Page 19 of Two For the Show
He’s going to be a smug little shit about it, but it’s worth dealing with that to know that she’s here with us and she’s safe.
The older woman follows me in her car as I carry Alex, shaking and sobbing, toward my trailer. I motion for her to park, and she opens the door and unfolds herself from the driver’s seat.
Her curly gray-streaked red hair is pulled back at the base of her neck, and she’s got this kind, matronly air about her that makes me immediately feel a bit more comfortable around her.
But I still need to know how she ended up driving Alex here.
“Come in, let me make you a cup of coffee,” I say, using one hand to clutch Alex, who is still shaking with her head buried in my neck, tightly to me, and the other to open the door.
She chuckles softly and follows me up the stairs.
A sense of rightness fills me as I get Alex back into my home. Immediately, some of the stress I’ve been carrying since she left leaves my body. But if I’m going to make this woman who brought me my Omega a coffee, I need to put her down.
When I try to set her on the couch, Alex whines and clings to me, refusing to let go of me.
The woman pats me gently on the arm. “I’m quite capable of making my own coffee. Keep hold of your Omega. We need to chat.”
While the stranger putters around my kitchen, I pull out my phone and open the pack group chat. Instead of sending a text, which would be hard to do one-handed, I snap a picture of Alex pressed against me and shoot that off to them before shoving my phone back in my pocket.
Maybe it’s not the best way to announce her return, but this way I know that they won’t doubt that she’s returned to us.
The Doctor’s head is sweaty as I brush her bangs away. Her body is shivering, and she’s still crying softly, so I focus and force a rusty purr out to hopefully calm her. I’m not sure if I’ve ever done this before, but it feels right. She must think so, too, because some of the tension that she’s carrying loosens. The smell of coffee blends with Alex’s muted chocolate, and I’m momentarily mad at the beverage for drowning out her scent.
The door to my trailer slams open, and Alex whimpers, burrowing further into my arms.
“She’s… It’s… Alex!” Matteo is the first here, throwing himself onto the floor at my feet. He grabs for her, pawing at me to get me to let her go. I have to swallow back a growl and remind myself that Matteo is pack, he has a bondwith her, and has been suffering. I know I need to let him hold her.
But I can’t make myself let her go.
“I can’t,” I whisper, tightening my arms around her. “I’m sorry, Matteo, I know you need her too, but I can’t.”
He understands, thankfully, and wedges himself beside me on the couch before weaving his fingers through her hair.
“Alex,” he says softly. “You came back. I always knew you would.” He leans down and rests his forehead on hers, and even though it leaves him awkwardly positioned and scrunched into the couch.
“I forced her back, more like it,” the older woman says, sitting down at my table and holding a cup of coffee in her pale hands. “I’m Sylvia.”
“Jude. She didn’t want to come back?” It’s hard to believe that the whimpering, whining Omega curled up in my arms didn’t want to be here.
“Well, she did. But she didn’t think she could. She was embarrassed about leaving, afraid to put you in danger-”
The door slams open again, and Dario and Quinton tumble in, pushing and shoving at each other.
“She’s back?”
“Alex!”
Their words overlap as the two of them fight to get to me first.
“Calm down,” I bark. “You’re going to scare her.”
They both freeze, chests heaving as they stare at our Omega. She feels so small in my arms. Matteo whispers something to Alex and slips off the couch, guiding Quinton to take the spot he was in.
Knowing how hard up Quinton has been with the Rot, I shuffle Alex a bit in my arms so her head rests on Quinton’s bicep. I can’t let go of her entirely, but I can give himthat much. The relief shines in his eyes immediately, as if that was all he needed in the world.
“As I was saying,” the older woman says, sipping her coffee slowly. How can she drink that without wincing? I know how bad the coffee I stock is. “Lexi started working for me almost three months ago and has been living with me. I’ve been trying to convince her that this was where she was supposed to be, but it wasn’t until one of those awful Alphas showed up at my truck that she finally admitted she needed to come back to you all.”
She smiles and crosses one leg over the other, her flowy gray skirt moving gracefully with her. “We saw the performance you put on. Very moving.”
