Page 7 of A Baby for the Beast (Beastverse #3)

Lucas

I 've never been so content and so on edge at the same time.

Remi and I went from endlessly pacing our apartment every night and buying everything we could think of that she might need or like while trying to figure out how to track our omega down to having her asleep in the passenger seat of our car.

We're ready to retire right this second and spend all of our time staring at our omega for the rest of our lives.

We've already spoken to the owner of our gym and have a job as a trainer and a kids' class to coach as soon as we're ready.

The only thing stopping us from doing it right this second is that we have a contract for the title fight, and we don't know if our omega is going to accept us as hers just yet.

We can't stop looking at her now that she's sleeping.

When she was awake, it was more challenging because she had no problems with staring at us and letting her pheromones coat the car in a way that we're pretty sure was an attempt to seduce us.

If we looked at her when she was doing that, I would've come in my pants.

It takes us longer to get to Jace's apartment above my new sister's coffee shop.

Since being kicked out of his house for having a beast, Jace has been staying with my brother, Henry, and his mate, Sarah.

Jace moved into the vacant apartment across the hall from them, but he still likes checking in on them and making sure they know he's okay.

"Sarah's going to be pissed when she smells me," Jace laughs as he opens the back door quietly enough not to wake the sleeping omega. I also hop out of the car, leaving it running with my door open so she knows I'm not abandoning her in a dark alleyway.

Right on cue, my brother and his mate come walking down the stairs, looking way too awake for two people who I know get up at dawn to open up the shops they live above.

Sometimes, I've been jealous of my brother.

He and his beast, Romulus, found being with women easy and fun, something Remi had no interest in until Hayley.

I had no interest in women until Hayley, but I was still jealous of Henry.

I know what he has with Sarah is something I want.

Then, almost a year after he finally bit Sarah, I scented my omega for the first time.

Six months after that, I finally met her.

Henry smells all the pheromones wafting out of the car before Sarah does, and I see his eyes widen and brows shoot to his hairline.

In the whole time he's known me, as in since six minutes after I was born, I've never brought a woman around.

He might be able to deduce that I've never been with one either, but I'm hoping he's never had the desire.

Whatever questions he has are quickly dashed away as Sarah wraps Jace in a hug, asking him how the fights went, and then screws up her nose.

"I smell exactly the same as your mate. Stop acting like it's gross," I grumble loud enough for the three of them to hear.

I enjoy needling my brother. What can I say?

One of the things he and Romulus both hate is that they have the weirdest idea that their beta might want me.

She doesn't. I've seen how she looks at my brother, how he looks at her.

I'm never coming between them, but I do love riling my brother up. It's what twins do.

"Don't talk to her about smelling you," Henry says, pressing his lips tight as he moves his body to block my view of Sarah.

She rolls her eyes, touching his arm to soothe his worry. Unfortunately for me, there's now someone he can use to get under my skin, and he doesn't look like he's about to use that delicately.

"Who's in the car, Lucas?" Henry asks, his tone turning joyful when my cheeks heat.

I glance back to see Hayley still fast asleep with her head on the window, her body covered in a blanket I bought at a larger convenience store when we stopped to let her use the restroom.

My chest swells with pride when I see her looking so peaceful, so content, like she could sleep there forever because she knows I'm here to protect her.

I won't let anything happen to her when she's with me.

"That's the omega he's been searching for," Jace tells them, causing my head to snap in their direction.

Do they know about me scenting an omega? I glare at Jace, but Remus isn't interested in a fight right now. Strange, considering there's nothing he loves more, even though one tiny flicker of him in our eyes, and most fights go from definitely going to happen to never happening in a million years.

"Oh, you found her?" Sarah asks, her eyes crinkling as she quietly claps her hands together and holds them close to her chin in excitement. Then she frowns. "Wait, did you kidnap her?"

"No, I didn't kidnap her," I tell her, annoyed that she even thinks that's a possibility. "She had a flat tire. I'm taking her to her apartment now. Tomorrow, I need you." I point to Henry. "To drive me up to where we left her car so I can change the tire and drive it back down here."

