Surprise
Chapter four
The bond was silent these days, except for brief splashes of emotion when things got too much to hold in. I couldn't blame them. I was also blocking my feelings from entering the bond most days.
When they didn't come home most nights, I gave up on cooking and just left sandwich fixings out.
Everything in me felt numb as I moved through my days, dragging myself through the chores I had to do before crawling into bed and sleeping.
Even that didn't seem to help with the sheer exhaustion.
It was like my body had been used up and couldn't get back to normal now.
"Liv?" Lorne's voice echoed through the house.
I shuddered at the sound and buried myself deeper in my blankets. I'd made a sort of nest here in my bed. Charlie wouldn't like it, but Charlie never slept here anymore.
"Olivia." He rapped on the door. "Let me in."
"It's open."
He stepped into my room, frowning at me. Then he held up a test box. "Charlie sent me home with this."
"Okay." I slid out of bed, taking the test and padding to the bathroom. It was muscle memory now, holding the stick just right so it caught my pee, but didn't soak my hand.
I finished up and opened the door, dropping the test on the counter and walking back to my room.
"Don't you want to see?" Lorne called.
"No." I shut the door and climbed back into bed, the bone-deep weariness taking over once more.
A burst of excited emotions woke me a little later. The alphas were thrilled, their happiness pouring through the bond and lighting my chest up with their joy.
I smiled. It had worked. All that torture and endless salmon had finally worked!
Leaping out of bed, I ran downstairs only to find it dark and empty. Where were they? I'd obviously slept for several hours… why hadn't Lorne woken me to share the news?
Back upstairs, I realized they weren't in their rooms, either. The house was quiet and still. The flashes of joy still lit up the bonds, but they were muted now, like they'd tried to shut the bond but couldn't completely do it with the strength of their feelings.
Dread crept through me and I walked slowly to the bathroom. There, in the wastebasket, was the test. With a single line.
They weren't rejoicing over me. Someone must have gotten a job promotion or something. I wasn't the reason for their happiness.
With a heavy heart, I returned to my bed, locking the door. I didn't stir until late morning when a series of thuds and the sound of laughter woke me up again. It sounded like someone was tearing the downstairs apart.
The bonds were shut tight when I checked, but I could feel them nearby. My alphas were in the house, I was certain of it.
I trudged down the stairs, curious about what was going on. From the top of the stairs, I caught a whiff of something sweet and sugary, like lemon pound cake. None of my alphas smelled like that. No alpha smelled like that. They'd brought an omega into my home.
My feet flew down the rest of the stairs and I burst into the living room to find the blue sofa and armchairs gone. My alphas were wrangling pure white furniture into place while a petite woman with curly red hair directed them.
"What the hell is happening here?" My voice came out sharper than I'd meant and the little omega started and burst into tears.
Lorne immediately dropped his end of the sofa and ran to pull her into his arms. As she sobbed against his chest, something bitter and cold twisted inside me. This wasn't just a visitor. They knew her. Well enough to embrace her and comfort her.
I swallowed down the bile that rushed up my throat and looked to Charlie. He would be honest with me.
Charlie took a deep breath. "You were asleep last night, so we couldn't tell you Charlotte is moving in."
"And who is Charlotte?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly.
"Uh, she's an omega."
Anyone with eyes or a nose could see that. What I wanted to know was why she was in my house, redecorating. I stared at Charlie, waiting for him to give me a good reason for this.
"She's carrying our baby," Lorne said abruptly, turning toward me, the omega still pressed tight to his chest.
My legs wobbled and I was about to slide to the floor, but I wouldn't let myself collapse. Instead, I straightened my body. "Your baby. You got her pregnant while you were…" It was too much to take in.
"While we were trying to get you pregnant?" Charlie nodded. "You refused us access. As alphas, we have needs."
I wanted to ask where they'd found her, where she'd been while they were off fucking her and leaving me at home. But in the end, did it really matter?
"How long?" I asked, my voice scratchy.
"She's eight weeks," he said proudly.
"They've been seeing me for six months," Charlotte said, understanding my question better. She peered out of Lorne's arms, her eyes red. "They told me you rejected them."
"She did," Melvin said firmly. "She refused to come near us between heats."
There was no point in saying anything else. I turned and walked into the kitchen to get some water, my chest feeling like it had just been cracked open like in the Alien movies. A gaping hole was left where my heart was.
After I drank the water, I picked up the prenatal vitamins from the cupboard. I wouldn't need them anymore. Charlotte would. I left them on the table for her and went upstairs to my room, sitting on the bed with my head in my hands.
Nothing felt real. My body felt completely hollowed out, with no emotions left.
The voices downstairs picked up again as they returned to moving furniture and I tamped down the bond, determined not to feel their joy over finally getting what they really wanted.
It probably didn't help that Charlotte was pretty and sexy, too.
Who wouldn't want a baby mama like that?
I'd lost my luster, with the constant heats wearing me down and carving deep hollows under my eyes.
I wasn't the bright young omega they'd chosen to start their pack with.
The entire day, the alphas hauled things in and out of the house.
I watched as they tore everything out of my nest and replaced it with all new pillows, a mattress, and sheets.
Charlotte would be sleeping in there because she was already pregnant.
She didn't need to be restricted for fertility reasons.
Charlotte glanced at me worriedly when they led her into the new nest, but I just turned away. I was a stranger in my own home.
It should hurt that they'd chosen to knock up another omega while forcing me through heat after torturous heat, but I was numb. They'd damaged me too much. All I wanted was out, even though an omega with no ability to get pregnant was a useless creature. Staying here was not an option, though.