I woke slowly, blinking sleepily. I realized with dim shock that I was still in human form. I couldn't remember the last time that I had slept in this form. Will's arm was slung across my body as he held me close to him in his sleep. I shifted my legs and winced at the dull ache. I shouldn't be surprised that I was a bit sore this morning after last night. Hopefully, it would fade quickly.

I slowly lowered my shields and let my senses roll out. I had slept much later than usual, and breakfast was almost ready. Last night's events had apparently tired me out more than I had realized. I blushed a bit at the memories and glanced over my shoulder at Will, who was still fast asleep.

My sensing abilities had mostly recovered, and I could probably handle today without shielding. I probed deep into my own mind and saw the mate bond shining brightly as it pointed to Will. I looked at it in curiosity. The bond was pure energy, and it was actually very pretty. Too bad only someone with the Omega's sensing ability could see it. Well, there was one way...

I managed to roll over so I faced Will. I was momentarily distracted by his bare chest and peaceful face. I gently ran my fingers through his hair; I might as well take advantage of it now, especially since I had hands instead of paws. I was amused that it did not even stir him from his slumber.

I leaned closer and gently kissed his lips. I felt the mate bond glow brighter and sensed Will's faint flickering emotions stir to more vibrant life as he started to wake. "Mmmmm..."

I pulled back a bit to wait. Moments later, his eyes fluttered open sleepily. I reached out with my mind and located the private mindlink that the mate bond provided. I sent a memory of the last few seconds and a closeup of the mate bond to Will.

He blinked, dazed by the memory and trying to comprehend the image while more than half asleep. I chuckled lightly before leaning in to kiss him again. He returned the kiss swiftly enough. He pulled back, his voice thick with sleep as he murmured, "Okay, that I can understand. I still need some time to make sense of that picture."

I leaned my head against his chest contentedly. Will hugged me closer and buried his face in my hair. A while later he spoke, "I really can't find the ambition to get up at this point."

I hummed lightly before responding, "Well, breakfast is already half over, and if we don't hurry up, all we are going to get is dry toast and tea."

He mumbled, "That’s fine by me if I get to stay here and cuddle with you."

I hadn’t bacon in over two years, and I really wanted some. I decided to play dirty, although my voice held teasing tones. "I have had dry toast for breakfast almost all year. Someone is making bacon and hashbrowns down there, and I really need a shower before I go anywhere."

He raised his head as he examined me with disbelief, unable to believe that I was choosing food over him.

I tilted my head innocently as I informed him, "Besides, if we don't get moving, Tony and Tiffany are going to come drag us out by our ankles. Tony is after payback for whatever you did to him on the training field yesterday, and Tiffany is getting way too excited about makeup for my liking."

Will groaned as he sat up. "I'm up, I'm up..."

I slowly sat up and stretched, trying to loosen up any stiff or sore muscles without it being too noticeable. I didn't want Will to start worrying.

I looked around the room and shook my head. "I think this is the first time I have ever had to hunt for my clothes..."

My shirt was thrown on the chair, my sock was on the floor, and I couldn't see the rest at the moment. Will chuckled as he realized that I usually woke up in wolf form. I glanced back and once more marveled at his bare back before focusing on the difficult task of locating all of my clothing.

A few minutes later, I was dressed and heading for a shower. The hot water was still an amazing luxury. Will's voice came through the mate bond, "I’ll meet you downstairs." I sent back a silent confirmation.

~

I headed down to the dining room as the smell of food filled the air. I hoped that there was something left besides toast, although I wasn’t actually that fussy as long as I got something to eat. I heard familiar voices as I approached the door.

"Ah, come on. It's the last of the bacon. Surely you can share some of it."

"Nope. Hands off. It’s my bacon." I grinned; Will must have managed to get some bacon, and from the discussion, it was likely the last of the bacon. I was pretty sure that I could convince him to share a slice with me, even if he was giving John the cold shoulder.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Please..."

"Nope."

"Come on, I will trade a sausage roll for a piece of bacon, I know you love these things. Besides, there is too much food on your plate for even you to eat."

"Nope. My bacon."

I could sense John's shock from here as he gasped, "Did you just turn down a sausage roll?"

"Yes."

"Who are you and what have you done with Will?"

I entered the mostly-empty room; it was pretty empty since breakfast was over. Will sat at a table with Samantha and John as he guarded a heaping plate of food. Will looked over and grinned when he saw me. He patted the bench beside him. "Come on, I saved you some food."

I headed over eagerly. John gave in with a sigh as he realized why Will refused to share. "Well, that explains it. Now I know why you aren't sharing."

I laughed at John's put-out expression as I slid onto the bench. Will wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. He held up a piece of bacon as he told me, "I went through a lot of trouble to guard this while you were away."

