And that definitely meant something.
Nolan and I were both pissed that he’d made such a life-changing decision for the entire pack. We were a unit, a team. If one of us had an omega, all three of us had an omega.
And he’d gone and thought with his dick. Though, looking at her, I could hardly blame him.
“She’s fallen right to sleep,” I told my less impulsive pack mate, looking down at her with a grin.
“It’s clear as day she’s exhausted and struggling with the lack of contact. She’s probably touch-starved on top of everything else. A few days of close contact should hopefully help her,” Nolan said, standing up and walking closer to us.
“Once she’s a little better, we can actually get to know her,” I suggested softly.
“I’m already a fan. Anyone who would take a baseball bat to your head is a good egg, in my opinion.” Nolan laughed. “Andshe’s an EMT—you’ve got to have guts to do that.”
“Maybe she’ll fit in with us, after all,” he added, cocking his head to the side as he sat on the coffee table to watch her.
We had discussed finding an omega as a pack before. We knew the personality we wanted—but now anything we’d wanted was off the table. Hailey was ours, and we needed to work with what we had.
Which was damn fine, if you asked me.
Chemical unbonding was an option, of course, but none of us wanted that. Even though it wouldn’t hit me or Nolan as hard as it would Preston, it would still be physically awful for us.
Then again, if Hailey wanted to go down that route, we weren’t going to stop her. It was all our stupid pack mate’s fault that she was in this position.
She had a choice in this matter, and I would make it clear she knew that.
“Preston’s got so much to explain,” I muttered. “Mainly, why the fuck he’s suddenly in Camp Bower, with a criminal record and a new last name. If I wasn’t worried about doing some sort of harm, I would be marching down there first thing.”
“As would I,” Nolan agreed, his tone souring. “I’m going to check the kitchen and maybe start preparing some food for breakfast. It’s already five.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be waking up anytime soon,” I said as I looked down, the rhythm of Hailey’s breathing heavy and even.
“Why don’t you carry her to the nest? She’d be more comfortable there.”
“As much as I like the idea of a little nest snuggle time, I don’t want to go in there without asking her—and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t let me just move her. Have you seen how tightly she’s holding on to my shirt?”
I looked down pointedly. Hailey’s hands were fisted in my shirt so tightly her knuckles were nearly white, even in her sleep. This separation was doing a number on her, that was for sure.
“That’s fair. I guess…” Nolan smirked as he stared down at Hailey in my arms, stifling a laugh. “...get comfortable. I’ll chill in the chair over there.”
Nolan wandered off to the seat across the room, and just like he’d said, I got comfortable. I was going to be sleeping on Hailey’s couch for the next few hours, so I made sure I could stand to be in one position for that long.
Everything was so goddamned confusing, I was going to wring Preston’s neck when I found him. He was a good guy, but he had really screwed up. Usually, when he left for months at a time for work, we didn’t question it, but this time… this time, we needed answers.
Hailey’s weight settled on my chest again as I kicked my feet onto the coffee table, and I leaned my head back, letting the quiet of the apartment and the delicious strawberries and cream scent around me lull me to sleep.
Which worked a lot quicker than I’d expected.
Movement below my head pulled me out of sleep, and I looked down to see Hailey turning her face into my chest and rubbing her nose against me. I couldn’t tell whether she was truly awake or not, but the way her scent flared as she did it had my already sleep-hardened dick twitching in response.
Down, boy.
Then I noticed the stitch in my back, the muscles angry that I’d chosen to fall asleep at this particular angle, and I couldn’t stop myself from stretching, grunting under my breath as my spine cracked.
“Huh?” Hailey stirred again, this time lifting her head and looking around the room.
When she realized where she was, she pulled back, yanking herself upright before gripping her forehead as she hissed.
“I forgot you were here.”