Page 17

Beth

“ T ake it easy. I mean it,” Gideon said as we pulled up outside my dorm.

“I will. I promise.”

I didn’t promise him how long I would take it easy for. The rest of the night seemed like a good amount of time before I went to my morning class.

Gideon frowned. “Maybe you should have stayed at the pack house.” His gaze was piercing as I squirmed in the passenger seat.

I shook my head. “I want to be back in my own nest. I’m feeling much better, and I don’t want to keep imposing on you guys.”

“It’s not an imposition.” His voice was stern, firm.

I had to subtly press my legs together to ensure he had no idea just how much that tone affected me.

“I promise, I’m going to crawl straight into my nest and sleep more.” I smiled brightly at him.

“Good. Also, Cullen has arranged for lunch to be delivered from the restaurant, so you don’t have to think about food tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s sweet of him.”

Fuck.

I had every intention of going to class like normal the next day, but Cullen would know that if I wasn’t here to accept the delivery.

Cullen had been extra attentive since our little conversation. I’d been pretty out of it, but I distinctly remembered threatening to go all Carrie Underwood on his car, which was mean, even for me.

“Yes, since you’re spending one more day at home, relaxing and recovering, it should be helpful, right?” He smiled at me.

I glowered back. “I have a class tomorrow I can’t really miss…”

“What happened to your promise that you were going to rest?”

“I was…for the rest of this evening and overnight.”

Gideon chuckled, a warm, rich sound that delighted me. “Stubborn. We’ll check in tomorrow. Don’t push yourself.”

“I won’t. It’s not like I do much in class, anyway. I just sit there and take notes. I’ll be back home, tucked up in my nest before it’s even dark!”

Gideon held my gaze for a long moment. I felt like a deer trapped in headlights, unable to pull away. The car was thick with the smell of alpha, and there was only so much I could take.

I needed to get into my own nest, maybe play with my vibrator, and get some damn sleep.

Maybe I should have stayed in bed for another day.

The next morning, I was seriously regretting my stubbornness when I pulled myself out of bed for my class at eight. Though I’d felt well rested the night before, now my body ached.

Still, I had to persevere.

My dreams had been haunted by three particularly good-looking alphas, and the pounding headache made it hard to truly rest.

The result: one very tired, very cranky omega.

But I couldn’t skip class or my afternoon shift at the café. I only had one or two shifts left, since I was slowly leaving that job now that I was spending more time nannying Joey.

The class passed in a blur; I hardly took any notes, and my mind wandered every two minutes. Sitting in the back, I could technically say I was there, even though mentally I was on a whole other plane.

At the café, on the other hand, I had to be active and present.

I didn’t even bother to greet anyone as I beelined to the back to grab my uniform.

The campus café I worked in was small and cozy.

The menu consisted of a few different coffees and teas and a selection of sandwiches.

Nothing too complex, but it had its busy moments.

“Beth? Are you okay?” Mable asked as I shoved on my apron and hat.

Mable was a sweet omega, painfully shy and miniature, even for an omega.

Her strawberry-blonde waves fell to just above her shoulders, and she had a smattering of freckles across her nose.

Even after working with her for almost a year, we’d had few conversations, as she kept to herself.

I got the impression that she was merely nervous to talk to people instead of being standoffish or unwelcoming.

Though she was always on her phone, texting someone. I never wanted to pry, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about who it was making her smile softly at her phone screen.

Her maple scent hit my nose as she walked up to me.

“I’m fine.” I smiled, though it didn’t reach my eyes. “I’ve had a pretty bad migraine for the last few days.”

“Do you want to go home?” Mable asked, her brow furrowed in concern. “You really don’t look well.”

“I don’t want to leave you short-staffed.”

Mable shook her head. “You won’t be,” she said sweetly. “Luke is on shift today, and he’s also going to be training the new guy, so we’ve got plenty of staff. You’ve started phasing yourself off shift now that you’re babysitting, anyway.”

I looked at her, trying to decide what to do.

If I was completely honest with myself, I wasn’t feeling well enough to work a full shift.

If there was plenty of staff, what was stopping me from going home?

It wasn’t like I needed the money now that Pack Noble was paying me so well for looking after Joey.

In a few days, I was going to be babysitting again, anyway, so maybe it would be best to take that time to rest.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Mable nodded eagerly. “Go! We’ll be fine. I’ll grab you a tea and some food while you take off your apron.”

“I don’t need—” I started weakly.

Mable shook her head. “I made too many cherry scones and club sandwiches. There’s no way I can sell them all, so you’ll be helping me, really.”

Shaking my head, I smiled to myself as I pulled off the apron. Before I could even finish taking off my hat, Mable was back with a takeout cup of tea and a brown paper bag full of food.

“Make sure you get plenty of sleep,” Mable instructed softly.

“Call me if the shop gets busy. I will come and help.”

She shook her head. “No, you will not. You look like death warmed over. You’re going to go home, turn off your phone, and sleep, okay?” She gave me a stern look, which, coming from her sweet, soft face, was hard to take seriously.

“Okay.” I nodded, biting my lip while taking the food and drink from her. Between her and the food Cullen had sent, I was going to be well stocked.