“We can do some online searching for inspiration tonight if you want,” Riley says, practically bursting with excitement.
Sage’s eyes light up, and she scurries toward us.
“Yes,” she says. “Let’s do that!”
We spend the rest of the night on the couch, Riley’s tablet projected onto the TV as Sage scrolls through pictures of nests. We all take note of which items she ooh’s and aah’s over, what colors catch her eye, the styles she seems to gravitate toward.
I’m eager to spoil my omega, and I sense Riley and Vee feel the same way.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sage
I’m a jumbled mix of nerves and excitement as Brooks drives us all to the nest store in his big work truck. We decide to go to one about an hour away in the opposite direction of where Steve and Josh live, just to be safe and hopefully avoid anyone recognizing me from the fliers they put up.
As soon as we walk in, I’m overwhelmed. My omega instincts start screaming with excitement, but my human brain doesn’t know where to start. I freeze only a few feet inside the store, staring around at all the colors and sections.
There’s even more than I expected. Everything from comfy clothing for everyone in the pack to waterproof sheets, extra soft blankets and pillows, electric candles and nutrient-dense snacks.
“Where do we start?” I ask.
“Let’s get the basics first, then we can work our way up to all the extras depending how you’re feeling,” Vee says.
She leads the pack over to the bedding section, and I immediately start running my hands over the wall of sheets.My fingers keep moving back to a silky smooth set, but it’s pale blue, and my eyes drift toward the darker shades.
“Should we ask if they have this set in other colors?” Brooks asks me.
Riley pipes up before I can decline, not wanting to be a bother.
“I saw a store associate a few aisles over, I’ll run and get them!”
He returns a few minutes later with a beta woman wearing a huge smile and holding a tablet.
“I hear you’re setting up a fresh new nest!” she says. “I’ll get an account started for you. Here’s a shopping scanner. You scan the barcodes of whatever items you want and it’ll pop up on my end, then we’ll start pulling things out for you. If you want different colors of anything, we can almost always accommodate. If we don’t have it in stock, chances are we can order it. Scan it in and we can confirm everything at checkout, okay hun?”
She hands me the scanner, and I accept it reverently.
“Okay,” I murmur, sinking into Brooks’ side and letting his steady warmth strengthen me. “Thank you.”
“Of course, deary. Have fun!”
It turns out, shopping is endlessly fun. I make the mistake of letting Riley have the scanner at one point, and he starts scanning things left and right. I squeak in horror when I realize what he’s doing, but Vee smirks and slings an arm around his neck as I snatch the scanner away from the trigger-happy beta.
“That’s too much,” I say.
“Nothing is too much for you,” Vee counters, and Riley nods in agreement.
My eyes ping between them, anxiety and excitement swirling through me. It causes my scent to fracture, waves of sweet alternating with sour, and Brooks crouches down infront of me. I try to look into his eyes, but they’re too knowing. Too soft, too caring to the point that it feels scary.
“Hey,” he says, quiet enough for my ears alone. “We want to spoil you, okay? We would love nothing more than to buy every single thing your heart desires, and then even more that you didn’t know you wanted. We want to do this, and so do our alphas.”
That makes my thoughts pause. These two alphas are countering everything I thought I knew about their designation, so if he says their alphas want this, maybe even need it if the strain underlying his tone is any indication, a good omega would accept it. And I want to be a good omega for them.
My inner omega wants the same thing their alphas do, so I lift my gaze, meeting Brooks’ warm brown eyes. He smiles, crinkling the corners of his eyes, and my hand drifts to his beard without my permission. I scratch my fingers against his rough jaw, and he tilts his face into it, comforting us both. My scent settles back into a sweet floral, and I step forward, silently asking for a hug.
He doesn’t make me use my words this time, simply stands and envelopes me in his arms so his soothing chamomile and patchouli surrounds me.
“Sage, you have to feel how soft these blankets are!” Riley calls, breaking the cocoon I’d wound around us.
