Page 15 of Whole in His Arms

“What was that about?” Maddox asked as he got into the driver’s seat. He didn’t move to start the vehicle, just kept his eyes on Nix.

Nix looked up. “They’re here, Maddox,” he said.

Maddox frowned. “Who’s here?” he asked.

“My blood,” Nix looked in the direction his tiger was clawing to run in. “I can feel that I have family beyond those trees.” Fuck, he’d never felt this pull before. It was different from what he felt with River. Just as primal, though. “I won’t be able to rest until they’re safe and sound. He met Maddox’s gaze and Maddox seemed taken aback. Nix could never have imagined the immediate pull he would feel to his family, but it was impossible to deny. The truth was out there.

Chapter Five

River

As the evening went on, River realized how boring being home alone could be, even though he’d lived by himself for almost four years now. He lounged out on the couch and turned on the television, but after flipping through the channels for several minutes, he quickly turned the TV off. He reached for his phone and started to call Nix, but then stopped himself.

“Don’t be crazy. You just got off the phone with him like twenty minutes ago,” he scolded himself. He tossed his phone to the side. “If you can’t handle one night without him, how will you handle days or even weeks?” He groaned and looked around. “And now you’re talking to yourself, so you’re bound to end up in a looney bin for shifters.” He chuckled as the thought escaped his lips. Then he heard a creaking noise. He looked around frantically. The noise came again, but then silence returned.

He heaved a sigh and relaxed against the couch. It had all been in his mind; he was sure of it. Houses were known to creak, and that’s all it was. As he sat there, attempting to convince himself, there was a knock on the front door. He nearly screamed but then caught himself and started to laugh.

He got up from the couch and headed to the front door. When he reached it, though, he was apprehensive about opening it. He wasn’t expecting company, especially when it had just turned dark outside. “Who’s there?” he called.

“It’s Devon and the gang,” Devon called out.

River breathed a sigh of relief and unlocked the door, all the while rolling his eyes at himself.Seriously one night alone and you’re in a state?Did you forget you’re on pack lands and your brother lives opposite?Heck, he was surrounded by family.

He opened the door and saw Devon, Shawn, and Marco, standing on the front steps. He attempted to smile. “Hey, what are you guys up to?” He held the door open so the other omegas could enter.

They shut the door as soon as they stepped inside, and he turned to face them. “River looks scared. I told you we should have called ahead of time. You should have listened to me.” Shawn nudged Marco with his shoulder, even as he glared at Devon.

River laughed and put up his hand. “It’s alright. I just wasn’t expecting company.” He smiled. “But I gotta admit I was going a little stare crazy, so I’m grateful you guys are here. How ya doing?” He felt more at ease now that they were there, and he didn’t want to scare them off. “Let’s have a seat.” He directed them into the living room and motioned to the couch and chairs where they could sit down.

“Well, Devon here thought that maybe you could use some company,” Marco said, grabbing a seat in a chair. “Shawn is right, though. We should have called ahead of time. And Ollie and Jax wanted to come too, but the twins were being fussy, and Jax wanted to stay close to the baby. So you’re stuck with just us.”

River smiled. “I can actually understand that. Still, I’m happy to have the company.” He took a seat in the chair that was left empty. “It was incredibly nice of everyone to come for the send-off earlier today. I know that Nix and the other men appreciated it,” River said. This was the first time that he had a chance to really speak to the other omegas. He was excited about getting to know them better.

“I just hope they take the operation down,” Marco said. “It’s not fair to omegas, always having to be fearful of everything, never sure that you’re safe. It fucks with you.”

“Agreed,” Devon said.

As they talked, River sat there, peering between the other omegas. He felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. Nix was out there, putting himself in harm’s way. He’d understood that before, but now he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was on the brink of happening. Nix was all he could think about.It’s just the pregnancy, and you’re not used to being alone anymore. You’ve just found your mate, and it’s still early for you. That’s all. Nix is fine. He wouldn’t do this if he thought he couldn’t handle it. He wouldn’t leave you like this if he thought he wouldn’t be able to get home.

“River? River?” Devon called out.

River looked up. “Huh? Sorry did you say something?”

Devon tilted his head and then shot a look at the other omegas. “Are you alright?” he asked. “I was calling your name for like five minutes.”

River smiled and nodded, then jumped to his feet. “Yeah, yes … I’m fine. Do you guys want some popcorn and soda? We could watch something on Netflix?” he asked, looking between them.

“That’d be great,” Shawn said. “Do you want help?”

“No thanks. I’ve got it. You just relax.” River smiled and left the living room. When he got to the kitchen, he stood at the sink for a few minutes, that feeling of unease slowly leaving. “He’s fine. It’s all in my head.” The gut feeling slowly dissipated as he stood there and relaxed. He grabbed the microwave popcorn from the cabinet, then tossed it into the microwave. He worked on getting bowls and drinks from the refrigerator, so when the popcorn was done, he could just pour it into bowls and take everything back into the living room.

When River got back into the room, he saw the others had turned on the TV. “Any choice on what to watch?” Devon asked as he grabbed a bowl and can from River. “Thank you!”

“Nahhh,” He shook his head, “I’m easy. Oh, but no horror.”

“I’ve not watched this one,” Shawn said.

He looked up and saw that it was “13 going .”