Building a Pack is Ruff, Part 1 (The Pack Pets Omegaverse #2)

19. Kelly

Chapter 19

A fter everything else I don’t feel like being around people, so we grab our burgers to go. I haven’t been to a Red Rogers before, but Teddy and Sam both say they make great burgers. Honestly, it’s kind of overwhelming when they each pick out toppings I’ve never imagined on a hamburger. I go with bacon and cheese, because why mess with perfection?

We each get a burger and steak fries with shakes. Sam gets something called campfire sauce, but I just want catsup. I can only have so many gastric adventures in one day. While we wait for our food, Teddy pulls up a map on his phone and finds a park three blocks over for us to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather.

Our little picnic's wonderful, and I’m glad that we get to have some fresh air after being in the stuffy store for so long.

My plan was for us to go to the bookstore next, but I kind of just want to get back to the house and stretch out for a long snuggle with Teddy. I don’t mind customer service, I have to check into that persona for work in the mornings, and to a lesser extent for classes in the afternoons. But this is supposed to be my break, and while I don’t mind helping Teddy and Sam shop for nesting stuff, I was about ready to go off at the people in the store for upsetting them both. I know Mom says you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, but sometimes I feel like I need to just pull out the flyswatter instead.

This burger's better than just about any takeout I’ve had. It can’t beat homemade, but it’s super good, and I steal a little bit of Sam’s campfire sauce to try with my steak fries. That’s good too, but I mostly enjoy the way he acts affronted. Teddy distracts him so I can steal the tiny takeout cup. True to form though, when I try to escape with my prize I trip over my own feet and go down.

I manage to spill all the campfire sauce, but my shirt now smells delicious. Teddy grabs my arm to help me up, but Sam doesn’t seem to realize what’s going on and tackles him from behind in retaliation for the distraction earlier.

Things finally settle down when Sam gets Teddy in a headlock while I roll around in the grass laughing, covered in sauce and bits of grass. A woman with a baby carriage and two smaller kids in tow glares at our fun. Not sure what crawled up her butt and died. We weren’t hurting anyone…except my shirt, which is smeared and stained with sauce. Now I really don’t feel like going to the bookstore. We clean up our mess as best we can, and head back to the truck. Sam and Teddy take turns brushing me off and picking grass out of my hair.

Before I can climb my sticky self back up into the truck, Sam takes off his flannel overshirt. He hands it to Teddy then starts to reorganize the truck a bit in just his tank top, while Teddy leads me to the public bathroom to get cleaned up and changed. I use my now dirty shirt to wipe off as much of the sauce as I can before washing off in the tiny sink. They have the loud wall-mounted hand dryers that won’t do any good to help with drying off, and no paper towels. So after I get my shirt damp, I turn it inside out to wipe the splatter of sauce out of my hair and off my glasses. I don’t even know how it got there. Seriously, there wasn’t that much in the cup that I stole. I guess I’m just talented that way.

When I’m as clean as I can get, Teddy bundles up my shirt and wraps me in Sam’s flannel, rolling up the sleeves and tying it around my waist so it doesn’t come down to my knees. It’s well worn—frayed around the collar—but so soft, and it smells like him. His warm cedar and sawdust scent makes me feel cozy and I wonder if I can take a nap on the drive home. We get back to the truck, and Sam already has it on and the heater running. The temperature's dropped since we left the house this morning, and he did give me his flannel. But the warm air on top of his cuddly shirt and my full stomach makes me yawn and blink.

“Are we still going to the bookstore, Kelly, or are you all tuckered out?” He looks at me as Teddy gives me a boost into the truck and gets my lap belt secured before getting himself buckled in. I can’t stop the yawn that makes my jaw crack and starts Teddy yawning too. Sam lets slip a small yawn of his own and a slight chuckle before we all manage to get under control.

“Sorry, Sam. I am full of food, covered in saucy goodness, and I need a nap. Can we, maybe, take a raincheck on the bookstore?” His hand runs over my still damp hair as he looks past me to Teddy, who just nods and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him, and yawning again.

“Alrighty then, lemme make a quick pit-stop for some coffee, then we’ll head home and look at getting the nest sorted out…and maybe a shower.” He smiles at me, chuckling to himself as he wipes the hand that was in my hair on his jeans. I must have missed some of the sauce. Teddy’s already breathing deep and easy. He fell asleep almost as soon as we started snuggling. I close my eyes and drift off listening to Sam flipping through radio stations.

Teddy

I wake up when my head bonks against the window. Kelly's cuddled up against my chest. Her head resting almost under my armpit, and I don’t understand how either one of us slept like that. Sam's humming along quietly to something on the radio that I can’t quite make out, just that it has a little twangy sound to it. The driver’s window is open a couple of inches, and he has a paper coffee cup nestled between his thighs. I must make some sort of noise, because his eyes flick over to mine. “Hey, I thought I’d wake y’all up when we got home. Everything ok?” He reaches over and turns off the radio.

I stretch the arm that Kelly isn’t wedged under. “Everything’s fine. I just whacked my head on the window. Sorry I crashed so hard. I guess yesterday was kind of crazy and then the store…I think the big lunch just knocked me on my ass. Sorry.” I feel kind of like shit making him drive home on his own. I need to be using this time getting to know my alpha better.

