50. Olive
50
OLIVE
I braced myself against the wind as I headed to Rosie’s, trying to keep my bike straight on the path. It was already sprinkling, and the forecast said there was a big storm front rolling in. I needed to get back to the lighthouse before it hit so I could monitor the radio, but I didn’t want to cancel this lunch. Especially because my guys had left the cottage early this morning with a vague excuse about having to pick something up for the lighthouse.
Even though it was Sunday.
And they wouldn’t tell me what they were getting, just that they would be gone for the entire day.
Maybe I had just imagined how shifty they’d been, how they couldn’t quite meet my gaze. Because it was fine that they were doing something without me. Absolutely fine . My omega definitely wasn’t clawing in my chest, telling me to hunt them down.
I took a deep breath as I parked my bike outside Rosie’s—this time making sure I looked both ways before stopping to avoid Stanley—and adjusted the hood of my rain jacket to protect myself from the increasingly heavy downpour.
I knew why I was feeling so upset about my guys leaving me alone, and it had everything to do with my upcoming heat. All the signs were there—I’d barely felt the cold of the ocean this morning, my skin felt sensitive and uncomfortable, and I’d had to bite my cheek to stop myself from bursting into tears when the guys told me they were leaving. It didn’t help that I was still a little raw from seeing their exes. What if they went to pick up this thing and ran into another omega? A less prickly one? A prettier one?
Okay, get a grip, Olive. You can survive a day without them.
I steeled myself as I entered the diner, the bell above the door and the chatter of townsfolk greeting me as I slipped inside. Lucy, Ivy, and Summer were already at the corner table, smiling and waving me over.
My tension eased at seeing them, and I couldn’t stop my matching smile. Hormones were such a bitch because, truly, how was this my life? I had amazing alphas, friends, a home I loved… it was a dream come true, and I wouldn’t let my body ruin this for me.
Lucy waggled her eyebrows. “I would ask why you’re running late, but I don’t want to know.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop my cheeks from heating. I was late because of the rain, but she wasn’t far off. Before heading out the door this morning, Easton had insisted on giving me one more orgasm. He’d pressed me against the wall and knelt down to eat my pussy.
“Bike trouble,” I responded, flipping my hair over my shoulder as I took a seat.
“Is that what we’re calling being fucked within an inch of your life?” Summer quipped.
I huffed. “It’s nice to see you, Ivy ,” I said pointedly.
Ivy grinned. “It’s nice to see you can still walk.” She lifted her mug of hot chocolate and took a prim little sip while Lucy and Summer screamed out with laughter.
“That was cold,” I said, but I couldn’t hide my smile. “But not wrong.”
That spurred on more peals of laughter from the table.
“Did things work out the other night?” Lucy asked.
“Yeah, it did. We went apple-picking instead.” I hesitated for a moment. Should I tell them about the disastrous ex encounters? Part of me wanted to, but my guys had reassured me all day and night that they only wanted me. And I had more pressing things I needed to talk to my friends about.
“Good,” Lucy said, reaching out to squeeze my hand. I smiled, lightness filling my chest. These girls really had accepted me into their group, and it made me feel brave enough to ask them for their opinion on the question that had been plaguing me.
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. It would be just my luck if the two old men at the table next to ours overheard this conversation. “Actually, I have a question, um, about heats.”
“Ooh, are you considering having a heat with the guys?” Summer asked, leaning forward as well.
“Sort of,” I hedged. I knew my alphas had picked up that something was going on with me yesterday, but I had been too afraid to tell them about my heat. Again . “Are you all on suppressants?”
Most omegas took suppressants these days so they didn’t have heats, but they could intentionally go off them if they wanted to experience a heat with their pack.
“I am,” Ivy said.
Summer and Lucy nodded.
I realized I was shredding my paper napkin, and I hurriedly dropped the pieces on the table.
“So… I’m not.” I kept my eye on the table so I didn’t chicken out. “I have a blood clotting disorder and it means I can’t take suppressants.”
“Oh,” Ivy said, brow furrowed. “So you’ve had heats before?”
“My first one was when I was twenty,” I said. “None of you have had one?”
