Page 61 of Bonded By Christmas

I roll my eyes. “Omegas need extra coddling around their heat.”

Callum shrugs. “Sure, but submissives tend to want someone to take control when they’re overwhelmed. If they don’t get that, they can be known to act out. It’s all about testing the situation. Being what she needs means being adaptable.”

“I’m going to adapt to stabbing you while you sleep,” I growl.

“You’re still way too wound up, considering we’re both bonded to the woman we’ve been lusting after?—”

“And yet only one of us has been inside her,” I growl, wondering why the edges of my vision are going hazy.

Wasn’t bonding supposed to fix me?

Goddammit.

“Yeah, you check on Lacey. I’ll carry in the cat supplies,” Callum says with a nod.

Well, that was the first intelligent thing he’s said all day.

I brush the cat hair off my T-shirt and coat as I come around the corner into the kitchen. That would be a terrible way to ruin the surprise.

“I already said I’m not hungry, but you’re not listening to a word I say!” Lacey says in a solid impression of a growly alpha.

My eyes widen.

Hell, we might need to do the kitten introduction tonight, after all. She seems mighty displeased. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to bring the kittens into things just yet. Knowing Lacey, she’ll get excited and try to ignore her biological needs if she has any idea they’re here.

Collins will spoil those girls rotten, anyway.

Damn. They need names.

Jesus.

Am I feeling guilty for adopting the little fur balls and foisting them off on someone else?

Nah, that’s dumb.

It’s kinda like when someone buys a pet as a Christmas gift, and it has to stay with a family member for a few days to avoid ruining the surprise. Actually, it’sexactlylike that.

Except, they did seem attached to me. I may have to stop by Collins’s room once she’s settled in for the night just to check on them… Ahh, fuck.

This is why I’ve never adopted a pet.

I’m not good at disappointing animals. I bawled like a goddamn baby when Buster, my yellow lab, died when I was a sophomore in high school.

I loved that fucking dog.

“You’re not running a fever,” Wilder says firmly. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, because that still doesn’t mean I’m hungry.” She huffs.

“I need you to work with me here, Lacey,” Wilder says, his tone almost pleading. “We focused on the nest for a few hours, but it’s time to get something nutritious in your body before the next wave hits.”

Collins mentioned they were bickering before he came out to meet us in the garage. It makes me wonder how long this little back and forth has been going on.

Sighing, I stride closer to the breakfast nook where they’re both seated. I don’t relish being the bad guy either, but I will be if I have to. They beat it through alphas’ heads that it’s our responsibility to care for an omega when they’re not in the right headspace to look after themselves.

Omegas get the strong urge to nest in the days before they fully go into heat, but their system is designed to stockpile calories for the time they’ll be hazy and out of it and only focused on sex.

Wilder’s arm is tossed over the back of Lacey’s chair, but when she spots me, her face lights up, and she pushes to her feet.