Chapter 29

Evan

The door opens behind me as my fingers move up to check her pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when I find it's strong. The knot has an emergency deflate button, and I push it, so I can remove it slowly from her pussy.

The door is pushed open, making me glare over my shoulder. Aisling was very clear about what she wanted.

"We aren't coming in," Caelin promises, leaning on the door. Aiden is sitting on the floor, while Domh leans on the wall across from the room. "Did she pass out?"

"Yeah," I grunt, tossing the toy to the side as I gaze down at her. Sighing, I cover her with a thin sheet, looking around as I notice articles of clothing and a blanket that belong to us. "She added our things to her nest, guys."

"Me too?" Aiden asks, eyes widening as I pick up a shirt to show him. It smells like fresh sweat and Aiden.

"She wanted us close, despite all the bullshit we've given her," I rasp. "Why doesn't this heat feel as if it's as bad…"

A bottle on the nightstand catches my attention and I turn toward it. Aisling whines in her sleep, making Aiden tense.

"Touch her face," he growls. "It helped when she was under sedation."

Cupping Aisling's face, I pick up the bottle, but it's unmarked. Popping the top, I stick my nose inside and inhale deeply. A chemical-like smell makes me cough, raising my head in disgust.

I can almost taste it on my tongue. Gross.

Aisling's temperature is already breaking, her body calming quickly. Is it possible it's already over?

"Who did she get these from?" I ask, worried. If she got them off the street, they could be seriously dangerous.

"Corbin runs a large portion of the scent blockers, descenting products, and suppressants you'll find in Minneapolis," Aiden grunts. "He doesn't fuck around so much with hard drugs, though. I could see her reaching out to Shaw and Pack Mohan for them."

"I'm surprised Shaw gave them to her," I mutter.

"We're the enemy," Aiden sighs. "Aisling doesn't want to be a slave to biology when she doesn't trust us to take care of her needs and wants. I can absolutely see Shaw being moved to help her. She's practically family."

"Aisling somehow gathers people to her," Caelin says. "I saw it at the restaurant where she was having her dates from the app. They all made sure she was okay each time she went in, cheered on her reasons for dating, and then didn't hesitate to fuck up Pack Dayton when they misstepped."

"Fuck," Domh mutters. "She's just such a good person. The things they're doing at Omega's Haven are going to push other cities to do the same. I have four law offices who have agreed to give pro bono hours to Aisling and Wren's clients. I haven't had a chance to tell her. I mean, I don't even know if I should at this point. They're contacting the office to make arrangements to set up ongoing legal aid services."

"I wouldn't tell her yet," Aiden says. "Yes, I know that we're keeping more secrets from her, but I don't want to emotionally blackmail her into forgiving us either."

The three of us stare at him for a while, and I wonder who the hell he is.

"What did you just say?" Domh asks.

"I may have gone to see Aisling's therapist after the alley incident," Aiden sighs.

My ass hits the mattress in shock, while he shrugs.

"Something has to fucking change, because we're losing her, guys," he says. "Aisling is depressed and overwhelmed. We aren't supposed to add to her load."

"Aisling is so busy, she reacts best to acts of service," I say. "Our omega has people to give her everything if you think about it. Pack Mohan showers her with friendship. Her work fulfills her need to help others not suffer through what she did."

"So who takes care of her at the end of the day?" Domh asks. "Aisling is so fucking stressed out."

"Every day, there are multiple emergencies," Aiden mutters.

"I've noticed that," I say, looking down at Aisling. I want to cuddle her, but don't want to wake her up. "She needs to fix things with her dad. I don't think she'll be ready for anything until she does that."

"We'll either encourage her to go see him or suggest taking her out for a surprise and drop her ass off," Aiden says.

Snorting, I shake my head. Glad to see he hasn't changed too much.

"More kidnapping," I wheeze. "Excellent plan."

"I think what bugs me the most is that I don't know what is going on in our poppet's mind," Caelin says. "Sometimes she looks like she's in pain, others, as if the entire world is on her shoulders."

"No, I think Aisling stopped pretending," Domh says. "When she's at Omega's Haven , she hides away whatever is wrong or bothering her. Her problems don't matter in her eyes when she's helping others. By the time she gets home, she's tired of pretending."

"Digging for answers just pisses her off," Aiden grumbles. "Aisling hates questions."

"I think she hates explaining herself," Domh interjects. "I thought she was going to bite my head off when she went grocery shopping. She's used to doing what she wants, when she needs to do it. Having someone following her every move is grating."

