Chapter Nine
Blade
I didn’t call Darcy the second we got back home. I couldn’t come up with a logical reason why I failed to follow through on my threat to get off this assignment, but every time I’d picked up my cell to call my boss, I’d gotten a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. So instead I’d opened my laptop, and I’d searched the internet for anything I could find about my kind. The information had been limited. It had never sunk in how little I knew about my species until that moment. With no family history to research, I was at an even bigger disadvantage.
I was so hungry for information about my situation I was tempted to reach out to my foster parents, but we hadn’t spoken in so long the idea gave me a headache. They probably didn’t even remember me. I’d been one of many kids who’d passed through their home over the last fifteen years. Besides, if the hospital where I’d been abandoned didn’t have any information about my mother, why would my foster parents?
Wyatt didn’t have much to say to me. He’d headed straight for the couch when we got back, which was where he sat now, brooding as he watched TV. It was hard to tell if he was mad at me or his mother. Maybe he was pissed at both of us. Perhaps his silence was because he was relieved that I was going to maybe bail on him and he couldn’t wait to get away from me.
My gaze wandered to Wyatt again. His face was blank, but that wasn’t a great indicator of his feelings since we were trained to keep our emotions buried. I’d been surprised he’d seemed resistant to the idea of me quitting this assignment. I’d have thought he’d have been thrilled at the notion of getting rid of me.
He glanced up and he caught me staring. I didn’t look away like I usually would. Instead I held his stony gaze until he pulled his eyes from mine. I had the strangest urge to go over and curl up next to him on the couch. It was embarrassing to think I would want some sort of comfort from him. I wasn’t usually needy like that. But I didn’t really feel like myself right now.
He stood and stretched, his shirt lifting and revealing a flash of tanned, firm abs. My body flushed with arousal, and I looked away, pissed off at how little control I had over myself anymore. I’d hoped that confusing hunger for him would have disappeared once we’d acted on it, but it seemed to have returned.
“Do you care if I work out?” His voice was stiff.
I had a room set up with weights and exercise equipment. “Go for it.”
“Thanks.” He left the room, and I watched him go, my eyes pinned on his firm ass.
As I played around on my laptop, I was distracted by the clink of weights and his hissing breaths. I couldn’t help but picture him covered in sweat, his muscles bulging as he benched some weights. My cock was half-hard as I let my imagination run wild. What would he do if I crept in there and worked out too? Would he be as turned on by me as I was just at the thought of him? Would he make a move on me again?
Stop.
I didn’t feel good and that was probably why I was so weak. My whole body ached, and my head hurt. I hadn’t slept well because of all the stress I was under after what had happened with Wyatt and then his mom. I hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday, so I tried to distract my lusty thoughts of Wyatt by going into the kitchen to fix some food. I grabbed an apple and some peanut butter, and I forced myself to eat while standing over the sink.
I couldn’t shake how sincere his mother had seemed. Yes, what she’d said had been crazy, but it had been obvious she’d believed every word. My stomach rumbled and I pressed my hand to my belly. It didn’t matter how convincing she’d been—men didn’t have babies. That was just nuts.
The memory of Wyatt and me fucking seeped into my thoughts. I didn’t want to think about it, but it had felt so good it was hard to forget. The heavy weight of his dick inside my body had been amazing. Unlike anything I’d ever experienced. And then he’d been so kind to me when I was ill. I shivered remembering the soft feel of his fingers running through my hair as I lay in the bed next to him.
While it irked me to even consider how much I’d enjoyed Wyatt’s touch, I’d never felt so safe as when he’d been beside me, stroking my head and watching over me. I had to wonder if that wasn’t because he was an alpha. They had a way of calming and nurturing omegas without even trying. I hated the idea that he or anyone would have that power over me. I preferred to think I could take care of myself and there was no need to follow the traditions of my species. But I had to admit, I’d never felt such peace as when he’d fucked me and then soothed me. Embarrassing as the thought was, it had almost been as if I’d belonged to him.
I’d spent the majority of my life ignoring my instincts and rejecting the whole alpha-and-omega hierarchy. The very thought of an alpha claiming me and controlling me had pissed me off. I’d never been able to rely on anyone. Not from the second I’d been born.
Wyatt walked into the living room with a towel around his neck. Perspiration glistened on his skin, and even from where I stood, I caught his masculine scent mixed with sweat. If I hadn’t felt so drained of energy, I’d have worked out too. But after the night I’d had, I was lucky I was still awake.
He hesitated, and then he walked toward the kitchen. As he neared, he licked his lips and grimaced. “I just need a drink of water.”
“Sure.” I moved so he could get near the sink. The impulse to lick his salty, sweaty skin rippled through me, and I busied myself with putting my plate in the dishwasher to distract myself.
He drank a full glass of water, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. Then he set the glass on the counter and wiped his mouth with his fingers. He leaned against the sink. “Do you know who your replacement is going to be?”