He held it out to me, and I took it with my hand while smiling up at him. "Thank you." I gave him a quick kiss on the side of his cheek before taking a bite out of the warm and salty bacon. Will grinned at me and nibbled on a slice of toast as he watched me eat the piece of bacon.

I noticed that he had two forks, and I took the clean one to steal a forkful of hashbrowns. Will and I kept working at his plate. It turned out that he did have a couple of sausage rolls buried in the pile of food, much to John's disgust.

My senses caused me to glance over my shoulder at a lady a few tables away. She didn't look like she was feeling that well as she nursed a cup of tea. Will glanced over to see what I was looking at.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, probably picking my faint alarm through the mate bond.

I spoke quietly, "I am not sure if she knows she is pregnant, but that tea is known to cause miscarriages during first couple of months"

Will frowned as he eyes unfocused, and the lady froze with a horrified look before looking at us. I barely heard her voice as she whispered in horror, "Are you sure?"

She was obviously directing the question at Will. Emily happened to walk in at that moment, and her Luna senses alerted her to the room's sudden mood change. She looked between our two tables in confusion before asking, "What’s going on?"

Will spoke quietly, "She was drinking a tea, and I asked her if she knew that her tea was known to potentially cause miscarriages. She was not aware that she is pregnant."

Emily looked startled. "Which tea is it?"

Will shrugged, and the other lady answered, "It is an herbal tea that I usually drink if I feel under the weather. It is in the big blue box in the kitchen. It didn't have any warnings on it."

Emily blinked, obviously knowing which tea she was referring to. She asked Will, "How do you know that it can cause miscarriages?"

Will glanced at me, and I spoke up, "There is an herb in it that I can sense from here. I mentioned it to Will. Most Omegas should also be able to identify it."

Emily nodded slowly. "When you are done eating, can I please get you to join me in the kitchen? We will label any tea with that herb in it."

I replied, "Of course."

Emily left the room and the rest of the meal was quiet. The lady went off to see the pack doctor to ensure that the few sips she had taken hadn't caused any damage. We finished eating, and Will headed out to start training. I went to the kitchen and saw that there were hundreds of boxes of tea lined up on the counters. Emily was holding a box of red stickers while talking quietly with a man and a woman. A quick check with my senses told me that they were Omegas.

The Luna looked up. "Jade, the Omegas did try to separate the teas they thought could cause issues, but they have never tried to determine if something could cause a miscarriage."

I said, "It takes a bit of practice. The Omega’s skills are better suited to telling toxic foods from those safe to eat, as well as identifying any food that has gone bad. The tea normally doesn’t cause any harm, so it takes a certain knack. Let's see how they did so far."

They had made a pile at the end of the counter with anything suspicious. A careful inspection of the small pile of boxes showed that their skills had worked. At my nod, all of those boxes got a red sticker. Each of those could potentially cause a miscarriage, particularly during the first month or two of pregnancy.

I carefully went through the rest of the massive pile, occasionally pulling a box out with other dangerous herbs. I "showed" the Omegas what I was looking for in my senses via the mindlink. They went through the long row again as I followed behind. In the end, they had managed to detect all but two boxes.

Emily stared at the pile of boxes with red stickers. I tilted my head in worry as her emotions became quite distressed and chaotic. She was sad, almost devastated, and the feelings were rapidly building in strength. The two Omegas looked at her in confusion, also detecting her strong emotions.

I walked forward to gently touch her arm, tentatively inquiring, "Emily? Are you okay?"

Her breath hitched in a sob. Her voice was faint. "I’ve drank some of these teas at least three times a day as long as I can remember... To think they may be the reason that I have no children..."

I opened my arms, and she came forward for a hug. One of the Omegas was using their calming ability, it was quite strong, and I could already feel Emily relaxing.

I patted Emily's back. "Well, now you know. You still have a chance,” I added a bit of humor to my voice, “you aren't that old yet."

She chuckled weakly at my attempt to lighten the mood. "Sure, bring my age into it."

I lifted my head nervously as my senses alerted me to possible trouble. I said, "You had better calm the Alpha down before he gets here. If he gets any closer in the mood he is currently in, I am disappearing."

The Omegas shifted uneasily; we were the only ones in the room with the Luna at the moment. An Alpha was prone to attacking a possible threat first and asking questions later. Such powerful emotions would have echoed through the mate bond in a way that would have alerted him. He had sensed her distress and was coming at full speed, likely bent on thrashing whoever had caused her such heart-wrenching anguish.

Emily's eyes got distant before she shook her head and told us, "I’ll meet him by the door and take him to his office to calm him down."

We nodded, and I helped the two Omegas put the tea away as Emily swiftly left the room.