"I told her I would burn the world down," Aiden says. "It's no less true now than it was before, and I think we all would do this. Aisling needs help but doesn't like to accept it."

"So we'll keep contacting people for services that she clearly needs and direct them toward her," Domh says.

"That women's group is going to be a fucking problem. Mom said they're savage," I tell them.

"She told the Whalen Society that they've been obnoxious," Aiden says.

"A part of me just wants to scare the shit out of them," I say with a snicker.

"After they say whatever they have to say to her," Caelin grunts. "We can visit their next meeting while masked up and scare the fuck out of them. Maybe a couple of their tickers will give out."

"Fuck around and find out," Domh says with an evil grin.

"You're not even going to try to talk us out of it, are you?" I ask, smirking.

"Nope," he says. "I keep you from getting locked up for your foolishness."

Damn skippy he does.

Aisling

My heat ended after twelve hours, and I spent a lot of it sleeping. It's a miracle drug, but I can understand why Shaw was so worried about my using them, since the effects are so varied for everyone.

Now, I'm headed into work, feeling better than I usually do after a typical heat. I can see why this feeling would be addicting to people, but I just want the men I live with to fix their lives. I came down this morning to find a full breakfast laid out on the kitchen table.

Usually, I wouldn't bother with breakfast, but it looked too good and I was starving.

Aiden is driving me today, and I sit quietly in the passenger seat.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asks, surprising me.

Huh. Am I?

"I don't know," I say softly. "I don't know how to act around you anymore, so it's easier to sit in my corner and say nothing."

"I suck at apologies because I never think they're good enough and then overthink them," he says. "I want, crave, and need you to acknowledge me, but the truth is you shouldn't have to if you don't want to. There's nothing that says in our biology that you have to."

I stare out the window as I take that in, because that's not completely true. My body recognizes him, and during my normal heats, it physically hurts to have him not be near me. It reminds me again and again how Mom rejected her scent match to keep me safe.

How did she do it?

How much did she suffer in her decision?

"Some of my biology does," I murmur. I'm not trying to be a brat, just truthful.

"That's true," he says. "You could reject me, though."

"What?" I ask, startled.

"If you verbally reject me, then the push and pull between us ends," he says calmly. "You wouldn't want me during your heats, just the other guys in our pack. Since you've bonded to them, there's no escaping that. However, you can end what's between us very easily. Just say the words."

"Do you want me to do that?" I ask. Swallowing hard, I think about the ramifications of that. Would it hurt him? What isn't he telling me? "Aiden."

Inhaling sharply, he jerks the wheel, almost driving us into a snow drift. Fuck.

"I'm good," he promises, voice sounding hoarse. "My name on your lips just sounded so much better than I thought it would. No, I don't want you to do that, but it's not about me. What we're doing isn't healthy, Aisling. If you want your out, you've got it."

Blinking hard, I take a deep breath. I didn't think that would hurt as much as it did to hear him say that. I wanted him to fight harder for me.

"I don't know what is going through that pretty little head, but let me add this," Aiden says. "I'm nowhere near done trying to show you how sorry I am for what I've done, however it won't be through words. I'm not great at those, as you see. I am not giving you up, I just want you to know that if it gets too hard, I understand, okay?"

Nodding, I let my hair slide in front of me to cover my face, the tears falling down splash onto my glove-covered hands. I found these tucked into my coat, and I have no idea who gave them to me.

They have a plush lining, let me use my touchscreen easier, and are really warm. Somehow, the guys continue to take care of me for some reason.

Aiden drops his hand on mine, squeezing it as he drives and doesn't say another word, simply letting me sit in my feelings. Sometimes, that's what I need. My emotions are big, which makes it feel unmanageable when it all crashes over me like now.

By the time we make it to Omega's Haven, I'm subdued and ready to walk in.

"Are you planning to be here most of the day?" Aiden asks.

"Yes," I tell him. "I have admin things to do, and then I'm in the outreach center for the rest of the day."

"I have some errands to do, but I'm going to bring you lunch," he says as I nod and get out of the vehicle.

Wow, did I just have a civilized conversation with Aiden? I'm not sure what just happened, but I like it. My shoulders aren't up to my ears when I walk into work, and I feel good.

The only thing that slightly dings my happiness is an email from the Regional Omegas' Women's Society.

Scowling, I read the email yet again as I call Wren. She responded to it but forwarded it to my personal email so I would also see it.