Chapter 7
Standing in the throw pillow section of my local Best of Nests trying to discern the difference between dusty rose and blush pink was not how I had been planning on spending my Friday evening.
Our designer, Tiffany, had gone on parental leave unexpectedly early, so the task fell to me for now.
With any luck, we’d be able to hire a new designer as soon as possible.
I stared helplessly at the pillows. There were ones with tassels and ruffles and sequins, none of which seemed appropriate for my own taste, but Best of Nests was an omega supply store, so I could only assume that the things they carried were items omegas would want.
Where was the pretty omega I secretly took shopping cues from when I needed her? Looking over a designer’s shoulder might be cheating, but I needed help.
I could hear Tiffany’s voice ringing through my head. We need people to imagine it as their own home when they walk through the door. Personal touches make the difference.
I was about to declare defeat when a low-pitched whine and the most intoxicating scent I had ever encountered rushed past me to the cash desk.
Raspberry tarts, sweet, buttery, and tangy, even with the scorched sugar of distress overlaying it.
Every nerve in my body primed to the presence of the brunette omega with tears running down her cheeks.
Fix it.
I followed after her, pillows still clutched in my hands, her story becoming clearer with each step.
“He kicked me out of the car. He took everything.” She burst into full wracking sobs, clutching the staff member desperately.
What. The. Fuck.
She was hustled away into the break room, leaving me awkwardly hovering.
A reasonable person would have gone about their day, but I couldn’t go anywhere without knowing she was safe.
Whispers of her raspberry scent still hung in the air, and even tainted with distress as it was, it wrapped me up with the visceral knowledge that the omega behind that door was mine.
Christ on a cracker.
I’d been terribly envious of my business partner getting two scent-matched omegas in his life when fate hadn’t even blessed me with one, and now I was ill-prepared for her arrival.
Whatever was wrong, I needed to help her. Fate had terrible timing. I was buried under additional tasks for work and had minimal time for anything, let alone a mate.
I pulled out my phone while I waited and sent a hasty message to my business partner, Beau, in the wild hope he would have something helpful to say.
Alve:
Personal SOS
Beau:
What’s happening? Should we do a call?
Alve:
I can’t call right now. I found my scent match and she’s obviously in crisis. I don’t know what to do. I’m waiting for her to come back out.
I stepped closer to them, both my omega and the staff member she was talking to pausing and turning to me. “Sorry to interrupt, bu—”
“I’m so sorry! I’ll get out of your way.” The omega shuffled to the side, trying to collect herself.
“No—”
“Are you buying both of those?” She tugged at a section of hair, twirling the ends nervously with her fingers.
I was caught off guard by her question and looked down at the pillows in my hands. “I… was still deciding.”
“They have different undertones so they won’t go as well together. You need to pair the warm and cool undertones or they’ll look off.”
“Uh, actually, I was going to ask if there was some way I could help? You seem”—I swallowed hard—“distressed…”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Unless you can manifest a place for me to live and a job for me to pay for that with, then no, you can’t help.” Another broken sob. “Sorry, that was mean. I’m not having a very good day.”
Wild thoughts spiraled through my head. I had a nest in my home, one I’d been slowly building in the hope that fate would bless me one day. I wanted to be prepared for an omega, even if I never got one.
Some people had vision boards.
I had a vision nest.
“I could actually help with both things.”
She stared at me for a long moment.
The beta staff member nudged her behind him. “Why don’t we have some introductions before you start making offers?”
“Oh, um, yes, I suppose that would be reasonable.” I held my hand out to him, and then to the omega—her hand was impossibly soft in mine—giving a slight bow of acknowledgement. “My name is Alve Sato. I run the Omega Housing Initiative in Las Vegas with Beau Carlton.”
“I’m Madison.” The omega stared at me with her bright brown eyes. “I thought the OHI hadn’t finished their new construction? I can’t live there if it’s not done.”
“Oh, you’re correct. The new construction hasn’t begun. We’re still fighting for land space, but I do have an apartment you could move into. It’s fully furnished, and comes with a nest.”
Was that weird to offer? It was probably weird. Too much, too soon, but the nervous energy tumbling through my body was overriding the intense filter usually in place when I met new people.
