6. Tristian
Last night was much like the one before, only with different players. Hunter brought in a sleeping Sadie, and the pack huddled around her, talking quietly about our concerns until we passed out in a pile of worry.
All day, I’ve been making calls and rearranging responsibilities. The new Dean at our college has been understanding, though that may have something to do with the newfound notoriety I’ve brought to the school’s Omega Studies Program. Regardless, it has bought me some time. I’ve promised to finish my class over the next three weeks, but I’ve handed off my courses and all other commitments for the summer.
I’ve been buried in work and in denial about what’s been happening around me. I thought Sadie was doing better when we came home for that long weekend after the funeral. And she was. Of course she was. She was home. We spent our time lying around our backyard and napping in the nest.
The lightbulb clicks on, and I want to cry and whack myself for being so dense. I’m an expert on omegas, yapping on the news as if I know what I’m saying, yet I’ve not been applying that knowledge to taking care of my own. Omegas need stability above all else.
I dial Nicholas King, our behind-the-scenes contact for coordinating schedules and security, and he answers on the second ring. “Everything good?”
Someone knocks on the closed door of the downstairs office, and Hunter pokes his head inside with a scowl.
“Tristian?” Nicholas barks.
I put him on speaker and signal Hunter into the room. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. The security team is good and it’s quiet here.”
“Then what’s up?” he asks, straight to the point.
“We’re pulling back Sadie’s schedule. I need her clear for the next couple of days. Probably more. She?—”
Before I can finish explaining, Hunter cuts in, “If I get my way, it will be forever.”
Nicholas makes a rumble of agreement. “Madison said she thought Sadie needed a break. I’ll get it worked out. Alex or I will call if there’s something specific. Between us, the transition is stable, and the courts are leaning our way. Her role in all this can be finished whenever you say the word. Do what you need to protect your family.”
Hunter grunts in approval. He’s never warmed to them.
“Thank you, Nicholas. I appreciate it.” I end the call and lean back in my desk chair. “They asleep?”
“Yeah. Tell me what the fuck is happening because it’s going on eighteen hours. There is tired, and then there is tired.”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think the ultimate answer is you were right.”
“Of course I was.” Hunter stops pacing. “What about?”
I get up and signal for Hunter to follow, weaving through the main living room. “About needing to be home.”
“What’s that got to do with the two of them sleeping?” Hunter grumbles behind me.
“Emotions make people tired.”
“Yeah? Like Sleeping Beauty-tired? Break it down for me, Tris.”
We take the stairs to the nest. Inside, Sadie is cuddled up on Elliot, and the two are sound asleep. My heart trips at the sight of this remarkable omega who came into our lives needing kindness and attention, bursting at the seams with love she hadn’t been allowed to give, and my hurting alpha that she coaxed out of hibernation.
I lower my voice. “Omegas need their nests, need to feel protected and safe. They need stability. And they need their packs. So do alphas. I’ve been going about this all wrong, trying to give her that on the go. I assumed all her bond stress was her grief, but now I think it’s bigger than that. As you guessed, our bonds have been stretched too thin, and she’s under too much stress.”
“Exactly. But what about Elliot?”
“My guess? He’s doing worse than he’s letting on. He’s the most affected when they’re separated.” I turn and look at Hunter. “I think we need to nest with her and let her sleep. Omegas are more susceptible to fatigue and exhaustion. And both of them need to stay close.”
His eyes widen. “Okay.” Then he narrows them on me, his eyes flashing with his alpha. “What is it you’re not saying?”
“Nothing.” I hold his shoulder and look him in the eye. “She’s going to be okay. We all are. We’re going to make sure of it.”
What I refuse to acknowledge is that bond sickness starts this way. I know. I watched it happen to my mother.
Hunter nods. “Fuck yes, we are.” He turns from me and bounds down the stairs, hollering to the others.
I climb into the nest and join them, snuggling close enough to feel his body heat but not enough to touch Elliot.
Logan joins me first, carting his laptop. “Hunt said you think she might be sick?” He sits beside me, stretching out with his laptop on his thighs.
“I said fatigued.” I reach over Elliot and brush her forehead. “She’s not feverish. But exhaustion can?—”
“Doesn’t that cause?—”
“Don’t say it, please.”
Logan tugs on my arm, turning me toward him. His eyes are kind and knowing behind his glasses. “I was going to say pre-heat-like symptoms. She’s strong, and so are our bonds. This isn’t?—”
“He knows, but you know triggers don’t follow logic.” Graham’s deep rumble sounds from the doorway. He stalks across the room and climbs on the bed to hover over me. His hair curls at his ears, and his face is covered in little flecks of dirt and a sheen of sweat. “Right, Doc?”
His forehead falls to mine, and the knot in my stomach untangles. I breathe in his sunshine and rain, letting it relieve some of the fear. “Right.”
Graham’s pillowy lips cover mine, and I sigh into the homecoming, taking the comfort he gives.
With one last peck to my lips, he pulls back before we get carried away. “I’m gross. I’m going to shower, and I’ll be right back.”
As Graham heads to shower, Hunter returns. “House is secured.”
