Page 91 of One for the Money
Fear.
Excitement.
Adoration.
Devastation.
Confusion.
Fear again.
And finally, tentative acceptance.
“There you are,” I whisper, reaching out to cup her face. “Dr. Alex Shields is back.”
Her dark eyes are still a little hazy, but her voice is stronger now. “A bond that is not accepted can cause severe adverse side effects,” she whispers, leaning into my hand. “Including, but not limited to, several emotional distress, migraines, seizures, vomiting, nausea, cardiomyopathy, and in severe, unlikely cases, death.”
I nod, humming under my breath. “Is that so?”
“I threw up.”
I chuckle softly. “Nerves can do that to you.”
She wrinkles her nose, her waterline glimmering with silvery tears. I can tell this is going to take some time for her to process.
I’m not going to pretend like this is something she consciously did. I know that this was all Omega instinct. She has made her opinion on being with me, with us, clear. I told her to let go, to let her hindbrain control, and control it fucking did.
Now I am the owner of a pretty little bite under my ear and a small, but thriving bond in my chest.
When her teeth first sank in and the bond flared to life, violently yanking my orgasm out of me, I nearly passed out. I never imagined I’d feel anything like it, much less from Alex.
I knew immediately I was accepting it. Not a single part of me wanted to push it out.
I knew it was an accident, but I cemented it anyway. Maybe that makes me a bad person. I’m sure that I should have checked in with her before I accepted it, and given her the opportunity to tell me it was an accident and she wanted me to reject it.
I still could, if I’m being honest. It’s so new that, while it would fucking hurt us both terribly, I could make it happen if I really wanted to.
I don’t, though. Want to, that is. So I won’t reject it. Not unless she explicitly says the words.
“This is so fucked,” she mutters, clutching at my shirt. “This is so so fucked.”
The Alphas are standing around with their thumbs up their asses, unsure of what to do as they watch Alex come to terms with her new life. I can smell the jealous tinge totheir scents, but it doesn’t seem to have registered with Alex yet.
And I hope it never does.
She doesn’t need to deal with Alpha posturing while she’s processing this massive change in her life, in her plans.
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her. “Together. We’re a team now.”
“Together.” I can’t tell if her words are a plea or an omen.
I wrap my hands around her forearms and gently pull her to standing. “Here’s what we need to do. The Alphas have built you a nest and installed a new lock on your trailer. I’m going to take them out of here because I can tell you’re about to crash, so you’re going to go get your nest all cozy and see if it’s missing anything that I can get you tonight. I’m going to get them out of here, then I’ll come back and sleep over, okay?”
“They built me a nest?” Her eyes dart between the Alphas, who all have various shades of pink blush staining their cheeks. “Why would they do that?”
“You’re our Omega,” Jude says, his voice rough. “And my people fucked up your nest. You deserve a nest you can feel comfortable in.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she insists. “Really, I would’ve been fine.”
