by Sky Winters
The next couple of hours flew by, the morning rush eventually going down to a slow trickle of customers until, finally, the late-morning lull set in. Lexi leaned against the back counter, resting her palms on the surface as she caught her breath.
“You all right over there?” asked Madeline.
“Totally fine,” said Lexi. “Just catching my breath.”
Madeline smiled, grabbing a pair of mugs and filling them both with the Sumatran brew that was the special for that day.
“Here,” she said. “One of the nice things about this line of work is when you’re feeling beat, you can just pour some more coffee and get right back to it.”
Lexi liked this. She raised her mug. “Cheers.”
Madeline laughed. “Can’t say I’ve ever cheersed a coffee mug before. But yeah, cheers.”
They gently tapped the rims of the mugs and took their sips.
“You know, I don’t want to puff your ego up too much, but you’re pretty good at this for someone who’s never had a job before.”
“What can I say?” asked Lexi. “It’s the work I dreamed of doing when I moved to the city.”
“Where did you say you were from again?” she asked. “Sorry—I’m bad with details.”
“Some place east that you’ve never heard of,” said Lexi, repeating the lie she’d decided to go with when the question came up. “One of those small towns in the middle of the woods.”
Lexi hated lying, so she tried to limit herself to keeping details fuzzy. After all, she was from a small town in the middle of the woods in the eastern part of the state. She simply chose to hide the detail that was a town populated by shifters.
“Well, for what it’s worth, we’re glad to have you here in the city. Good help’s hard to come by, you know?”
“And I’m glad to be here too.”
Madeline nodded toward the floor. “Go ahead and take a little break if you need to. You’ve earned it.”
“Thanks—that sounds nice.”
Lexi grabbed her coffee mug and sat down in her favorite spot—a little table by the corner near the door that let her look out on the city street. She sipped her coffee, taking a random book from the shelf nearby and leafing through it.
But before she managed to finish even a single paragraph, a strange feeling overtook her. It was pain and nausea all at once, coming from her belly. It was sudden and intense, enough to make her need to set her book down and pinch the bridge of her nose.
And what was worse was that hadn’t been the first time she’d experienced it. Over the last week, she’d had flashes of pain, each one worse than the last.
“Hey,” said Madeline, coming over to the table. “You feeling sick again?”
“It’s nothing,” said Lexi. “Probably just drinking too much coffee.”
But Madeline wasn’t convinced. “I doubt it. You drink too much coffee and your hands shake and you talk a mile a minute. You don’t get nausea and stomach pain.”
She appeared to consider the matter.
“How about this—we’re actually overstaffed for the rest of the afternoon. Why don’t you take the day off, go see a doctor? I’ll consider it paid time off.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’ll just power through.”
Madeline smiled as if she’d just heard the answer she’d been expecting. “I don’t doubt you would. But the thing about working when you’re under the weather is you can do it until you can’t. Go ahead—you’ve been working like crazy over the last few weeks. You deserve some time off.” She picked up Lexi’s mug. “Here, I’ll put this to-go.”
Before Lexi could protest, Madeline was gone, off to fill the to-go cup behind the counter. And before she could even have a minute to think about what she wanted to do next, the front door opened and Jason stepped through. He was all smiles, his eyes going right to Lexi.
“Hey!” he said.
She glanced behind the counter, all of the female baristas watching Jason with the same dreamy smile. Part of Lexi was a little thrilled at their jealousy.
“Hey,” said Lexi as he sat down.
Jason looked her over, and his expression turned from excitement to concern. “All right, what’s up?”
Lexi didn’t like lying, but she knew she’d have to think of one, and fast.
“Um, do you know the name of a doctor around here?”
“A doctor? Why?”
“Because I’m feeling kind of sick. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I wanted to get checked out to be sure.”
“Definitely. Hold on.” He took out his wallet and removed a card he had stuffed in there among others. “This is the doctor my uncle goes to. He specializes in our kind, and he’s discreet. Give him a call.”
Lexi took the card, the name “Dr. Williams” written on the front, along with an address and some other information.
“Thanks,” she said, tucking the card into her pocket. “But it’s probably nothing.”
“Doesn’t hurt to check. And one of us getting sick is the last thing we need.”
“Anyway,” said Lexi, eager to change the subject. “What’s up?”
The smile returned to his face. He took his messenger bag and withdrew his laptop, opening it up and clicking around.
“So,” he said. “Work’s been going well—really well. I landed a few new clients for my uncle and put together a few deals that are going to really bring in some cash. So, as a nice little reward, he offered to forward me the down payment for something.”
He turned the laptop, revealing a realtor’s website. The pictures on the screen were of a vast apartment with a killer view.
Lexi realized what it was right away. “This is the place? The apartment on Cherry Street?”
“That’s the one,” he said. “My uncle did the down payment today, and it’ll be paid off as soon as these deals are finalized. And I just got back from signing the contract—we can move in today.”
“That’s...that’s amazing!”
