Chapter 21

Allie was in the middle of putting on her shorts, adjusting them on her hips when the doorbell rang, followed by incessant knocking on the door. The omega spun around and walked the short distance between her room to the front door and opened it, revealing a very dishevelled Nate.

"Allie!" He's heaving for some reason. It's giving her all kinds of dirty images. "Are you okay? You texted me to come and didn't respond to my later texts. What happened?"

"Did you run here?" The omega asked dumbfounded.

Nate shouldn't look so hot, all sweaty, dressed in joggers and a hoodie that seemed to have been thrown on in a hurry. His hair a mess of curls.

The Alpha was still staring at her as if searching for any signs of immediate danger. "I did. You scared the shit out of me!" He explained, and when it's clear to him that her life wasn't in jeopardy, Nate glared at her. "What the fuck? Why did you text me?"

"I—" She froze. Few moments ago the idea of talking with Nate appeared to be great in her mind. Now she's not sure where to begin. His expectant look wasn't helping either.

"Umm...do you want something to drink?"

Nate sighed and walked into the apartment. "I could use some water after running over here."

Allie squeaked, nodding her head dumbly and turned on her heels to move into the kitchen. The text was simple, alright; she just added a lot of exclamation marks and told him to hurry up. Now that she thought about it made sense.

While in the kitchen, the omega swallowed down some water, suddenly feeling nervous.

Rachel was covering her shift at the cafe, so it's only Nate in the room. With that thought, she walked out of the kitchen only to see the Alpha on the living room couch. He thanked her quietly, accepting the glass and gulping half of it in one go. "Now, can you explain why you texted me at six in the morning telling me to come over?"

Allie exhaled loudly. "I couldn't sleep."

"Is it the baby?"

"It's about the baby."

"Do you know what you're going to do?" He casually asked her. It caught her off guard, even though it was something she should have been expecting from Nate. The question.

She didn't know. The truth that the omega did know was she couldn't do this alone. Allie's still studying, has no mate, didn't have a paying job, and she didn't come from the same kind of family that Nate did.

At just six years old, the omega knew what it meant to struggle. Being the oldest, she saw her parents struggle to make ends meet. It left her in the same constant roundabout—if she were to keep this baby, how would she provide for it? If Allie didn't want to stay pregnant, how would she afford to end it?"

When the severity of the situation sunk in-- the fact that no matter what, the omega would have to face Nate every single time on the campus made her nauseous. Her new reality was sickening. If she kept the baby, they would have to tell people.

People other than Rachel.

Nate must have sensed the panic that quickly slid across her face because he was there in seconds with both hands holding on to hers. "Hey...Listen, we can figure this out."

Like several other omegas, Allie had this vision. She had a more traditional family with a husband, a house, and a big dog. But when the omega had this vision, the one thing that remained constant was the light that Allie would feel when she held her baby.

It didn't matter where, or when, or with who. In every scenario the omega would feel this warm glow of genuine adoration and pure sublimity that would overcome her senses. Somewhere deep in her heart, she wanted to have this baby.

No matter if it's a heathen of Hellhound.

"Nate," She shuddered after a moment, "I want to have this baby. I know this is scary for both of us right now, but I am going to find a way to make this work. You can be as involved as you want, but I know this is what I want to do."

The Alpha shook his head like he's trying to shake Allie out of her trance, but she's too stubborn to notice.

"Allie," He said firmly. "I told you already that I want to be involved. We are both responsible for the baby, and I promise you there's nothing that will change my answer."

It's reassuring. The Alphas answer. She was glad that he accepted their baby. Allie couldn't even bring herself to imagine what would happen in the alternate scenario. Just the thought of it made her skin prickle.

***

After ordering some food, they decided to watch something to distract themselves. A unanimous idea, actually. Sitting on the couch and watching stupid television was an ideal way to spend some time. They made it about five minutes of some Spanish drama before Allie noticed distressed Nate.

"What are you thinking?" She wanted the question to be a bit more firm-- like the omega was already sure of herself but was checking in to see where Nate was in processing the fact that their lives were rapidly changing. Instead, her voice came out insecure and laced with vulnerability.

Nate looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Well," he started. His voice was hesitant, like he's stringing along with his sentence in his mind and deciding if it's the right thing to say.

"I'm thinking about how we're going to tell our families," The Alpha finally admitted. There was no better way to approach the subject, no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh," Allie lets out the breath of air she had been holding in, "Well, I thought we could go on and tell them after the third month. You know usually that's when I'll start showing, and it's usually the safest time to tell people, and--"

"Allie," The Alpha cut in, "I think we need to tell them as soon as possible. I don't want to keep this from my pack and family like it's some kind of secret I'm ashamed of."

The thought of telling her brother that she's pregnant with a Hellhounds baby made her curl into herself. What was she going to do? "What are they even going to say about this? I just... I don't know if it's the best option right now."

Nate blinked at her. "Is that your biggest worry? What people are going to say?"

And it's not meant to come off as aggressive as it does, but considering what Allie had gone through in the last week alone, she's understandably sensitive to the small inflexion in the Alpha's tone.

"Fine!" She sighed. "When should we do it?"

The omega was still not looking at Nate but instead focused her attention on the coffee table in front of them.

"The sooner, the better," Nate licked his lips. "We both will tell my parents this weekend. I can drive us there. No big deal."

That's four days away. She will be the only werewolf in a pack full of Hellhounds. Not her first time, but still scary. Before Allie could come up with another excuse to disappoint him, she turned and nodded. "Okay, sounds nice."

"Great! I am looking forward to it."

***

The next morning she spotted Nate standing in the corner of the locker room. The Alpha had a frown on his face, hands crossed together. What was going on with him? Allie cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Hey"

Nate lifted his head, lips pinched together. "So, how long were you planning to keep your real identity a secret?"

Silence had fallen over them.

Allie possibly hasn't taken a breath in the last two minutes. The Alpha was still standing a few feet away from her, with his arms casually crossed and a grimace on his face as he observed her. Her world was falling apart right then and there, heart racing in fear; she didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream.

The first thing Allie needed to do was breathe.

So she did.

Blinking her eyes, the omega inhaled shakily. "What are you even talking about?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," was his shrugging reply. How could he be so indifferent in the face of her apparent desperation?

The omega was freaking out. Seconds away from dropping to her knees and hyperventilating. She swallowed, her eyes lowered to the ground. Allie couldn't stand to look at Nate any longer. "I really, truly don't" And then she did the thing she liked most to fall back on when confronted with overwhelming emotional distress: running away.

Allie turned on the spot and sprinted back to the dorm buildings, not once throwing a glance over her shoulder at Nate's form.

***