“I almost did,” Lucy said, her voice low. “I was dating a pack, and I thought… well, I thought they were the ones. I was planning to go off my suppressants so we could go through a heat together and bond, but luckily, they showed their true colors before that happened.”
Now it was my turn to squeeze her hand. Lucy was amazing and deserved better.
“How do you handle your heats?” Summer asked.
“The first two, I used a heat service, and it just didn’t go well at all. So the doctor prescribed me sedatives and pain medication so I can get through them alone.”
Three horrified faces stared at me across the table.
“Alone? Oh, Olive,” Ivy said. “That sounds so hard and scary.”
“Is that even safe?” Summer asked.
I shrugged. “I mean, the doctor gave me the medication, so I assume so?”
Lucy scowled. “Yeah, except doctors don’t know anything about omega medicine.”
Well, that was true. Omegas had been excluded from drug trials and research until just a few years ago.
“But now that you have your pack, you don’t have to do that anymore,” Summer said.
I chewed my lip. “My heat is actually coming up. Like super soon. But… I don’t know. Isn’t it a lot to ask for them to take care of me through my heat? We haven’t been together very long…”
“You say that like it would be a burden to them,” Lucy said, brow furrowed.
I shrugged. “The alphas hired through the heat service said it was, or I guess that I was just a lot more work than they signed on for.”
“Excuse me?” Ivy said, her voice low and cold. “They said that to you?”
I clenched my jaw to keep the wave of emotion at bay. I’d shoved those memories to the far recesses of my mind, but seeing Rick the other night brought it all back and shook me. What if my alphas reacted the same way he did? Even if they didn’t abandon me during the heat, maybe they would decide I was too much work afterward and end things.
“Olive,” Summer said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “I’m sure they would be incredibly excited to spend your heat with you. They should be bowing at your feet for the honor of even being considered.”
The sound of a throat clearing over my shoulder had me jumping.
“Ladies,” Char said. “Do you know what you want to order? ”
Lucy’s eyes flicked between the alpha and me. “Do you want to ask Char’s opinion?”
My cheeks grew hot with embarrassment, but maybe it was a good idea to get an alpha’s perspective.
“My opinion on what?” Char asked. “If it’s about what to order, I highly recommend the home fry scramble, and I’m not just saying that because I over-ordered potatoes and have run out of storage space.”
“That sounds good. I’ll have that,” I said.
Ivy, Summer, and Lucy all gave me an exasperated look.
“Ugh, fine. Char, what’s it like for alphas to handle an omega during heat?”
Char blinked. “I better sit down for this.” The alpha pulled a chair over from a neighboring table.
“Oh no, that’s really not necessary. You’re working.” My cheeks felt like they were on fire.
Char ignored me and sat down with a satisfied sigh. “I’m tired of working, anyway. You’re curious about heats?”
“Just what it’s like for alphas,” I mumbled.
“Well, I can certainly tell you my goal isn’t to handle my omega during a heat. It’s to take care of her.”
I pursed my lips. That sounded like semantics.
“Olive thinks that heats are a big burden on alphas,” Summer said.
I threw her a dirty look, but she was unrepentant.
A flash of shock crossed Char’s face. “Where on earth did you get that impression? Heats are so fucking fun. The sex is amazing, obviously, but having my omega trust me to care for her when she’s vulnerable? There’s nothing like it. We alphas get off on being needed.”
I was back to shredding napkins in my lap. “Is it different for male alphas? Because that’s just… not my experience.”
Char fixed me with her intense gaze until I was forced to look away.
“I’m not one to turn down the chance to insult male alphas, but it sounds like you might have found some particularly shit ones in the past. Don’t your three guys know how to take care of you?”
I immediately bristled at her insulting my alphas. “They know exactly how to take care of me,” I snapped without thinking. My hand flew to my mouth in horror. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
Char just tipped her head back and laughed. “Omegas are so fucking cute. Tell your alphas what you need from them, and they’ll fall over their feet to make it happen. It’s obvious to see how obsessed they are with you. I’m pretty sure Lars is keeping Beans ‘n Bliss in business with the amount of pumpkin spice lattes he’s consumed since you came into town.”
