Page 26 of Saving Nevin
Two blue lines… But that was a positive? How?
I began to sob harder, hugging my arms to my sides. Stupid body. Stupid heat. Stupid hormones. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t fuckingpossibleand the Universe was just rubbing my nose in it now. God, it hurt. It hurt so badly that I wanted to just disappear.
I backed out of the bathroom and right into Kace, before bolting for the bedroom. I heard him call my name, but I didn’t care. I just wanted the pain to stop. Panic began to climb through me like a creeping vine, choking out my veins and my airways and everything that made this heart keep beating in my chest. I buried my face in the pillows and broke down crying.
“Nev, honey. I’m sorry.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, his big hand warm where it rested on my side. I wanted to shrug it off, to retreat into myself, but I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting him. “Hey, well at least we know now, right?”
“It was a dud,” I mumbled, my voice muffled by the pillows. “It can’t be positive. It’s not possible.”
“Wait. It was positive?” He frowned. “If it’s positive, then?—”
“It’s lying!” I hissed, swiping at my tears angrily. “I can’tgetpregnant. I’mworthless. I told you this before. I’m worthless to you. You s-should be with someone who can give you children and?—”
“Nevin.” Kace’s voice was surprisingly sharp. It was enough to snap me out of my spiraling thoughts. I quickly looked up at him, half-expecting him to be angry, but there was nothing but compassion in his soft hazel eyes. “I don’t care about that, okay? It doesn’t matter to me if we have babies, but please, don’teversay that again. You arenotworthless, Nevin. You’re mine and you’re breaking my heart right now.”
I cracked right down the center, and when I fell apart, Kace was there to catch me.
“Come here, baby. Let me love you.”
19
KACE
I ached for my mate.
Nevin had been an emotional mess these past couple of weeks. Crying at the drop of a hat, snapping at me if I asked a question that hit a little too close to home. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was definitely pregnancy hormones, but Nevin insisted up and down that it was just another false pregnancy. That he’d had them in the past, and that he was broken.
Still, something didn’t sit quite right with me. I had my doubts. Nevin had been pretty skinny when he’d first come to live with me, but he’d been putting on weight, especially around the belly area.
Was it possible? Maybe the doctor he went to had gotten it wrong, somehow. Or maybe those so-called Alphas in his last pack had been sterile? Although Nevin had said he’d been handed around to different men, so probably not.
I was in the middle of chopping vegetables for a side-salad when there was a knock at my front door. Nevin, who had been curled up on the couch with a book, came padding barefoot into the kitchen.
He glanced at me, almost warily. “Are you expecting company?”
“Not that I know of?” I dried my hands off on a dish towel and walked across the room to answer it, surprised to see my oldest sister standing on the doorstep. Her auburn hair gleamed copper in the sunlight.
She flashed a big smile. “Hi, Kace. I was in the area and thought I’d pop in,” she said, by way of explanation. “Would you mind a little company?”
“No, not at all,” I said, stepping out from the doorway so that she could come inside. When she did, I closed and locked the door behind her.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve come over. This place has turned out amazing. You’ve really done a great job with it,” Tasha told me, looking around the sunny kitchen with a glint of admiration in her eyes. When she spotted Nevin lingering near the hallway, she gave a little wave. “Hey, Nevin. How are you?”
Nevin gave her a weak chin-nod in response, mumbled something about excusing himself to go take a nap, and disappeared down the hall. A moment later, the tell-tale click of a closed door sounded.
My sister and I exchanged a glance. Her expression was equal parts concerned and confused. “Is he alright?”
I blew out a sharp exhalation before rubbing both hands over my face. “Yes and no. He’s super emotional right now. He’s going through a false pregnancy and it’s messing with his head.”
Her brows shot up. “A false pregnancy? Kace, you realize those are rare, even by Omega standards, right?” She pinned me with a look. “Are you sure he’s not pregnant? He went into heat and you got caught up in the moment, didn’t you?”
“It’s not like that.” I frowned at her. “It’s a long story.”
She pointed to the couch. “I’ve got nothing but time. Spill.”
With a sigh, I walked back into the living room and sat down on one end of the couch, crossing my leg at the knee. Tasha joined me, tucking hers beneath her as she settled. As she turned to face me, she shot me a look that said, “Well?” and I couldn’t exactly lie.
So I told her everything I knew, about Nevin’s past and the pack who’d mistreated him, and the Alphas who chased him from their territory just because he was barren. The turmoil he was going through because he so desperately wanted a child, and how his body was tormenting him.
