it’s so colorful! There’s a huge nesting store not far from campus. I pass it pretty regularly, and it looks like a magical, mystical wonderland of soft and fluffy things. Have you been there?”
I knew just the place. “Oh, that place is gorgeous, but a touch out of my price range. Maybe when I am working, I’ll treat myself to some fancy, high-thread-count sheets for my nest.”
“You deserve all the nice things.”
“Occasionally, a girl has to treat herself.”
“Nah, I’m an all-in kinda guy. Moderation is for the weak!”
We stayed on the phone until exhaustion finally claimed me, falling into a deep sleep, my phone clutched in my hand, our chat still open.