Chapter 1 Miss Me

AUTHOR NOTE: Please note this is the second book in the Obsession Series. It follows Lottie, Kane and Knox's story from Their Secret Obsession (A Reverse Harem)

Lottie POV

"I swear to god, if you touch my stomach again, I am going to..."

"Ram my fist where the sun doesn't shine, I know, I know." Chase finished my sentence but did nothing about his hand that rested on my swollen belly. "Hey little ones, miss me?" He cooed to my ever-growing stomach.

Arching a brow, I looked at my brother. I desperately wanted to stay mad, but seeing his cheesy grin and wide eyes as he moved his hand around my rather large bump, I couldn't do anything but smile back at him.

"Lame." I snorted to hide my joy at having him at my side, even if their fathers were nowhere to be seen most of the time. I had left my pack and my mates just over 6 months ago, after finding them in bed with my enemy. That hurt, more than words can express, but what had pushed me over the edge was learning that that bitch Connie was their new mate. The one they had chosen over our pups and I.

"You are already so loved." Chase whispered adoringly to my stomach, his lips lifted into a smirk, but his eyes remained glued on my abdomen. I felt the familiar sense of loss twist my gut as I allowed myself to think about Kane and Knox, and what they were missing out on.

What we were all missing out on.

"I doubt Connie is giving them much time to think about us or miss our pups," Sage grunted, her way of reminding me what my mates had done.

"They are not 'our' mates anymore," she added, again.

"They will always be MY mates." I snapped back as Sage began to make a point by playing the images of us walking in on the pair of them in bed with a rather naked Connie. Like the image wasn't burned into my damn memory!

"Hey sis, how are you feeling today?" Adam asked as he pressed a kiss on my cheek, pulling me from my downward spiral. Turning my head to look at my newfound brother as he headed towards the refrigerator, I tightened my eyes on him waiting for the question that was to follow, like it always did.

"Have you eaten today?" he asked on cue.

"Yes..." 'Have you drunk enough?' would follow; it always did.

"What about fluid? You know you need to drink more..."

"She has had three cups of tea and a glass of water." Chase cut off any reply I might have made as Adam checked his watch, no doubt doing the math. Turning my head to stare at Chase, I shot him a look that said more than any words could.

'Taddle'

He held his hands up for a second in surrender before lowering them back to my stomach.

"Gotta think of the pups, they need..."

"Water..." Adam finished as he placed a cold bottle of water on the top of my bump, his fingers almost grazing the skin of my stomach where my top had lifted over my apparently still-growing bump. He was careful not to touch my swollen belly, he always was. In the six months I had been here, not once had he made any attempt to touch my growing tummy, even when I invited him. I didn't get it. Chase could barely keep his hands off the twins, yet Adam seemed to be obsessed with keeping them healthy as long as he didn't have to actually touch them.

"Come on." He groaned, nodding to the bottle. His stern eyes remained on me until I took it from him and brought it to my lips for a sip.

"I think it will take more than that to make him stop hovering." Liam laughed from the doorway. A smile split my lips because, while Adam obsessed over the logistical parts of my pregnancy, Chase seemed petrified of missing a single kick or 'beautiful' moment of watching me vomiting up my breakfast. Liam still treated me like me, not a damn incubator.

"Time to study," Liam added with a wink, letting me know he was giving me an out.

"Coming." I smiled over at him as I swatted Chase's hands off my stomach.

"Water first," Adam commanded, reminding me instantly of the dominance and firmness Kane used around me. My heart ached for him and I sucked down the pain that had formed in my heart. Leveling Adam with a glare that would curdle milk, I shoved his hand and the water away and lifted from my seat, as gracefully as I could for someone. He looked like a damn whale.

"Just once, I wish you wouldn't fight me at every turn." Adam groaned as he walked past me and shoved the water into Liam's already waiting hand. "Make sure she drinks this in the next half hour and no more tea. It's bad for the pups." He barked before storming from the room, like a moody child.

"Yes sir." Liam laughed, nodding to the open door for me to follow him.

"Everything OK?" He asked casually, as he handed me the water, which I refused again out of anger.

"Peachy." I lied. Not feeling like bearing my soul to Liam right now.

"Yeah, seems it." He laughed, turning to look at me. "He loves you, you know that?" He asked, arching a brow as he slowed his pace for me. Too stubborn to accept the gesture, I pushed my exhausted legs to move quicker.

"Who?" I asked, my brows pinching in confusion because, unless he could read my thoughts, I wasn't sure who he was talking about.

"Adam." He laughed as he rushed to keep up with me while nodding to the gym door as it slammed shut in front of us. "He is just scared." He finished with a small smile.

"Why?" I asked, chewing my lip to think of what he had to be scared of. I was his sister.

"Half-sister." Sage reminded me with a sour moan. She liked the Sparrow brothers, and, for some reason, craved Adam's attention and approval more than anyone else's. His rejection was hurting her more than she let on.

"He is scared to let you in, in case he loses you. That would be my guess." Liam shrugged as he reached the library and held the door open for me.

"Well, given the fact that my mates have rejected me and our babies, found a new mate who I would wager is already pregnant and living their lives without me. Us. I would say his fears are a little irrational, wouldn't you?" I barked, ducking under his arm and into the library.

"There are other ways to lose someone... And FYI, Connie is not pregnant." He winked. My mind briefly registered the table he had set up in the middle of the room, instead a million questions filtered through my mind, distracting me.

"How do you know that?" I asked, regretting asking the second, his lips curled into a smile.

"I thought you didn't care for her or the twins?" He chuckled slowly. "At least that is what you declare at every given opportunity." He added with a smirk that told me he was not fooled.

"I don't. But I have a right to know if my babies are in danger. Do I not?" I half fibbed, pressing my lips firmly together.

"Your pups, my niece and nephew, will be fine." He expressed his hand, lifting my chin, forcing me to look in his beautiful eyes. "You are more powerful than you give yourself credit for. And with Chase, Adam and I behind you, you are safe here. Your only concern now is learning more about your heritage and resting so those babies are healthy... and that starts with water!" He grinned, holding Adam's bottle up in front of my face.

"So much for not treating us like an incubator," Sage muttered, a smile pulling at my lips as I took the water from him and nodded for him to get the lesson started.