Page 39 of Bonding the Band

“It hasn’t exactly been easy. The nausea has been brutal.”

Beckett headed over to the fridge for a moment and came back with one of the veggie trays that only he ever ate and a bottle of water. Placing them on the table next to her, he nodded toward the food, an invitation to eat.

Gingerly she picked up a stalk of celery and nibbled on it, her nose wrinkling. “Clover keeps making me eat veggies too.”

Beckett was probably resisting the urge to beat his chest with pride over the fact he provided our omega with food, even if she didn’t seem all that fond of it.

Alpha instincts were awesome. Feed omega, fuck omega, protect omega, and cuddle omega.

“The, uh…distance made all my symptoms worse,” Meadow added. “Hence, me coming here.”

Beckett cleared his throat. “So, the babyisHendrix’s?”

Meadow stilled, turning to face him with fire in her eyes.

Oh, the fucker had just stepped in it.

It was a valid question, I supposed, but you couldn’t go questioning paternity with a pregnant, hormonal, cranky omega.

“Who else’s could it be?” Meadow asked in a tight voice laced with anger.

Beckett didn’t hesitate. “You could have already been pregnant with another alpha’s baby when you bonded Hendrix. How far along are you?”

I could have sworn I saw Meadow’s eye twitch before she grabbed the pot of ranch that came with the veggie tray and hurled it with impressive strength right at Beckett’s head.

“You really think I would be here if the baby wasn’t Hendrix’s?” she snarled, standing up and advancing on Beckett, who looked shell-shocked, even though the projectile missed him, making a mess on the wall of the tour bus.

“Well…I…I mean,” he stuttered, “it wouldn’t be the first time in history someone tried to pass off someone else’s baby for a celebrity’s.”

Meadow hissed. “Go fuck yourself, you absolute fucking ass!”

I strode over to her and picked her up from behind with ease—I loved hauling my sweet little spitfire omega around.

Life was fucking good.

“Come on, princess. Beckett is being an ass, I know, but let’s keep the maiming to a minimum, okay?” I nuzzled her hair. “I believe it’s Henny’s baby.”

She grumbled in my arms but made no move to break out of my grip as I sat down again, keeping her firmly in my lap. She could probably feel my boner through the shorts, but I didn’t care, and judging by the way her ass wiggled against me, neither did she.

“I’m sorry!” Beckett held his hands up in surrender. “I had to ask.”

“Even if itwasn’this baby, which itis, it’s his fucking bond mark on my throat.” Meadow growled in my lap, and I hugged her closer to me, humming happily. “And I’m fifteen weeks along.”

“Have you seen a doctor?” Phin asked.

Meadow nodded. “Yeah. They recommended I find Hendrix, and I wasn’t too keen on the idea.”

“Why weren’t you keen?” I asked, kissing the top of her head.

“Because when I woke up, there was a random woman in the bed with us who wasn’t there when I fell asleep.”

“Oh, I remember her from the morning,” I told her. “I wonder if she broke into the bus. Hen’s definitely had more than one person in that bed with him before, but he’s never added someone out of nowhere, and we’ve definitely had groupies break into the bus before.”

“Certainly preferable to the alternative.” She sighed. “It’s all so shitty. One little mistake and I’m bonded to him!”

“He’s a good guy,” Beckett assured her.

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t think he’s touched another woman since you,” Phin added. “The bond has been fucking him up.”

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