“Isn’t it? We can sell the old apartment, and once we’re moved in, we can start talking about you going to school. How does that sound?”
“Like the best thing ever.”
“Then let’s make it happen. Anyway, I got some stuff to take care of before the end of the day. You get the apartment and start to pack up. And don’t forget about the doctor, all right?”
“All right. See you soon.”
Then he did something that Lexi wasn’t expecting at all. He stood up, swooped in, and kissed her on the lips. Her eyes went wide, and as soon as he took his head away, she could see that nearly every pair of eyes in the place was on her and Jason.
“Later,” he said as if nothing important had happened.
And then he was gone.
“Ooh la la,” said Madeline from behind the counter. She came over and set the to-go cup on the table, the rest of the girls there laughing good-naturedly.
Lexi was embarrassed and excited all at once. But she didn’t want to stick around—she wanted to see the doctor, to make sure that nothing serious was going on.
Once she was outside, she took out her phone and called the number on the card. A receptionist answered the line, and Lexi explained her situation.
“We actually just had a cancellation,” she said. “Can you make it now?”
“I definitely can.”
She hung up and checked the address on the card, flagging down a taxi and hurrying to the location. The office was in a nondescript building, and she didn’t waste any time getting inside. The waiting room was a small space, nothing there giving any indication that it was a shifter doctor.
That is, aside from the scent in the air.
The receptionist gave her some information to fill out, Lexi relieved when she saw a spot on the paper for her to mark down her shifter species. There wasn’t anyone else in the waiting room, so it didn’t take long before Lexi was called back.
The nurse brought her to a small examination room, leaving her alone fo
r a few minutes before a handsome, silver-haired doctor arrived.
“Dr. Henry Williamson,” he said, extending his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” said Lexi, shaking his hand.
“Now,” he said. “A bear, right?”
“Right.”
“And what’s your category?”
“Omega.”
He raised an eyebrow as if this changed everything.
“And are you mated? Has an alpha imprinted on you?”
Lexi glanced aside, as if not sure how to answer the question. “I mean, sort of. I imprinted with an alpha, but we’re not mated or anything like that.”
“But you’ve mated,” he said. “As in you’ve been sexually active with him? And you’ve imprinted?”
“Yes.” She said the word hesitantly.
“And you’ve been having some nausea, along with some pain in your stomach.”
“That’s right.”
He rose. “Let me test something, Lexi.” He stepped over to her and took her wrist. It appeared as if he wanted to check her pulse, but she quickly got the sense he was trying to find out something more important than that.
When he was done, he sat back down.
“Now,” he said. “When you imprint with an alpha, you’re bonded to him. And nothing will never break that bond but one of you dying. In the human word ‘till death do us part’ is just a figure of speech. But with us shifters, it’s actual biology.”
“R...right.” Lexi wasn’t sure whether or not she regretted the decision to imprint that she’d made with Jason.
“And when an alpha and omega are imprinted, regardless of whether or not they’ve actually had a mating ceremony or a wedding, there’s a chance of pregnancy if the two of them have intercourse.”
At the word “pregnancy,” Lexi’s stomach tightened.
She knew, without him even saying it, that it was the case.
“And that’s what’s happened with you, Lexi. You’re pregnant with your alpha’s child.”
It seemed like the rest of the world melted away, like she was underwater. Dr. Williams kept talking, but she couldn’t hear the words. Lexi had no idea what to say, what to do.
“...you hear any of that?”
She shook her head, coming back to the moment.
“Excuse me?”
He reached over and took her hand, the feeling immediately comforting. “This is a big deal, I know. And I’m guessing that by your reaction, you weren’t expecting this to happen. But I can make sure you get the best care in the city, and that you and your baby are completely taken care of.”
“T...thank you.”
He nodded. “And as I’m sure you know, shifter pregnancies move much faster than human ones. You’re going to be showing here in a week or so, and you’ll be giving birth in a couple of months. The next step is going to be to run some tests and make sure that all’s good with the baby. Though so far, it doesn’t look like we’ve got any reason to think otherwise.”
“Thank you,” she said, repeating the words, not sure what else to say.
“Come on.” He rose and helped her to her feet. “I’ll call you a cab back to your apartment, and we can get you set up for another appointment. But the first thing to do is talk to your alpha, let him know what’s going on. Then after that, you can make the happy announcement to the rest of your pack.”
She opened her mouth to speak, to let the doctor know that she didn’t have a pack. At least, one that she was in contact with.
Lexi was soon outside, the cab waiting for her. She spent the entire ride back thinking about what she’d learned, thinking about the pregnancy, the life she’d built for herself, her relationship with Jason.
And she felt overwhelmed. She scolded herself for imprinting with him, for making such a decision without thinking about it.
I got carried away in the moment like some stupid kid. And now I’m linked forever with him.
The taxi reached the apartment, and she got out. But the moment she stepped out of the car, she laid eyes on someone by the door, someone whose eyes lit up the moment she saw Lexi.
It was Shana. And she looked terrible.
