Chapter 22
Flora
“Hello? Is anyone home?” a soft voice called out from the entryway.
I looked at Bear, who was grilling our third grilled cheese sandwich. He had insisted that food made everything better, and as much as I hated to admit it, he was kind of right. After my second sandwich, I was feeling a lot less shaky.
“Is that Mable?” Bear asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Who’s Mable? Your girlfriend?”
A snort of laughter escaped Bear as he turned off the burner. “I can assure you, Flora, I don’t have a girlfriend. Not many people are attracted to all this,” he grimaced, gesturing to himself.
I got the impression Bear wasn’t aware how handsome he was, but that still didn’t answer the question of Mable.
“Bear, Chase… I know Spencer’s not here,” the voice called out, footsteps sounding down the hallway.
A tiny omega filled the kitchen doorway. The sweet smell of her instantly permeated the room. Upon seeing me, her face broke into a wide smile. In her arms were two bags stuffed full of what appeared to be blankets.
“You must be Flora,” she squealed excitedly.
“And you must be Mable?” I said, framing it as a question.
The small omega glowered at Bear. “Did you not tell her who I was?”
“She’s only been here an hour or two,” he pointed out.
“Spencer called me to ask for a favor. Seeing as her nest was destroyed, he thought she could use some backup supplies.” She held up her bags triumphantly. “This is some of the stuff my guys bought me. I’ve never put any of it in my nest, because they have a penchant for overspending.”
I paused, staring at the omega as her words sank in.
“What do you mean, my nest was destroyed?” I shouted, turning to Bear. The anxiety that had been easing while eating the grilled cheese sandwiches with the gentle giant was coming back stronger than ever. It gripped my chest in a death hold.
My nest was my safe place. The one thing that was truly mine.
Without it, I would be lost. My breathing quickened, and my vision blurred as tears filled my eyes.
The smile dropped from her face. “Oh no, I should not have said that,” she whispered, shaking her head, strawberry-blonde hair swaying as she did so. “Has Spencer not called you?”
“He hasn’t,” Bear replied, crossing his arms. I automatically took a step toward him, seeking comfort.
He didn’t disappoint. After uncrossing his arms, he placed one gently on my lower back. It was grounding and just the right amount of touch. Any more in front of this unknown omega would have sent me over the edge.
“Oh. Well… maybe you should talk to him. I’m just going to leave these here.” She placed the bags on the floor.
I turned to Bear, wanting answers. Thankfully, he was already pulling out his phone and, I assumed, dialing Spencer.
“You wanna tell me why Mable just turned up with a bunch of extra nesting supplies?” he asked when Spencer answered the phone.
I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but Bear went quiet for a moment as Spencer spoke.
“Well, a heads-up would have been nice,” he grumbled.
They exchanged a few more words before Bear hung up unceremoniously. Mable was still hovering in the kitchen doorway, chewing on her thumbnail, clearly stressed by the situation.
Bear sighed, placing his phone on the counter as he turned to me. “I’m so sorry, little omega. Spencer went to your apartment to grab some of your nesting supplies. The place has been totally trashed.”
My vision blurred as I swayed on the spot. “What do you mean by trashed?” I asked dumbly. I didn’t want to believe it. Maybe they had gotten it wrong. “M-maybe Spencer just mistook my clutter for being ransacked. You know what he’s like…” I trailed off, my vision swimming.
Bear lunged forward, grabbing both of my elbows and holding me steady.
“Oh no,” the omega behind me whispered.
“He’s salvaged what he can, but it looks like ninety-five percent of your stuff has been destroyed,” Bear admitted. “My guess is, whoever was following you is pissed that they failed tonight. They broke into your apartment. When you weren’t there, they took their anger out on your belongings.”
“So, it’s not enough to try to kidnap me at knifepoint—they’ve also got to destroy my home?” I asked shrilly, tears rolling down my face. My breath hitched as I blubbered.
It was all too much for me to deal with.
Between the lack of sleep, the stress plaguing me, and now the few items I had to my name being destroyed, I was at the end of my tether.
All I wanted was to crawl into my nest and block out the rest of the world; only I couldn’t, because my nest had been destroyed.
“We will replace everything,” Bear insisted, pulling me into a hug.
Mable jerked her head in agreement. “Spencer just couldn’t get to the nest store until tomorrow, so he asked me to bring anything you could use tonight.
I’m so sorry—I thought he would’ve told you.
I just got so excited to come down here and meet you.
I’ve been in a baby bubble for the last few weeks, and seeing someone who isn’t one of my pack mates was really exciting. ”
“Don’t apologize. This is really sweet of you,” I admitted, looking at the bags.
