Chapter 339

Dale wakes up in the worst way ever, a phone call from his mom.

"What?" He sleepily groans when she speaks into the phone, barely hiding the irritation out of his voice.

"Were you asleep, Dale, I'm sorry, I didn't know." She says in a gloating voice and Dale can easily tell that she's lying through her teeth.

"Mom. what do you want?" He asks impatiently, his sleep ruined.

"Don't sound so upset, Dale, I just called to say hi." She continues in that sly tone. "You didn't even call to ask if I got back alright and it's nearly been a week."

Dale just listens to her ramble, knowing that she called this early on a Saturday just to try and figure out if there was anyone in his bed.

"You sound okay enough, besides I called dad… Is there any other reason you disturbed my sleep?"

Her offended gasp makes him roll his eyes, her trying to play the victim was an old act and right now all he had to offer her was irritation and anger.

"I see there's none." He adds when the line goes silent, hanging up and tossing his phone on the bed, the device bouncing a little before rolling to a stop.

He mutters a curse under his breath, pushing himself out of bed, of course, trusting his mom - although she was so far away - to ruin his sleep.

Sleeping had been a bit of a challenge ever since Dream left and after staying up more than half the night, sleep blissfully came only for the annoying Werewolf that gave birth to him to come ruin it.

He sits at the edge of the bed, elbows settled against his thighs, his head buried in his hands…

Dream…

His thought process seemed to revolve around one person, the last thing he wanted was for Dream to find out if he was pregnant or not and be all alone - he was just worried as hell about the Omega.

He knows Dream is strong enough to take care of himself, although his independent streak also meant it could be hard to get him to see things from a different angle.

Dale just wishes he knows what went wrong…

He was constantly pestering Kieran though and from the Head Beta's exasperated expressions, he was starting to give in.

Dale just needed one, just a chance to talk to Dream, whatever happened there at least he would know why he was losing Dream… having absolutely no idea what went wrong was killing him almost as much as losing Dream did.

Did Dream feel like Dale took advantage of him while he was vulnerable? Should Dale have walked away?

He tore at his hair in palpable frustration, his skin suddenly feeling too tight, he needed an outlet for all of these tumultuous emotions… he needed a run.

Hopefully, he would run hard and fast enough to tire himself out, he couldn't even sleep to escape the absence of Dream, perhaps in his dreams he could find solace.

That makes his mind up for him, pushing himself up from the bed to get ready for his run.

In no time, he's striding down the hallways in sweatpants and a loose top, his mating mark was starting to fade and that made it hurt like he had a hot knife stabbed down his throat.

He almost didn't want to go down through his Pack House, the quiet questions in their eyes were weighing down on him, crushing his heart.

Last minute, he swerves, changing direction to the hallway that connected both Pack Houses, it was a Saturday morning so hopefully everyone would be inside their apartments and no one would see him hurrying down the hallway like a junkie that ran out of his choice of poison.

The last person he wanted to see was Hayden… it would be a literal disaster.

It was easy to opt out of having to visit Hayden by saying he just had his heat and all that but he knows that soon enough, that excuse wouldn't be able to stop him but that was a worry for another day.

He takes care to follow a different hallway so he wouldn't have to pass by Hayden's and Virgil's apartment and just when he thinks he's in the clear, he bumps into Shana and Mae hurrying up the stairs, apprehension and excitement on their faces.

"Mae? Ana?" He freezes up when he notices them, they do the say, their eyes wide as they take him in. "What's going on?" He asks in worry, Shana had some medical equipment with her and it made his heart race almost painfully.

Shana breaks out of the shock of their meeting first. "We should be asking you that, did you buy a vampire bat as a pet?" She asks, referring to his mating mark, how pale he looks and the prominent eye bags under his eyes.

"I asked first." Dale says, almost in a grouchy tone.

"Um… Hayden has been throwing up all morning, he's probably pregnant."

Dale reels forward at this like he had been sucker punched in the gut, his thoughts immediately going to Dream who was all alone, what if he was in the same situation with no one to take care of him.

"Dale…" Shana reaches out to him, worry in her hazel-brown eyes as she watches what little color left on his fall completely fade away, his eyes dark and wide in palpable terror. "Are you…"

"I've gotta go." He immediately cuts Shana off, brushing past them as he runs down the stairs.

"What's wrong with him?" Mae asks in concern, wincing at how fast he was going down the stairs.

Shana shrugs, equally worried. "Slow down, moron!" She yelled down at him. "You're ugly enough, no one's gonna marry you if you smash your face in."

Dale has a ghost of a smile on his face at Shana's words but it stabilizes him a bit, his legs steadier, gaining strength even as he dashed across hallways and down stairs.

He didn't have the time to go back for his keys, besides, he was easily as fast as his car anyway while in wolf form.

He was heading to Kieran's house and not leaving until he was satisfied that Dream was okay… This was punishment for breaking so many hearts in college, wasn't it?