"When?" Henry asks, not giving me grief or telling me he's busy.

"Whenever you're done at the bakery. I have training at six, but I can postpone that if necessary. It's about two hours to her car."

Henry looks down at Sarah, and they have a weird, silent conversation between them that lasts a few seconds before Henry turns back to me. "Sarah can open them both on her own tomorrow."

"On her own?" Jace squawks the question. "No, I'll be up." He glares at Henry as he walks up the stairs to their apartments. "Letting your beta open them both on her own," he grumbles as he shakes his head, missing how Sarah's lips tug up in the corner, and Henry snorts a laugh.

"Glad that's settled," I tell them, heading back for my car and the sweet little omega sitting in my passenger seat, all snuggled up and looking so beautiful and serene.

"I'm glad you found her," Henry tells me, forcing me to freeze where I stand.

His voice is sincere, but it's still strange for anyone to know I've been struggling, obsessed, and without my obsession, for six months. Now that I have her, I'm going to treat her right. I'm going to do this right. I also have to convince Remus that we won't be stalking her.

Watching her. That sounds better than stalking.

I give my brother a nod as I slide back into the driver's side, head down the other end of the alley, and back onto the main road.

Hayley put her address into my phone without hesitation when we finished at the most recent rest stop.

The one where I miraculously found a blanket in my trunk because she said she was cold.

Sure, I bought the blanket while she was in the bathroom, but she didn't like the idea of me buying her something when I offered. She doesn't need to know the one I managed to find was also brand new.

No stalking her. You're going to freak her out. She has a kid to worry about now.

I have a kid to worry about now. They're mine.

I'm sure that's exactly what she wants. Some domineering alpha beast who's going to get all 'you're mine' on her while she's pregnant.

Glad we're on the same page. Remus growls his approval as though he didn't pick up on the fact that I was being sarcastic, and when I try to tell him that I'm not on the same page as him, he says. Get on the same page. I'm stronger than you.

Way to put a damper on our relationship.

"Are you okay?" Hayley's sweet voice makes Remus and me cease our argument so we can give her all our attention.

"We're fine," I tell her, squeezing the steering wheel until my knuckles are white because my cock has just decided to take all of the blood in my body. "Remus and I were just talking. Sometimes, growls slip out."

"Mmm," she murmurs as she settles back against the window, her eyes fluttering closed. "He's an angry-sounding beast."

"He's more bark than bite," I tell her, not wanting her to be scared of him.

"I figured as much." Her lips curl into a seductive little smile, but her eyes remain closed.

When I pull up to the next red light, I let my eyes linger over her face to soak in her beauty.

Her dark hair frames the sharp angles of her cheekbones, and her tanned skin turns the prettiest, rosy shades.

She has thick brows and thicker lashes. Then her eyes are open, dark, and looking at me like she did when I found her in the car.

Desire. I have to grit my teeth and refocus my attention on the road now that the light has turned green.

"For someone who scent matched me, you're doing an awfully good job at not doing anything about it.

" She sounds almost like she's pouting, and I chance a look at her to see her move in the seat.

She no longer has her body facing us as much as she can in the seat, but instead is pulling the blanket tighter around herself and shifting away, giving us her back, or attempting to, since her stomach is in the way of her doing much moving at all.

"I don't understand," I tell her because I genuinely don't. "I've been slowly losing my mind for six months, and now that you're here, I'm not going to mess it up by jumping you in my car."

"I didn't say I wanted you to jump me," she sniffles.

What? Is she crying now? I thought she was irritated with me, but now she's crying, and I can't have her crying because of me.

That's bad alpha behavior, and Remus and I are ready to be on our best behavior to prove to Hayley that she should let us be with her for the rest of her life and allow us the honor of raising her child with her because we want to.

Need to.

I check the distance to her apartment on my phone, and we're only two minutes away. Good, maybe I won't fuck this up even more somehow before we get there.

"I scent matched you, Hayley. I don't know why you'd think I'd lie about something like that–"

"Because I'm pregnant with your rival's baby!" she cries, and then she's sobbing for real.