44. Storm
Chapter 44
Storm
C hild protective services?
Child fucking protective services?
I had been angry at Lorna before—pissed, even—but now I was livid.
Seeing the woman I loved and the mother of my child fall apart at the idea that our baby could be taken from her was utterly soul destroying. I was an alpha. I was meant to protect her, and clearly, I had failed.
Kennedy had eventually sobbed herself to sleep, and Micha had carried her to the nest and was snuggling with her while the rest of us spoke. We had all rushed home the moment we received a text from Charlie saying that someone from the government was at the apartment.
Charlie had recounted the worker’s attitude and questions, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to punch someone.
“I’m not leaving Kennedy’s side now,” I insisted. “No more classes or practice. If I have to repeat a semester, then so be it,” I growled as I paced the living room.
“I think we are in agreement there,” Eli said. “I'm sure the university will be happy if you're willing to do a few more semesters because it means you can play hockey for longer.”
“This needs to end, and it needs to end now—I’m going to the university tomorrow and demanding to see that footage. If I tell them it's putting my child's well-being at risk, they will have to do it, won't they?”
Charlie nodded. “It might be worth telling your teammates as well. As much as I hate to admit it, you hockey players have a lot of sway at the university.”
“I’ll call Roman today.” I nodded. “He has more sway than any of the other players, and he understands, since he has a son with his omega.”
“I’m going to check on Kennedy,” I said, stalking out of the room. This was a mess of my own making, and I had no clue how to stop it.
She was already passed out in the nest, wrapped up in a pile of blankets. Her face was red and blotchy from the tears, and I hated the sight more than anything. A deep self-loathing settled in my gut as I looked at how my choices were hurting my omega. Micha was also fast asleep, curled up with her.
As much as I wanted to crawl into the nest, I was the last one who should have been comforting her at that moment.
I was going to find a way to fix the mess, come hell or high water.
Taking a few steps into the nursery, I gazed at Charlotte as she slept. She looked so serene, so perfect. I had been given a gift in the form of Kennedy and Charlotte, and I was messing it up. The question was, how could I make it right? If I confronted Lorna, I doubted it would go well for us. Unfortunately, I was familiar with her particular kind of bitchiness.
She would do whatever it took to win. In her fucked-up mind, I was the prize. Judging by the way I was failing my pack right now, I didn't think that was the case.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I clicked the familiar contact and lifted the phone to my ear. Sunny answered in two rings. “Have you convinced Kennedy to marry you yet?” she asked.
“No,” I said, my voice sullen. “Sunny…I fucked up.”
She was silent for a moment. “Okay, this phone call is giving me flashbacks. Did you get another omega pregnant?”
“No, but my past has come back to bite me in the ass,” I admitted.
“How so?”
“One of the puck bunnies who really wanted my attention slipped some drugs into Kennedy's bag and got her suspended.”
“What?” Sunny shouted, before making a few soothing noises to Luka, who I assumed she’d disturbed with her outburst. “Kennedy? Drugs? I've only met that girl a few times, and I can tell she's never taken a drug in her life.”
“I think Lorna got upset that Kennedy spoke about bonding with me. It seems like she’s decided I’m hers and Kennedy is in the way.”
Sunny swore quietly. “Well, that’s a mess,” she growled.
“That’s not all.”
“How can there be more?”
“It seems that, as soon as the university reported that she had drugs in her possession, they were duty bound to make a report to child protective services. They’re going to be investigating Kennedy.”
“Storm! Holy fuck, you need to make this right. Oh god, Kennedy. She must be heartbroken!”
“She is. I don’t know how to fix this. If I confront Lorna, it’ll just be worse for Kennedy. I'm going to call Roman today, and we're going to talk about getting the security footage from the library.”
Sunny sighed. “I doubt the university will hand that over, especially if it makes them look bad because they falsely accused a young mother.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted with a sob. I had been keeping it together, but Sunny had seen me at my lowest, and this was so much lower than that.
“Hey, all you can do now is take care of Kennedy and help her. Her due date is soon, and the stress isn’t good for her. You guys can easily prove that you and Kennedy aren't on drugs. And your place is beautiful and perfect for a child, so there’s no way in hell they are going to remove Charlotte from you guys.”
