Ariana looks nervous to have us in her home, but I don’t take it personally. This has always been her safespace, and we’re invading it. No matter how much she cares for us, it’s going to be an adjustment.
Unfortunately for her, she let me in, and I’m not going anywhere. Going to claim squatter’s rights. I’m a puppy who followed her home.
She’s stuck with me.
I mean, if she asked me to leave, I would, but I’d probably end up sleeping under her porch with the opossums.
My girl looks uncomfortable, and I hate it. She awkwardly wrings her hands as she paces around the cozy-looking living room.
“What’s going on?” Grant places a hand on her lower back to calm her movements. “Talk to us.”
“My nest is a mess. I’ve been using it as storage. Now that you’re here, I need a nest.”
He makes a shushing noise and takes her face in his hands. “We don’t care if you have a nest.”
She looks outraged at the statement. “Well, I do! What kind of Omega doesn’t have a nest?”
I move close and wrap an arm around both of them. “What if we clean it out together while we wait for Derrick to get back?” She chews her lip then nods in acquiescence. “Take us there.”
We follow our Omega through the house to a white door at the end of a short hallway. With a fortifying breath, she throws it open.
“Oh my God.”
I peer around her to see what the issue is. “Derrick, you dog.” The nest has been emptied of whatever she stored there, and a brand-new mattress, still in its plastic, rests in the pit in the middle of the room. Along the walls are boxes swollen with the gifts we’ve bought her over the years.
“How did he do this?”
“If I had to guess, I bet he had help from a certain meddling best friend of yours.” I take her hand and pull her into the room with Grant trailing behind us. “These are things we bought for you over the years. There should be more than enough here to outfit a nest. We can go to the store tomorrow if you don’t like any of it.”
“I don’t need to go to the store. I love it already.” She hasn’t even seen anything in the boxes yet, but the conviction in her voice tells me she’s not lying. “If you guys picked it out for me, it’ll be perfect.”
Grant snags her other hand and rests his cheek on her head. “How about we wait for Derrick to get back, eat, and then we can come in here and dig around and see what you can find.”
She bounces on the balls of her feet like a kid on Christmas morning. “Yes, yes, please! I’m going to call Marlie and thank her for helping him while we wait.”
By the timewe’re all stuffed, the only thing left is half of the white pizza Derrick got our Omega.
“I can’t believe you like chicken and pineapple on pizza,” she teases me. “I’m worried about what it says about you being into me when you have such bad taste.”
I gather up the empty boxes and plates. “It says that you’re the superior choice and anyone who doesn’t think so is wrong.”
Grant hums as he wipes his face with a napkin. “I’m just happy I don’t have to share my pizzas with you monster Alphas.”
“Because no one else wants lactose-free cheese.”
Ariana is antsy with anticipation, her eyes darting between the three of us.
“Are you ready to go set up your nest, Omega?” As soon as the question is out of Derrick’s mouth, she’s on her feet and rushing to the room at the end of the hallway. “I guess that’s a yes.”
I finish cleaning up the dinner mess with my packmates as quickly as possible and follow her. By the time we push through the doorway, she’s sitting in the middle of the room with a large box in front of her.
“This one feels like a good one.” She’s playing with the edge of the tape, a question in her eyes.
“Go ahead and open it, sweetie.”
With a squeal, she rips the tape off, not caring that it takes half of the cardboard flap with it. She turns everything over in her hands, examining it as she pulls them out and lines them up in front of her.
This box is from four years ago. A pair of pajamas in galaxy blue with a matching robe from Grant. A string of lights with butterflies covering the bulbs and soft purple blackout curtains from Derrick. I got her a set of cream throw pillows, one with sequins and the other with faux fur.
