“Fuck you,” I hiss, and I don’t even know why.
Maverick grates on my nerves regularly, but that’s more because he’s happy-go-lucky, where I am a pessimist through and through.
Still, I never feel the urge to rip his head from his shoulders, which should give me some indication that my instincts are riled to the point I’m on the edge of going feral.
Or, at the very least, losing myself to the alpha fog.
How the hell did I miss the pregnancy thing?
Isn’t seven months considered pretty far along?
Jesus Christ.
No wonder I thought her hips looked fuller.
My mind replays her curves as she grabbed for her sweater on the back of her chair in the bookstore.
There were signs, but I still can’t believe I missed it.
It’s also really fucking inappropriate to mention any changes like weight gain or weight loss, so she’s probably got that going for her with the general public.
“Don’t be a dick, or I’ll kick your ass out,” Maverick says, grabbing my helmet. “I should probably put my bag up in case Libby wakes up. Go say hello, but tone down the feral alpha bullshit.” He stomps over to grab his backpack, but I still have no idea why he’s putting it up.
Fuck.
Kids touch everything, meaning no more weapons tossed down without thought.
Everything is about to change.
Well, unless Brooklyn tells us to fuck off.
No, I’m not even putting that negativity out in the world.
“Where is Haze?” Maverick shoves me out of the way, tugging open the hall closet.
“I dropped him off with my mom. I didn’t know if we would be going back to the rental house tonight,” I say, swiping my hands off on my jeans. “And he was feeding off my mood, so I figured now wasn’t the time for an introduction.”
“That makes sense.” Maverick places his backpack up on the top shelf and drops my helmet on the floor.
I finally get my shit together and head to find Brooklyn.
Coming around the corner, I see her sitting on the couch with Nova’s head in her lap. Nova immediately moves to stand to assess the threat, but she snuggles back in as soon as she realizes that it’s just me.
I can’t seem to stop myself as I stomp over, lifting Brooklyn and pulling her into my lap as I sit down.
She wiggles and says, “Sorry, I feel like I’m squishing you like this.”
She’s absolutely not, but I help her spin to face me. “Are you okay?” I ask, running my hands over her hair.
Her head tilts as she blinks up at me from behind her dark lashes. “I’m pregnant.”
I’m really grateful Maverick gave me that warning. If not, I’d probably sound like a real idiot right about now.
“That isn’t as surprising as I think you expected it to be,” I murmur, studying her sparkling hazel eyes. “Did you know unbonded female omegas smell exceptionally enticing to compatible alphas during pregnancy? I didn’t. Not until recently. Our boss met his omega while she was pregnant, and he was fascinated by her scent from the very first moment. I suppose that helps explain why I’m half feral to bury my face in your throat and breathe you in.”
Her nose scrunches, and I feel a little like Ranger looks whenever he says something dumb as hell to Laken.
“Maverick and I weren’t drawn to her scent at all, just so you know.” I tease my thumbs over her cheeks as my fingers work through her hair. “Where’s your daughter?”