“But what if they try?” I asked.
“Then you bond,” she replied simply. “Being a bonded pack will protect you from most things. Even if Kennedy is deemed an unfit mother, they would never remove the child from the pack because of you. You are Charlotte's biological father, Kennedy’s pack mate, and there is a long record of your hockey drug tests that proves you are clean as a whistle.”
“We have talked about bonding,” I admitted. “But we discussed doing it far in the future, once Kennedy had recovered from the birth.”
“I know it's not recommended to bond close to pregnancy or while you're pregnant, but if you need to…it’s an option. Storm, I know you are blaming yourself for this, but you are a good guy. You and your pack will keep your omega and your child safe. Of that, I am completely confident. As for Lorna, leave that to me.”
I paused. “What do you mean by that?”
“I'm going to make a few subtle inquiries into Lorna. Nothing that’ll raise her hackles, but knowledge is power, and I’m sure a bitch like that has skeletons.”
“Why are you so good to me?” I whispered.
“Because the universe decided we needed to share a womb. I also don’t hate you, so there’s that,” Sunny said, her voice chipper and full of laughs.
“Thank you, twinny.”
“Anytime, butthead.”
Hanging up the phone, I turned to the bedroom and to my omega. Crawling into the nest, I snuggled into her back, basking in her scent.
I was going to protect her, no matter what.
I awoke to the sensation of a rather small omega thumping me in the arm.
“Kennedy?” I asked, sleepily.
“Storm!” she hissed, her voice pinched. “Either I just pissed myself or it’s go time.”
Every ounce of tiredness I was feeling was gone in a millisecond. Sitting straight up, I looked at Kennedy, who was bent over slightly as she sat in the nest next to me, clutching her belly.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Well, my water didn’t break with Charlotte, but this feels pretty similar. I thought I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, but now I’m leaking like a faucet, and I’m pretty sure it’s the real deal.”
“But you’re not due for nearly three weeks!”
“Well, the baby has other ideas.” Kennedy groaned, closing her eyes and whimpering.
I scrambled out of the nest. “I’ll get the others!” I said, rushing down the hall. All my pack mates were in the living space around the coffee table, deep in conversation.
“What bit your ass?” Charlie laughed when he saw me. “Did the omega kick you out of bed?”
“It’s time!” I panted.
Charlie and Micha shot me a confused look, but Eli understood immediately. He stood up. “Are you sure? Is it Braxton Hicks?”
“She's been having contractions on and off all day, and her water broke.”
Eli’s face broke out into a smile, and he turned to the others. “It looks like we're having a baby tonight.”
Micha and Charlie both made noises of excitement, rushing toward the nest. The hospital bag was packed and ready to go, so all we needed to do was sweep up our omega and take her to her chosen hospital.
“We haven't had a chance to tour the facility yet,” Kennedy whined as we got into the car. Charlie and Micha were following in another car, as they had Charlotte’s car seat.
We had been planning to tour the hospital where Kennedy wanted to give birth next week. “Unfortunately, they decided to come early, but it will be fine. You’ve seen the reviews of this hospital, and on the whole, they’re excellent.”
“They are,” Kennedy agreed with a nod. She had been looking up review after review of the hospital she had picked. She’d gone to the only hospital she could afford when she gave birth to Charlotte, but the second time around, she wanted to do a bit more research.
“We have everything off your list, all your snacks and pajamas. Charlotte has her daddies to look after her, so all you have to do is worry about bringing that cutie you’re growing into the world,” Eli assured her.
“Oh, shoot, this is a big contraction,” Kennedy whined.
I was sitting in the back seat of the car with her, so when the contraction hit, she would lean forward, and I would rub her lower back until the contraction passed.
I frowned. “These are getting close together.”
“Four minutes,” Eli confirmed.
My eyes widened, but I didn't want to say anything in case I stressed Kennedy out further. I was pretty sure in all the reading I had done that we were supposed to get to the hospital when her contractions were five minutes apart.
When Eli glanced at me in the rearview mirror, I knew my pack mate well enough to know he was concerned. He was also avoiding saying anything. It was cardinal rule number one not to stress out the pregnant omega.