I kept my eyes away from his clingy, sweat-dampened T-shirt since it made it hard to think. “I haven’t called in yet.”
He cocked his head. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I’m trying not to overreact.”
“Little late for that.”
“You didn’t seem to believe your mom’s crazy story any more than I did.” I shut the dishwasher and faced him.
“If it had been up to me, I’d have stayed and talked with my mom some more. You couldn’t wait to bolt.”
I scrunched my face with irritation. “Your mother told me I was fucking pregnant, Wyatt.” I raked a hand through my hair. “What the hell was I supposed to say? Awesome, will you throw me a baby shower, Mrs. Smith?”
He exhaled. “Why would she make this up? What possible reason would she have to lie to us?”
“I thought you didn’t believe her either?”
“I didn’t. I don’t.” He grimaced. “But I keep coming back to the fact that my mom isn’t a liar. And she knows her shit about our species’ history.”
“Well, I know basic biology. And males don’t have babies.” I rubbed my stomach in response to how weird the conversation made me feel.
“She knew about you throwing up. She knew about your eyes. How? How the hell did she know that, Blade?” He bit his lip, looking confused. “I mean, I get how shit-nuts this sounds. Trust me. I really do.”
“I don’t have a uterus. I am a man,” I growled. “Me being pregnant is not a fucking possibility. I don’t care how much you trust your mother. She’s wrong. Dead wrong about this.”
He clenched his jaw and nodded. “Yeah. She has to be.”
“I’m glad we have that settled.” I started to leave the room, and he grabbed my wrist.
His touch made me immediately breathless. I hoped that I was able to hide it, but my instinct was to move closer to him and let him hold me. I yanked my arm, but he held tight. “Let go.”
“Wait. Don’t freak out.”
My heart rate was fast as I silently held his wary gaze.
“The thing that keeps bugging me is why were you sick?”
I frowned. “Who cares?”
“Me.”
“It could have been something I ate. Maybe just the stress from how traumatic it was to be fucked by a man.”
He narrowed his gaze. ”You weren’t traumatized. You were begging for it.”
My face flushed. “Shut up.”
“Don’t try to pretend it wasn’t what it was. We both wanted it.” He licked his lips, and his thumb brushed over my skin, sending tingles up my arm. “And we both loved it.”
I jerked my arm away and rubbed my throbbing flesh. “Fine. I liked it. So what? That doesn’t make the laws of physics change, and now men have babies.”
“Okay. Let’s say you puked because of something you ate. Why were your eyes neon blue?” He grimaced. “I mean it, Blade. I couldn’t even look at them it hurt so much.”
Was he now actually trying to convince me I was pregnant? “What are you doing?”
“Trying to be logical.”
I gave a harsh laugh. “Logic says males don’t have babies.”
“How much do you know about our kind?” He chuffed. “Because apparently I don’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.”
I waved my arms agitatedly. “Jesus, Wyatt. Don’t you think if our buddies were popping out babies we’d have heard about it?”
He winced. “My mom said it’s only the solar eclipse omegas who can do that.” He cleared his throat. “And you lied to my mom.”
“What?”
“That first day you met her, she asked you if you had a birthmark on your hip and you lied and said no. I saw your birthmark clear as day last night.”
My stomach clenched with nerves. “Lots of people have birthmarks.”
He narrowed his gaze. “But she knew you’d have one on your hip, Blade. She knew the minute she saw you.”
My legs felt weak, and I put my hand on the counter to steady myself. “So now you believe her story?”
“My brain says no way.” He scanned my lean frame. “But a lot of what my mom said adds up.”
I pressed my palm to my stomach. “You’re both nuts.”
He shrugged. “I think I have an idea how to clear this up once and for all.”
“Please enlighten me.”
“You can take a pregnancy test.” He lifted his chin, and his gaze was obstinate.
“What?” I screeched.
“I don’t love you calling my mom a liar over and over again.”
“Then let’s stop talking about this and I won’t have to,” I snapped.
He ignored me. “But I also find it hard to believe I might have knocked up another guy.” He leaned toward me. “Take a test and we can put a nail in it.”
“You seriously want me to pee on a fucking stick?”
“Yep.”
I shook my head. “This is unbelievable.” I held his stubborn gaze, and I threw my hands up. “Fine. Fuck it. I’ll pee on a goddamned stick if it will shut you the hell up.”
“Trust me, I hope my mom is wrong,” he growled. “The very idea of being tied to your ass for life is a little beyond my ability to stay sane.”
“Ditto. I’d rather be knocked up by an alien from another planet.” I gave him an irritable glare. “Go change. We’re going to the store now. Then when you see you and your mom are nuts for even considering I’m pregnant, we can go back to just hating each other the regular way.”
“Deal,” he growled, and he headed off to change.