Ouch.

“Please come over. Just bring yourself and stay for a while?”

“All right. I’ll see you in a half hour.”

We hung up, and I finished cooking the bacon and ate it while I waited. Then I went in the bathroom and looked in the mirror, horrified by the mess that looked back at me. The veryleast I could do was clean up before he got there. I’d had the day off and hadn’t even showered yet.

With not a lot of time, I stripped down and took one more glance at myself before climbing under the spray. My belly protruded out, but not too far yet. Still, I felt like everything about my body was puffy and unhealthy looking. Ugh.

The shower helped a little. At least my swollen form was clean, and I brushed my teeth and combed my hair then dressed in the one pair of jeans that would still zip up…most of the way. My formerly baggy jeans were now the ones I couldn’t sit comfortably in. I stripped them off and replaced them with my flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt I’d picked up the day before in a size larger than usual. My mate deserved better, but all I had to offer was me.

The bell rang and I headed for the door, my steps speeding up as I got closer. I wanted him so much, and I wished I was sure enough to take everything he had to offer. Like the night we mated when for just an hour or so I was. Why couldn’t I be that now?

He’d been asking me to go to the healer for some time. Could he be right? No. I’d know when it was right.

I opened the door, saw his face, and burst into tears. Leon led me inside, sat on the couch, and pulled me onto his lap. He would stay as long as I let him and then go home. Again. Why did he tolerate me at all?

Chapter Seventeen

Leon

I would never try to control Tobias, but what I did do was insist that we visit Quinn the healer. Books had been delivered to my door as I preferred the physical copies over the eBooks and from what I’d read, my mate would need prenatal vitamins and there were certain foods he had to avoid and some foods he needed to have more of.

All the information we needed was in those books, plus the online information, but call me old-fashioned—I wanted him to see someone in person. Have Quinn look at his body and test his vitals. Make sure everything was okay.

Surprisingly, Tobias didn’t protest this time. Not one bit.

I got some breakfast ready to go, along with an orange juice. I missed our breakfasts together. Pausing with my hands braced on the edge of the counter, I let a breath of frustration out. Tobias told me every night that he was tired and needed his rest. So, each night, I would come back to this house alone and sleep in my bed. My bed had never been cold before Tobias left his scent on the sheets and the comforter but never returned. We had always stayed at his house after that. Until he didn’t want company.

I was a patient man but these weeks of sleeping without him. Waking up without him.

They were slowly driving me to madness.

My jackal was pissed off all the time. No matter how much I ran the son of a bitch, there was only one person who would make him calm again. That person who kept us at arm’s length.

I drove over to Tobias’ house and knocked on the door. It felt stupid, knocking on his door. We should share the same door, and I shouldn’t have to announce my arrival at our home.

Silliness, if you asked me, but my mate had some trust issues.

Hopefully, we wouldn’t spend a lifetime with this wall between us.

“Good morning,” he said and shut the door behind him. He was paler than usual.

“Omega, are you okay?”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night. Kept tossing and turning.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe you’ll have a chance to catch a nap today.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Naps are the best.”

We walked to the truck and, of course, I opened his door for him. All of this felt like we were still in the dating phase sometimes, but I swore I would wait for him. As long as it took.

“I made you breakfast, if you want to eat. Are you still throwing up in the mornings?”

“No. I’m not. Sometimes, I get a bit nauseated, but it’s easing up. Thank you. I think I will eat.”

I nodded and got into the truck, driving us the short distance to the healer’s office. We were welcomed right in. Quinn recognized my omega immediately and asked if he was all healed from the burn. While I hadn’t personally been to the office, I’d heard around town that he was the best in the state. Shifters and even some humans came from all around to be under his care. His mate helped him run the office.