15. Lainey
Class is unbearably long. Between Lucky pretending to be a perfect student (when he’s actually just staring at me and occasionally glancing at his notes) on one side and Posey constantly looking at us from the other, I catch maybe thirty percent of what the professor is saying.
By the time the hour is up, I’m cranky and ready for a nap.
They both follow me down the stairs like lost puppies but when I get to the bottom, I pass the same guy from last week with the onion scent.
My stomach roils, mouth watering in a warning of what’s coming.
I slap a hand over my mouth and sprint to the same bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before the eggs Lawson made me eat make a reappearance.
I hear a hushed argument and light footsteps before someone pulls my hair away from my face while another warm hand rubs my back in soothing strokes.
“It’s alright, kitten. Let it out.” Lucky’s deep voice is quiet and now that I know it’s him, my nose finally registers his scent filling the stall.
I grab his wrist and drag it to my nose, pulling in deep huffs of air like his scent is oxygen and I’ve been holding my breath.
Something about the sweet peppermint is settling my stomach, and I desperately need that right now.
Lucky uses his other hand to sweep sweaty strands of hair off my forehead and the sweet gesture makes me whine.
The sound is pathetically omega but I didn’t have a chance at holding it back.
“I’m sorry,” I whimper pathetically. “Everything I read said the morning sickness typically ends after the first trimester, so I don’t know why I keep getting sick. ”
“Shh,” Lucky soothes me, cupping my head in his big hand and pulling me to his chest. “I’m so sorry you aren’t feeling well, kitten. If I could take it from you I would in a heartbeat. But since I can’t, what can I do to help?”
I blink bleary eyes at my alpha, slightly confused as to where this caretaker side of him came from.
Although, maybe it’s not all that surprising.
Lucky has been taking care of me in his own way since the day they found me in that hospital room.
He cracks jokes when things get too heavy, he tries to make me laugh, and now he’s taking care of me when I don’t feel good.
Maybe Lucky Daire is more than just a dumb jock, and I’m not sure I know how to handle that.
“I want to spend some time with my best friend and drink tea far away from any other scents.”
He cocks his head to the side, but there’s no hurt in his expression over me asking to be with someone else right now.
Lucky simply cleans me up, uses my phone to text Posey, and carries me bridal style to a remote bench on the far side of campus near where my store used to be.
He cups my cheeks before leaning down to brush his cheek against mine, scent marking me.
“Posey is on her way with ginger tea and there shouldn’t be anyone else over here this time of day.
But if you need anything you call me, okay? ”
I nod, but then panic grips my throat. “But I have class in like, fifteen minutes. I can’t just?—”
He waves me off, pulling out his cell. “What room?”
“A305.”
Posey rounds the bend, worry visible in her eyes even from here.
Lucky waves at her and then ducks down, kissing my forehead.
“I’ve got you, little mama. You rest here and talk through it with your friend.
I’ll talk to your professor and grab anything you might need if it isn’t in the online portal. ”
With one last lingering kiss, he jogs off, leaving me alone to face the pastel inquisition.
“Okay, did we not just catch up a few days ago after the fire? What the heck else have I missed since then and how did it not come up that Lucky freaking Daire is baby daddy? Also, sorry I didn’t follow you into the bathroom, ball boy asked me to let him handle it as part of his fatherly duties.
Stupid man had a point so I let him.” Posey grumbles, sounding as disgruntled as I’ve ever heard her.
I know she’s not truly irritated with me, but the girl has major FOMO, even for morning sickness, apparently.
Better to just rip the bandaid off and let her freak out now when there’s no one else around.
With a deep sigh, I move my hair to one side of my neck exposing my bond mark, and wait.
I thought my scent would change more after bonding Lawson, but supposedly I’ll carry more of the babies scent first and then his will develop after I deliver.
Some weird biology thing about an alpha needing to recognize their offspring’s scent.
I don’t know. Wyatt tried to explain it to me but I was half asleep and nauseous so most of it didn’t register.
It doesn’t take long. Posey shrieks, covering her mouth as her eyes fly so wide I’m worried they might actually fall out. “Ohmigod. Holy shit. Lainey! I can’t, I don’t, but… when? How? Who ?”
I snort, but that quickly turns into tears. “It’s another long story.”
She nods resolutely, handing me my slightly lukewarm tea and taking a seat on the bench next to me. “I’ve got time.”
I dive into the story, starting with the hospital and ending with my time spent under Wyatt, not sparing a single detail.
Posey is an omega, too, so she understands some of the weird urges we have with our designation and I know she would never judge me.
By the time I finish, my tea is ice cold, we’ve both cried at least twice, and I can feel Lawson poking at my mind for the first time.
He has kept his side of the bond so firmly locked down that I haven’t felt him at all until now, and I won’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt.
“So you bonded the grumpy sheriff so they could put you on their health insurance?”
I nod.
“But he hasn’t so much as kissed you yet?”
A shrug. Because technically he kissed my neck before he bit me. But I don’t think that counts.
Posey gapes. “Wow, Lainey loo. I know I said you should put yourself out there this semester, but I didn’t mean like this. ”
That startles a laugh out of me, and then I can’t stop.
Hysterical giggles escape untamed, but they feel good.
Like a release of pressure I needed desperately.
Though not nearly as good as my session with Wyatt felt.
A ding distracts me enough that I can finally catch my breath, but Posey frowns down at her cell.
“Something wrong?” She shakes her head, but there’s a guilty look in her eyes I know all too well. “Late for a date?”
