Page 17 of The Omega's Fake Mate

Kade got up from the bench. “Want to order pizza?” he asked with a grin.

I couldn't help but laugh. “Isn't your mate cooking dinner?”

“Oh, right. Darn. I guess therearedownsides to having someone cook for you after all.”

“Don't worry about it.” I patted Kade on the back. “I'll have pizza some other time.”

Maybe while I read this book and tried not to think about what Zander wanted to say by giving me a romance novel.

7

Nick

Ijerked awake, panic sitting heavy on my chest. The feeling was so suffocating that I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—

Calm down.

My head in my hands, I gulped for air. I counted back from ten, focusing on each breath I took. Slowly, the panic abated. Most of it, anyway. Something was still wrong. Something, I couldn't tell what.

I couldn't even remember any bad dreams.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I took in the room around me. It was still dark outside. Everything was quiet. There were no shrill or loud noises that could explain my panic or what had woken me. Or why I still felt alarmed.

I hadn't experienced anything like this since my first year in LA when I’d woken up with a bad feeling, only to receive a phone call minutes later, telling me Rhys had been in a car accident that night.

Fuck.

Rhys.

The moment I focused on my brother's name, I knew where this panic was coming from. My brother was scared.Massivelyscared if I could feel it like this. I wasn't so in touch with my twin that I got any sense of the day-to-day things he went through. Only the major stuff made a blip on the radar—and jerking awake at night was more than a blip.

Had something happened to him? Another car accident?

In the dark, I fumbled for my phone.

Please. Please pick up the phone, bro.

I called his number and let it ring until it went to voice mail. I tried again, with no better luck.

Oh, c'mon. Just let me know you're okay.

As it was, I could only hope the reason he wasn't answering his phone was that he was sleeping, or being a jerk.

Unwilling to stop before I exhausted all my options, I sent a text message next.

when you read this, give me a call!!

I waited for a few seconds, and then the messenger display showed me that the message had been read. So, Rhys was awake and alive and okay enough to look at his phone. But not okay enough to answer my calls or reply to my message?

rhys, please, im worried.

Sure enough, that message was read, too.

Three dots showed up on the screen. He was typing!

Ever the impatient one, I sent another message before he was done.

Call me!!!