Seconds later, I walked into his place, my hands already shaking.
“What’s going on?” he asked, voice thick, eyebrows drawn together. He was wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, and judging by his rumpled state, he had been asleep or was just about to.
“I fucked up. I fucked upreallybad, Merrick,” I blurted out, feeling like I was going to topple over any second.
He took a step forward, gently placing his hands on my upper arms as he guided me to the sofa. I sat down—probably a little too hard—and stared at him in dismay.
“Explain,” he ordered, his voice firm.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes as I raked my hands through my hair.
His eyes widened at the sight of my tears. “Did someone hurt you? Just tell me—I’ll make it better.”
At those words, a sob escaped my chest. “I’m not sure youcanmake it better.”
“Well, we won’t know unless you explain.”
His eyes were wide, and I could tell he was getting impatient but was trying to stay calm, given my current state. He was being sweeter with me than I deserved. I’d barged into his house late at night, freaking out.
Merrick walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and placed it in my hands. His grip was firm and steady, and it grounded me.
“A few months ago, I went drinking with Alice,” I started.
Merrick nodded. “I remember that night—you got pretty drunk and were hungover for a few days after.”
“Well, I kind ofaccidentally…bonded with an alpha that night.”
Merrick’s eyes flared, eyebrows reaching his hairline, and a strangled sound escaped his chest. “Who?” He shook his head, glaring. “Did he hurt you? I’ll fucking kill him.”
Why was that anger so attractive?
“I don’t fully know. Right after we bonded, he admitted he was a convict firefighter from Camp Bower and ran away.”
Merrick stared at me for a moment, blinking like he was trying to process everything. Little did he know that wasn’t even the start of it.
Now that I was speaking, the words just tumbled out of my mouth.
“So I wasn’t hungover—I was dealing with separation sickness. And I thought, you know, it’s pretty bad. But it kept getting worse instead of better. And I wasn’t seeing him, because he’s back in the convict camp, and there was no way I was going to admit publicly what we’d done. Only, I kept getting sicker, and then the next thing I knew, his pack showed up at my apartment two nights ago. They said they were there to help me—and they did, I guess. Just having them near me made the symptoms lessen.”
“Wait—were they there when I took you to the doctor?” Merrick cocked a brow.
“They were,” I confirmed, nodding sheepishly. “I kind of shoved them in the bathroom so you wouldn’t see them. I was lost and didn’t know what to do, becausetechnicallythey’re my pack—even though I hate their guts right now, especially Preston’s. That’s the convict. But being around them actually helps me feel less sick, so I was rolling with it. But then I went to the doctor, and it got worse.Somuch worse.”
Merrick’s jaw was tight as he said, “How could it get worse?”
“Turns out…I’m pregnant.” As soon as I said the last word, I burst into tears.
Merrick stared at me for a moment. I was unloadinga loton him in the middle of the night, so I wasn’t surprised. I just couldn’t keep it all in anymore.
“Hailey… You’repregnant?From this alleyway fling?”
“Yes,” I sobbed. “And the sickness isn’t going away. I can’t go to the guy at the convict camp. And these pamphlets, ugh, they said, because of the pregnancy, the sickness is just going tokeepgetting worse.”
“Is there a way to stop it?” Merrick asked, getting out of his seat and kneeling in front of me, resting his large hands comfortingly on my knees.
How he could bear to be near me after everything I’d just admitted was shocking.
I gave him a watery nod. “The doctor said I need to bond with an alpha. Apparently, a new bond will help the symptoms be less severe because I can spend time with thenewalpha, and it’ll make me somewhat better. Only…I don’t particularly want to bond with either of the two alphas from Preston’s pack. I don’t even know them yet. Fuck, I don’t even know the one I accidentally bonded with.”