Chapter 30
Mable
Weekends were supposed to fly by, that was the nature of them.
Only, the weekend with the boys away was dragging on so slowly that I was starting to lose my mind.
It was only a training camp and a game, but in a few short months, they would be back into the hockey season, leaving daily for training or games.
Mable
You’ve been gone for three hours, and all I’ve done is nap and look at a textbook.
Percy
We are on the bus now. I’ve got several hours in an enclosed space with these idiots.
Jasper
Shut up, I’m a ray of sunshine.
Saint
You’re a pain in our asses.
Percy
That’s rich, coming from you!
Devin
You see what I have to deal with?
Mable
You poor baby.
I wouldn’t have minded being stuck with them in an enclosed space for a while. In fact, the experience would probably be quite enjoyable.
Saint
None of the guys will give me a cuddle, sweetness. It’s so mean of them!
Mable
I’ll give you cuddles when you get home.
Saint
Suddenly, I’m feeling better!
Their banter had become familiar and comforting, but that only made me miss them more. Although it should have alarmed me how quickly they had become my home, I didn’t seem to care. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones.
The baby, as if knowing I was talking about them, chose that exact moment to roll over and kick me particularly hard in the gut.
“I can hear you,” I muttered, rubbing my stomach as I glanced down. “Your daddies will be home soon. If we’re lucky, we can nap this weekend away and they’ll be back before we know it.”
It was a nice notion, but a severely misguided one, because my baby bean had decided they wanted to party, and my uterus was the venue.
Every time I lay down to sleep, they would turn and wriggle violently, resting in the most uncomfortable positions so sleep was impossible.
Turning with a huff, I checked my phone. Three in the morning. I had only managed a few brief moments of sleep between Bean being an asshole and sitting on my bladder along with the general feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I couldn’t settle. My stupid omega instincts were cryptic and a pain in the rear, but they were grumbling.
They wanted the guys.
Alphas.
Cuddles.
Which was understandable. They were darn good snugglers, and I loved it, but something didn’t feel right when I was alone now. As I sat up in bed, glowering at the wall, mad at the world, my mind was running over how I had found myself in this situation.
A few short months ago, I was a highly independent omega who relied on no one. Sure, I’d been a bit lonely, but that simply meant I wouldn’t get hurt.
Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, and I furiously wiped them away, refusing to let them fall.
I was being totally pathetic. The guys were away for two nights, that was it.
It was the nature of their career, and I needed to get used to it, because there was no way their jobs were going to change anytime soon.
Pack Garnett were at the top of their game, quite literally.
After some Internet sleuthing, I’d discovered that they’d been scouted young and had now played three seasons professionally, each one had been better than the last. Since they were publicly single, they were clear favorites with the female fanbase—another thing I was starting to feel unsure about.
Jasper had wanted to post a picture of all of us, with my pregnant belly prominently on display, on his social media to let the world see how happy we were, but I had talked him out of it.
Between the four of them, they had a lot of social media followers.
Like, in the millions. Declaring our relationship to that many people had been a daunting prospect, and I had begged Jasper not to do it.
He pouted about it for five minutes but quickly got over it because he was a sweet and understanding alpha like that.
The fact that I hated the idea that the world thought they were single was ridiculous, because I’d had the opportunity to let Jasper scream it from the rooftops and hadn’t taken it.
I was kind of regretting that.
Sighing, I flopped back onto my bed, a hand resting protectively on my bump. I should have stayed in the penthouse. Yes, it would be empty, but at least I would have their scents and belongings around me.
Although, I did have their scents in my nest. I had stolen several items of clothing to line my space and had been too embarrassed to tell them.
I knew they would have handed over anything I wanted without batting an eye, but a small part of me became overwhelmed at the thought of asking, so I resorted to thievery.
The myriad of clothing that filled my nest held their scents, but it was quickly fading and my omega was crying that it wasn’t enough. Sigh.
Was I really this much of a baby?
I probably only had two or three hours of sleep, my emotions warring with my mind. It was exhausting, really, and with Bean doing their best to practice gymnastics, sleep was hardly achievable.
Saint
Game day!
He texted the group chat, including a photo that was clearly of the hotel breakfast.
Jasper
The food is subpar. Our brinner is much better.
Mable
Not much can beat our brinner!
Percy
Did you sleep well?
Mable
I slept okay, the baby decided they really wanted to punch my ribs in the night.
Saint
Rude! I’ll give that little future hockey superstar a talking to when I get home.
Percy
I don’t think they can be reasoned with.
Jasper
Bribery?
Mable
They do tend to nap after I eat a big pasta dinner. All those carbs are hard work.
Percy
Then I guess we are going for Italian as soon as we get home.
Devin
I’m stuck chatting with the coach and missing breakfast. We’ll get you all the pasta. Do you want to wait for us, or do you want us to get some delivered for you?
I chewed my lip thoughtfully.
Mable
Beth’s alpha owns a restaurant and they make amazing pasta. I wouldn’t mind some takeout from there, and we could always go get more Italian food when you get home…
Jasper
I like your way of thinking!
Devin
Let me know the restaurant, and I’ll place an order. It’ll be delivered in a few hours.
Mable
I can order my own food!
Devin
But I want to. Please. My alpha is already going out of his mind being so far away from you. The least I can do is provide you and the baby with some food.
Well, when he put it like that.
Mable
Instincts are a bitch, aren’t they?
Devin
We’ll be home soon, I promise.
Jasper
She should come with us to games! Especially when the season starts. I don’t want to be apart from her for days, it’s not fair.
Percy
Dude, she’s pregnant. Flying is a no-no late in pregnancy, and I’m sure once the baby is born, she’s going to need time to rest and recover, not follow us around the country.
Percy
Sorry, Mable, I don’t want to speak for you.
Mable
No, you’re right. Ugh. This sucks. Even when I’ve recovered, I can’t imagine traveling alone with a young baby. You’ll be working and it’ll be a lot.
Saint
What about if we hired you to help with game trips? A babysitter for during the game and to ensure you get enough sleep.
I ran that idea through my head. I didn’t hate it. Sure, the idea of traveling with a newborn, even with help, seemed daunting, but if it meant I got to spend more time with them, then maybe it would be worth it.
Mable
I’m not saying no to that idea. We can look at that in the future, but for now, I’m a sitting duck.
Jasper
But the cutest sitting duck that ever did sit!
By the time they went to pre-game practice, I had a raging headache. The pressure on either side of my temples was all-consuming, and I couldn’t focus on anything longer than a few minutes.
“Trust me to stress myself out so much I get a headache,” I muttered to no one in particular as I crawled back into my nest for a bit more sleep before my lunch got delivered.
Devin better have got me an Alfredo, or I was going to riot.
Pregnancy cravings were no joke.