I was also a bit sleep-deprived because that chair hadn’t been comfortable, and sleeping with Hailey on me had been so new that I kept waking up.
“This situation is so fucked,” I said.
“It really is, but I think we should make the best of it,” Wilder said, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it dramatically.
“In that case, let’s go buy some groceries while she’s at her appointment.”
“Do you think the docs can help her?” he asked.
I paused, picturing the way she’d looked when we first arrived. “I hope so.”
Watching Hailey suffer made my chest ache. Even though we weren't personally bonded, she was still part of our pack, and seeing her doing so badly ignited a storm of worry I’d never felt before.
The alpha in me demanded I fix it. There was only so much I could do without going and getting my dumb-ass pack mate from the convict camp and dragging him back, though.
“All right. Let’s go get chow! It’s a good idea—you know I love to eat.”
He did. If I let him, he would have eaten Hailey out of house and home in two days flat. And we couldn’t have that.
An hour later, with several bags loaded with groceries, we returned. Wilder had spent the entire drive talking my ear off until we got to the store, and then vanished to buy what I could only describe as a metric shit-ton of candy.
We were just putting the food away when the front door opened and Hailey walked in.
Her eyes were rimmed red, like she’d been crying, and my body tensed immediately.
“How did it go?” I asked, closing the fridge.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I'm just really tired. I think I'm going to lie down.” Hailey jerked her head in the direction of her nest.
“Wait.” I walked over to her, blocking her path. Gently grabbing her chin, I looked into her eyes. “Tell us. What did the doctor say? Is there anything you can do, anything we can do?”
Hailey bit her lip, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. My heart rate skyrocketed, worry claiming me.
“It’s not going to get better. If anything, it’s going to get worse,” she admitted in a quiet voice, her shoulders slumping in toward herself.
“What can we do?” Wilder asked softly, standing on her other side and resting a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m…pregnant.”
Those two words hung in the air for a moment, both of us trying to comprehend what she had just said.
Bonding was one thing, and having an omega join our pack was one thing… but ababy? That was another thing entirely.
“Are you sure?” I asked in a strangled whisper.
Fuck Preston to hell and back.
He’d gotten an omega pregnant and fucked off. How he could have been so irresponsible was beyond me.
If this job he was doing was soimportantthat he needed to stay undercover, why the hell had he allowed himself to get an omega pregnant? I hoped like hell he was working and wasn’t actually incarcerated. The fake name made me think he wasn’t actually a convict, but there was no way to be sure without talking to him.
Then again, I was a lawyer, for Christ’s sake. If my pack mate got into trouble, I would have been his first call.
“Thedoctorwas pretty sure,” Hailey said, raising her brows like I was a moron, and I silently cursed. “That's the reason it's not getting any better.”
“What can be done?” Wilder asked, his voice unusually quiet.
“They had a few suggestions. I got all these pamphlets, but nothing really solid.” As she spoke, Hailey looked away, and I got the impression that she wasn't being entirely truthful. I didn't want to push her any further, though, as this was already a lot.