Beside me, Logan snuggles in closer, putting his arm around my shoulder. “I brought my laptop. Movie marathon? Or binge a series?”
Hunter climbs in on Logan’s other side while the two argue about whether to watch the original or the remake of some action film. Graham scoots in beside me a few minutes later, and we settle in.
Elliot wakes up first,groggy and soft. It takes him almost an hour after waking to want to move, and it’s only for a bathroom break. He pulls her right back onto his chest, his deep purr rumbling softly, and he stays put. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never been still for that long.
I try not to stare, but my eyes keep being drawn back to the contented look on Elliot’s face as he holds her. The way his fingers brush through her hair, over and over, create a mesmerizing spell that does something funny to my heart and makes my muscles turn into goo.
Graham places his head on my shoulder, and I snuggle back against him, slotting my feet between his legs. “They’re beautiful together.”
I nod but don’t say anything. My throat is too tight.
He links his fingers through mine under the blankets, speaking quietly in my ear. “You can’t look at that love and not know we’re gonna be all right, Doc. Now and in the future.” He pulls my hand up and kisses my bond mark. “Because love like that? It’s big enough and patient enough. And so is ours.”
His words and his steady presence wash over me, settling into my soul, filling up some of my depleted reserves.
Over the next twenty-four hours,we relax and recharge in her nest. We watch movies, chat about nothing, eat too many snacks, play cards, and nap. Her scent still reeks of an emotional thunderstorm, but being all together helps overpower it with the scent of pack.
Sadie is only lucid in small chunks. The first time she woke was in the middle of the night. She was like a kitten in a bathtub, hairs raised and claws sharp as she rearranged the nest. She kicked us out of bed while she worked the sheets and throws. But she did it over and over, unsatisfied and making the cutest little sounds. On a hunch, I did what I might for a heat and brought out some of our laundry from the closet. She stripped in a huff and threw on a hodgepodge of our clothes. That was that.
“Snuggles,” she said in the most adorably needy voice I’ve ever heard. She curled up with a ball of laundry, waited until she was surrounded by her mates, and promptly fell back asleep.
The second time, we coaxed her into drinking a smoothie and a bottle of water. She was quiet, but her color was returning, and the dark patches under her eyes began to recede. That time, she wanted to figure out a way to be cuddled by everyone, squirming until she was somehow touching us all. It ended with limbs tangled everywhere, and Elliot at the foot of the bed.
This time, it’s been longer. She woke a little after five this evening, and though her scent is still off, it’s more subdued. We brought dinner up, and she ate a bowl of chicken soup while Hunter and Graham kept up an easy chatter about Graham’s new project in the town square.
For the last thirty minutes, Logan’s been reading aloud from a new fantasy series while Elliot’s been doing exercises in the corner. When he switched to pull-ups on the bar mounted to our pack closet, I had to turn the other way so I didn’t inappropriately salivate.
I always feel guilty when I ogle Elliot. I’ve known since the day Hunter brought him home all those years ago that he was my mate, scent matched to me like Sadie and Graham. He was hurting, barely recovered from the war, and pulled into himself so tight that it took me almost a year to see him smile. He isn’t ready to know he’s our mate yet, at least not consciously, and it makes me feel like a creep every time I stare too long.
When Sadie yawns, Hunter reaches out a hand to her. “Let’s get the water running for a bath.”
She shakes her head. “Not yet. I don’t want?—”
Recognition dawns, and he smiles at her. “We can put our scents right back, sweet girl.”
“I’m down with a naked cuddle puddle,” Graham teases from beside me.
Sadie sits up, blushing as she looks at all of us. “Thank you for this weekend. I needed it. I think you’re right, and I need to take a break for a few days.”
“Well, that’s good because we cleared your schedule, princess,” Hunter growls.
I roll my eyes at my Prime. “I don’t want to scare you, but we need to pay more attention to what our bodies are telling all of us about our limits.”
Sadie nods, her smile brittle.
I reach around Graham and take her hand, kissing her palm. “This isn’t your fault, and rest isn’t earned.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
She leans in and brushes her lips against mine. It’s soft and sweet. I savor it, trying to flood her with love and understanding in the bond.
She pulls back, her hazel eyes rimmed with tears. “I needed to hear that. Thank you.”
I kiss her forehead. “Anytime, precious.”
She sits up and reaches for Hunter. “I’ll take that bath, but I’ll skip naked cuddles for now.”
“You got it, princess.”
Hunter scoops her up, and Logan follows close behind.
“Let’s not overwhelm her in there with a bunch of naked alphas.” I get up, but instead of going with her to the bathroom, I grab the dishes around the room and gather them on a tray.
Elliot takes the tray from me and carries it downstairs. Graham kisses my cheek in passing, hauling a load of laundry.
Downstairs, Elliot and I wash the dishes in comfortable silence. The kitchen is a routine we’ve had down for years. When we’ve got dinner put away and lunches portioned out for tomorrow, Graham meets us at the stairs with baskets of folded laundry. We haul them up and put them away, slipping into easy routines.
When we’re finished, Sadie’s already back in bed and asleep on Hunter’s chest. And for the first time since I realized what was happening, I feel like I spoke the truth to Hunter when I said we would be all right.