by Sarah Havan
“Here,” I said, guiding him over to one of the armchairs in the lobby. And at my very short height, he almost made me feel tall. I had at least an inch or two on him.
He sat down and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“What’s your name?”
“Thomas.”
“Where did you walk from Thomas?” He looked thoroughly exhausted.
“The front road. The driver wouldn’t get any closer.”
“You mean the start of Pine Woods Road?” I asked, quite shocked.
“Yes.”
“That’s miles away. Let me get Mr. Jones.” I couldn’t do much, but I knew Mr. Jones could at least give him somewhere to stay for the night, a place to freshen up.
“Please, don’t leave me. He might be coming. What if he caught up with me?” Thomas asked, grabbing my forearm.
“Who?”
“My alpha.” Thomas tightened his grip and whimpered.
“Sam,” I yelled. “Mr. Jones. Did something happen, Thomas?”
“He didn’t want to let me go.”
“You’re trying to get away from him?” I asked Thomas. “Your alpha?”
“I’m so scared. I can’t go back with Mike,” Thomas said, his voice quavering.
“Okay. Okay. We’re going to help you out.”
“I had nowhere else to go. I’m due in a week. I can’t go to a regular hospital. They’ll cut me open to take the babies out. I want to deliver them naturally.”
“You can do that here. I think we need to get you over to the hospital. If your due in a week you could very well be in labor.”
Mr. Jones came running from the day room into the foyer, followed by Sam and everyone else.
“This is Thomas, and we need to get him to the hospital. He walked miles down Pine Wood Road to get here.”
“Oh, my word, son. We could’ve come and gotten you,” Mr. Jones said, glancing at me with his eyebrows raised.
“I don’t have a phone. He took it from me,” Thomas whispered.
I looked at Mr. Jones. “His alpha. Thomas might need somewhere to stay, also.”
“I have nowhere else to go,” Thomas said, tears erupting from his eyes.
“Whose car are we using?” I asked.
“I’ll drive,” Mr. Jones said.
I helped Thomas stand, and he wobbled a bit on his feet.
“Thank you so much, but what if he finds me? He’ll lock me up again.”
“I won’t let that happen, Thomas. Let’s go out front. Mr. Jones will pull up the car.”
He grabbed his stomach and doubled over. I rubbed his back. “Breathe through it.”
The two of us made our way out front, and I helped him into Mr. Jones car.
Thomas’ eyes went wide. “You’re not coming with?”
“Don’t worry, I’m coming with you.” Mr. Jones opened the car door for me and held my arm as I slipped into the car.
I waited in the hall outside of Thomas’ room. He wasn’t in labor, but he was dehydrated, and Dr. Garcia said he needed bed rest until he delivered. They’d keep him in the hospital until then.
Conrad came running toward me down the hallway. “Tyler said that Sam said you were at the hospital. I was out. I’m sorry. I went to the store. I should’ve been here. The babies are early. Are you okay? Why are you just standing here?”
“I’m fine, Conrad. I was helping someone out.”
“You’re not in labor?” he asked his face all scrunched up and confused.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Oh, thank God. I was so worried about you and the babies. My bags. I left them in the car. I bought you something.”
“Conrad, calm down.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Where is he?” a large alpha with broad shoulders and a sneer on his face yelled from the end of the hallway. I knew he had to be Mike.
“You can’t be here,” I said, stepping around Conrad and into the path of the angry alpha charging in our direction.
“The hell I can, and you better get your bitch ass out of my way.”
“Woah, buddy, you better back up and apologize,” Conrad said, balling his fists. His face flushing bright pink.
“I will take out both of you. Now get out of my way,” Mike growled.
I took a step forward and crossed my arms over my chest. Mike shoved me backward, and me not at all graceful on my feet with my giant stomach, toppled to the ground, the back of my head whacking the floor.
“Mason.” Conrad dropped to his knees next to me.
“I’m fine. Stop him,” I said as Mike tried to go around us.
Conrad shot up to his feet and punched Mike in the face. Mike blinked and shook his head, swinging right back at Conrad. Conrad ducked out of the way and charged Mike, grabbing his shirt and shoving him against the wall.
“Mason,” Dr. Garcia said, coming out of Thomas’ room. Conrad turned at my name, and Mike broke free of Conrad’s grip and clocked him in the eye.
“Help, we need help,” yelled Dr. Garcia. Tyler ran from around the corner and jumped on Mike’s back, putting him in a chokehold.
“Will you two gentlemen escort this young man downstairs while I take a look at Mason. Mr. Jones will call a few others for assistance.”
“I’m fine,” I said, trying to shoo Dr. Garcia away. “Conrad,” I said.
“Nurse,” Dr. Garcia called.
“It was just a little punch, Mason,” Conrad said with Mike struggling against the hold he and Tyler had on him.
A nurse came from down the hall. “Oh, my goodness,” he said. And the two of them helped me to my feet.
“Wheelchair,” Dr. Garcia told the nurse.
“I just fell,” I said, not wanting to admit that my head was spinning.
“Precautions, Mason. We just want to make sure you’re all right.”
