Chapter 114
**XANDER**
One of my favorite things to do is get up early to enjoy the peace and quiet before the pack gets up. This morning is no different and the air is mild for outdoor training. As I rise from my second set of pumps, I feel a presence behind me.
"I see I'm not the only early riser."
I turn to see Zack in his workout gear. Since I arrived, he's the only person who hasn't made me feel unwelcome-not that I'm complaining, I'm surprised all the same.
"Yeah... I like to enjoy the quiet." I reply a little more curtly than I intended.
"Ouch," he replies with a smile. "I was going to run anyway."
He walks away and I think to myself that this might be one of the only opportunities I'll have to be alone with him.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to be a jerk."
"Apology accepted. I think anyone would be a little... grumpy in your situation."
"Is that why you're nicer to me than everyone else?"
He moves a little closer to me. "I don't know what the others have in their heads. Honestly, they haven't told me about you, but I know they're talking about each other." He sighs. "I think I just can put myself in your shoes while they're focused on their own point of view. I'm not saying I'd welcome you with open arms if I were Noah, but from my point of view, I can see both of your points of view. And I'm not an asshole by nature so..." He shrugs.
"I've heard about you and your mate. It's a good love story."
He snorts. "Yeah, I think so, too."
"Got any prognosis on how this is all going to end?" I ask, curious to know his answer.
He laughs. "Who do you think I am? A soothsayer?" He regains his seriousness for a moment. "I don't know, but I hope everyone will keep the general interest in mind rather than their own."
Then, after these words, he sets off on his morning run. What did I say again? Ah yes, I like the early morning for its silence and calm, but today it's not to be. I gather my things and decide to go upstairs for a shower. As I enter the still deserted hall, I hesitate to make a detour to their floor and eavesdrop through the door, but they'd smell me as soon as I arrived and I'd be a bit of a masochist if I did that. As I climb the stairs, I pass the first omegas leaving to start their day's work. Two of them ogle me shamelessly, giggling. It would be so easy if I could just fuck them and move on, but my right hand will have to do the work until I get Amelia.
**AMELIA**
The day is just beginning and I'm already sick of lying in this bed. I'm sick of not being able to get up and help Eric up when he falls for the third time, or wipe Grayson's mouth full of chocolate. Contrary to what I thought, he doesn't seem at all perturbed by this change of organization.
As soon as the door opens, I hear their cries of joy and Noah's sigh of relief.
He kisses me briefly, then runs off.
"Hello, how are you, sweetie?" my mother asks as she enters the room with a tray.
"I'm fine, but I think I'll be better once I've eaten all this," I tell her, looking at the toast, yogurt and muesli.
I groan with pleasure as I bite into the toast. I hope they don't all stay on my back every day because they're not capable of trusting me. They all think I'm going to do as I please and not follow the doctor's instructions, but how could they think I'd be capable of endangering my baby's life?
Just as I've finished breakfast, my parents take the children into the bedroom to say our goodbyes for the day. They've barely gone through the door when Sophia enters with a nurse.
"Today it's her, but tomorrow it's just me." She announces in high spirits.
After all the time spent in the infirmary, she's found her calling. Luckily for her, to work in the pack's infirmary, you don't need a state diploma, just some training. After months spent there, I'll trust her with my eyes closed to make sure I'm all right.
Once the nurse has left, Sophia lies down on the bed beside me.
"Well... you've got some things to tell me. I want to know everything, and when I say everything I mean all the details."
I sigh because I know exactly where this conversation is going. I tell her in chronological order everything that happened and she nearly chokes on her spit when I tell her that Xander offered to share me with Noah.
"Well, if I expected that." She blows out a breath, shaking her head.
"Well Noah will refuse for sure but can you imagine? Wow, the sex you could have!" She bellows dramatically and we burst out laughing.
"You're lucky Noah can't hear you."
"I'm not stupid I'm not going to say in front of him or Alec." She rolls her eyes. "He's so..." She grunts. "Annoying right now. This story isn't about us and yet it seems like he's afraid that one day my second-chance mate will knock on our door and I'll leave with him."
"You can't blame him. I keep telling myself I'd freak out if the roles were reversed."
" Right."
After a moment, she leaves me to go do what she has to do. As for me, it doesn't take me long to fall asleep. At some point, I wake up to a familiar scent, but not Noah's, and fall back into a deep sleep.