We pull into the dirt lot in front of the house and Jake's lying on the porch, his tail already going before we even stop the truck. As soon as the engine shuts off he jumps up and lopes over to the passenger door, standing on his hind legs and looking in. His eyes zero-in on Kelly and he starts licking the glass. Her eyes blink open now that the truck isn’t moving, and she snorts a laugh when she sees him.

Sam gets out and pats his leg, calling Jake away from our window and towards the house. He unlocks the front door and swings it open before coming back to check on us, then starts hauling in our purchases. I haven’t actually seen the nest yet, but I'm loath to admit how excited I am at the prospect. Kelly smiles up at me and slides out the door on Sam’s side. I guess I’m not moving fast enough for her. As soon as she’s outside, she hops up on the back tire and swings her leg over the side of the truck, almost losing her balance and falling over backwards. Sam runs back into the yard, arms outstretched like he can catch her from the front porch.

Thankfully, she manages to right herself and falls forward into the truck bed. Her head pops up, grinning at me a few seconds later, but Sam lifts her under the arms and sets her back on her feet in the dirt. She huffs at him for a second before Jake goes barreling around the front of the truck, tongue already out like he's going to lick the air all the way to Kelly. She squeals and giggles and takes off running towards the house. “I gotta get a shower before Jake tries to lick the sauce off me!” is all I hear as she disappears through the front door.

Sam leans over the side of the truck and grabs a few more packaged items we brought home that wouldn’t fit in the back of the cab. He taps on the window as he passes me, still sitting in the truck, his eyebrows raised as if to ask if everything is ok. I nod, finally unclipping my seatbelt and sliding out of the truck. I grab Kelly’s still damp shirt and a plastic wrapped blanket from the back before heading inside. Dropping the shirt in the hamper by the washing machine, I stop…I don’t have any idea where the nest is other than somewhere on the first floor.

A few seconds later, Sam comes out of a room at the far end of the downstairs hallway, and I wave my bag of blanket at him. He smiles and waves me over. “Ok, now…the nest isn’t done. Yet. We can fit it out however you want. But lemme show you what we’re working with, so we can figure out what you might like. Make everything just the way you want it.” He rubs the back of his neck, and his cheeks are flushed. I understood that it wasn’t furnished, but just how bad can it be?

He throws open the door he's standing in front of, and I realize that was a terrible question to ask myself. Whatever I was thinking, this is worse. This is so much worse. My inner omega screams at the mess; the bare plywood floor is littered with dust and chunks of plaster. The walls are covered in plastic film, but you can see the pink insulation rolled into the cavities behind it. I can’t even tell if there’s any glass in the windows, or just more sheets of plastic. There has to be, right? Otherwise this room would be freezing. Fuck me.

Sam is staring intently at me, and I swallow hard, trying not to show just how uncomfortable this makes me. He reaches out for my shoulder and my body sinks against him, seeking comfort from the chaos around me. Omegas don’t like chaos—it throws us for a loop; and seeing what's supposed to be my nest so completely gutted is freaking me out.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spring all this on you. I didn’t make it a priority when I was rebuilding because I didn’t think I’d need it. But don’t worry. I should be able to get the sheetrock back up, and the windows replaced in a week or so. The floor might take a bit longer, depending on what you want. But I don’t have any special orders due this week, so I have some leeway on work stuff. I can get the rest of these batts of insulation put up tonight if you don’t need me for anything. Then start on the drywall after I file the pack registration tomorrow.”

He looks at me hopefully as he rattles off information about paint colors and carpet versus hardwood. My eyes keep flicking around the room, and I whine. I can’t help it. My nest is supposed to be a safe space, and right now it barely exists.

I bolt from the room, Sam following close behind me. I look down, noticing that I’m still holding the blanket, and set it down at the foot of the stairs for now—until I can figure out where it needs to go. Sam comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my shoulders. He rumbles out a loud purr, and while my body melts against him, my mind is racing, spiraling into a panic. I still have a few weeks till my heat starts. This shouldn’t be a problem. But my omega is going mental at the thought of not having a safe space for our heat. Sam’s arms squeeze around me tighter, and he pulls me around with him when the bathroom door opens.

Kelly steps out in a billow of steam—she has a towel wrapped around her body and another around her hair. Her glasses are fogged up and she stumbles forward, her hand tracing along the wall as she tries to make it to the stairs. She gets about a foot away from where Sam’s hugging me before she stops, her head tilted back. Staring up at us through her clouded glass. “Sorry, I was in a hurry to get clean. I forgot my clothes.” Sam chuckles in my ear, and the sound sends a shiver up my spine, my earlier panic receding with need as my mind finally processes the hard body pressed against me. I tilt my head back, nuzzling against his jaw, and his arms tighten around me.

“Woah, Teddy, you ok? Your scent just went off like a bomb. Is everything alright?” Kelly. Dear, sweet, innocent Kelly has pressed against my front. She finally takes off her foggy glasses and is squinting up at my face, trying to make out my expression. I would think the problem was obvious as my hard dick is being ground into her flat little stomach when she stands on her toes, trying to see my face better. She blinks once…twice. Understanding dawns.

“Oh. Sorry. Sorry.” She drops back on her heels, her face a bright pink as she slides her glasses back on and makes her way around us and up the stairs. “I’ll just…um…clothes.” She stumbles on the top step, her towel unwrapping. She manages to catch it and herself, clutching the cloth to her chest and straightening her body before scurrying into Sam’s room. I guess she forgot that we were behind her, because holding it over her boobs didn’t cover anything from down here.