Page 39 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

“ D o you mind if I join?” Lauren stepped up to me.

Shaking my head, I let her walk next to me as the trees covered the ground in shade. The scent from the air changed after a minute of being in the forest. There was a tall and thick tree that rose up past the others. Putting my hand on it, I closed my eyes. There was a tree like this back in the pack territory as well. I used to read under it every time I ran away from home or was kicked out for dinners.

“I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

I turned back to Lauren. “Don’t apologize for someone else’s actions.”

“Still...” She frowned. “You’re not taking this like an Omega would.”

Chuckling, I leaned up against the big trunk. My back had already mostly healed at this point. Now it was just sore and would be for the day.

“I guess that’s a good thing since I’ve been trying to hide for so long.” My eyes narrowed and I shook my head. “I don’t understand. How could you be like that? Not just attitude wise but towards your own pups? I think that’s what pisses me off more. Like yeah, what she said scared me but I’m angry about Audrey getting hurt and being berated for a shirt.”

“Her business is her life. It always has been. It takes priority. Next is her image and those together make up her self worth.”

Humming, I stared out into the forest. “I want to be petty and mean.”

Lauren chuckled as she sad down on one of the larger roots that was up. “No one would blame you. Expect maybe Keith. But Marcus can handle him.” She crossed her leg over and leaned forward. “Got something in mind?”

Reaching back, I pulled out my phone. Speed dialing Mike, I waited for the one ring before he picked up.

“Do I need to create an extraction plan for you? I can. I’ll have a helicopter there in ten minutes.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“You okay?”

“No.”

I heard his knuckles crack. “What can I do?”

“Marcus’ twin.”

“You want me to kick him out as Alpha?”

Groaning, I rubbed my face. “No. Nor do I want to know how you would even go about that.”

“There are ways.”

“Again, I don’t want to know.”

Mike chuckled. “Alright, so if not him…his mate?”

“Yeah.”

He paused for a moment. “Delilah Hampton?”

“ Delilah ?” I looked at Lauren.

She chuckled. “That was her name before she changed it to Queen. She took over the Queen Enterprises and it became her entire identity. So she changed her name to Queen probably about twenty years ago now.”

Mike was typing away on the computer. “Well, she seems like a piece of work on paper.”

“Off paper too.” I pursed my lips for a moment. “She…she said I wasn’t worthy of carrying Marcus’ pup and that she hopes I lose her…” Tears filled my eyes as I repeated what she said.

His growl was so loud even Lauren heard it. She sat up, giving me a sad look that I didn’t want to see. Looking at the tree canopy, I tried to swallow back the tears.

“I’ll go all the way, Colton. Tell me how far I can go.”

“Leave the kids and Keith out of it. Only her.” My voice dipped low as I allowed myself to get angry. “Make it crumble. All of it.”

Lauren stood up and came over, putting her hand on my shoulder as she looked at me worriedly. I shot her a smile and shook my head. Mike was still furiously typing in the background.

“Done. Do you want me to send the helicopter? We can bring you home.”

“I’ll be okay. I have family here.”

He sighed. “Fine. When you come back though, I’m doing a full work down. Mental and physical. You’ve been through too much lately.”

“Alright.”

“Good.”

There was nothing else. I pulled the phone away and chuckled as the call was already disconnected. Laughing, I shook my head. He was always like this. If anything it, it was nice to get grounded by him. Mike was always there if I needed him. Part of me felt like I abused out friendship but he would then list all the ways he used me and it would even out.

“You okay?” Lauren asked.

I nodded. “I will be. Mike is my best friend. He takes care of me more than I deserve.”

“It’s good to have friends, and family, like that. You will have us. You are someone who pulled my brother-in-law out of the darkness. Gave him the family he always wanted. One filled with love.” She smiled. “So I owe you. Plus, I ground shifters have to stick together in this crazy winged family.”

Nodding, I chuckled. “I mean, I feel like since we already roped you into helping with building the nursery, that would be enough.”

She laughed, hooking her arm with mine. “Never. That’s a joy. A passion of mine and especially when I get to do personal projects. We can talk what kind of themes and colors you want. How you want to set it up. I think Marcus also wanted to build a nest for you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need a nest. The nursery is enough.”

“But…you’re an Omega. You need a nest. What were your other nests like?”

We walked out of the trees and I didn’t say anything. She stopped me at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes tried to read me. I finally let out a sigh.

“I’ve never had a nest.”

“You never… what ?”

I shook my head again.

“Colton…you’ve never had a nest before? How ?” She put her hand on my forehead for a moment, her face reflecting a deep sadness. “Do you have PCDHS?”

“Okay, I’m tried of hearing this and not knowing what the hell it means.”

We both turned to look up at Marcus who was standing in the doorway. He wasn’t happy and he wasn’t playing around. I could feel his anger but it was lashing out at everything around him. Apparently, whatever happened between him and Keith wasn’t enough.

“Mar, it’s…”

“If you tell me it’s nothing again, Colt, I swear to the old gods I will remove you from this quarter classes. You’ll stay home and there will be no argument about it.”

My eyes widened. “You wouldn’t…”

“I would and I could. You have said it multiple times and you keep playing it off like it’s nothing. I look at Lauren and she looked absolutely ashen when she said it. So I need you to come in here, sit down and tell me what the hell PCDHS is.”

Lauren looked from Marcus to me. “You do. Don’t you?”

“Inside, now, Colton.”

Sulking up the stairs, Mrs. Alford fussed over me before Marcus growled at her. He stood on the other side of the island as I sat down in one of the seats. Lauren stood next to him and Beau sat next to me, leaning her elbows on the island.

“Why does this seem like a standoff?”

“What is PCDHS?” Marcus ignored his sister.

Beau sat up immediately and looked over at me. “Colt?”

I took a slow inhale and exhale. “Physical Contact Deficient Hyper-Sensitivity. That’s what it stands for.”

Mrs. Alford inhaled sharply as she turned around with a mug in her hand. She came around and handed it to me, rubbing my back. Looking up at Marcus, she shook her head.

“You better settle that anger of yours, son. It will do you no good. You’re mate isn’t the one your mad at.”

“It’s okay.” I took the mug and took a sip. “I have avoided talking about it.”

Marcus ran his hands through his hair. “You would tell me you’re an Omega. You told me you were pregnant.” I opened my mouth to say he found out accidentally but stopped when he glared at me. “You accepted me. You promised you would talk to me and lean on me.”

“I know and I do! Trust me...”

“How?”

Tears filled my eyes and I took a sip of tea to try to calm myself. “It…it’s not…”

“A big deal?” Marcus motioned to everyone in the room. “Everyone else’s reactions say very differently.”

“Because they don’t deal with it. They only have heard of it. It’s not…”

Beau crossed her arm over her chest. “Colton, PCDHS isn’t nothing.”

“Beau, I…” I looked at her, pleading with her not to say more.

“Beau?” Marcus asked her instead and I turned, trying to shake my head.

It was Lauren who said out loud what I was hoping wouldn’t come to light. “At a certain point, PCDHS ends in death. It’s the number one thing that kills Omegas.”

Swallowing hard, I jumped and squeezed my eyes shut as Marcus slammed his hands down on the marble countertop. “Colton Fisher, speak now .”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Tears fell down cheeks and I couldn’t look at him.

“Do you have this Physical Contact…disease? Condition?”

Blinking, more tears fell before I took another sip of my tea. “I do.”

He put his hands on his head and he turned around, facing away from me. “And you weren’t going to tell me?”

“I was. I would have to…eventually. Since we are living together.”

“Oh? And why is that? Because one day you would just collapse in the house?”

Nodding slowly, Marcus walked around and took my head in his hands, forcing me to look at him.

“Did you just nod? I was joking, Colt. You would collapse?”

“I mean, I have…usually one bad day a month. It…the pain ramps up to a ten or eleven and I tend to pass out a few times within the four to five hour period.”

I winced as the mug disappeared off the island and shattered against the wall. Mr. Alford grabbed Marcus’ shoulder and pulled him back. Lauren had her hand covering her mouth while Beau just stared at me, completely shocked.

“What stage are you at, Colton? Because that level of pain…” Lauren asked, obviously knowledgeable about it.

Taking a deep breath, I hated that I didn’t have anything to hold onto. “Stage six or seven. Mike and I haven’t been able to differentiate between the two yet. We’ve been researching as well as documenting the entirety of my condition.”

“Seven? Sweetheart, there are only four.” Mrs. Alford spoke up again, turning with a new cup of tea for me. “Four is the max before…” She glanced over at Marcus. “…before an Omega can’t take anymore.”

“Usually, yes. It’s why Mike and I have been documenting so heavily. I passed stage four…over three years ago?”

The kitchen was silent and I didn’t dare look up at anyone. Mrs. Alford came over and placed the the cup of tea in my hands. I held onto it and I nodded, giving her a smile. This was something I was used to now. It had been years but talking about with people wasn’t something I did. Especially people who were emotionally invested in me. Dr. Cardiff had answered questions about it for me regarding the pregnancy but I’m sure she saw it every day from Omegas who didn’t have Alphas while they were pregnant.

“Colt, could you do me a favor?”

I looked up at Mr. Alford. He had pulled out a notebook and he flipped through the pages until he found a blank one. Grabbing a pen, he double checked that it worked.

“I think it would help if we broken down the process for this. Especially if you are saying there is a stage past four. One that we aren’t aware of.”

Nodding, I sipped the tea. “I…I can do that. For the archives?”

Mr. Alford smiled. “Exactly. This would be important to have.”

“I can have Mike send you our notes. We very detailed. We just are running into an issue with stage seven definition.”

Everyone seemed to settle. Someone it felt better. Less emotional as he took charge. Lauren nodded, pushing up and sitting on the counter next to the stove. Mrs. Alford settled into one of the chairs on the other side of Beau. Marcus was the only one who looked upset still. He was leaning his shoulder against the fridge as he glared into the marble countertop, refusing to look up at me.

“Alright, well, let’s start from the beginning shall we? Stage one. What are your findings?”