Mable waved it off. “This is nothing, honestly. My guys love to overspend. When they found out I was pregnant, they bought so much stuff. This has literally been sitting in our closet for weeks because one of them was supposed to take it to the donation center. They just never got around to it.”
“Well, you do have a new baby keeping you busy,” Bear pointed out.
“I do,” Mable said wistfully. “Actually, you know what? As amazing as it is to meet you, and we definitely need to see each other again soon, I should probably go back upstairs. It’s been a few hours since she was fed.
I’m fairly sure my boobs will burst if I don’t breastfeed soon.
There are also cookies from a fancy bakery in there…
I had a feeling you would want a sweet treat. ”
She took two steps forward and pulled me into a hug. For an omega so small, she was surprisingly strong. Her scent was maple, and almost overwhelmingly sweet—but I didn’t mind.
“If you need anything at all, let me know. Just get these guys to text me,” she said, looking at Bear.
“I will.” Despite having just met Mable, she exuded warmth and comfort. I could already tell she would be a good friend—if I allowed her to be.
After hugging me one more time, she left, citing her baby. Once she was out of the room, Chase meandered in.
“She was so excited when she realized she could pack up that nesting stuff and get rid of it.” He laughed.
“You were up there?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah. I’m not usually in their apartment. I can do my job from down here when I’m watching them—we’ve got cameras in the common areas. But Mable wanted to rearrange the nursery again, and one of her guys wanted to talk about security when they go back to work.”
“When are they returning to work?” Bear queried.
“Thankfully, not for a few weeks,” Chase said.
They glanced at each other, clearly communicating in some silent language they’d perfected over the years.
“Do you want anything else to eat?” Bear questioned, turning to me. I almost giggled at that. He had already fed me more grilled cheese than I could reasonably handle.
“No. I want to know what’s happened to my apartment,” I demanded. “Don’t brush me off.”
Bear sighed. On his phone, he scrolled through his apps, and I did my best to ignore the way his arm muscles bulged as he did so.
“Here,” he said, turning the screen toward me.
A dark, hooded figure stood in my apartment.
With a baseball bat.
And it looked like they were having the time of their life destroying everything I owned.
“They’re so angry,” I whispered, my hand coming up to my mouth.
Bear looked at me with concern. “I know. But you’re safe now.”
Slowly, it dawned on me what I was watching. Video footage of my apartment being trashed…
“Wait.” I paused. “How did you even get this footage?” I asked, turning to him. My distress dimmed as the realization hit me, a weird numbness taking hold of me. “There’s a camera in my home.”
A camera these guys had access to.
“I think I need to leave now,” Chase mumbled. “I’ve got a tablet to take apart…”
“You stay right there,” I snarled, pointing at him.
He froze on the spot, like a bashful toddler who’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Bear,” I growled.
“It was me,” a firm voice declared.
Spencer strode into the room like he’d overheard our entire conversation.
“What do you mean, it was you?” I growled. My sanity felt like it was hanging on by a thread. If I didn’t get answers soon, I was going to start tasering people.
Spencer placed two bags, filled and overflowing with what was left of my possessions, on the kitchen island before turning to me.
“Once we realized you were being followed, we decided you needed extra security. So, I installed several cameras in your apartment.”
My eyes widened as I tried to comprehend what he was saying in such a cavalier tone. He was acting like placing hidden cameras in my apartment was no big deal.
“That is a huge invasion of privacy,” I spluttered. “Oh my God, what did you see? Did you see me changing?” There had been times recently when I’d felt like I was being watched. And Spencer had now confirmed that it wasn’t just my imagination running away with me. I’d been right!
I was pissed.
Spencer shrugged. “Well, it’s better than whoever’s following you. I’m guessing he got upset when we installed our cameras, because that’s when I found the one he’d hidden in your vent.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, blinking repeatedly. I understood his words, but maybe the events of the day were finally catching up with me because I couldn’t comprehend them, no matter how many times I went over them in my head.
Bear’s hand came to rest on my lower back as he spoke soothingly. “We didn’t want to startle you, but there were already cameras in your apartment. Someone was watching you.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know at the moment, but until we do, you’re not leaving this apartment,” Spencer said.
“Excuse me?” I turned to him, pulling out of Bear’s comforting grip. “I can’t stay here. Maybe for a night, but I have classes, tutoring.”
Spencer walked toward me. He towered over me, but I refused to back down.
“For the next week, you aren’t leaving,” he growled, that rich pepper scent only intensifying with his words. “You are going nowhere alone. I don’t know why, Flora Hewitt, but you’ve burrowed under my skin, and I can’t seem to stop it. So, we are going to keep you safe, whether you like it or not.”
At that, he stormed out of the room, leaving me slack-jawed and utterly shocked by his declaration.