Chapter 11
Carson
When I wake up and roll over to wrap my arms around my Omega, it’s not her warm body that my arm makes contact with.
“What the hell?” Reid grunts, pushing me off.
Blinking my eyes open, I frown. Sitting up, I look down and find the bed empty.
“Where’s Addison?” I ask as I look around the room, but as the question slips out, I know the answer. I can feel it in my bones, she’s gone.
“She’s gone?” Reid sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Where did she go?’
“How the fuck do I know?” I growl.
Scrambling out of bed, I rush to the bathroom, checking to see if she’s in there. She’s not.
Her dress is gone, and so are her phone and purse. My heart sinks, my pulse quickening as panic starts to seep in.
She’s gone. We lost her. How the fuck did we lose her when we just found her?
“Maybe she just went out to get something to eat? I know she didn’t eat much during her heat.”
“She’s gone.” I glare at him. “She left.”
“She couldn’t have just left.” Reid gapes at me. “We’re her scent matches.”
“And until just three days ago, we were strangers. She probably woke up, realized what happened, and freaked the fuck out.”
Reid gets out of bed and starts looking around like she might be playing hide and seek. He sees something on the desk and picks it up. “She left a note.” He reads it aloud, and my panic escalates.
“A few days.” I groan. “I don’t want to wait a few days. I don’t want to wait a few minutes! I want my Omega, Reid. And I want her now.”
“You think I don’t?” Reid glares at me. “I’m missing her just as much. But I understand why she left. Hell, she went to the party with another pack and left with us. It’s got to be a lot for her to deal with.”
“Please, that pack was a fucking joke, and she was literally hiding from them. I don’t think it was a hardship on her to end up with us.”
“Maybe not, but it’s not always easy for people to accept that they found their scent matches out of the blue. Not if it’s something they weren’t expecting, nor wanting.”
“So, you’re saying she doesn’t want us?” I glare at him.
He sits on the edge of the bed, still naked, resting his head in his hands. “No.” He groans. “That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, give the girl a few days, like she asked. Then we reach out.”
“What if she’s hurt? What if something happened to her? You want me to wait three days to make sure she’s not dead in some ditch?” I growl, hands on my hips, ignoring the fact that I’m also completely naked.
The last three days were a blur. A delicious, knot-throbbing blur. I can still taste her sweet cupcake scent on my tongue, the way she felt around my knot as she came so damn perfectly for me.
I’m already starting to get restless being away from her.
“Three days.” I start to pace. “How am I going to wait three days to talk to her? What does this mean, Reid? We live in Nashville. If she lives here, we’re never going to see her. I can’t be without her.”
“You’re jumping the gun. We know nothing about her, Carson. That's the point. Before we make assumptions, how about we talk to our girl first?"
“I’d love to.” I throw my hands in the air. “But she said to wait three days!”
“We have to get back home. We have a game tomorrow and two more later this week.”
“Fuck hockey. None of that matters, only she does, Reid. My heart only beats for her now.” I slap my chest.
He groans, burying his face deeper into his hands. “I should have known you were going to be dramatic about this.”
“I’m dramatic?” I gape at him. Is he for real? “You’re not dramatic enough! How are you not losing your mind right now!?”
“Because I can’t. Because it doesn’t help anything. Because we still have a life to live. The whole world doesn’t stop because we found an Omega. Now, get in the shower, then get dressed, and let me book our flights home. I’m sure Marilyn is losing her mind since we’ve been MIA.”
“Fine.” I huff. “But, I’m not happy about it!”
“Thank you.” He sighs.
Grabbing my phone from the bedside table, I start toward the bathroom but then dive for Reid, snatching the note from his hand.
“What the fuck, Carson?!” He shouts as I run into the bathroom and lock the door behind me.
“Waiting three days, my ass. You must be crazy if you think I’m going to be able to do that.”
“Carson. Don’t do it. Respect her wishes.” Reid bangs on the door.
“Fuck you.” I huff, typing her name into my contacts.
“Don’t you call her!” he warns.
“I’m not calling her!” I shout back, then lower my voice. “I’m texting her.”
Me: Hey, Little One. This is Carson. I know you said in your note to give you three days to process before reaching out, and I understand this is a lot. We won’t call you until then, but I have to know you’re safe. Just give me that much, please, baby.
I hit send and feel a rush of nervousness flood through me. I break into a sweat, and my heart pounds as I stare at the screen. When it shows she read my message, my heart nearly falls out of my ass. Please don’t be mad. Please.
It feels like a lifetime passes before I see three dots dancing on the screen.
