I had a vague memory of pulling myself out of my nest to grab a bottle of water at some point in the night, but other than that, I spent pretty much the entire time tossing and turning, feeling like total ass.
Worse than any hangover or flu, my entire body ached, and I felt sluggish, down-to-the-bone sluggish that didn’t let up for even a second.
I knew what was happening to me, but I didn't know what to do about it.
Separation sickness was no joke. Just a few months ago, I had been yelling at a group of firefighters for working so much while their newly bonded omega was stuck at home. Well, she wasn't stuck at home; she was stuck at the firehouse because Sunny was living there temporarily when she accidentally bonded with Walker.
The lack of contact with her bonded mate was making her sick. It was like life was leeching out of her, and now it was happening to me.
That was Sunny, though. Being recently bonded and separated tended to affect everyone differently. There were some cases when it was severe, and there were others when it was a mild, if constant, pain.
I was just falling into another bout of fitful sleep when my phone rang.
“Yes?” I answered groggily.
“Hey, I heard you called in. Is everything okay?” I wasn’t surprised that Freddy called to check in on me.
“I think it's food poisoning or something,” I lied.
There was no way in hell I was going to tell my partner that I'd accidentally bonded with a complete stranger—who also happened to be a convict—in a back alley of a bar and was now sick.
“Ah, that sucks ass. Well, I guess I’m riding with the newbie tonight, then. If you want me to come by with a banana bag, let me know. That will get you feeling better in no time.”
“Thanks, I don’t think I’m that far gone yet. Just a couple of bottles of water and some extra sleep, and I’ll be fine,” I said, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Even if I got lucky and my symptoms were mild, I was going to be sick forweeks,since I wasn’t about to see Preston again to end the cause of my issues.
Maybe a banana bag wasn’t the worst idea.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. You can get the coffee, as you’re the reason I’m riding with a trainee today.”
“However will you survive?” I said in my driest voice.
He let out a pained sigh. “I’m a saint.”
A few hours later, I was awake again, my mind nagging at me with too many questions. After grabbing my laptop, I buried myself in my nest, contorted into a hunched position to look at my screen while trying to rest. It was the kind of position that would only be comfortable for a few minutes before my back started to ache, but I couldn't figure out how I wanted to sit.
With a browser tab open, I started by searchinghow to unbond from an alpha.Short and to the point.
The first result was for a clinic that offered a severing service. My stomach turned uncomfortably as I clicked on the link and started reading.
Suffering by myself after the incident with Alleyway Alpha would be extremely painful, expensive, and there was a chance I wouldn't even survive. Every paragraph I read made me feel worse, the reality of just how crappy a situation I found myself in dawning on me more and more.
An hour into my search, I came across another option: reduction medication.
The website gave some generic information, then instructed the reader to talk to their primary care physician, like they all did.
Yeah, I wasn't going to do that. If I needed to go to a doctor to get medication to sort this situation out, I’d go to another state entirely.
Even though patient confidentiality was taken seriously by most doctors, healthcare professionals were gossips. If a nurse saw me going to a bonding clinic, it could easily get circulated among people in the hospital, and that could get back to me.
This accidental bonding was a secret I would take to my goddamn grave.
The medication option seemed promising, though. Apparently, there were options that wouldn’t sever the connection entirely but could reduce the symptoms of being away from the bond mate.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many providers, judging by the list I found. Most bonded groups were happily enjoying their bonds. My situation was rather rare. Even I had to admit it as I crawled out of my nest, throwing my laptop to the side and going to the kitchen in search of a tub of ice cream.
Thankfully, there were three to choose from in my freezer. Ice cream, in my humble opinion, was one of the most important food groups. Grabbing the butter pecan and a spoon, I slumped over on my sofa.