“No. There’s no point bonding with someone you don’t know,” he agreed with a nod.
“Yeah, but who else is going towantme? I technically already have a pack, and I’m pregnant, to boot. I really,reallyfucked this up, Merrick. I don’t know what to do.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“We’ll bond,” he said finally.
That stopped my sobbing in its tracks. “What?”
“Do you need to bond with a member ofthatpack, or can it be any alpha?”
“Well, the doctor said it would help with any alpha. It’s just the bond that’s important,” I said in a whisper. “But, Merrick?—”
“Then we’ll bond.” Merrick nodded like it was a done deal.
He said it so simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, even though I was reeling from his words.
“You can’t just offer to bond with me like that!” I stood up, pacing around his living room.
“Why not?” he asked with a shrug.
“Because I don’t want a pity bond!” I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air. “You can have a full life with someone youactuallylove. I don’t want you to tie yourself to me just because you feel bad about the fact that Ifucked up.”
He was quiet again, and the silence dragged on, driving me insane.
Merrick’s brows furrowed as he stared at me, getting up to stand in front of me. “Do youreallythink it would be a pity bond?”
“Well, obviously.”
“Hailey, for someone so smart, you can be incrediblyblind,” he said with a wry laugh.
“What doesthatmean?” I asked indignantly.
He took a step forward, towering over me, his deep blue eyes boring into mine. “Hailey, I’ve been obsessed with you foryears. You’re amazing, and you don’t seem to understand that. On one hand, you’re sweet and caring—the omega who makes blankets for other omegas and their babies. But you’re also the omega who will throat punch a drunken alpha and take no bullshit. You are annoyinglybeautiful, smart, and strong. Whywouldn’tI be obsessed with you? I’m pretty sure I’ve been a little in love with you since the first time you threatened to stab Blaze with a hypodermic needle because he was being a pain in the ass.”
“I threatened to stab him with a scalpel,” I said quietly, knowing that wasn’t the point.
Merrick laughed, leaning forward and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of all the things I just said,that’swhat stuck out to you?”
“I…I think I’m still processing the other things you said. This week’s been…a lot. And now you… My brain’s about to implode.”
Strong hands rested on my hips, and Merrick looked at me with a warm smile, staring right into my eyes.“Hailey, you needto know—itwouldn’tbe a pity bond. In fact, it would make me extremelyhappy. Let me protect you. Please.”
“I’ve kind of had a thing for you for a few years too,” I admitted quietly. “I almost asked you out.”
“You did a good job hiding it.”
“Ha! Well, so did you. I think this is the most I’ve heard you talk.”
“What can I say? You’re so amazing, it can be a little intimidating.”
“Me? Intimidating?” I nearly laughed. “I’m allergic to raspberries and I own bunny slippers. How isthatscary?”
“Because you’re too damn good, Hails. Sometimes I think you’re too perfect to be real.” He took hold of my face, not letting me get away from this, this huge moment that’d caught me off guard in sort of the best way. “I want this. I want this with all I’ve got.”
He kissed me, and just like the time before, I melted into it, every fiber in my being calling out to him.
Well, okay, then.