Page 11 of Pack Plus Three

Chapter 5

Jeremy

Aloud, rhythmic knocking on my door pulled me out of deep sleep. I glared in the direction of the front door as I forced myself out of bed. Who the fuck was knocking on my door at this hour? Checking my alarm clock, I groaned. One a.m. The frantic knocks didn’t let up as I stomped over towards the door, prepared to yell at whatever crackhead had decided to disturb me just when I had finally managed to fall asleep.

Gilbert didn’t even stir—excellent guard dog, that one.

My anger melted away the moment I swung the door open, revealing the very pregnant, very wet omega who lived next door.

“Oh no, I woke you—I’m so sorry, uh, I kind of have a situation. A pipe broke? Or burst? I don’t know. All I know is that it’s now raining in my kitchen!” Daisy spoke so quickly it was difficult to keep up, but I caught the gist of it. “And now I—oh...” She trailed off, eyes roaming over my very naked chest, her face flushing bright red. I had opened the door wearing only my boxers, half expecting to be yelling at a crackhead and not a bedraggled, soggy omega.

“Let me get some sweatpants on and grab my toolbox,” I said, dashing back into my apartment and grabbing the pair of gray sweatpants I had abandoned on the sofa last night. Because the apartment was a work in progress, I had several toolboxes dotted around the place.

Daisy followed me as I headed into her apartment. She wasn’t lying; it was, indeed, raining in her kitchen. A pipe in her ceiling must have burst. Jumping straight into action, I ducked under the sink to find the water shutoff for her apartment. It was easy to find because mine was in the exact same spot.

Giving the lever a firm tug, I was pleased when the rainfall started to slow, eventually stopping altogether.

“Oh, I didn’t know that was under there,” Daisy said quietly. She was standing in the kitchen doorway, her hand on her bump. Now that the situation was less urgent, I could take her in. She was wearing a thin T-shirt and short pajama set...that was completely drenched.

Giving me an excellent view of her rather impressive breasts. Nipples strained against the fabric, and I resisted the desperate urge to free them, to taste them.

I was standing in the poor omega’s kitchen, staring at her chest like a total creeper—what was wrong with me?

“Don’t worry, I only know because I’m renovating my place.” That was a lie— everyone should know where their water shutoff valve is—but I didn’t want to upset the distressed omega any further.

The worst of the water was contained to the kitchen and could easily be mopped up. If this had happened in the living room or bedroom, the damage would have been far worse.

“Still, I can’t believe I woke you up! I’m so sorry, I just didn’t know what to do, and it was raining inside...” she babbled.

“Hey”—I kept my voice low and soothing—“I said you could ask me for help whenever you needed to, and I meant that.”

“But one in the morning?”

“When I say something, I mean it,” I affirmed.

Her eyes widened and she nodded, biting her lip. Judging by her situation, she wasn’t exactly used to alphas who kept their word. I was going to show her how an alpha should behave.

Hopping up on the counter, I removed a few of the ceiling tiles, looking for the cause of the damage. It didn’t take long to figure it out. A long nail had been slammed straight into one of her pipes.

“Well”—I laughed dryly, looking down at the nervous omega—“it looks like someone upstairs tried to do some DIY and failed, badly. I can patch this up easily, but I wouldn’t recommend turning the water back on until the apartment building does a deeper fix and deals with the idiot upstairs.”

Daisy laughed. “You’ve met the apartment manager, right? I’d be better off hiring someone to fix this, not that I can afford it.”

“I can do it,” I offered. Though I worded it as an offer, my stomach twisted violently at the idea of another man entering her apartment. If she needed something fixed, I would do it. Why had I even suggested telling the apartment manager? He was a slimy asshole who could use a few punches to the face.

“I’ll be without water for a day or two, won’t I?” she asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

“I should have it back on in the morning. I just need to patch this up tonight, and tomorrow, I’ll inform the apartment management that the upstairs tenant is being a dumbass.”

“Thank you!” She beamed at me as she shivered. The water wasn’t exactly warm.

“Why don’t you go take a shower at my place while I patch this up? It’ll take a few minutes, and you’re shivering,” I said, climbing down from the counter to talk to her. She was soaked through, and it was taking everything in me to keep my eyes averted from her chest. If she didn’t get dry and warm soon, she could get sick—I couldn’t have that.

“Are you sure? I could help?”

I frowned at her. “If you think there’s any way I’m letting a heavily pregnant omega climb over wet counters, then you’ve got another thing coming. Gather your girly shower bits and go get clean and dry while I fix this.”

“You’ve been feeding me and fixing things for me. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

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