Chapter 27
Mable
Studying was a pain, but I was managing to get plenty done, between running to the bathroom every three minutes. I wasn’t even that big yet, but apparently, the constant need to urinate was a common annoyance during pregnancy.
I was on my way back from probably the twentieth pee run of the morning when a knock at my door sounded.
I was lost in thought, mainly thinking about what I was going to have for lunch when I absentmindedly swung the door open. I stilled when I took in the alpha standing in my doorway. He was gigantic and easily towered over me. It took a second for recognition to set in.
“Spencer?” Was I supposed to be expecting him? He was dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans and a T-shirt, his blond hair tucked behind his ears.
“Did you check the peephole before you opened the door?” He eyed me, his eyebrows pinching together.
“No…” I trailed off.
“That is one of the most basic things to do when it comes to your safety. Always check.” Spencer was all business, apparently, and I ducked my chin, feeling a little sheepish.
“Okay…”
“Chase is downstairs—he’s helping me install a security system for you… Did Devin not tell you about that?” Spencer cocked his head, looking around inside the room as if he was assessing it for threats.
“This is the first I am hearing about it,” I admitted.
What the heck had Devin done? He hadn’t texted me or told me anything.
Still, part of me wanted to laugh. He had mentioned improving my security, but I hadn’t expected this.
Spencer shook his head. “Those idiots. Call your pack and ask them about it. They’re worried about you being here on your own, so they asked us to install a security system they purchased.
I informed them that the security system they picked out was a pile of shit, so we trashed it, and I picked up an actually decent system.
Why those idiots didn’t ask me in the first place is beyond me… ”
Guilt rushed through me, and I waved a hand. “I don’t need all that…”
Spencer raised his eyebrows. “I disagree with that, but why don’t you call your pack?
Because they have been whining at me nonstop about your lack of security, and if you let me install a camera outside your door and a few motion sensors on your windows, they will stop hounding me day and night, and I may actually get a full night’s sleep.
” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
I tilted my head to the side, observing him. “You never get a full night’s sleep anyway.”
“Fine, you caught me. They’re pains in my asses, but they’ve got good intentions. Go, call them!”
He ushered me away playfully, and I sighed. “You may as well come in while I call. Feel free to take any sodas out of the fridge.”
Spencer made a face. “Should you really be letting me into your place before you speak to them?”
“Seriously? I’ve met you before. I know you’re part of their security team. It’s not like you’re some mysterious stranger.”
He nodded, his eyes shrewd and assessing. “Okay… But we’re going to have to have a conversation about your safety sooner or later.”
“And I’m going to put off having that conversation for as long as possible.” I trailed back into my apartment and picked up my phone.
Spencer nodded and went to one of the windows, checking it, by opening and closing it a few times.
Lord, these guys are acting like I’m some priceless antique or something.
Devin picked up on the first ring. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes at his immediate concern. “Though, would you like to tell me why your security team just turned up at my dorm room? Spencer is trying to install a security system. It’s a dormitory, I’m not sure I’m even allowed to install a security system here.”
“Ah, crap! I was going to talk to you about it before they showed up, but I must have gotten distracted with everything that happened.”
If by “everything that happened,” he meant the mind-blowing sex we’d had, then I could kind of understand that. Still, we’d had a bit of time before the guys picked him up. He could have mentioned it then.
“Devin, I don’t want them installing anything if it’s going to get me into trouble with the university. I only have a few more weeks here before I need to figure out my next steps, because I can’t have a baby here.”
The last thing I needed was the university giving me a bad reference when I tried to move into a new place; that would be a nightmare I very much wanted to avoid.
Although, again, I wasn’t entirely sure what it would be like to move off campus.
As far as I knew, it wasn’t like a landlord was going to call your resident advisor and ask if you were a “good tenant.”
Devin cleared his throat. “Well, you don’t have to worry about the university, because we may have given them a hefty donation to allow us to give your dorm room some extra security.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in a movement I knew he wouldn’t see, but I was so darn exasperated I didn’t know what to say. I loved that they cared about me, but sometimes it could feel a little much.
“You don’t need to go bribing people for my safety….”
“But I wanted to. The guys aren’t going to do that much. It’s just a few cameras, none of them inside your place. There’s going to be one on your front door, so you can see who’s coming and going, one in the main entryway of the building, and some sensors on your windows.”
“Devin, I live on the third floor. Why do I need sensors on my windows? You’re going to get security alerts every time I open my window in the middle of the night because I’m sweating, thanks to the baby.”
“I know it seems silly, but please do this for us. It’ll help give us peace of mind while we’re working. Every one of my alpha instincts wants to keep you nearby, and I’m trying my best not to smother you.”
I sighed. Battling your instincts was a fight I understood, considering my nesting instincts had been going wild lately. The pregnancy hormones had me feeling extra… Well, extra everything.
“Fine, but if Spencer and Chase hurt any of my plants, I will push them out the window,” I said petulantly.
Spencer, who was standing in my line of sight, assessing one of my windows, his back to me, turned to me with raised eyebrows.
I met his look with a glare of my own. I didn’t fuck around when it came to the safety of my plants.
Sure, I was having an actual child, but my plants had been my first babies.
“I fully support you in that endeavor.” Devin laughed. “We all have a break at lunchtime today. Do you want to go out for lunch together? There’s an Italian place on campus that’s apparently really good. I can feed you pasta as an apology for springing the security team on you.”
“You figured out food is my weakness, didn’t you?”
“Not at all, I just care about your well-being and want to make sure you’re well fed. The fact that you are in an exceptionally happy mood after a good meal has nothing to do with it.”
I couldn’t stop the grin, shaking my head at Devin’s less-than-subtle insinuation. He and his pack mates were going to get me eating way too much. But, to hell with it , at least I’d have the security system to call on if it became too much to stand.
Rolling my eyes, I walked back toward the center of the living room. I wasn’t about to study with Spencer and Chase installing a security system.
“Go get back to work. I’ll text you updates on how it’s going with the security system.”
“So that’s a yes on lunch?” Devin’s voice sounded hopeful, and I could picture his face, all pleading and charming.
I chuckled. “That’s a yes.”