Page 26 of Packed Up In Vegas

“Well, I don’t have any answers for you. You’re the brains of this operation; I’m just a dick.”

Miles snorted and chugged down one of the glasses of juice. “I’ll fix all of it.”

“I genuinely don’t know how you can.”

He wilted and I felt a little bad, but it was still the truth. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

I could hear Kai and Callie purring from out here. He had some magical power to soothe her I didn’t possess. I didn’t want that power either. It was way too much fucking hassle to feel someone else’s emotions, to be connected to them that way. Kai could have her. We might be a pack, but Callie was never going to be mine.

Relief at having Callie in my arms was so strong I could barely breathe. I had woken in a panic straight from a nightmare to find her gone and feeling like I was on the verge of cardiac arrest with all her emotions thundering down the bond. But now she was safe. Holding her was the only thing that kept the panic at bay.

“You’re okay, little dove,” I told her, though it was as much to reassure myself as her.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“No need to apologize. Hormones do funny things to a brain. The important thing is that you’re safe.”

I focused on breathing. There was still a whole mess of shame and anxiety filling up my chest, and it felt foreign enough that I knew it had to be from her.

“Talk to me. I’m the one person in the world right now who can intimately understand what you’re feeling.”

Callie took a moment to collect herself and I did my best to purr despite everything swirling around inside me. She needed the comfort, and if we could take the edge off those worries, then we could start nudging her toward healing.

“I didn’t mean to bite you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I?—”

“Shhh. It’s all right. It likely would’ve happened sooner rather than later with the scent match. We just got a bit ahead of ourselves. I promise I’m not upset with you about it.”

“I’m upset at myself.” Callie sniffled. “I took away our choice.”

“It could have just as easily been one of us biting first.” I’d felt my resolve weakening every second I was with her. If she hadn’t bitten me, I wouldn’t have lasted long regardless.

“I’m still sorry. For the bite, and for running. The nightmare felt so real. I freaked out.”

“Tell me what it was about?”

She relayed her fractured memories of it, mostly consisting of the hateful things her ex-fiancé had said.

My body tensed with every word. “Were those things he’s said to you?”

“In bits and pieces over the years,” she confessed. “Never quite a tirade like that.”

I was ready to strangle her ex just for thinking those things, let alone saying them to her face. I had never really endured vitriol about what I did for a living. In part, that was likely because my family had no idea, and all of my friends now were in similar industries. We knew and understood. From the sounds of it, Callie wasn’t so lucky.

“I know none of this is ideal,” I said carefully. “Hell, I’m scared shitless about it myself, but I want you to understand that I’ve got you now. I mean, I hope we’ve got each other, but it’s okay if you need time.”

Her heart pounded against my palm, and I purred as loud as I could until hers kicked on in response and her heartbeat slowed bit by bit. Everything was still chaos, but the undeniable truth was that this omega was mine, and I was her alpha. I didn’t know her yet, but I wanted to. I craved every detail that would let me make her happy. I couldn’t undo any of the harm that had already come to her, but the fear that flooded down the bond toward me from her was intolerable, and I intended to fix as much of it as I could. Not for my sake, but for hers.

I wanted to quiet that whole storm of negativity inside her and replace it with the immutable knowledge that she had someone on her side now. I gathered up every ounce of calm I had and tried to project it toward her. No one was 100% certain how bonds worked, only that they did, and if I could feel everything coming from her, then surely she could feel everything coming from me. It wasn’t only calmness I wanted to share. I thought of how beautiful she was, how brave she had been, how completely delicious she was, and her scent sweetened, the chaos inside her ebbing.

“That’s my good girl. We belong to each other now and I’m going to take care of you. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but we’ll figure it out together.”

Callie tipped her head and I boosted her up so I could lick over the bondbite sitting on her throat. “I don’t know how to be a good omega.”

“You’re my perfect omega already,” I promised.

She sniffled. “You’ve been a really good alpha, Kai. I’m sorry I’m such a basket case.”

“We were definitely both basket cases. You just weren’t here to see me freaking out. Besides, you’ve been through a shit ton of things, and I would say you’re entitled to a little freak-out.”

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