Page 84 of Bonding the Band

“Smoothies!” Ellie yelled up the stairs.

“What a cockblock,” I muttered.

Meadow laughed again. “Don’t blame me. You’re the one who wanted a doula. Any cockblocking that happens is your own damn fault.”

I took her downstairs, and Ellie cheerfully handed us each a bright green smoothie. It was surprisingly good, considering how it looked. Meadow wrinkled her nose and seemed to choke it back as quickly as she could, making displeased whimpersas she drank. It tasted like pineapple and banana, but maybe Meadow didn’t like that combo.

Ellie grinned. “We’re getting you lots of folate for the baby.”

“Can’t I just take a prenatal vitamin?”

Ellie waved her off. “We’re getting you all of the nutrients with none of the fillers.”

“Why don’t you two go shopping today?” I offered.

If looks could kill, Meadow’s would have lit me on fire. I only suggested it because I didn’t want her out and about by herself in an unfamiliar city, and we had obligations this morning we couldn’t get out of to take her shopping for some new, comfortable clothing.

“I would love to! We’ll get you some things to accommodate all of this…growth.” Ellie reached out to pat Meadow’s belly, and I snatched her wrist before she could make contact.

“No touching the omega without her permission.” Meadow gave me a look of relief, and Ellie’s eyes were wide as she stared at where I was touching her. I dropped her wrist and focused on Meadow. “Let us know if you need anything today. We can’t get away much, but we’ll do our best.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to try and get through some coursework, so I can stay ahead of the game. I probably won’t even leave the nest.”

“Except for meals,” Ellie added. “You can’t spend all day in there. You need fresh air. Why don’t we go see the art museum?”

“No, thank you,” said Meadow firmly. “I have work to do.”

It didn’t seem very fair that Meadow was getting to go to all of these cities and not actually see anything. If she preferred staying in, that was okay—a lot of omegas did—but I didn’t want her to miss out. Maybe we should think about flying Clover in for another visit. Atlanta would probably be a good choice for that, since they’d had so much fun at the aquarium in Kansas City.

“You’re coming to the show tonight?”

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Meadow promised.

“Me too!” Ellie added.

I didn’t really care one way or the other if Ellie was there, but she seemed excited, and it was no difficulty to get her into the venue with Meadow if she wanted to see us play.

A knock at the tour bus door had me turning, and Gary slipped inside. “Let’s go.”

The pack and I bid Meadow goodbye and headed out for an interview at one of the local radio stations. We had done probably a thousand of these at this point, but it was still fun. They usually hosted a giveaway for tickets to that night’s show to fans who could correctly answer trivia, and they always got wildly excited about it. It reminded me of the early days of our career, when everything was still so bright and shiny. I knew it was important to hold on to those things so I would always appreciate the people who made our careers possible.

Even so, the day passed in a blur. Before we headed into a sound check, Gary pulled me aside. “Come on. I’ve got your dose in my car.”

“No.” I pulled away from him. “I can’t take anything. Meadow feels it through the bond.”

Gary’s mouth twitched. “Kid, don’t be stupid. You can’t just quit cold turkey. How are you going to get through the rest of the tour?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“This is ridiculous. She felt everything this entire time, and she survived. It’s not like she’s the one taking something.”

I had to protect Meadow. Even if she wasn’t the one consuming whatever the hell Gary gave me, it couldn’t be good for her body to feel the effects. “I’m not doing it. Drop it.”

“You know, I have beenreallyfucking generous with you, not pressing charges for your assault, but I can’t sit by and watch you tank your career.”

“There’s no other option. I can get by just fine if Meadow is on hand.”

“Hendrix, be reasonable. Do you really think she’s going to stick around? This is no life for a woman with a newborn. You can’t raise your kid on that bus, letting her do everything all day while your pack rolls up for the fun shit. I don’t even know her, and I know she’s not going to tolerate that. Are you actually going to give up your entire career for her?”

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