“You kidding me?” I snort, “She’s been eyeing up those boxsets like they’re made of gold, we’ll get her all nice and settled sometime and watch through them, blankets, snacks, the whole lot.”
It’s quiet again for a little longer.
“Do you think she meant what she said? About us, thinking this is a big joke?” The vulnerability in his voice hurts my heart. I hate to see a pack brother hurting, and I reach over to pat his shoulder.
“I think thatshe thinksshe means it.” I reply to him, glancing over to catch the confusion on his face, “She grew up in a family where her dad had very traditional ideas about how Omegas should be treated and act, but very non-traditional ideas on structure. She’s waiting for us to stop her wandering out to see the horses, to keep her in her nest whilst we knot her as we please, or demand she gets her implant removed, y’know?” I take a deep breath, the pure revulsion at that thought flooding me, “It’s gonna take some time before she stops expecting us to send her away. We just gotta love her good.”
Atty brightens at that, gray eyes wide, “So it isn’t too soon to tell her I love her?”
I choke on my breath, glancing at him, “Yeah, yeah, dude, it probably is. Last thing you want is her thinking that you’re trying to overwhelm her. Go easy. She’ll let us know when it’s time.” He deflates at that, “But you can still show her. We’ll give her the best time today, okay?”
Ten minutes later, we pull in behind the SUV to World of Nesting, this big warehouse right on the edge of the city. It’s enormous, and absolutely packed with people. Citrine hasmaybe a hundred thousand residents, and it feels like every last one of them is currently piled into this place. Skye squeals as she gets out of the car, taking turns throwing her arms around each one of us, topping it with a slobbery cheek kiss in her excitement, and the mood lifts. We are all a little worried, given how big a step this is, to let her make her own decisions with her nest. It’s usually reserved for once you’ve finished the contracted period and taken the Omega on as a permanent pack member, but I think, looking at her delighted little bounces, that this is exactly what she needs. Now to drop her second surprise.
“C’mere, darlin’,” She flies at me like she’s walking on air, and I fish out my wallet, picking the black card from it and handing it to her. She looks down, then back at me, then down, then back at me, “It’s a pack account card.”
“But it’s got my name on it.”
“Yup, you’re part of this pack, it’s limitless too, so unless you’re planning on buying a couple of private jets or a whole private island, then you can get whatever you want. So let’s go shopping.”
It’s clear as soon as we step in the door that our girl is overwhelmed and underprepared for this sort of trip. I can practically see her tail between her legs until Teddy grabs one of those giant bucket carts and starts pushing it to a stand at the front door.Apparently, there’s a checklist for nests?Gods above, I thought it would just be blankets and pillows, and from the looks on my packmates’ faces, so did they. We are all about to learn some things today.
With a checklist in hand, our Omega is suddenly the captain of this crew, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is about to climb in the cart and start demanding we hoist anchor… Maybe we could get some carts for Bowline.
“Okay, first stop, paint. It says here that paint is the base for any good nest, even before the nest itself. Apparently, the rightcolor lowers an Omega’s stress by up to thirty percent!” She’s reading straight from this sheet of paper, her green eyes wide, “Oh, that sounds about right. I don’t like how sterile the nest is, so maybe not white.”
Teddy chips in with, “Purple?”
Our Omega takes a second, a faraway look in her eyes, before the most adorable crinkle appears between her brows, and she pouts, “No. Dark blue. Like a really dark navy, but you can tell it isn’t black.”
“Very precise, what a good Omega,” Lucas speaks for the first time, and to our surprise, she preens. Her entire body lights up with the praise, and she scampers off to the paint section. We all turn to him, gobsmacked, but he only shrugs, “Omegas thrive on praise. Just call her a good girl and she’ll melt.”
Has hejust been keeping that to himself all this time?This man, who has had multiple years of experience with two different Omegas,isjust going to let us flounder?Of course, he is. Should have expected it. I think the closest we have to experience is Fury’s revolving door of women, period, but that’s hardly courting behavior.
“Well? I need my cart!” Skye calls out, pulling us to attention. She has three paint pots stacked in her arms, wobbling with the effort, before I rush to grab them from her, swinging them into the cart, “Okay, next, lights!”
Okay, so I might be a little fearful for the bank account.
