Page 19 of Untamed Omega

I set my book down and struggled to my feet. “How many times have you left meetings or changed appointments for my schedule?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” But it mattered so much. I’d fallen into a set of rules to help me regain control of my life. But in the process, I had taken control of my mate’s life. And if he was leaving meetings and scheduling appointments around my issues, then it affected others as well. When I came to sanctuary, I had never intended to do anything like that.

“It does. And it’s over.” I grabbed the bag of nuts and handed them to Markus. “Is the meeting still going on?”

“Yes. There is another survivor on the way, and we were discussing the intel we have.”

He’d let my needs take precedence over this incredibly important matter. Out of love for me, but how selfish had I been? “I want to help. Can we go back to the meeting now? Can I come?”

“You should be resting.”

“Alpha, Kellan helped me when I arrived. He was so sleep-deprived from being a dad, but he didn’t let that stop him from making me feel at home. We know what it’s like where they are coming from. They are so damaged, and they need to have someone who understands.”

I’d been trying to find a place in this sleuth that was just mine, a skill that could be useful, but so far had been unsuccessful.

“Are you sure? It’s not too much for you? Too upsetting?”

“No. I think it’s time to get out of my head. We have a baby coming, if you haven’t noticed, and they’re going to have to comefirst. You’ve been so kind to me, putting up with my insistence on all those times for eating and stuff, but it’s time I put my attention to helping others.”

He hugged me tight then took my hand. “So we won’t be having lunch at noon anymore?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. We have to eat sometime. But I believe the baby will have their own ideas about when we eat and sleep and things. It’s time to ease up. Now, can I come to the meeting?”

“Yes.” He kissed me hard. “Since Locke isn’t the alpha, how can he stop you?”

It probably didn’t hurt that I was pregnant, either. I’d noticed that nobody wanted to upset the pregnant omegas. So when I waddled into the meeting room and took a seat, there were some surprised looks, but nobody told me to get out.

Instead, they continued with their discussion, and when they paused long enough, I asked nicely to be included and shared what I already had with my alpha. And when we finished up, I had an official job within the organization. My duties included ensuring that new arrivals had a place to stay after Marcus released them from the clinic and, if they wanted to return to their old groups, I would facilitate that process.

It felt good to be more than just a rapidly growing belly. Sure, there was a baby in there, but until they made an appearance, there was only so much I could do with my time. Helping others was better than marking off the hours of the day.

Chapter Nineteen

Markus

Sam had been working from a sitting position a lot lately. According to his healer, who was me, he had a week or so before he delivered but, then again, shifter pregnancies were wild and often didn’t follow the plans. Then again, all we had to gauge from were other shifter births, which weren’t well-recorded, and human pregnancy.

I walked over to him and noticed the way he was stretching this way and that but without appearing to receive much relief. “Here, let me rub your back.”

“Oh, thank you. It’s been giving me trouble since this morning.”

That caught my attention. “Since this morning? Low back? Anything else bothering you?”

My omega shook his head. “Not really.”

While I rubbed, Sam hissed several times. “I have to get up. This stool is killing me. Nothing is comfortable nowadays.”

“I’m so sorry. Your legs have been tight too.”

“And swollen feet and this kid of yours keeps jabbing my ribs with his little feet. It’s fine sometimes but not at dawn.”

I rubbed my hands along the circumference of his belly. “Oh, are you bothering your daddy? That’s not nice. You have plenty of time to do that once you’re out here.”

Sam playfully slapped at my shoulder. “Stop that. He or she is going to be an absolute angel, just like Elise.”

Snorting, I shook my head. “The same Elise who threw a fit last night because Kellan tried to feed her potatoes?” Elise was a meat eater. Meat and nothing else. I knew it was a phase, but Kellan was concerned.

“Yes. That one. A very particular and persistent angel with lungs like a…like something with big lungs.”

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