Page 37 of Bonded By Christmas
“You’re so handsome,” she whispers, glancing away. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was worried sick last night.”
Fuck.
She’s too damn sweet for her own good.
“You don’t need to worry about me, sweetheart. I’m very hard to kill, and I promise, from here on out, I’ll protect you with my life.”
“I believe you,” she whispers. “I just need you to take care of yourself too. I couldn’t handle it if something bad happened to you.”
“I’ll be extra careful,” I assure her, trying to hide the lazy smile that wants to cross my face. I don’t want her to think I’m making fun of her, but if she had any idea of my kill count, she wouldn’t give it another thought.
“Wilder and I showered together when we got home,” Lacey says, completely changing the subject. “He kept his boxers on, and I stayed in my bra and panties. There was also a quick massage before bed. Nothing sexual happened, but we’re bonded, so I’m not sure if that was inappropriate?—”
“I’m glad he was around to look after you when I couldn’t be,” I tell her truthfully. “I would trust Wilder and Callum with my life. More than that, I would trust them with yours. The list of people I can say that about could fit on one hand. They’re as close as I’ve found to packmates.”
“It’s still weird to me that the three of you know each other, but I don’t want to get into all of that right now,” she says, sighing.
Her face twists into a grimace, and I open my mouth to ask her what’s wrong.
“I didn’t get the chance to tell you something, and it’s important, so I’m just going to say it,” she blurts out before I have the chance to speak. “The laws regarding alphas and omegas are clear. To legally be an alpha, a male alpha has to pop a knot. The same thing is true for a female alpha, except they develop a lock. To be legally considered an omega, I would need to have a heat before I turn twenty-one. That’s right around the corner. Otherwise, they’ll change my designation on my license tobeta.To have it changed back, I’ll have to go through a whole legal process.”
My head tilts. “You’ve never had a heat? I assumed you were taking suppressants.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’ve never had a need for them because my heats never started. But biologically, I am an omega. I have omega pheromones and the anatomy necessary to take a knot…” She sighs. “I would’ve warned you before we bonded, but the circumstances were?—”
“No warning necessary,” I assure her, running my fingers through her hair. “That’s not something you can control. You’ll either have a heat or you won’t, but no matter what, I’m with you.”
The legal definition of each designation is a ridiculous concept that I’ve never spent an ounce of time thinking about. Then again, I never had a reason to. I popped a knot when I was seventeen, and aside from an awkward-as-fuck doctor’s appointment where they confirmed I’d presented, I never thought about it again. The doctor gave me a form, and it onlyneeded to be updated on my driver’s license once. It’s been listed since.
I can understand why the government had to legally draw the line somewhere. It goes back to the free health care that’s provided to all omegas before they bond, along with services offered through the Omega Protection Authority. It also guarantees heat leave for both alphas and omegas.
I guess to avoid people gaming the system for free time off, they made regulations. If you don’t have a heat or need to help an omega through one, you don’t need that time off.
Hell, I only know the basics, but I’ve heard that if an omega doesn’t present, meaning have their first heat by twenty-one, the chance they ever will have one goes down significantly.
That might make a difference to some alphas.
I personally couldn’t care less.
“You’re worth a hell of a lot more than your ability to take a knot or the pheromone high that comes during a heat. Don’t ever letanyonemake you think otherwise,” I tell her, using my fingers in her hair to tilt her face until her eyes meet mine. I heard her mention that she can take a knot, but it’s the point that she needs to hear. Even if I could never bury my knot inside her, I’d still want Lacey. “You hear me, little one? I mean every word.”
“I know,” she whispers, moving her hand to rest over my heart. “I can feel it in the bond. It was just something I felt like I needed to be honest about. Not having a heat was convenient at work because I didn’t need to ask for a week or two off every three months, but…” Her face twists into a grimace. “Shit. I just remembered. I have to call and let them know I can’t come back to work. Now that we’re bonded…”
“It would agitate the alphas,” I finish for her. “I’m going to take care of you. Don’t stress about that.”
“I don’t mind working. I just need a little time to figure out what’s next for me.”
“I get it. There’s no rush. I’ll enjoy the hell out of having you by my side in the meantime. How about we go down and have some breakfast? Once we’re done, you can call the clinic.”
She nods. “Okay.”
Shit.
The morning started so perfectly.
Now I need to find a way to cheer her up.
Chapter Seventeen
