Page 15 of His Gentle Omega
That problem somewhat taken care of, I leaned my warm face against the cool stall door, and took a couple deep breaths.
“Get it together, get it together, get it together,” I chanted between my teeth, talking to myself. “It was…it was…it was fucking amazing. Oh, my Goddess, the way he smellllleeedddd.”
I made the word ten times longer than it was, but honestly, it was the only way to say the word to justify how fucking delicious Shay smelled. Yeah, he was ill, and a little sweaty, but under all that his essence was so potently masculine it had started my slick. Which never happened to me. At least not since I had been fucking thirteen and had discovered alphas.
“And now you’re standing in a bathroom stall, talking to yourself, Bennett. There is work to be done. There is an alpha and a child who need your help. Get. It. Together.”
Wobbling to the sink on unsteady legs, I turned the tap on. Splashing the cold water on my heated face, I ran a wet hand through my dark brown hair.
Straightening my shirt, I stared at myself. I looked a little more put together now. Nodding at my reflection, I made my way to the on-call room. Becks and Mike were speaking lowly in the hallway, and Becks caught my eye and motioned me over.
Holding up a finger to signal just a minute, I entered the room. Smiling brightly at Carrie–who looked relieved to see me–and the dark-haired little boy sitting beside her. His skinny arms held a much-loved stuffed toy rabbit tightly to his chest, his legs swinging in the too-tall chair. He looked up at me with big, frightened blue eyes–replicas of his father’s–and my heart was lost.
This boy…this boy was the one I had seen for just a second, in the flash I had when Shay and I had touched.
Any doubt I had about what I had felt, about what Shay and I were to each other, vanished as this boy and I stared at one another.
We were fated mates, and this boy was meant to be a part of my life.
I knew it like I knew my own name.
Just like I knew I would keep the promise I had made to his father, and I would protect him.
Crouching down so we were eye level, I made sure to keep my smile plastered on my face. Hoping I looked non-threatening and not like some weird version of The Joker from Batman.
“Does your rabbit have a name?” I asked him softly.
He pulled the stuffie even closer to his chest, nodding. “Mr. Rabbit.”
His voice was so soft I almost had to use my shifter hearing to catch his words. “That’s a nice name. He looks like a very nice and soft rabbit.”
He nodded once more, peeking at me through his inky lashes. He had been crying. There were dried tear tracks over his rounded cheeks, but he was trying to be brave. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
Carrie cleared her throat, drawing my attention back to her. “His name is Lucas, but that’s about all I’ve gotten out of him.”
“Well, Lucas, it’s nice to meet you,” I told him, keeping my voice steady but still upbeat, “I’m Bennett. Now we aren’t strangers.”
He frowned at me, his forehead wrinkling, like he was working through my logic. “Just ‘cause I know your name doesn’t mean you’re not a stranger,” he wisely pointed out, and I couldn’targue with his logic. “Can I see my daddy? I really want to see my daddy?”
“We can go see him in just a few minutes, I promise.” Reaching into my pocket, where I always kept cash for the vending machines, I pulled out some bills and handed them to Carrie. “I’m thirsty, Lucas. Would you like some juice, too?”
Carrie took the money from me, relieved to have something to do that didn’t involve trying to get a scared child to talk to her.
He hesitated, but there was interest in his eyes. “We have orange, apple, grape…there might be some fruit punch.”
Licking his pink lips, he shyly asked, “Can I have apple?”
“You bet. I’ll take an apple juice too, please.” Carrie nodded, tucking the money in her pocket. “Would you like anything to eat? The nurses station usually has some Jell-O or applesauce.”
He shook his head, “Daddy got me chicken nuggies and fries. And I had a shake. It was yummy.”
“A shake, huh? Did you eat at the Main Street Diner?” Standing up, I slid into the vacant seat next to him. I was getting way too old to be crouching down on my knees like that, or at least my thigh muscles thought I was. “That’s one of my friend Seth’s and my favorite places to eat. They have really good pancakes.”
“I like pancakes,” he whispered, rubbing his cheek against the fur of his rabbit.
“Me too.” Pancakes were life and I’d fight anyone who said otherwise. “Do you think you can answer some questions for me? I promise I will take you to see your Daddy when we are done. He might be sleeping, but we can peek in. I know you’re scared, but I promise you he’s going to be alright. We have great doctors here.”
His chest expanded with the deep breath he took, “Okay.”
