Page 46 of Broken Bonds

“If I getfood poisoning from this place, I hope you’re prepared to deal with a very pissed-off pregnant omega,” I say blandly, raising a brow at Forde after eyeing the diner skeptically.

He laughs and shakes his head, turning the truck off and pocketing his keys.

“If you get food poisoning, I’ll hold your hair while you throw up and pretend I don’t see anything if you shit yourself,” he snorts, grinning cheekily at me.

He’s got these dimples that are endearing, and I have the tiniest flash of me licking those godsforsaken dimples before I blink it away.

No. Absolutely not.

I glare at him and say, “If I shit myself, you’d be a dead alpha. Unacceptable.”

“Quit worrying. I’ve eaten here nearly every night since we got into town and haven’t gotten sick yet, so I’d say you’re safe.”

He opens his door and exits, and I move to follow. When I open my door and he’s standing right there, I shriek in surprise, placing my hand on my chest as my heart tries to pound its way out of my chest. A smirk rests on his plump lips as he holds his hand out for me to take, which I do, because I don’t want to risk tumbling out of this monstrosity of a vehicle like I nearly did at the rage room.

He helps me down and we walk inside together, taking a seat in a booth in the back. Just as we take a seat, an older waitress comes over with menus, placing them down in front of us.

“Your heart is gonna explode if you continue eating here every night, boy,” she says fondly, with a smile aimed at Forde.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides, you know I come in here for you more than the fries, Linda.” He grins up at her and she rolls her eyes, smacking him with her order pad.

“Your flattery will get you nowhere with me, young man. Now, who do we have here? My, aren’t you just beautiful? Got that pregnancy glow and everything,” Linda says as she turns to face me.

I give her a close-mouthed smile and introduce myself. Apparently, Forde wasn’t kidding when he said he comes here every night for dinner. He orders for us both once he’s confirmed I’m okay with his choices and Linda tells us she’ll be back with our drinks before leaving us to ourselves.

I stare across the table at him, picking at the rolled-up napkin on my side. He’s told me about their lives and a little about Link and Rion. Now I’d like to know more about him. I want to know about the kind alpha that chose to come pick up a grieving, pregnant omega and take her to destroy stuff so she can decompress and hopefully start to heal.

“So, what was your life like before you presented as an alpha?” I ask him carefully.

“Mm. I don’t know. It wasn’t anything too special, but wasn’t horrible either. My mom’s an omega and she has five alphas she’s bonded to. My dads. There are seven of us kids altogether, though there used to be eight. All alphas except two. My youngest brother, Fields, is an omega and my youngest sister, Natalie, is a beta,” he tells me, stopping when Linda comes back with our drinks.

I stick my straw in my glass of iced tea and take a sip. I want to ask about the sister he mentioned when he picked me up, the one that passed. But I’m unsure how to bring it up. Then again, he did say he’d tell me about her when he was trying to get me to come with him.I’m just unsure whether I should bring it up or wait to see if he will.

“What about you?” he asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“What was your childhood like?” he asks as he takes a sip of his water.

Well, this is about to get awkward.

“Oh, uh. Well… I grew up in foster care after my parents died in a car accident when I was a toddler. When I got older, I was moved into a group home.” I shrug my shoulder, taking another sip of my drink to avoid looking him in the eyes and seeing the pity I’ve become so used to seeing when people find that out about me. “It wasn’t too bad. The older omega that ran it was stern, but she really cared about all of us girls.”

Forde surprises me when he reaches across the table and tilts my chin up so I’m looking at him. My eyes grow wide and my lips part at the intensity of his gaze. Unlike what I’m so accustomed to, he doesn’t give me a pitying look.

“Don’t ever feel like you have to be embarrassed about anything from your past, Ramsey. I’m an open book and I’d like it if you could feel comfortable enough with me to be open as well. If we’re going to be friends, that is.”

He pulls his hand back, a sheepish look crossing his features.

I’m still stuck in the same position he left me in when he moved his hand away, staring at him in shock. My chin tingles where he touched me, and a shiver runs down my spine. I blink my eyes owlishly at him, falling back in my seat. After several beats, I clear my throat and give him a tentative smile.

“It’s nice to not receive pity from someone learning about my childhood. Thank you for that,” I manage to say. Eventually.

“What good would my pity be to you?” he asks with a frown. “Seems pretty silly to pity you. You said your childhood wasn’t awful, so that there is enough reason not to pity you.”

“Do you pity me for losing my alphas and myself in the process?” I ask him curiously, tilting my head to the side.

His lips press firmly together as he takes a deep sigh and pauses to contemplate his response.

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