Page 93 of Want It All
It was testament to just how whiny I was that they both agreed to go to class, though not before making me promise to text if I needed anything.
‘I just want to watch trashy TV and feel sorry for myself,’ I muttered. There was a severe storm warning for later in the day, so it was the perfect opportunity to stay inside.
Before they left, Tristan made a pile of snacks and some drinks, bringing them to the nest. He’d made hot chocolate in a thermos, so that it stayed the right temperature.
Fuck, I loved him.
I found something terrible on a streaming service and put it on my laptop. I was too irritated to watch it properly, changing position every few minutes, then getting up and pacing around the nest. I ate some of the snacks, but my mouth tasted funny and my stomach churned at the thought of food I’d normallydevour. Eventually, I unscrewed the lid of the thermos and sipped the hot chocolate. It was extra sweet, and Tristan had sprinkled some tiny raspberry drupelets and vanilla sugar over the whipped cream.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing, though.
Irritated, I shifted my weight, the coverlet brushing against my skin in a way that made me bristle. Huffing, I got up and ripped it from the bed, tossing it out into the hall. Rose’s blanket was balled up at the end of the mattress and I picked it up, rubbing it against my cheek. It was soothingly soft and smelled faintly of her artificial perfume, though I couldn’t catch any of her omega scent. My eyes prickled at the thought, my instincts hating that I was missing that all-important piece of my scent match in this special place. I spread the blanket over the bed carefully, then realised the pillows were wrong; I picked each one up, rubbing the cushions against my cheek, tossing some out and keeping some, arranging them around the bed in a rough circle.
But it still wasn’t right.
Tapping my fingers absently against my thigh, I made my way to Tristan’s room, inhaling. There was a faint hint of vanilla coming from his bed and from his washing basket. I ran my hands over his bed, then carefully bundled up the coverlet, carrying it to my nest and folding it inside my cushion circle towards the end of the mattress. Returning to Tristan’s room, I rifled through his dirty washing, finding a shirt he’d worn to the gym and the boxer shorts he’d been wearing that morning before he’d gotten us both off. The material had been wet with precum and remained deliciously sweet and musky.
I clutched the clothing to my chest and sighed, happier.
I took both things back to my nest, stuffing them under my favourite pillow. I left the lid off the thermos, and when I lay back down, I breathed in the scents of vanilla and chocolate. Itsettled me, though I wished desperately that both scents were stronger.
And something wasstillmissing.
Outside, the storm was gathering. The sky gradually darkened and the wind picked up, howling against the nest window. I hoped that Tristan had decided against his usual afternoon walk, but my alpha wasn’t foolish; he’d stay safe.
It was early afternoon when pain laced through my stomach, so strong I screamed, but the sound was lost beneath the howl of the wind.
Myomegastirred.Somethingisn’t right.
A sense of wrongness pushed down on me like a weight. I paused in the act of submitting my practise exam, my fingers suddenly trembling.
Sebastian.
Not for the first time, I wished that I’d let him bite me. If he’d bitten me, I’d know more through the bond; as it was, I only knew that something had changed, that something waswrong, and that I needed to get back to him.
I clicked thesubmitbutton and impatiently waited for the confirmation page to load, shoving my drink bottle and reference notes back in my bag. When a message popped up on my laptop saying I’d submitted my exam successfully, I screenshot it, saved the image, then shut my laptop.
‘Ms. Morris?’
I looked up to see Professor Heathcote eyeing me with barely disguised distaste. ‘I need to go. It’s a personal matter.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Class hasn’t finished yet.’
‘I’ve submitted my exam.’
He cleared his throat. ‘And, as I said, class hasn’t finished yet.’
Fuck, this man was an asshole. ‘I appreciate that, and I apologise for the disruption, but I need to go.’ I glanced to the side to see Tristan watching me, frowning.
Are you okay?he mouthed. I could see his laptop screen was on one of the last questions, though he still had a few to complete.
I spent half a moment bemoaning the fact thathehadn’t bitten me, either.
I gave a slight shrug, not wanting to lie to him, but not wanting to worry him, either, not when all I had was a feeling of wrongness and he hadn’t finished his exam. His frown deepened, but he turned to the front. ‘I’ll take notes for Rose.’
Heathcote’s lips thinned. ‘It seems you’re making a habit of that, Mr. Grace.’
Tristan’s stare didn’t waver. ‘Isn’t that what a good alpha does for their pack?’
