“No! I just—” She breaks off when I raise an eyebrow. “Maybe a little?”
At least she’s honest.
“You want to know if I’ll follow through. If I’ll really take care of you the way I promised.”
She nods, and I see the vulnerability there. The little girl who learned not to ask for things because asking meant disappointment. The Omega who’s been hurt by Alphas who took rather than gave.
“I always follow through,” I tell her, my voice soft but firm. “Always. When I say I’m going to spoil you, I mean it. When I say you deserve everything, I mean that, too. And when I say there will be consequences if you keep arguing…”
I let the sentence hang, watching her pupils dilate further.
“I mean that most of all.”
“Oh,” she breathes.
“So.” I lean down until my lips are at her ear, until she’s breathing my scent and I’m drowning in hers. “Are you going to be good? Or do I need to make you be good?”
The whimper that escapes her is answer enough.
When I pull back, her eyes are glazed, and her scent is pure want.
“Come on,” I say, taking her hand. “Let’s finish shopping. And then we’ll show you the real surprise.”
Two hours later, we’ve filled four carts, and Willa has stopped trying to put things back.
She’s fully engaged now—testing pillow firmness, comparing blanket weights, holding fabrics up to the light to see how they look. Her scent is consistently happy, that edge of anxiety completely gone.
This is how she should always be. Relaxed. Cared for. Mine.
At checkout, when the total flashes on the screen, she pales.
“Beau, that’s?—”
“Worth it,” I say firmly, handing over my card before she can finish the protest.
Charlie and Jake are already loading bags into carts, and I help, making sure nothing gets crushed or damaged. By the time we get everything into the Land Rover, the back is bursting.
Willa just stares at it.
“This is insane,” she states.
“This is just the beginning,” Jake says, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
The drive back is quiet, peaceful. Willa’s wedged between Jake and me in the back seat this time, her head on Jake’s shoulder, her scent soft and content.
My Alpha purrs with satisfaction. She’s happy. We made her happy.
“So,” Willa says after about twenty minutes, “where exactly am I supposed to put all of this?”
Charlie glances at her in the rearview mirror. “That’s the other part of the surprise.”
“Other part?”
“We might have done some renovating,” Jake says carefully.
We pull up to the house fifteen minutes later, and Willa practically vibrates with anticipation.
“Close your eyes,” Charlie tells her.
