Talk About… Trouble (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #4)

Chapter 4

Devon

M y constant need for attention and validation was starting to backfire on me. Today, especially.

I’m not sure what compelled me to sign up for this omega roommate matching program with the Network Clinic, but it was… questionable at best.

Now, I was standing in the middle of this shared apartment with only my things here, waiting on the other two to arrive.

The anxiety was killing me.

They reassured me that if things didn’t work out, since I was here first, I’d be able to request a shift in placement.

But I didn’t want that. All I wanted was a group of omega friends that made me feel normal for once in my fucking life.

Growing up in a pack of macho alphas and betas meant that my bullying started at home. The moment I presented as an omega and not a beta like they were hoping and praying for, they lost all love for me.

Maybe I was naive, but I was fairly certain love wasn’t supposed to be conditional on your fucking designation.

You’d think my omega mom would be the one to protect me. But, unfortunately, anything they said went. She turned a blind eye to every cruel word or physical attempt to ‘toughen me up’ that they sent my way.

It was her or me, and she chose herself.

Always second best. I guess that seemed to be the motto of my life, unfortunately.

Every time I’d fallen in with a pack, they always ended up finding an omega.

So much for chosen mates being more common than true mates. It felt like more and more, that was starting to be a thing of the past.

A pack would be lonely and want an omega, but really, we were all just placeholders until they found the one they were truly looking for.

Even if our scents were compatible, it didn’t matter once they found this all-magical scent.

It sounded like a load of bullshit to me. Then again, maybe that was just the jaded part of my soul.

Deeper down, I was craving the exact same thing… an entire pack of sexy men to sweep me off my feet and treat me like I deserved.

Not like I was fragile or needy, but like I mattered.

Like what I am is okay.

In my head, they’d sweep me into a pack house, let me make it a home, help me build my nest, treat me like I was the center of their world.

At this point, I wasn’t even sure if I knew how to be an omega.

The buzzer by the door went off, a voice echoing through the intercom and startling me from my thoughts.

“Mr. Campbell, your roommates are on their way up. If you would, please open the door for them.”

I walked over and held the button before responding. “Thank you, Clarence. On it.”

The grandfatherly beta who ran the front desk was about as sweet as a beta could be. He was calm and caring, the perfect fit for an apartment full of wayward omegas.

When I signed up, it sounded like The Omega Network had a lot more in store for this place. There was an entire empty floor that they were planning on renovating into amenities.

But first, meeting my new roommates.

The elevator dinged the moment I pushed open the door, stepping outside to greet them. I barely took a single breath as I waited. Anxiety usually wasn't my style, I was fairly confident in myself. I had to be, otherwise they would have stolen that from me, too.

But right now my nerves were swirling wildly in my stomach until I was trying not to throw up.

Wouldn’t that be a wild introduction?

Lord, get it together, Devon. They’re just omegas .

Then, a bubbly ball of excitement stepped out of the elevator. She was a petite little omega, but I swear her enthusiasm made up for what she lacked in height. She was already waving, nearly dropping everything in her arms as she called out to me.

“I take it you’re our roommate?”

All of the nerves melted away as I rushed forward to help her with her burden before she tripped over herself.

“One of,” she answered. “I’m Grace. Nice to meet you!” Even her voice was adorable. “I also really hope you like pink.”

I didn’t notice until she said something that every visible item she had out of a box was some shade of pink.

“I can live with pink,” I laughed. Honestly, I was up for anything at this point, as long as it felt like home. It had been way too long since I felt that way… if ever.

“Where’s our other—?” My words cut off as another omega stepped out behind her. She must have been crouched down, picking up one of the boxes. As she stood up and met my eyes, the breath was stolen right from my lungs.

She was gorgeous. Not just pretty, but ‘stop your heart’ breathtaking.

The omega had these big, beautiful eyes lined in thick lashes. Her hair was a gorgeous platinum blonde that hung straight around her shoulders, shining in the elevator lighting.

She was taller than our other roommate, and my mouth watered as my eyes trailed down her body. Her hips were wide, tapered in at the waist so the flare was even more noticeable. There was the usual omega softness that only made her that much more appealing.

I didn’t realize I was into omegas until now. Then again, I wouldn’t care what her designation was at this point.

As they shuffled out of the elevator, I was hit by Grace’s scent first. It was a mix of green tea and sweet mint. A little overpowering, but thanks to us not being compatible, it was subtle enough that I knew I could live with it.

Much to my disappointment, the second scent that hit me was delicious, but unfortunately, also subtle.

Watermelon and strawberry. It reminded me of summertime, and I had a feeling her smile would do the same.

But from the shadows in her eyes, I wasn’t sure if those came easy.

“I’m Devon. And you are?”

“Wren,” she responded, struggling under the weight of the box.

I moved forward and scooped it out of her hands. It was heavy as hell, but I managed to not buckle under the pressure. This would be a time that alphas would come in handy.

“Just stop the elevator for a second,” Grace said, but instead of waiting for one of us to do it, she dodged around us and did it herself. The way she spoke and acted was like a stream of consciousness, never truly processing it before she moved. This omega was going to keep us on our toes.

We unloaded everything before we released the elevator, letting the doors close.

“We can just throw everything in the living room and then get you guys settled afterwards,” I offered as I led the way down to our apartment. “We’re room 333. Maybe it’s a lucky number since we got all threes.”

“I love that!” Grace said, letting out a musical laugh that suited her. “I hear these apartments are huge. It’ll be a nice change. My last place was super cozy, but it was a small cottage. And, honestly? I just hated being alone.”