Skye
After all the shopping of the previous day, I had been pretty exhausted as Lucas loaded up his car with Fury and Teddy and took everything home to get started. Atlas, Clay, and I had… Well, the most fun I’ve ever had. Between learning archery, being harnessed, and wall climbing, I am deliciously sore in all kinds of places, though no closer to being less desperate for the men. Hell, even when Clay pulled my pants off and harnessed me up high enough to eat me out on the wall, I still needed more. Whatever hormonal jab that Lucas had given me, it is starting to wear off, and my heat will be creeping again. When I returned home that night, I’d been banned from my own damn nest as the whole suite had been freshly painted. I’d spent the night on the couch instead of cuddling with one of the men, still determined to hold out, though my patience is waning pretty quickly, and I swear downstairs is going to start shutting shop and going on strike if I don’t let at least one of them bend me over the dining table.
Dinner is always a busy affair in the house, even with only two or three of the guys here for it, though everyone is home tonight, even if it means it is a little later, so that the resident doctor can be home in time. Now we’re all sat around the table with carbonara, another starchy dinner for us shifters, watching Atlas slurp spaghetti and flicking sauce over Lucas as he does. Growling, the jaguar raises a wry eyebrow at the wolf beforestretching Atlas’ shirt to wipe the sauce from his skin. Sitting at the end of the table, I have a view of everyone, Fury leaning over to speak to Clay in hushed tones with a rare scowl on his handsome face. They’ve been quiet and secretive after we got home last night, and I debate flicking a bit of pancetta across the table at them. Gentle taps on the top of my foot draw my eyes to Teddy, giving me a sly look from the corner of his eye, running his foot up the inside of my calf until I shiver and perfume a little. Of course, as soon as his nose catches it, he winks and returns to his dinner, leaving me pouting and watching the escalation between Luc and Atlas.
I can’t help but smile, watching them dissolve into chaos until one of Atlas’ spaghetti suctions pings a bit of pasta straight into Fury’s face. With a table rocking snarl, he rounds on the other two. Atlas immediately drops his head and whines almost as well as any Omega, shoulders at his ears, whilst Lucas gives him a lip twitch that bares a flash of white fangs. Shifting in my seat, the air thickens with Fury’s intense dominance. With his laid-back attitude, it’s too easy to forget how powerful he really is sometimes, and without meaning to, a whimper slips from me. It’s too close to my heat for this sort of pressure down on me, like a wave of his energy just consuming me, and my perfume steps up. There’s a fight going on inside me now, my Omega practically drooling to roll over belly up, and my wolf snarling and fighting for control. She’s furious, thinking this is it, this is them finally exerting the power, even when I know all it is is run off from Lucas being difficult. To my surprise, Lucas sees my struggle, looking away from our Cardinal and dropping the challenge with a hint of what looks like concern as I cower. Fury sighs, and it sounds like him letting every ounce of frustration and anger from his body as he does, deflating as he frowns at me.
“Skye, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you with that.” He sounds genuine enough in his regret, but I’m still chasing theshivers away, fighting the line between submission and panic. I need to go, need to run. The chair tips back and crashes to the floor as I stand, storming from the room. It’s only when the scent of the seaside follows me out that I spin, my own teeth bared, teeth lengthened and sharp, fur flowing across his hands as claws peek. Lucas raises his own hands, palms towards me, and keeps his eyes down. Seeing my jaguar, his dark hair curtaining his shoulders and molten eyes darkened with worry, is enough to help me quiet my wolf a little. He’s in gray sweats tonight, and a black muscle tee that clings to him with every movement, looking the gorgeous Alpha that he is. Salty pheromones crash around me, dragging me under, but I can’t hold my breath; it’s coming in too fast. Leaning against the wall, it’s only a second later that Fury crashes into the hall, stopped by a dark palm against his chest, snapping at Lucas. The rest of my pack's heads pop through the door to check on me, or at least watch the drama unfold as the power starts to rise again.
Gritting my teeth, my own anger rises. My aura, power, whatever it is that surrounds us, isn’t half as impressive as an Alpha's, but it floods the room alongside my scent. Cloying and alcoholic, it burns even my own nose as the standoff continues, as I snap.
“Fuck this.”
The door’s unlocked, creaking behind me as I escape into the cool evening air. It’s a balm against the thalassic churning of emotions inside of me. Spearing the dark blue with the last rays of sunlight, I appreciate how clear it is out here, far from the city lights polluting the sky. There’s no scent of smog in the air, just swirls of wildflowers accompanied by the ever-present buzz of wildlife. It’s a freedom I’ve never enjoyed before, at least not since I played on my grandmother's estate as a child.
Fur spreads from my hands to cover the rest of my body, bones creaking and realigning, then I let the wolf take over. She’sexcited, something's happening that’s running on instinct alone, and I have no choice but to go along for the ride as she trots forward, shaking off my ripped clothes. I’m a backseat passenger as she lopes forward, following around the house towards the forest, and her head tips back, letting out a long, triumphant howl.
Lucas
Fury pushed his luck again as our Cardinal.
