Page 7 of His Bonded Omega Mate
I sent Kade a message telling him I’d just woken and would head to the office shortly. I kept it brief, trying not to make him suspicious.
My stomach growled. I’d be expending more energy with the healing that my body was undergoing. I needed to refuel it. Larken had taken over the kitchens, and I was hoping I could bribe him into making me breakfast.
“Are you going to manage today? Doc said it’d be a few days before the fractures heal and the cuts disappear.”
“I just have to get downstairs. Most of what I need to do is on my laptop. I’m hoping my roommate will feed me.” I grinned at him, wincing at the pull on the cuts on my face. My lip re-split, blood pooling in my mouth. Grabbing a tissue, I spat blood into it.
“Dude.” Larken grimaced as I chucked the tissue in the trash.
“What?”
“You can’t leave this room in that state! I’ll get your laptop, anything you need, and bring meals in here.”
Part of me thought that was a great idea, but my stubborn side wanted to resist. “If I do that, then those alphas win.”
“If you do that, then someone will report back to Blake. Give it a day. Please,” he begged.
“Lark —“
“What if they try again? You couldn’t fight anyone off in this state. I’ll get some wards delivered so we can sleep in peace.” It was only then that I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
“Have you had any sleep?” Guilt warred with anger at the situation.
He rolled his eyes. “Aldrin wanted me to monitor you after the head injury.” I vaguely recalled Larken rousing me every so often through the night.
“Thanks, man. I —“
“Save it. You’d do the same for me, right?”
“Damn right.”
“Okay, so I’ll bring up some food and your laptop and catch a nap while you’re working, if I can get the wards up.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit overboard?”
“No,” he said bluntly. “Our pack mates attacked you. On pack land. For doing your job.” I’d never seen him this serious. Underneath, there was a tinge of anxiety. This had rattled my friend. “Roan, there are protocols for unhappy pack members. They could have taken it up with Deke since he’s head enforcer. This. Whatever last night was, isn’t right.”
My stubborn side wanted to argue, but really, was it worth it? I felt like I’d been run over. Every part of me ached, and I didn’t even want to think about trying to get downstairs. “Okay. Fine. I just need to get to work. Kade’s asking why I was sleeping so late.”
“Tell him you watched a movie with me after you finished or something,” he called as he left the room.
I cringed, hating the idea of lying to Kade, but while he was pregnant with the triplets and separated from the pack, I didn’t want to add any stress to him. It was vital that I hid this from him and Blake for as long as possible.
Goddess, I hated that Kade was away from the pack. From me. I hated that I couldn’t keep an eye on him properly.
Each day that went by, he spent less and less time messaging and calling. I got that he had to focus on himself and the babies, but aside from Larken, he was my only friend that was awake in the pack. It was lonely without him.
Blake was cool, a great Alpha, but there was a natural distance between us, seeing as I was his mate’s ex. Normal shit. I didn’t resent him and his place in Kade’s life. Far from it. He’d been the one to save Kade’s life. To repair his heart. He gave Kade what I couldn’t, and as someone who loved Kade, I could never deny him that.
Dakota had his hands full with the businesses as Blake’s assistant. He and Blake spent half the day on calls to each other, from what Kade said. Not to mention that he was stuck at his house with the twins, Jasper’s friends and his daughter, all down with beta sickness.
Axel, Chase, Dalton, Winter, Melody. All my usual people to hang out with were down with the sickness, too. The whole compound was eerie with the lack of people wandering about or working on tasks.
I typed back a vague reply about being exhausted after a bunch of long days and left it at that.
Kade: *thumbs up emoji* Hope you got plenty of rest. Call me later?
I sent him an okay gif and locked my phone as Larken came in with a tray and my laptop bag. “I grabbed some files, too. Anything else you need?”