I wrestled with her words, and she stood up and took the others’ orders.
“How’re you feeling about everything now, Olive?” Ivy asked gently once Char headed back to the counter.
“Better, I think.” Char was right. My guys did know how to take care of me. They’d been with me through my dark days and hadn’t been scared away. Maybe I could trust them to stick with me through a heat... to not reject me.
I took a deep breath. “I’ll ask them tonight.”
Lucy clapped with excitement. “Yay! I’m going to ignore that one of your alphas is my brother and say I hope you have the most fun time!”
Our food arrived quickly and the breakfast scramble I got looked amazing. We all tucked in, but a loud alarm on my phone interrupted our conversation. I fumbled as I pulled it out of my bag. “Storm alert.” I chewed my lip as I looked at the dark red and orange blotches on the weather radar. “I need to eat and get back quickly.”
“You should have the guys pick you up and drive you back to the lighthouse,” Summer said. “It’s really starting to come down.” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the loud pounding of the rain.
“They’re out.” I drummed my fingers against my phone screen before sending a message to my group text with the guys.
Olive
There’s a storm warning. Are you driving? Please stay safe .
“Out wh—” Ivy started to speak but abruptly cut off and whispered oh no under her breath. It was obvious to see why—Stanley had just entered the diner and was making a bee-line for our table.
“I’m glad I found you here,” he said, sounding out of breath. His white hair was damp with rain, and he had a slightly wild look in his eye. “The Autumn Harvest Festival is less than a week away.”
“Oh my goodness! We had no idea!” Summer exclaimed, her tone laced with sarcasm. It was impossible to forget the festival with posters around every corner and Stanley tracking us down any chance he got, but I still found myself surprised that it was so soon.
Which meant my birthday was soon.
I hadn’t told anyone it was the same day as the festival. It felt strange to just mention it out of the blue—almost like I expected people to celebrate me. I’d barely acknowledged my birthday over the past five years, and my celebrations with my parents had never been extravagant. My mom would bake me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and they would take me out to an early dinner after we finished up on the boat for the day. Money had always been tight, so I’d never expected big gifts. Since they’d passed, birthdays had been quiet days for me, but I always allowed myself to splurge on one new outfit.
I was fine with my twenty-fifth birthday passing me by. I already had more than I could ask for, anyway.
Stanley ignored Summer and kept going. “I need final confirmation on all your booths. You will need to set up on Friday.” He turned to Ivy as if knowing she was the easiest victim. “Ivy? Your booth this year?”
“Well, you see, it’s been really busy with the start of the school year…” Ivy trailed off at Stanley’s expectant expression.
“We’ll let you know later today what we’re doing,” Lucy cut in.
Stanley let out an aggrieved sigh. “Where is the enthusiasm, the passion, the town pride?”
“We will make sure to bring all our enthusiasm and passion on Saturday,” Lucy said sweetly.
Stanley grumbled before heading to the counter. Char saw him coming and turned around, heading back to the kitchen even though she had been in the middle of taking a customer’s order.
“I guess we should decide on our booths,” Lucy said. “We give Stanley shit, but the festivals really are so fun. They’re actually one of my favorite things about living here, and Stanley is great at managing everything.”
“Manager, dictator, who can say?” Summer said.
I was about to tell them I had absolutely no ideas for a craft booth when my phone went off again.
“Okay, I really need to go.” I quickly shoved the last few bites of lunch into my mouth. “It looks like this is going to be a really bad storm so you all might want to get home, too.”
The girls all hugged me goodbye and I headed to the counter to pay. I pulled out my wallet and hesitated. Finn had given me their pack credit card last night and very sternly told me to use it or there would be consequences. The threat of punishment wasn’t quite the deterrent he thought it was, but I handed Char his credit card all the same.
A wave of fatigue washed over me as I pulled up my hood. This was going to be a long night and I needed something to keep me up. As I headed out of the diner, the rain pelting me hard, I turned to Beans ‘n Bliss instead of going back to my bike. I needed a hit of caffeine to keep myself going… and I might have been craving a pumpkin spice latte.