“Sorta. But it’s fine! Jude will understand, and you need me here.”
“Posey, I’m fine. In fact I think I’ll go for a walk, maybe see if Sugar and Spice has any of those chai rolls I love so much.” I pat my belly. “This kid is going to give me a cavity or three with the way I’m craving sweets.”
She laughs breathlessly. “I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby . God, you’re going to be the best mom, Lainey.”
My eyes water. “You really think so?”
She hugs me tight, enveloping me in her sweet apples and honey scent. It doesn’t soothe me the way my alphas’ scents do, but it doesn’t repulse me like other omegas’ scents do, either. I’m so grateful for her friendship. “I know so.”
As soon as she leaves and I’m alone with my thoughts, her words spin through my mind with an echo that’s more terrifying than it is comforting. I had the worst example of a mother growing up, what if I turn out to be just like her?
But then I think about some of the things my mom has said and done to me.
I would never relegate my omega daughter to a supply closet for her nest. I would never tell her she was too much or wrong for following the instincts that make her who she is.
Logically, I know my mother was devastated when my father left and she took it out on me in the worst way, but it doesn’t feel like a valid excuse.
If Lucky left me one day I would never take it out on our child, regardless of his reasons.
I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t realize where I’ve walked until I look up and see Whimsy.
Or what used to be Whimsy, I guess. All of the items in the store have been removed and shoved into a storage container somewhere or sold off to the highest bidder, and it looks so…
lifeless. Nothing like the home I knew and loved.
In a way, that makes it easier to deal with.
Sure it still feels like a piece of my soul has been ripped away, but this isn’t the place I dedicated so many formative years of my life to.
It’s simply an empty shell. Seeing something else there in a few weeks or months will likely undo any of the chill I have about it, but for now I can push it away and focus on other things, like this baby.
I rest my hand on the barely-there swell of my lower belly as I meander down the quiet street.
I’m almost thirteen weeks along now so I know it will be a while before I feel them move, but part of me can’t wait.
Right now it doesn’t feel real. My body is changing and my hormones are all out of wack, but there’s still a huge part of me that can’t believe this is real.
That I’m now pregnant and bonded and scent matched to four of the hottest alphas I have ever seen.
Speaking of hot alphas… my feet freeze in their tracks when I spot the shop two doors down from Whimsy.
Right there in the middle of town stands a building called Ink and Obedience , which upon first glance is very obviously a tattoo shop.
The part that has me completely frozen? Rhys freaking Rivers is standing behind the front desk chatting with another guy who looks to be about my age.
Is this what he does for work? The idea of the sexy alpha with a tattoo machine in his hands is hotter than sin, but the thought of his hands all over his clients, especially if those clients are omegas ?
A reddish haze clouds my vision and before I even know what I’m doing my hands are on the heavy door, shoving it inwards with much more force than was probably necessary.
The redhead in front of Rhys jumps a foot in the air, whirling around with wide, terrified eyes. “Take whatever you want! I just work here!”
Rhys snorts but bites his lip to contain any further amusement. “Shep, relax. She’s not here to rob us.”
The man, who I can tell now is an alpha, glares at Rhys. “How could you possibly know that?”
Rhys shrugs, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Shep, this is my omega Lainey. Lainey, this is our shop boy, Shepard.”
Shep’s posture finally relaxes as he sags into the desk. “Oh thank god. I like you, boss, but not enough to step in front of a pissed-off omega.”
Rhys bites down on that damn lip again, drawing my attention to the holes on either side of his bottom lip. Is he pierced there? He finally cracks a smirk, making me wonder if he can read my thoughts. “Come on, darlin’,” he drawls playfully. “Let’s go have a chat. Shep, lock up when you leave?”
Shep nods, making a hasty exit out the same door I just came through, though this time, there’s an audible click when the lock latches.
I don’t even register the pitiful growl shaking my throat until Rhys’s tattooed finger crooks under my chin, lifting until my eyes clash with his piercing blues.
“Enough of that now, omega.” The bark is subtle, but the power behind it is clear as a bell when my omega releases her hold and clarity drops down my spine like a bucket of cold water.
Panic slithers after it, so much I’m nearly shaking.
“I am so sorry, Rhys. I have no idea what came over me. I was just watching you through the window and thinking about…” I trail off, too ashamed and embarrassed to admit the truth.
I was jealous, horribly so, at the idea of him touching anyone but me.
I have never been jealous over a man in my life. Why now?
A large hand press against mine as my alpha twines our fingers together and leads me up a small set of stairs at the back of the shop.
Later I want to come back down and study all the art on the walls, but right now it’s all I can do to stop myself from having a panic attack.
My mother’s cruel words echo in my ears, calling me needy, dramatic, pathetic leech of an omega, and each new word makes me itch to run and hide.
At the top of the stairs is a small studio space with one black tattoo chair, a little rolling stool, and lots of storage along the back wall painted a pretty light blue.
The whole room gives a very soothing vibe, which is somehow not what I expected from this larger-than-life man with his delicious scent.
Though I can tell he probably wears blockers when he’s with clients, since that’s the professional thing to do in an enclosed space like this, hints of his sugar cookie scent are everywhere in this room.
“This is my private studio space,” he reads my mind again, answering my unspoken question. “Perks of owning the place.”
My head whips sideways, shock parting my lips. I kind of assumed he worked here, not that he owned the damn studio. He doesn’t seem offended by my surprise, just smiles and guides me to sit on the large black chair.
“Now, you wanna tell me what all that,” he points downstairs, “was about?”