“I hear you on that,” I agreed. “We omegas aren’t built for that life.”

Wren didn’t say much as we carried things in, but it was like my entire world now revolved around her. I was aware of where she was, what she was doing, without even trying.

I nearly dropped the bag I was holding. My hands were so sweaty.

This was completely out of character for me. I was generally sure of myself and calm. Right now, I was simply a hot mess.

When we finally closed our apartment door after two more trips downstairs, I was exhausted, but my mind was going a million miles an hour.

Wren didn’t speak much, but Grace made up for both of us being quiet. Honestly, it was nice having her around as a buffer. She filled this empty, quiet apartment with her energy, and I found myself smiling more than I had in a while.

Mostly because walking around your apartment smiling to yourself makes you look like a lunatic.

While they managed to divvy up the boxes to their respective rooms, I went to the kitchen. Thankfully, I knew they were coming in and prepared. I pulled out everything I needed for a cute little charcuterie board. I’d even found an amazing board at the local omega shop. It was a dark wood tray that was simple, but elegant.

Maybe I was going a little above and beyond to impress the girl that captured my attention, but I also wanted my roommates to like me.

When I placed the last salami rose on the board and arranged the berries to perfection, I had no choice but to go search them out.

I poked my head in the first room, which Grace had apparently claimed, but she was chattering away on the phone, so I didn’t disturb her.

Instead, I went for Wren, who was quietly putting everything away. It was very apparent that most of what we had carried up belonged to Grace. Wren only had a couple of boxes, and she was nearly finished already.

I knocked gently on the door, and she flinched, looking sheepish as she glanced up at me.

“Sorry,” she muttered, looking embarrassed. At least she wasn’t scared of me. This omega looked one wrong move from running away.

I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to make her look this scared.

“No worries. I just wanted you to know I put out a snack if you’re hungry. Any empty boxes you don’t want to keep, just set them by the door. We can break them down and take them to the recycling room later. I can show you around the building.”

She relaxed at that and gave me a smile. It wasn’t a true smile, it didn’t reach her eyes, barely stretching across her face, but I was going to count it for now.

Just like I knew she would be, she was even more beautiful when she smiled.

I couldn’t wait to see her come out of her shell.

“Actually, I’m starving,” she admitted, putting down the book she was stacking.

I pointed to them. “Are you a reader?”

“Honestly, I didn’t used to be,” she admitted. “I feel like I always had something to do, somewhere to go, and then…” She trailed off. “We’ll just say things changed, and I lost myself in the pages and never looked back.”

“If you’re new to town like I suspect you are, you have to let me take you to this new bookshop that just opened up. It’s romance-specific, and it’s everything. They even serve book-themed mocktails and coffees.”

Some of the shadows chased away from her eyes at that, and she lit up—just barely. It was enough to give me a hint of her inner personality that was locked away. I was already hooked.

Right then and there, I made it my mission to bring that out of her more, to help her find herself again.

Maybe I’d hire a witch to curse whoever put that look on her face. Cover all my bases. It couldn’t hurt.

“Come on, let’s go grab a snack,” I offered, turning around and walking away, praying that she would follow behind me.

Her soft footfalls were barely audible, but I was so in tune with her that I clocked them, pleased that she was actually coming.

She may not trust us yet, but I hoped she would eventually.

“It’s nice to have someone else here. This apartment was way too big for just me.”

“How long have you been here?” she asked as she sat at the kitchen island, settling into the stool and taking in the board I made. “This is gorgeous, Devon. Back in the city, people would pay hundreds for boards like this. You did this just for us?”

“Was it too much?” I winced. “I didn’t want to go over the top, but I wanted to do something to celebrate us all being here.”

“No,” she said, waving me off. “Definitely not too much. It’s perfect. I’m just saying, you should make a business out of this. It looks like art.”

“The amount of videos I watched to be able to cut the fruit that way… well, we won’t talk about that,” I joked, pulling out two plates from the cupboard.

Every apartment was given the basics, from plain white linens to the stools she was sitting on, and filled with necessities. We had enough cups, plates, bowls, and utensils to get by. Even a few simple pots and pants. They wanted omegas to be able to take shelter here and not stress about finding simple things right from the start.

I doubted any of the units kept it for long. We all knew omegas couldn’t stand all this white.

Wren pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a picture of the board before she started piling up her plate. I sat on the stool next to her, doing the same.

“What about Grace?” she asked.

“She was on the phone when I went to check on her. We can try again in a few minutes.”

“She mentioned calling her sister. Hailey works at The Omega Network. I met her when I signed up for the apartment.”

“Oh yeah, she was great,” I said, shocked that the two were sisters. “Grace seems nice, too. She’s just the right amount of peppy.”

Wren smiled. “I thought the same thing. Maybe she can rub off on me a bit.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I poured us each a glass of water from the pitcher I set out and took a sip.

Sitting right next to her, all I could do was breathe in her scent. It was still subtle, but my mouth watered.

It wasn’t that instinctual reaction that I was hoping for, but I wanted to indulge in deep lungfuls all the same.

It wasn’t very common for omegas to end up with other omegas, but sometimes two Omegas just clicked. Generally, they were very different people, complementing each other and the pack.

I never thought about being in that role. It seemed the pack centered around the female omega in those situations and I hated the idea that I’d get less of the pack experience just because I was a guy.

Maybe that was my insecurity talking, but I wanted to have the whole experience.

Yet here I was, fantasizing about me and Wren sharing a pack of sweet and doting alphas.

Maybe it was wrong to think of my roommate like this when I had no clue if she was even interested.

Either way, my life just got a whole lot more interesting.