Page 53 of Lost
NOVA
I’m curled up on the couch in between Tyde’s thighs, my head cushioned on his chest. A part of me wants to call him my alpha, but after that brief moment in the nest he made me, I don’t think I should. While it’s clear he wants me, I’m not feeling very confident in anything.
“Take your time, Nova,” he murmurs, his fingers moving through my hair slowly. They tangle in it and I wince when they get caught in a snarl. “I have a hair brush somewhere. I bought it at the store when I was picking up things for you. After this, I want you to show me how to detangle your hair. While I washed it, my brushing game may not be up to snuff.”
My lips part in surprise as I twist around to gaze up at him.
“Thank you,” I say softly. I could tell him that I can do it myself, but I don’t want to break how special it is that he even offered. Settling back, I gaze down at the phone as if it’s going to bite me.
I don’t have my sister’s phone number, so I open up my contacts list to call Malcolm. I can imagine them huddledaround her, making sure she’s okay. I highly doubt that they went into work, or they’re managing things from home at least.
Taking in a breath that comes in as a gasp instead, I press his name to connect the call. I don’t know if he’ll answer. There’s a million reasons why he may not, and I’ll have to accept it?—
“Nova?” a sultry female voice asks on the third ring. I never sound like this. Since Louise used to tell me that my voice sounded like a man, I’ve always been very sensitive about how I speak.
Add to that disuse from being alone all of the time, and my voice constantly cracks and sounds rough.
“Hi,” I say weakly, my mind racing a million miles a minute.
“Where are you? Please tell me the guys are with you or so help me, I’ll murder them all,”she growls.
“I thought we agreed that killing was bad,” Malcolm teases her. Except, I think he’s half serious.
“Answer the question, Nova,”Hollis says.
“I’m here,” Tyde says, his hand banding around my waist to ground me. My legs move up to curl into myself under the blankets he covered me with, and I sigh.
“Caleb and Lars are gone,” I say, feeling tears wanting to well up. Swallowing hard, I tell myself to stop being silly. They obviously have work to handle. I’m fine. “I’m at Tyde’s house, but?—”
“Where did they go?”she asks, sounding confused. “You went into heat, Nova. How long have you been out of it?”
“Just a couple of hours, if that,” Tyde replies. “They told me to take care of her and hightailed it out of here. Nova is perfectly fine with me. You couldn’t pull me away if you wanted to.”
There’s the tone. He’s been so sweet that it’s easy to forget how blunt he can be, but my lips twitch because I can feel how protective he feels through the bond. Tyde really doesn’t want me to leave.
“You’re the asshole doctor,”Hollis grunts. “There’s nothing wrong with being an ass as long as you’re good to my sister. Sometimes your inside voice gets the better of you, and I have an alpha with that exact malady.”
Remy snorts on the other end of the line, and it helps me center myself. There’s no reason for tears, this is just part of life.
“I’m awkward when I’m stressed,” Tyde admits. “Since that happens for about ninety percent of my interactions, I come off like an ass. Nova and I are working through it, but it’s easier now that we’re bonded.”
There’s a long pause before I hear cursing on the other end of the phone. Oops.
“You barely know her,”Brice says. “How the fuck did that happen?”
“It was a really bad heat,” I explain. “I had a seizure in my van before Lars pulled me out. I was trying to take care of it by myself, but that didn’t go very well. I overloaded my body.”
“She bit me for the record,” Tyde grunts. “My control is really good, but she needed a knot and a bite in order to come out of her heat. There’s no way I was going to let her die over my own morals.”
“Why wouldn’t you give her your knots? You’re alphas, and she was in heat. This isn’t rocket science,”my sister snarls. My face heats at the fact that we’re talking about this during the first conversation that we’ve ever had. “What’s the point of you being there at all if you’re holding back?”
“Consent,” Tyde bites out. “She was half out of her mind, dehydrated, and couldn’t give it. Caleb, Lars, and I agreed that she could have everything but anal or vaginal penetration.”
“Tyde,” I groan. I can feel his annoyance, but fuck me this is a lot of information for him to be giving out.
“What the fuck does she need you for then?”Felix asks. “Did you have any toys at least for her? Even artificial knots may have helped if you were with her.”
“My van is apparently littered with discarded toys,” I say with a wince. If we’re going to talk about this, I may as well participate. “I think my body may have been over poser dicks.”
