Chapter 91: What is wrong with me?

When I finally woke up again, the room was bathed in a much harsher, brighter midday light.

I lay there for a second, a rather odd, heavy feeling settling in my chest as the fog of sleep cleared.

For the first time in months, I felt thoroughly, completely satisfied with my sleep. My body wasn’t tense, my mind wasn’t racing—and then I realized why. I was still securely wrapped in Reid’s arms, my face pressed against his chest.

Panic, subtle but sharp, flared in my gut but I didn’t just react.

Carefully, acting like I was disarming a bomb, I wriggled out of his grip, slid out of the bed, and practically bolted into the bathroom.

I gripped the edges of the marble sink and took a good, long look at myself in the mirror. My hair was a bird’s nest, my lips were slightly parted, and my skin had a soft, relaxed flush that only appeared when my inner Omega was completely content.

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered, covering one side of my face with my hand.

I felt a little distraught knowing it felt nice and warm sleeping in his arms. That was the kind of thought I shouldn’t be having. My fingers dug into my cheek as I processed it.

No, I shouldn’t let Reid get to me just because he’s my Alpha. It was just biology. Just the bond playing tricks on my brain.

Exhaling a rough sigh, I washed my face with cold water and walked back out, intending to look for a new, packaged toothbrush in his cabinets or somewhere. But as I passed the bed, my feet froze.

Reid was still sprawled out across the black silk sheets. The blanket had fallen to his waist, and his expression was completely smooth, devoid of his usual mocking smirk or arrogant tilt. He looked peaceful. Well... so unlike Reid.

My throat went dry. I gulped, my legs moving on pure, reckless instinct.

I crawled back onto the edge of the mattress, leaning in slowly, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird as I acted with no single reasonable thought in my head.

My bathed breath fanned over his face before I closed the distance, pressing a soft, lingering kiss right against his lips.

The moment our skin touched, a jolt of electricity shot down my spine. Reality crashed back in, and my face instantly flushed a furious, burning red.

I scrambled off the bed and practically ran out of the room, my heart in my throat. I was completely out of my mind.

In that moment, I didn’t see the corner of Reid’s lips twitch upward, or the lazy, satisfied gleam in his grey eyes as they cracked open.

Well played, Cap, Reid thought, his chest expanding with a silent, smug chuckle. Well played.

In the end, I stayed at the penthouse for two more days. Yes, I had to endure for that long.

By the third morning, Jax finally came back to check on Reid’s leg. I stood near the edge of the living room, watching as he checked on Reid’s ankle.

"Thankfully, the swelling has gone down a lot," Jax said, nodding in approval as he wrapped a light compression sleeve around it. He shot a look over at Reid. "You’re incredibly lucky, McCoy. If Evans hadn’t been here to keep you off it, you probably would’ve been a blockhead, pushed yourself too hard, and permanently ruined your hockey career."

"Yeah, yeah. Cap’s a saint," Reid droned as if he didn’t already know that and begged me to stay with him, though his eyes weren’t on Jax—they were locked directly onto me.

"I think he’ll be able to walk soon," Jax said. "What do you think, Cap?" But I didn’t respond. He looked at me and called again. "Evans? Kain?"

I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and looked at Jax who was staring at me.

"Sorry," I muttered quickly, looking down and rubbing the back of my neck. "Apologies, Doc. I was just a bit out of it."

I really was. My mind was completely occupied by how the last two days had actually been.

Surprisingly, Reid hadn’t tried to initiate sex or force me into anything. But the idiot had convinced me to watch him jerk off a couple of times, whining and pestering me like a horny dog until I finally gave in just to shut him up.

Aside from that, he still talked as prickly as he always did. He teased me relentlessly, grabbed my ass a few times when I walked past his reach, and managed to corner me so close our lips nearly touched every single time I brought him his meals.

But then night would fall. And when it came time to sleep, all the games stopped. We both just crawled into that massive bed and cuddled like we were each other’s absolute comfort, drowning in each other’s scent until morning.

What the hell was up with that? I had woken up to three mornings exactly like that, and I still couldn’t understand it. I didn’t exactly hate it... and a part of me rationalized that it was just because Reid was my Alpha. It made sense that my body would want to cling to where his scent was strongest.

But that was a massive problem. It’s as if I’m growing into him or something, and I get these subtle impulses to try and steal a kiss from him when he’s unconscious.

It’s driving me even more crazy because I anticipate having my lips raided or something, but Reid hasn’t kissed me once since two days ago. He just lets our lips brush a bit in a teasing way and turns away, as if he wants me to beg for it.

Typical of him.

What’s worse now is that Reid’s frozen pine pheromones were rubbed all over me. It was in my skin, my hair, the clothes I was wearing. If any regular Alpha smelled me right now, they’d know instantly that I had been thoroughly claimed by another predator.

But I’m too tired to worry about that. The logical explanation is because I’m living with an hurt Alpha who releases Pheromones whenever he wants. I’m a Beta, it’s not affecting me.

"I can understand it’s tiring especially when taking care of this blockhead." Jax said. "Still, don’t overdo it, Cap. Your mental health is important too." He said and I nodded.

"Yeah."

At least his leg is almost healed, I thought, trying to reassure myself. He won’t need me to stay much longer. It’s about time I leave before he permanently rubs off on me.

Right on cue, the heavy front door of the penthouse flew open and I flinched.

"Yo! Is the invalid still alive?!"