Page 59 of The Omega’s Nest

He shrugs, hands gripping the steering wheel as he drives us back to Will’s shack. “I told you. I ah … messaged every day. Looked for you. Sorry, some of those are pretty embarrassing.”

I shake my head. “They’re beautiful,” I say, and I know it’s cheesy, I fucking know. But they are. I thought of him every day. And now I know he thought of me too.

“I’m framing them,” I tell him and smile through my tears, trying to lighten the hell I put him through.

He looks at me, appears ready to object, but then he just relaxes, his smile almost proud.

“Okay,” he says and refocuses on the road. “Just don’t listen to those voicemails.”

I am one thousand percent going to be listening to those voicemails.

Epilogue

Six months later … Leo

Isit on the beach in my starched dress blues, the top button of the white shirt popped, tie loose, blazer undone. Addie’s out there, scanning the break and gliding his hands through the water while he waits to take a wave.

I’ve been keeping my thoughts carefully on other things, so he didn’t know I was coming. He knows, roughly, that I’ll take a rut leave soon, but I wanted to surprise him. Few things in life are more enjoyable than watching Addie in unguarded moments. And if he knew I was coming, I wouldn’t have got the chance to watch him surf without him knowing I’m right here.

With a loan from Terry, I’d managed to get a mortgage on a beach shack a few miles from Will’s place in a town fifty miles south of Celo City, just north of Hollow Point. The backyard was Eyries—a perfect A-frame wave named after the sea eagle nests on the adjacent cliffs. Addie and I surfed this break a lot when we were teenagers. It was something else to watch those birds plunge into the water behind the lineup and launch up with a fish in their talons.

A run-down cottage built in the 1950s, it’s basic at best—one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, kitchen, basement, and laundry. I was embarrassed that this was the best I could do for Addie, but he loved it. It wasn’t just in his scent when I brought him here the first time either, mumbling that I could afford this if he wanted it, it was in his thoughts. On the beach! Eyries is right there! Built of stone! I can retile the bathroom! Paint! My own home! My own home!

He was radiant, and I couldn’t help it, I preened a little bit. Plus, given that he was literally on the beach, I suggested he start to teach surfing. And there’s a little shed-garage attached to the house—he could turn it into a workshop to build his surfboards.

I balked when he asked me if I’d give him permission to do that. It took a few minutes to find my voice.

“I’m not letting you do anything. You can do whatever the hell you want,” I said, still dumbstruck.

The pulse of love-warmth-affection and the way Addie jumped into my arms after I said that was a reward, but what should I be rewarded for? Sure, most alphas told their omegas what to do, and it was socially unacceptable for an omega to have a job without their alpha’s permission—in the case of some jobs, like the military and professional sports, it was illegal—but Addie was my best friend. In what world do best friends need permission from each other to do what they want?

Addie’s focus shifts to the beach. I don’t know if he’s caught my scent, or the joy I’m feeling at seeing him is bleeding into the bond, but I clock the second he sees me.

Leo! His voice rings clear and thrilled in my head.

He goes flat to the board and starts to paddle. I stand as he drops in and springs to his feet, speeding down the face and heading for me in a line. I laugh as he jumps off the board in the shallows, scoops it under his arm and hops over the rocks with light feet. He drops the board once he hits the sand, unhooks his leg band, and runs up the beach.

I catch him as he leaps for me, the rubber of his wetsuit drenching my suit.

“When did you get here? You’re here! You didn’t tell me! You’re here!”

I squeeze him tight against my chest and breathe in the best smell in the world—vast skies, clean air, the hint of cherry blossoms on a distant wind.

“I wanted to surprise you,” I say, my voice brimming with joy.

He pulls back, and I slide my hands down to hoist him up under his thighs. He’s beaming down at me and his smile is the sun, blinding me. And thank fuck he’s a bit heavier now.

“You’re here,” he says again, eyes alight, scent bowling me over so much I’m a tad concerned I’ll go into rut instantly.

“I’m here. Two weeks.”

He takes my face between his hands, touching me as if to ensure I’m real before he leans down to kiss me. And no bond, no mental link, can make up for this. The feel of his lips, his smell in my nose. I love our bond. It’s a cliché, but the feel of Addie inside me—in my feelings, in my head, his heartbeat tucked next to my own—really does complete me. But nothing beats Addie in the flesh.

I break the kiss, because this is going to get out of control fast. “Go get your damn surfboard so I can take you inside and breed you.”

Addie’s smile turns delighted. “Promises, promises.”

I laugh, grab him by his nape, and tug him down for another kiss. It is a promise. A promise I intend to keep. The only thing better than getting bonded to my best friend is having a baby with my best friend. I can’t fucking wait.