She visibly perked up, her brown eyes still shining with tears. “Really? I wouldn’t be stealing it from someone who needs it more?”
“Maddie, I think being kicked out with nothing qualifies you as needing it,” her companion gently admonished. He turned to me and offered his hand for me to shake. “I’m Jude. District manager for Las Vegas Best of Nests. I’m glad to meet someone else interested in making sure omegas are cared for.”
“Good to meet you. We worked together last year, I think, but never got to meet face to face.”
Jude nodded.
“How does the apartment work?” Madison asked. “What paperwork do I have to fill out? I don’t even have my ID.”
Words tangled on their way from my brain to my tongue. She was too pretty and smelled incredible, the sharpest edge of her distress fading from her scent the longer she stood with us. “We can worry about paperwork later. You need a safe place to stay and I happen to have one.”
Jude looked at me shrewdly. “You have to know that sounds suspicious. A conveniently furnished apartment with no paper trail being offered to an omega in a desperate situation?”
“I… Okay, I can understand that. I swear there’s nothing nefarious. I can certainly have paperwork done up, though I don’t have anything ready at the moment.”
I’d have to look into the documents for subletting…and, I suppose, find somewhere else to live. If I’d been thinking more clearly, then I could’ve suggested a multitude of options to her, but no, I had to go and offer her my apartment.
“Jude,” she whispered to him. “He’s friends with Charlotte’s alpha. Maybe it’s fine.”
“Maybe it is,” he conceded, not taking his eyes off me, “but I think in the name of safety, we should check in with Charlotte first. Your community should know what Tyler did, and you should have safe alternatives for where to stay.”
Madison groaned and thunked her head against his chest. “I hate all of this.”
He looked so thoroughly surprised by her touching him that I almost laughed.
I wanted to know more about her story, but I refused to pry when she was vulnerable.
Whoever had hurt her was obviously wisdom-deficient, if not outright evil.
While I was painfully aware from my sisters that omegas could handle themselves when they needed to, society didn’t always support them. Right now, Madison needed support.
“Are the OHI apartments pet-friendly? I have two cats, though I’m not sure how to get them right now. They should be okay for a bit where they are, but they’re not the biggest fans of Tyler, and that feeling is mutual.”
The OHI apartments welcomed pets, since leaving animals behind was a roadblock to many people getting out of unsafe situations. I’d never had pets, but I wasn’t about to say no to her bringing them to my home. “Your cats are most welcome.”
“Okay, good.” With that in place she seemed to reach another emotional stumbling block by the way her brows pinched. “How am I supposed to get a job? Nothing was ever official.”
“We can get your resume shipshape,” Jude assured her. “Anyone would be lucky to have you.”
“Even though I’ve never had a real job?”
I couldn’t imagine never having had a job. I’d been working myself to the bone for over twenty years at this point. My entire family ran a variety of thriving businesses, and I was no exception.
“You still have a portfolio of your work,” Jude told her. “And sometimes, soft skills are as important as employed experience. You’d have had years of running a company under your belt if Tyler hadn’t kicked up such a fucking fuss every time you wanted to turn it into something official.”
I didn’t know who this Tyler was, but I was hating him more with every second.
“Jude is right. Plenty of companies are forgiving of omegas in your situation. The key is highlighting what you can bring to a job and most of the specific training can happen after you’re hired. What were you doing for unofficial work?”
“Nest design and interior decorating.”
Holy shit.
Was fate really smiling on me twice in one day?
“Our designer for the OHI went on early parental leave this week.” The words left my mouth before my brain could catch up. “The position is open for the next year.”
They both stared at me.
“Are you serious?” Madison asked, hope shining bright in her eyes.
“I could get you a job here, too,” Jude suggested. “I already pitched to corporate that we needed a more cohesive design in the stores.”
I blinked at Jude immediately undercutting my impromptu offer. It wasn’t irritation that popped up at him doing so, but something more akin to admiration. He was protecting her, and I appreciated that.
Madison sucked in a shaky breath. “Okay, overwhelmed now. Could we put a pin in the job stuff for a hot second and make sure I have somewhere to sleep tonight?”
“Of course,” Jude and I said at the same time. