Page 112 of Puck My Life

“She thinks she’s pregnant. She says she went into heat, and we helped, and now we are the baby daddies.”

I hyperventilate.

“I cannot have a child! I can’t even get up on my own. You wake me up. I can’t cook. You do the washing and organise my life. I’m useless.”

“Wait, first things first. Who is she?”

“Lilly Waters, our girlfriend from two girlfriends ago.”

“Ah, yes, the one who called you all her daddies. Should have been a clue.”

My lips twitch despite myself. “Not helping, Vae.”

“Okay, as sickening as it is, tell me everything that happened, including the sex. Was there any hint of heat? Let’s go over all the things you said, saw, and did.”

PRESENT

The last week has been the happiest of my life. The easy way we are with each other is now so seamless that I can’t imagine how I could have thought I’d be happy without her.

I lean into bed, inhaling the scent of her slick on the pillow. She really relaxed and came out of her shell towards the end, and her appetite is voracious. She’s perfect for Deacon’s unhinged darkness. She meets my playful exchanges with answering joy, and she’s the sensual seductress to Raynor’s erotic pleasures.

The conversations are easy, the tension and walls we all keep up are gone.

I can see my forever, and, for the first time, I step into it, happily.

She’s gone to get her things and pack up to come home. Just that sentence alone makes me giddy.

I clean the house to surprise her and carefully use the scent neutralizers in the rest of the house to get rid of any lingering female scents. I know it upsets her.

The doorbell chimes, and I abandon the vacuum. I answer the door with a smile, which falls from my face when I find Indy glaring at me in her huge, designer sunglasses. She looks perfect, as usual, I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone more than I hate her right now for not being Vae.

“What do you want? We’re on our way out,” I snap the words out, almost spitting at her.

All the flaws she had are so bright and clear to me now. How she treated Raynor like he was less, how she demanded we pay for everything for her. She loved the parties and was always taking photos and uploading them to her social media account.

She’s vain, spoiled, and cruel. She doesn’t love; she leeches.

She lifts her chin, snatching her sunglasses off her face, her eyes glittering in a way that makes my stomach jolt. I frown even harder and start closing the door on her, but she pushes out an arm and slams it back, and I’m so taken aback by the move I don’t resist.

“We need to talk.” She pushes past me. I grab her arm, but she stops and turns to face me. “Get your hand off me, Malcolm.”

The sheer rage in her eyes has me nervous. I let go of her arm and trail after her as she stalks into the house. She’d be the kind of omega to cry rape. The kind of omega that you end up bonded to forever.

The thought gives me chills.

“The others will be out soon.” I hope they get home in time. I really do. Before Vae, especially before Vae. She would never forgive us for having Indy here.

I reach for Indy again but pause and lower my hand. She gives me a smug little smile that tells me she knows exactly what I’m thinking and that she’s got me by the balls.

“No, they won’t. They are gone for the day. Don’t lie to me.” She paces through the hallway, leading me into the kitchen, and sits down at the table, crosses her leg, and just stares at me.

It’s intense and annoying. I stay in the doorway and cross my arms defensively.

“You have two minutes or I’m calling the police.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Indy says. “Things would not go well.”

A bolt of foreboding goes through me. It’s an interesting word, foreboding. I remember Vae teaching me its meaning when I was a kid. A sense of doom or that something bad will happen. My mind flashes that memory up to me, and then I’m left feeling mildly sick.