Chapter 15
Nolan
When it came to our small pack, I usually assumed that Wilder would be the one causing problems. He had zero impulse control, and it often ended badly, but Preston, I expected more of.
An omega.
We’d talked about the day we would finally settle down with someone and make a family, but Preston had taken that choice out of our hands. I knew he hadn’t intended to, but it didn’t change the facts.
Having smelled Hailey, I understood it, though. That strawberries and cream scent made my alpha beat my chest in a way he’d never done before. Everything in me screamed to protect and help this small omega, and I didn't think it was the bond; it was her.
Under any other circumstances, I was confident that I would have pursued Hailey on my own, anyway.
But these were not those circumstances, and that was a hard pill to swallow.
“Did she have to spray that cheap crap everywhere?” I asked as I opened the windows shortly after Hailey left.
“Can you blame her for it?” Wilder asked with a shrug. “Preston is nothing more than a convict to her, and she knows nothing about us, not really. Her entire life has been tipped upside down. I think we need to give her a lot of leeway here.”
He wasn’t wrong.
My limited contact with Preston was starting to piss me off. His work was important, I knew that, but why the fuck was he in the convict camp, and why couldn't we get any answers?
Was he even aware that Hailey was unwell? It didn't matter how important his work was; if his omega was sick, surely that was the priority?
We were all pretty involved with our jobs. As a lawyer myself, I spent many, many long hours in my office. We’d all put work first in the past, but now that we had an omega, that had to change.
Omegas were precious. They needed to be taken care of, even though I had a strong suspicion that Hailey could usually take care of herself.
Everything about her screamed independent. She had her own place, she worked, and she had a mouth on her that made me hard as a rock.
I never thought a sassy omega would do it for me, but apparently, I was obsessed with it.
Shoving us in the bathroom was probably a touch too far, though. Then again, given how Preston had fucked up, could I blame her?
“I refuse to get pushed into a small bathroom again,” I grumbled.
“Then go back to our hotel.” Wilder shrugged. “This is Hailey’s apartment, and we need to respect that.”
I took a deep breath. Again, the annoying fuck was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.
I was also a bit sleep-deprived because that chair hadn’t been comfortable, and sleeping with Hailey on me had been so new that I kept waking up.
“This situation is so fucked,” I said.
“It really is, but I think we should make the best of it,” Wilder said, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it dramatically.
“In that case, let’s go buy some groceries while she’s at her appointment.”
“Do you think the docs can help her?” he asked.
I paused, picturing the way she’d looked when we first arrived. “I hope so.”
Watching Hailey suffer made my chest ache. Even though we weren't personally bonded, she was still part of our pack, and seeing her doing so badly ignited a storm of worry I’d never felt before.
The alpha in me demanded I fix it. There was only so much I could do without going and getting my dumb-ass pack mate from the convict camp and dragging him back, though.
“All right. Let’s go get chow! It’s a good idea—you know I love to eat.”
He did. If I let him, he would have eaten Hailey out of house and home in two days flat. And we couldn’t have that.
An hour later, with several bags loaded with groceries, we returned. Wilder had spent the entire drive talking my ear off until we got to the store, and then vanished to buy what I could only describe as a metric shit-ton of candy.
We were just putting the food away when the front door opened and Hailey walked in.
Her eyes were rimmed red, like she’d been crying, and my body tensed immediately.
“How did it go?” I asked, closing the fridge.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I'm just really tired. I think I'm going to lie down.” Hailey jerked her head in the direction of her nest.
“Wait.” I walked over to her, blocking her path. Gently grabbing her chin, I looked into her eyes. “Tell us. What did the doctor say? Is there anything you can do, anything we can do?”
Hailey bit her lip, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. My heart rate skyrocketed, worry claiming me.
“It’s not going to get better. If anything, it’s going to get worse,” she admitted in a quiet voice, her shoulders slumping in toward herself.
“What can we do?” Wilder asked softly, standing on her other side and resting a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m…pregnant.”
Those two words hung in the air for a moment, both of us trying to comprehend what she had just said.
Bonding was one thing, and having an omega join our pack was one thing… but a baby? That was another thing entirely.
“Are you sure?” I asked in a strangled whisper.
Fuck Preston to hell and back.
He’d gotten an omega pregnant and fucked off. How he could have been so irresponsible was beyond me.
If this job he was doing was so important that he needed to stay undercover, why the hell had he allowed himself to get an omega pregnant?
I hoped like hell he was working and wasn’t actually incarcerated.
The fake name made me think he wasn’t actually a convict, but there was no way to be sure without talking to him.
Then again, I was a lawyer, for Christ’s sake. If my pack mate got into trouble, I would have been his first call.
“The doctor was pretty sure,” Hailey said, raising her brows like I was a moron, and I silently cursed. “That's the reason it's not getting any better.”
“What can be done?” Wilder asked, his voice unusually quiet.
“They had a few suggestions. I got all these pamphlets, but nothing really solid.” As she spoke, Hailey looked away, and I got the impression that she wasn't being entirely truthful. I didn't want to push her any further, though, as this was already a lot.
A baby.
Just when I thought nothing could surprise me, those two little words tilted my entire world on its axis.
In a few months, our pack would have…a child.
“We need to talk to Preston,” I said.
Hailey shook her head. “No! I don’t want it known I’m bonded to a convict. I told you, that puts my job at risk.”
Her tone was firm, leaving no room for compromise. I hated this. Preston was working—or, at least, I fucking hoped he was working there, and I couldn’t even tell her about it. The mother of his fucking child, for fuck’s sake.
I sighed, offering all I could. “He shouldn’t be there much longer.”
Her glower made me think she didn’t quite believe me. And yet again, who could blame her?
Complicated. This was all too complicated, and I was a lawyer, for crying out loud.
Wilder dropped his head, and we exchanged a glance. We needed to talk to Preston. We both knew it. Despite wanting to do right by Hailey, the situation wasn’t as simple as she might have thought.
There was more going on behind the scenes, though, and she deserved to know about all that. Preston needed to tell her.
“I think I’m going to lie down,” Hailey said.
“Do you want us to join?” Wilder asked, his eyes hopeful.
“No.” She shook her head. “I just want to rest and think for a bit.”
Her face was gray and drawn. She needed to get better, not just for herself, but also because her current state was not good for the baby.
Separation and all those hormonal changes. That was a lot to deal with.
“Okay, but just know that we will take care of you if you need,” Wilder insisted.
We both wanted Hailey to understand that. Her baby was part of our pack, and we took care of our own. She was part of our pack, and we all needed to accept that.
“Yeah… Thanks,” she murmured softly before turning and retreating to the nest.
The soft click of the door closing sounded so loud in the quiet of the apartment, and I sagged.
Fucking Preston.