Page 12 of For All My Effort

I threw myself toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling his scent right at his neck where it seemed to be the strongest. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled against his skin. His arms tightened around me so tightly that I could barely take a full breath, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

“I’m sorry.” Over and over again I apologized.

“You scared the shit out of me.”

I felt the tears as they dropped off my nose and onto Zeke’s chest. He was just barely rocking his body back and forth, taking me with him as he tried to soothe me. It was hard to feel comforted though when I could still scent the fear radiating from his skin.

“Here, princess, have something to drink.” Sebastian ran a hand over my head, at least partially since I still had stitches on the back. The glass he offered had a lid with a straw, something I was grateful for since we were still in my nest and the fact that my hand shook when I reached out for it.

The ice-cold water was delicious, and I gulped probably half of it down before I came up for air.

“Now,” Sebastian said, “what happened?”

Still on Zeke’s lap, I leaned back and admitted, “He was fingering me, and when I came, I forgot how to breathe.”

For a long minute, no one spoke. And then the alphas burst out laughing. Zeke didn’t, but he did seem to lose some of his tension, his shoulders relaxing as a small smile tugged at his lips. When he rested his head on my shoulder, I ran my hands up and down his back, comforting him while also enjoying the freedom to touch him.

“You’re okay?” Zeke whispered, barely loud enough to hear over the others’ laughter.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t do that again.”

That comment managed to get a chuckle out of me. Zeke lifted his head, moving in slowly to give me a soft kiss.

I sighed when he pulled away, completely content. “I think I had a small heat spike.”

I hadn’t noticed how fuzzy my thoughts had become until then. No longer completely blinded by any thoughts except being in my nest, it was obvious what had happened.

Sebastian nodded. “I’ll call the hospital and ask about precautions.”

There was nothing that could be done to stop my heat from coming. Suppressants only worked on heat symptoms—the biggest being pregnancy. If there had been something that stopped or even postponed my heats, I would’ve taken it.

“Do that,” Jackson said, “then we’ll have a proper pack meeting.”

“Pack meeting?” I asked.

“We know you, rebel. But you don’t know us. Until your memory comes back, we need to make sure you’re feeling safe here. Like we did when we first started courting you.”

It felt awkward, like this place was and wasn’t my home simultaneously. But I knew their effort was with the best intentions. So I tried to shove down my irritation, making sure my scent didn’t bloom with it, and agreed.

Chapter Five

As Sebastian was on hold, waiting to speak with my doctor from the hospital, a thought occurred to me.

“Do I have a phone?”

At the OC my phone was basically just used for everything except getting in contact with someone. An app for shopping deals? Yes. An app disguised as a social media platform to talk about omega rights? Also yes. Any phone numbers beyond my assigned doctor and all the required ones for the employees at the OC? Unfortunately, also, also yes.

“I’ll get it,” Han said. “I plugged it in, upstairs in your room.”

“Oh, I can—”

Jackson bent down, gently pushing his shoulder into my stomach before lifting me up. He was surprisingly gentle considering I was essentially upside down. “No stairs.”

Behind Jackson, Zeke winked at me, the male still only dressed in his boxers. The others were more dressed, at least slightly. Jackson wore a thin flannel jacket, unbuttoned so his stomach and chest were exposed. I swore I could feel the heat of his body where my thigh met his skin.

Sebastian was in a pajama set that almost looked like a suit as he paced between the kitchen island and the back of the living room couch. The two rooms were basically one considering how open they were. It made me wonder where the dining room was, but I guessed I would have a chance to explore properly later.

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