Page 13 of The Gamma's Second Chance

I laugh, my tense muscles loosening for the first time since I saw Rachel trying to sneak away yesterday morning. “I promise I won’t punch your truck, Alpha,” I say as I give him a wave and leave his office.

“And Nolan?” I pause in the doorway, arching a brow at him. “Try not to be a dickhead.”

After I pull Wesley’struck around to the front of the packhouse, I wait on the curb, leaning against the cab of the truck. I shoot off a coffee order to Brewed Awakenings to make right before we get into town while I wait for Haven and Cassandra to be ready to leave.

I don’t have to wait long. They show up together. A quick peek at my watch tells me she’s arrived here precisely one hour after I told her we’d be leaving in an hour.

She’s punctual. I’ll give her that much.

As they walk towards me, Cassandra listens intently to something Haven tells her. Neither of them pays any attention to me, which gives me the opportunity to observe Cassandra undetected.

She’s thankfully changed out of her short shorts and her thin, low-cut tank top and into a casual, floral midi-dress. It was a struggle to not check her out as we stood together in my kitchen. The swell of her breasts peeked out at me over the neckline of her shirt, and her long, smooth, ivory legs extended from those way-too-short pajama bottoms, and I had to force my eyes to remain on her face.

Okay. Maybe I checked her out a little when she wasn’t paying attention. Her and her piercing green eyes, her thick, bouncy, curled hair, and those long, pale legs that seemed endless in those orange checked pajama shorts.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I kind of wish she hadn’t changed. Because while lovely, her off-white dress that comes to mid-calf hides most of those long legs, and it is a shame to cover up legs that perfect.

“Are you ready?” Haven asks, interrupting my play-by-play of Cassandra’s activities in my kitchen this morning. My reimagining of how her legs stretched and tightened with every step she took, how her dark tresses swayed with her movements, the tips brushing the top of her ass, and how her pink lipswrapped around the fork as she took the first bite of her pie drowned almost everything out, to where I didn’t realize they reached the vehicle.

“Yup,” I say, jerking upright and away from the door, grabbing the handle to open it for her, avoiding her eyes and Cassandra’s.

But Haven steps towards the back door, opening it herself. “I’m going to sit here,” she says, one hand resting on her baby bump, the other moving to the small of her back as she grimaces. “It’s more comfortable for me in the back. I can stretch my legs and get a better positioning for my back pain.”

She climbs in before I can respond or move to help her, and Cassandra gets into the passenger seat as I stand there, still holding the door open. Without thinking, I reach for her as she climbs into the truck. Her hand is delicate and warm in mine, her skin soft. A gentle breeze sends her hair dancing across my chest and face, the hint of daisies flirting with my nose.

She sits in the seat, and her unique green eyes meet mine. Up close, I can see how they change from a darker green at the edges to a lighter green, to a ring of gold right around the pupil. Her hand lingers in mine, and she gives it a small squeeze before pulling it away and resting it on her lap. “Thanks,” she murmurs, licking her lips before she smiles.

Fuck me. That gesture does nothing to help the conflicting emotions I have about her. It just sends my mind right back down the path it ventured before she and Haven got in the truck. A path I should not be venturing down. Not now. Not with her. No good will come of it. No good ever has.

I push off the door and slam it shut, storming around the hood to the driver’s side. The light scent of daisies follows me, reminding me of the happy yellow and white flowers on the top of my piano, the ones that perfectly brighten up the room exactly as she said they would.

But I’ll never admit that to her. Just like I’ll never admit how beautiful I find her. She may be beautiful, but she’s still annoying. And I have to live with her beautiful, annoying, overly happy self for the foreseeable future. All while pretending I don’t find her attractive. Or annoying. Or an interruption to my predictable routine.

Easy. Totally doable. Just ignore the smile and the optimism and the attraction and I’ll be fine.

Just fine.

We’re all quiet for most of the drive, listening to the radio as we make our way down the mountain. Cassandra watches the trees as they pass, observing everything and taking it all in, and Haven relaxes as best she can, her eyes closed. But when we’re a little over halfway to the city, she lets out a sharp hiss of air between her teeth, clenching her jaw and her fists, and I’m immediately on alert, all thoughts of my annoying new roommate forgotten.

“Luna? Are you all right?” I ask, prepared to pull over or turn the truck around to head home.

“Fine. There’s just a giant alpha baby growing inside my rather small body.”

My grip on the wheel tightens, and Cassandra sits up straighter, observing our interaction closely. “Haven.”

“I’m really fine. This baby is just using my ribs as a sparring partner, which, quite honestly, hurts. A lot.”

“If you need me to turn around, I can. Peter won’t be upset if—”

“I said I’m fine,” she spits out between her teeth, her pupils dilating. A little ripple of starlight pulses out of her and around Cassandra and me, tangible and glittering, bouncing off the mirrors and any other reflective surface and brushing over my skin, teasing my wolf and me with its familiarity. “Fuck,” she whispers. “I’m sorry.”

Cassandra tracks the movements of Haven’s mysterious aura around the interior, reaching out with her hand to trail her fingers through the tail of stardust it leaves behind. She rubs the residue between her fingers, scrutinizing it. “When are you due?” she asks.

“June,” Haven answers.

“Do you know if you’re having a male or a female?”

Haven shakes her head. “No. We’re keeping it a surprise. Wesley claims he does not care either way.”

---