“Shana?” Lexi ran over to her friend, the two of them embracing.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “What happened?”
“Lexi,” she said. “Everything...everything’s changed.”
CHAPTER 15
JASON
He led the two of them up to the apartment, Shana clearly shaken beyond belief.
“Here,” said Jason, leading her over to the couch and helping her sit down.
Lexi didn’t waste any time hurrying over to the kitchen area and getting a glass of water. Shana eagerly took it, drinking it down.
“How did you get here?” asked Jason.
He looked her over. Shana’s hair was matted and dirty, her clothes looking like they hadn’t been washed in some time. Jason hadn’t been close with Shana over the years, only knowing that she was one of Lexi’s few friends.
“Hitchhiked. When...when it happened, I couldn’t get to a car. All I could do was run.”
Jason and Lexi shared a look, one that, without words, said that they understood the next step was to ask what, exactly, had happened.
Lexi put her hand on Shana’s shoulder, tears glistening in her friend’s eyes.
“Shana, I know this is hard. But you need to tell us what happened out there.”
She nodded, biting down on her lower lip as if preparing herself for the pain of recounting it.
“It was an attack.”
“What kind of attack?”
“A huge attack,” she said. “It was a few days ago, a typical day in the woods. Chad...he’d been furious at what you did, that you two ran off together. For several days after, he did nothing but storm around the grounds, only stopping to go out to hunt.”
Lexi and Jason said nothing, letting her go on.
“Rick tried to talk him down, to tell him that you two might come back, or that he’d find another omega. But Chad didn’t care. He and Rick fought about it, and they fought publicly. Chad told Rick that he wasn’t fit to be alpha, and that if he couldn’t even manage his pack, then maybe someone else should step up and do the job.”
“Sounds like Chad,” said Jason.
Shana nodded and went on.
“But over time, his rage seemed to die down. A week on and he was back to his usual self. Granted, that ‘usual self’ is him being a total prick. But still. It was better than how he’d been. There was even talk of finding him another omega from one of the nearby packs. Everyone was disappointed that you two had gone, but I think they all understood. Who’d want to be married to a bear like Chad?”
Jason felt his stomach tense, knowing that they were getting to the less happy part of the story.
“I knew something was wrong. Chad was...too normal. Then, one day, he and Rick and some of the betas went off to hunt. I knew I had to follow them. Something just seemed off. And Sam came with me. So, we stayed behind the group, watching to see if anything happened out of the ordinary.”
“And let me guess,” said Jason. “Something happened.”
She nodded. “Once they were alone, a group of bears came out of the woods. I could tell right away from the scent that they were from some other pack. They circled the group, and all of them prepared to fight. But then...they didn’t.”
“What?” asked Lexi. “What do you mean ‘they didn’t.’”
“I mean, once they were encircled, Chad and the betas just...backed off. They didn’t stay, they didn’t put up a fight. They just let the other bears move in and attack.”
She swallowed, more tears forming in her eyes.
“And then...they killed Rick.”
“What?” asked Jason, his voice coming out in a shout. “They killed our alpha?”
“Rick was confused, wondering why his son wasn’t helping fight them off. But as the bears moved in, he realized wha
t was happening. Chad had worked with one of the other packs to take out Rick.”
Jason narrowed his eyes. “Our alpha’s last thoughts before dying were that his prick of a son betrayed him. And for what? Just so he could be on top?”
He stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with tissues. Shana took them and dried her eyes, bringing in a deep breath before going on.
“We didn’t know if they saw us, but we got the hell out of there as quickly as we could. We went back to the camp and hid, not sure what to expect from Chad.”
“What happened?” asked Lexi, desperation in her voice.
“Chad came back, carrying his father’s body like he’d died valiantly in battle and not because he was stabbed in the back by his own flesh and blood. He gathered the pack, set down the body on the bonfire, and set it aflame. As his father burned, he told the pack that he was forced to step up and take charge. And more than that, he placed the blame for Rick’s death right on the shoulders of the Leafcutters.”
“The Leafcutters?” asked Jason, beyond surprised. “But they’re one of the few peaceful tribes in the region. Why the hell would they attack our alpha? And who would believe it?”
“Chad didn’t give anyone time to think it over. He said war was declared as of that day, and we’d be moving on them within the month.”
“And since then?” asked Shana. “What happened? What about our families? What about Sam?”
“Sam went into hiding—don’t blame him one bit for that. But I stayed, wanting to do some good if I could. But Chad...he’s been brutal. He’s got the betas wrapped around his finger.” She turned to Jason. “And your brother joined him.”
“What?” asked Jason. “Eric?”
“He said that every family had to give one son to join Chad’s private guard. Your father stood up and tried to say something, but Chad attacked him so savagely, he’s been bed-ridden ever since. And Lexi, your family knows that with your father as the only other remaining alpha, it’s only a matter of time before he’s killed too.”
Jason sat back, processing everything he’d heard.
“And I don’t know when Chad’s going to strike against the Leafcutters, but only that it’s a matter of time.”