My Little Omega: I’m safe. I’m home. Thank you for checking in.
“Thank fuck.” I sigh.
“What? What's going on? What did you do?”
“I texted her. She’s safe,” I answer back.
“Damn it, Carson,” he growls. “You’re such a little shit.”
“Spank me for it later. Now I can avoid driving you up the wall for the next few days. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I stare at the phone, fingers twitching to text her again. To ask her a million and one questions. As much as it kills me, I won’t. I don’t want to overwhelm her, scare her, or even push her away.
So like a good boy, I click the screen off, put my phone on the counter, and get into the shower.
As I wash the remnants of what I can positively say was the best three days of my life, I feel a loss. I’m washing her scent off. But I know I can’t walk around with dried slick and cum stuck to me.
Next time I see her, I’m making her wear one of my hoodies so I can have her scent all over me.
Once I’m done washing my body, I wash my hair. My hair is full of soapy suds when I remember something.
“Holy fuck!” My eyes snap open, and I curse as shampoo gets in my eyes. Sliding the glass shower door open, I blindingly rush into the main room.
“Carson, what the fuck?!” Reid shouts. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I mean, that's a loaded question, for sure. I know I must look like a crazy man standing naked, dripping wet with soap in my hair, but I don’t care.
Squinting, I rush over to him, grab his shoulders, and shake him with laughter. “We bit her!”
“What the hell are you talking about? And stop shaking me,” he growls. I don’t.
“We bit her, man. Addison has our bite marks. Holy fuck, this is amazing. Shit, why didn’t I get her to bite me? I want to wear that mark like a badge, show all the fuckers on the team that I’m a taken man now. Carson Rider is off the market, baby!”
“Fucking hell,” Reid curses. “We bit her. Fuck. How could we be so stupid?”
I stop shaking him. “Speak for yourself.”
“Of course, she ran off. We bit her, Carson! Bit the poor girl that we just met.”
I scoff, waving him off. “She’s our scent match. She was stuck with our crazy asses anyway. But nooooow.” I grin. “When we’re not able to be with her, she’s still wearing our mark. No man will go anywhere near her knowing she’s all packed up. God, this makes me feel so much better.”
“You’re fucking insane, you know that, right?” he mutters.
“Duh.” I chuckle. “But you love me anyway, bestie.” I place a soapy kiss on his cheek.
“I’m debating my life choices right now,” he calls after me as I head back to the bathroom.
“Doesn’t matter,” I shout back. “I’ll always find you!”
The whole flight back, I feel a sense of wrongness in the pit of my stomach. I shouldn’t be travelling away from Addison, but towards her.
I can’t say for sure, but unless she hopped on a flight as soon as she slipped out of the hotel room, I’d guess that she lives in the LA area since she was already home when I texted.
Sure, it’s a five-hour flight one way, and we have the money to fly out whenever we want, but it’s not the money that's the issue, it’s the time. We’re dead in the middle of hockey season, we hardly have days off. How the hell are we going to have enough time with her?
Maybe she would be willing to move out here. Nashville is nice. She’d love it here.
The first day after we return home, we’re right into practice. Thankfully, Coach was understanding when he found out about our Omega and why we were gone for so long.
However, he’s not very happy about my lack of focus during practice. “What the hell, Rider?” Coach growls. “What the hell was that?”
“You can’t be mad at me, Coach. I’m a man in pain.” I drop onto the bench dramatically. “I’m an Alpha without his Omega. A lung without its air, a peanut without its jelly.”
“You’re going to be a player without a team if you don’t smarten the fuck up. Handle your personal shit on your own time, Rider.”
“She consumes me, man.” I pull my helmet off. “She’s in my veins.”
“Are you high?” he asks, narrowing his brows.
“On my Omega?” I grin. “So damn high.”
“Parker. Deal with your buddy here. He’s freaking me the hell out.” Coach leaves, and Reid skates over.
Practice is still going on, but I can’t focus.
“Has it been three days?” I ask Reid.
“No,” he sighs, “And you need to get your head on straight. Think of it this way: if you can’t focus, you can’t play your best. If you can’t play your best, then you will get benched, and eventually kicked off the team.
Then you’re going to be poor and won’t be able to spoil the fuck out of Addison. ”
“Oh shit. You’re right.” My eyes widen. “Alright, Coach, put me in.” I shove my helmet on and make my way back on the ice.
“Seriously,” he asks Reid, “Is he on drugs?”
“No.” Reid chuckles. “Just a few screws loose. He will be fine.”
“He better be.”