11. Sabs #3
“He may be able to keep me safe, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be happy to have me around.
” When the nausea suddenly rolling through me causes bile to snake up my throat, I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting farther away from Adler or because my life has been completely turned upside down.
“What if he doesn’t like me? I’m not exactly…
” I struggle to find the right adjective.
Quiet? Submissive? All the omega stereotypes that many alphas look for in a partner. “A trad omega, you know?”
“You’re so much more than that. You’re amazing,” Delilah insists as I grab my suitcases from where they’re stashed in the closet. “There’s nothing not to love about you. Fate works in mysterious ways. Maybe this accident is the universe’s way of drawing you all together?”
As soon as Faye opens the door, the clothes look like they’re trying to escape, absolutely bulging at the seams. “I’m pretty sure that the cocktails we drank are more responsible than fate,” I mutter, gazing in my massive, stuffed closet. “Where do we start? I don’t want to leave anything behind.”
“Let’s just go with the essentials,” Delilah suggests while I reach for my new favorite dress that I’ve been dying to wear at Club Knotty.
“Are you sure that’s really an essential?” Faye eyeballs the sequin mini dress in my arms that still has tags on it. “Maybe you’d like something more comfortable?” She gestures at my athleisure wear then holds up some yoga pants. “How about these?”
“These alphas don’t know me, remember? If I’m going to be stuck in a house with them, I want to be comfortable while feeling and looking good too,” I tell her. “And that means sequins, along with the comfies.”
“Gotcha.” Faye folds the sequin dress along with a few of my other dressier clothes. “With all of this, I don’t know if this case will close.”
I shoulder past Faye. “I’ve got it.” Her measly arms are no match for my muscles.
Before I can sit on my suitcase to zip it, I’m hit by another wave of nausea that makes me double over.
Delilah’s vice-like grip is on my arm in a flash, pushing me to sit down on the bed.
That must be her whisking arm. Beating cake batter has given her a surprising amount of strength.
“Sit down. We’ll handle this.” She checks the clock on the wall then nods at Faye, who is neatly folding my underwear. “We need to hurry.”
Faye sighs, ignoring her omega instincts to make things pretty to hastily throw them into the suitcase before sitting on it. “Quick, Del.” She peers down at it warily, like she’s half-expecting it to snap open and swallow her up along with the contents of my lingerie drawer. “Zip it up.”
Delilah gets to it, just in time, the stitching stretching along the seams as she wipes her brow. “I think we’re done.”
In fifteen minutes, they’ve managed to pack everything, and both are out of breath. Who knew packing could be such a workout or that my essentials would be enough to fill three gigantic suitcases? Oops. At least there’s plenty of storage at Adler’s place based on the size of it.
They drag the suitcases up the stairs, insisting I only carry my purse.
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I imagined leaving Stella House,” I joke, using humor to mask my nerves.
“Wow.” Adler races over as we emerge onto the porch, eyes bulging at my luggage. “That’s…”
I flick my hair over my shoulder. “The essentials.”
“Right, the essentials.” He nods and offers me his hand. “Sabs?”
Everything else fades into the background as I take it. As soon as we touch, I let out a little whimper. If it didn’t feel so good to be reunited with him, I’d be embarrassed to let out such a sound in public, but being with him feels so natural, like I’m returning home after a long trip.
“Fuck,” he groans, letting go of my hand to draw me into his arms. All my uneasy, sick feelings instantaneously vanish as he holds me while we breathe in each other’s scents. “I’ve missed you.”
He feels so good. So right.
“There’ll be time for that later,” Orin gruffly snaps. “We need to go.”
“Right, yeah.” Adler begrudgingly pulls away. I turn to see Faye dabbing her eyes. Delilah also looks misty-eyed. The two of them are believers of true love. Kady, on the other hand, who keeps her emotions in check, catches my eye.
“Call us anytime.” Her tone is stern, serious. “We’ll check in every day, and we’ll come to visit you soon. Orin and I have already sorted out all the other arrangements.”
“There’s one more thing.” Delilah scurries into the kitchen. “Wait here!”
“How much longer will this take?” Orin snarls, shifting anxiously from foot to foot. “We need to go.”
“Are you always so impatient?” I fire at him snarkily. “If my friend asks me to wait, I’ll stay here all day if that’s how long it takes.”
Orin only scowls in reply.
“Here.” Delilah returns seconds later, holding my favorite toffee cheesecake. “I saved some for you from breakfast.”
“See?” I take the box. “Waiting wasn’t so hard, was it? This cheesecake is basically sent from the gods.”
Adler licks his lips. “It does look good.”
“I’ll share it with you, but you,” I point at Orin, “are not getting a piece for being so impatient.”
“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” I swear, I see the corners of his mouth curve upward, but then it’s gone in a flash.
“Let’s go, firecracker.” Adler takes my hand again, holding on so tightly, like he’s afraid that I’ll slip through his fingers. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I reply. “And now that I have my cheesecake, I’m ready to face anything.”
Whether I like it or not, Adler Ace is going to be in my future.