Nolan nodded. “Hailey assumed it was the separation sickness, and to a degree, it is. But she went to the doctor because she was getting worse by the day. She needed anothermate to see her through. So, in stubborn omega fashion, instead of coming to us, she bonded with a friend of hers. Some firefighter named Merrick. I guess she’s liked him for a while.”
The news that our omega had bonded with someone that wasn't in our pack hit me like a physical blow. My chest was already feeling hollow from not having her near, and it started to tighten painfully.
“I don’t—W-what?”
“You heard me,” Nolan said with a small growl. “I don't know what's led you here, but you need to wrap this up. You need to be home with us and Hailey and Merrick and figure out what’s best for this child.”
“I'm going to be a dad…” I whispered, reality spinning and choking me, even as the thought lit something inside me that ached all the more to get the fuck out of here.
“Weallare,” Nolan countered, clearly beyond pissed at me.
“What's this new guy like?”
Nolan crossed his arms with a begrudging look. “He seems like an overall decent alpha. As I said, he's a firefighter, and from what I can tell, he and Hailey have had a thing for each other for a while. When we went to see her, she freaked out, didn't trust us. She told him everything, and they decided to bond. He wanted to protect her. Now he's acting like her guard dog.”
As much as I hated that there was an unknown pack member I’d never met, I was kind of pleased that he was at least as dedicated to protecting my omega as I was.
“Which station is this guy from?”
Nolan frowned, shrugging. “I’m not sure. Sixteen or Seventeen? We discussed it the other night while playing twenty questions.”
“You playedtwenty questions?” I raised my brows at him, thrown for a loop again.
“It was Wilder's suggestion. And…it was actually a good one because we needed to find out as much as we could about each other. It's weird as hell having a pack member you know next to nothing about. I can only imagine how hard it was for Hailey to have a bonded alpha she knew nothing about.”
All these emotions crowding my chest were warring with one another. Part of me wanted to be angry at this unknown alpha. Part of me was thankful.
Mostly, I was mad at myself.
I refused to refer to what Hailey and I did as a “fuck up,” but at the same time, I had put her in a such a vulnerable position, and I hated myself for that.
“We came to the conclusion that you need to come home. Now.”
“I can’t.” I shook my head, hating myself even more. “Please.Pleasebelieve me when I say it shouldn’t be much longer. You know I wouldn't be staying here if it wasn't a life-or-death situation.”
I was pretty sure I had found out the information I was sent to discover…but I needed to besurebefore pulling the proverbial trigger.
“I know. I never thought anything would be able to keep you away from your omega or future child, so I had to assume this was serious, but…Preston, you need to sort this out. It’s not getting better or easier, and there’s only so much we can do when you’re not in the picture. Hailey… Let’s just say she has justifiable feelings about you right now, and they’renotgood.”
“Goddamn it.” I slumped, pinching the bridge of my nose until it hurt. “Will you guys look after her?”
“You know we will. Well, as much as the new guy will allow. As much as I hate to admit it, the bonding has helped Hailey a lot. She's nowhere near as sick anymore.”
“Good. That’s good. Please tell her I’ll be out soon, and I’ll explain everything to her then.”
“You need to explain it toall of us.”Nolan shot me a pointed look, and I winced. “Never again, Preston. You hear me?”
“Never again,” I agreed, nodding solemnly. “This was a favor to a friend, and I willnevertake a job like this again. I want to be home with our family.”
“Good.” Nolan stood up, taking a step or two away from the bench before he turned and pointed at me. “And the next time you talk to this ‘friend’ of yours, you tell him he fuckingowesus.”
After Nolan left, I returned to my bunk. Edward—the warden—was watching me, and I couldn’t afford to slip up. One wrong move, and he would have me removed from the camp without even thinking about it.
Chapter 22
Hailey
“How do you think the other two members of our pack would feel about moving into my house?” Merrick asked as he handed me a bottle of water.