Page 99 of All In

When I make it into the nest Laken is awake and resting on Tanner’s chest as he sleeps. I crawl up beside her, brushing her hair away from her face.

“How are you feeling?” I whisper, tracing the now-healing cut on her cheek.

“Like I royally fucked over so many people, it’s not even funny,” she says softly. “Did Locke leave? I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I don’t know how I’m supposed to face him after all this.”

“He insisted upon being given a room,” I say, only minorly stretching the truth. “He wouldn’t be dismissed, and he had the gall to stage an ambush with the intention of stealing you away from me.” I lean in, kissing the apple of her cheek just above the scratch. “No one with any intelligence would push my goodwill that far, unless it was for someone they truly care about.”

“That was before I found out?—”

“You forget alpha systems work differently than betas. We grow up knowing we’ll be part of a pack. DNA isn’t important to us. We often end up raising children that aren’t biologically our own. Locke understands that.” I catch her eyes, giving her a reassuring smile.

Although, I don’t know why I’m sticking up for the man.

I believe it’s ultimately not about Locke at all. It’s about giving my omega the reassurance and support I know her system craves.

“So, if everything is healthy and I did choose to keep the baby?—”

“It wouldn’t bother me in the least.” It’s not a mistruth to coddle her feelings, either. I may not be good at sharing my emotions, but there’s one thing I’m excellent at. I’m obsessively protective of things I view as mine, and my system already views the baby as such, since it’s an extension of Laken. “When Vale met Bishop, Mercy, and Holt, she was heavily pregnant. They forged bonds and fell for her and the baby.”

“That’s crazy,” Laken whispers.

“I will be at your side to support you every step of the way if you choose to have the baby, but I also respect your right to decide how you proceed. That choice is yours to make.”

“I honestly don’t know what I’m thinking or feeling at the moment. Well, outside of shock, but I hope you know how much I appreciate you, Ranger.”

My mind screams that now is my chance to continue comforting her and showing her I can provide her with physical care.

“Would you take a shower with me?” I ask with an unnaturally giddy excitement bouncing around my chest. “Your scent is acrid, and it’s setting off my instincts. If not, I might find my way back to the basement to end your pathetic, waste-of-space ex.”

“You’re so manipulative at times,” she says, but the smile on her face is at odds with her words. “And I’m screwed up because all I can focus on is how romantic it is that you’re leveraging Will’s life for shower sex.”

My eyebrows rise. “I didn’t realize shower sex was an option, but I’ll take it.”

“God, you’re so cute,” she whispers, crawling off Tanner’s chest.

My chest puffs up with pride.

I am cute, but I like that she recognizes that I am.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Laken

My stomach teeters with butterflies as Ranger backs me into the warm spray of the shower to rinse the conditioner from my hair. He’s so tall that his shaft brushes my stomach as he cradles my lower back in one massive hand and the other at the base of my skull.

“Are you having any symptoms that you overlooked but would point to pregnancy?” His aqua-blue eyes stare at my face as my eyes pop open.

My head shakes in his hold.

It’s a little surreal how safe and protected I feel with his hand laced through my hair as it cradles my skull. “It’s hard to tell. I was nauseated most of the time they had me, but I thought that was stress and the lack of food.” I glance down at my boobs. “They might be a little sore.”

“Is that right?”

I nod, licking my lips as I study the water dripping off his brown curls. “Is it an actual possibility that my system has been trying to trap you into bonding me because we’re compatible?”

“It’s not something you’ve consciously done. Pregnant omegas crave alpha semen and pheromones. I don’t know why. Without overhearing Bishop and Cooper discussing Vale, I wouldn’t have known myself.” He releases my skull to grab a pump of body wash. “May I move on to washing your skin?”

I break out into a silly smile that I can’t hold back.

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