“I can’t leave him,” Conrad said.
I locked eyes with Conrad. “Please, help them make sure this guy doesn’t come back. Go, Conrad.”
“Let’s go, asshole,” Conrad said, leading Mike away with Tyler.
The nurse came out with a wheelchair and helped me take a seat. I collapsed back into it, and they wheeled me away to get examined.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Conrad
“Who the hell is this dick?” I asked as we stood over the guy who sat in a chair in The Health Center’s front lobby. “I so want to punch him again. If Mason or the babies are hurt because of him…” I balled my fists and growled.
“From what I’ve gathered, his omega is trying to escape from him. And so, this guy tracks down his omega here. He had him, Thomas, locked in a room because he wanted to leave him. Was going to make Thomas deliver the babies in there, too,” Tyler told me.
“What a piece of shit.”
“That’s about it.”
Two other alphas came in the front doors of The Health Center, and Mr. Jones stepped off the elevator. Making his way over to us.
“You will never come back here,” Mr. Jones said. “You are forever banned from any pack. They’ll all be informed. And if we find that you’ve harmed any omega or anybody out there that’s pack free, we’ll make sure you regret it forever.”
“So you say. I’ll leave, but this is far from over. He’s mine. I will get him back,” Mike said, snarling at us.
“You will not, ever,” Mr. Jones said, his voice booming. “Who has the truck?”
“I do,” Tyler said, stepping up with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Please escort him off the premises. Conrad, you stay.” Mr. Jones patted my back.
“Okay. Can I see Mason?” I asked. My stomach was tied in knots with worry.
“Of course. Dr. Garcia said they’re going to hold him for observation for a few hours. His blood pressure is a bit high, but that could be due to all the excitement, but we want to be sure.”
“His head? The babies?”
Mr. Jones nodded and smiled. “All fine.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“You two make a good team.”
“Yeah, we do.”
“Follow me.” Mr. Jones led me over to the room they had Mason in.
“Mason, baby,” I said, running to his bedside. He lay back in a bunch of pillows with a blanket draped over him.
“Hi.”
“How do you feel?” I asked, kissing his forehead.
“A little lightheaded. Got a bump, but no concussion.”
“And your blood pressure?”
“My heart was pounding so hard the second that Thomas said he had nowhere else to go.”
“Got your blood boiling.” I know it had my blood boiling for Thomas, for what Mike did to Mason.
“They were supposed to be mates. How can he treat him like that?” Mason asked, frowning.
“I don’t know. I could never imagine doing anything like that to you, and to think what that poor omega went through. How are my babies?” I took Mason’s hand and rubbed my other one over his stomach.
“They’re good. I think they got a bit scared for a moment there, lots of kicking, but I think they’re sleeping now.”
“I’m sorry, Mason. For what I said.”
“I know you want to protect me, take care of me.”
“But I need to give you some breathing room.”
Mason let out a deep sigh. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I think everything caught up to me at once. Our life is never going to be the same again. This is not how I ever imagined I’d end up. I didn’t know if I belonged here, but you were so sure of Pine Wood Falls.”
“That you went along with everything I said even though you might’ve been miserable. Tyler was telling me that omegas tend to think of others before themselves.” I stroked my thumb across his cheek. My sweet Mason.
“I’m not miserable. I just wasn’t sure if this was the right life for me.”
“Whatever you want to do, I’m here. After you deliver, we can go anywhere you want.” I just wanted what was best for him, so whatever he wanted, I’d do. I’d go.
“I think I know where I want to go.” Mason took my hand and entwined our fingers.
“Where?” I asked, giving his fingers a light squeeze.
“Right here at Pine Wood Falls with you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Maybe I can help people here. Help omegas in need.”
“Only if that’s what you want.” I cupped his face with my other hand.
He nodded. “It is.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I ran out to the car to get the bags from when I went out shopping after Tyler left our house that evening. Grabbing them, I ran back inside.
“These are for you,” I said, holding them out to Mason.
“What’s this?”
I scratched the back of my neck. “Just open them.”
He pulled the books out of the bag from the bookstore and flipped through the stack. “These are all writing books. Style, plotting, advice. Why?”
“Open the other bag,” I said, pointing to it.
He raised an eyebrow at me, but listened, pulling a box out of the next bag. “My parents helped me with this one. They hope you like it.”
“A new laptop?” Mason asked with his eyes widening.
“Yeah, you can do whatever you want with this stuff. Use it when you’re home with the babies, helping omegas, whatever. You can do something that’s just for you. Go back to school. Write. Anything you want. I don’t want you ever to feel like you’re trapped in this life.”
“Conrad,” Mason said, his bottom lip trembling. “I’m okay. I was overthinking everything, and I get so damn emotional now. I love my life with you. But thank you. It means a lot. I think we’re needed here.”
“I think we might be, too. And I’m sorry. I know I’ve been overbearing and pushy. I think I was so dedicated to wanting this life because it’s so not ordinary. I can feel like I’m somebody here, whereas out there, I’m no one special.”
“Conrad, you’re always someone special. Being a pitcher didn’t make you special. It just made you a great guy who could throw a ball.”
