Page 34 of Packed Up In Vegas

Icouldn’t stop looking at her. Mate. My mate. Her dark hair haloed her while she slept, pink lips softly parted. She’d been sleeping a lot since the heat ended, not that I blamed her. My joints were creaky from staying horizontal, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave her side. At least two of us were always in the bed with her, the others trading off whenever they ate or showered.

“She needs to eat.” Amir sat down where I could see him with a bowl of food. “Wake her.”

I didn’t want to disturb her, but he was right. She hadn’t consumed nearly enough calories to recover from the heat. I threaded my fingers through her hair, scratching lightly until she stirred, blinking those beautiful brown eyes at me. “Time for a meal, little dove.”

Callie groaned and rolled closer to snuggle against my chest. “Sleep.”

“You can sleep after you eat. You’re only going to get more exhausted if you don’t,” I reasoned.

Amir tapped her ass and she squeaked, my hand whipping down to cradle her butt cheek. He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hit hard enough to hurt. Get up, princess. You’re going to grow roots if you don’t move more.”

Diego appeared at the foot of the bed and reached out his hands to her, wiggling his fingers. “Come on. I’ll help you up.”

Callie lifted one limp hand and Diego hoisted her up, giving me enough motivation to join her in the land of the vertical. The two of us got Callie settled on the couch, wrapped up in blankets. Amir fed her bites of macaroni and cheese, her mouth popping open like a little bird to receive each forkful while her arms were buried beneath the blankets.

I inhaled my own bowl sitting next to her, Diego at my side, and Miles on the loveseat across from us. Miles kept frowning at the tablet in his lap.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’d say not to worry about it, but I actually should discuss it with you.”

“With us or just with me?”

“You to start,” Miles replied.

I didn’t want to leave Callie, but she would be in good hands for a few minutes at least. I set down my empty bowl, pulled on just enough clothing to be acceptable, slid on a pair of slippers and followed Miles into the hall.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’ve been fighting with management on some paperwork they want Callie to sign to protect everyone from liability over the bonding.”

My spine stiffened. “But she already signed paperwork before we started. Doesn’t that protect them?”

“Not entirely. Not with so many witnesses and a recording. Every time I strike something out and send it for approval, they send it back with a refusal.”

“What’s so bad about what they’re asking for? Do we really think Callie would sue?”

Miles deliberately avoided my gaze, a sure sign that he was feeling guilty. “It’s too early to tell. They said if she does sue, they’re coming after you, which means they’re coming after the pack, and I can’t let that happen. But I also can’t let her sign this paperwork with what they’re demanding. All of it’s a fucking mess.”

“How do we get around it?”

“I’ve talked to the lawyer multiple times now and they’re refusing to budge. I don’t want to have to go old school with the situation.”

Old school? “What do you mean?”

“You’re legally responsible for her now.”

“And what does that have to do with her suing?”

“Obviously you could stop her from doing that.”

Bile rose in my throat. “I don’t want to control her like that.”

“And I don’t want you to either. If they would just fucking cooperate with me and let me adjust this contract, it wouldn’t be an issue. We also have to have a meeting with management because you still have shows contracted and I highly doubt you’re going to be able to do that now that Callie is involved.”

“Can any of us?” I asked. We were all Callie’s pack, even if I was the only one bonded. She would never feel comfortable with us fucking other omegas even if it was a contractual obligation.

“I haven’t talked to the others yet.” Miles shrugged. “A lot is up in the air right now and I don’t know how to fix any of it. We can’t lose three-quarters of the pack income and still give her the life she deserves. Hell, we might lose the entire pack income at this rate because they are not happy with me either.”

---