“Is this the whole, it’s what’s on the inside and all that stuff sort of deal?” I asked.
“Yes, because you’re a wonderful man no matter what you do. Even if we went and lived in town and never had any more children, and we both became mailmen, you still wouldn’t be ordinary, you’d be you. Conrad Mayfair, the love of my life.”
“Mailmen?”
“Shut up,” he said laughing, shoving me in the shoulder.
“Knock, knock,” Dr. Garcia said, popping his head in the door.
“How you feeling, Mason?”
“Fine.”
“Liar. He told me he felt kind of lightheaded.”
Dr. Garcia looked at Mason. “I’m going to keep you another hour or two to make sure.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks, Dr. Garcia.” We shook hands, and he slapped my shoulder.
“Dr. Garcia,” Mason said. “I thought mates stayed together for life?”
“Most do. Unfortunately, you get an outlier. You get the occasional alpha who’s a real asshole, controlling, abusive. And some tend to think that omegas are like a subspecies. They’re only for the purpose of the alpha.”
“Doesn’t their fate kind of suck then?” Mason asked, tilting his head to the side.
“It does. Sometimes, it’s merely a chemical reaction, but most the time, the love comes first, but then the alpha’s true colors show.”
“What about Thomas?” There Mason was in a hospital bed and very pregnant, and he was worried about someone else.
“As you told him, we’re going to take care of him. Make sure he has a nice comfortable life here.”
“Where did they come from?” Mason asked, lying his head back on the pillow.
“Besides us, there’re two other packs that live in larger communities like us. One up in Washington State and one in Texas. Thomas and Mike come from the one in Washington. I guess, Thomas hopped on a bus, and Mike followed that bus the whole way in his car, trying to catch him.”
“Jesus. I’m glad Thomas got to us before Mike got to him.” Mason’s eyes began to droop.
“Thanks to you.”
“What?” His eyes shot open. “No. He walked through the doors to us.”
“But you were there for him, and we all thank you for that,” Dr. Garcia said, a big grin on his face.
“What did the guys do to get rid of him? Mr. Jones said something about a truck. They didn’t…” I asked because I knew what I wanted to do to the guy.
“Oh, no. We would never resort to that. We have a truck we use for snow plowing and such, and it has big floodlights on it, so they just drove behind him until the turn in the road. A couple will keep guard tonight to make sure.”
“How did he even get in?”
“The gate doesn’t lock, so if you get out of your car, you can push it open, but we might have to consider investing a bit more in security. We’ve never had something like this happen here before.”
“Hopefully, he stays away,” Mason said.
“I hope so, too. Now, get some rest so you can go home soon.”
I held off on giving Mason the one other thing I bought when I was out. That one would have to wait until the next day.
***
“Hey, sleepy head. I bought you breakfast in bed.” I carried in a tray with some waffles and a sandwich. Lately, all he ever seemed to want to eat was sandwiches no matter the time of the day. His chicken wing craving was a thing of the past.
“Oh.”
“Too much?” I asked, backing out of the bedroom.
“No, Conrad, I love it. I just really have to pee.” I put the tray down and grabbed his hand, helping him to his feet.
When he came back, I situated the tray next to him because there was no way it’d fit over his lap. I wo
uld’ve somehow had to have balanced it on his stomach.
I kissed his belly as he gobbled down the waffles.
“These are delicious,” he said through a mouthful of food.
“Good, and I am not saying this as an alpha or anything, but you need to stay in bed and rest today.”
“I know, doctor’s orders. I’m okay with that. Just keep supplying me with food.”
“I also wanted to ask you something.”
Mason took a swig of milk. “What?”
I got down on one knee next to the bed, and Mason put his hand over his heart. His eyes began to well up.
“I know this life we have together is not what we expected, and I know it’s been hard on you from that first doctor’s visit, but you’re so strong. Stronger than I ever will be. I just love you so damn much, and I should’ve written something out beforehand, but I want this life forever with you. Will you marry me?”
Mason nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “Yes.”
“And I swear this isn’t some sort of tactic to control you. Be all alpha on you. It’s simply because I love you that much, and I know I will never love another.”
“Conrad, I already said yes. Can you kiss me now?”
I stood up and gently kissed his lips.
“Oh, the ring. Crap.” I patted down my pockets.
“It’s on the tray here,” Mason said, holding out the box to me.
I opened the box and plucked out the band I bought him, slipping it on his finger. “We don’t have to get married right away or anything. Whenever you feel ready.”
Mason nodded. “I’m ready.”
I wiped away some of his tears with my thumb and then gave him a soft kiss. “Hi, fiancé.”
“Hello, soon to be husband.”
“I’m so happy you said yes.”
“You doubted I would?” he asked with a tip of the head.
“Mason, you could have anybody in the world, but you chose me.”
“You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
I climbed up on the bed next to him and lay my head on his shoulder and rubbed his stomach.
“I….” I let out a shaky breath. “I’m so overjoyed. I’m getting married to the man I love, and I’m going to be a dad. It’s all so fucking amazing.”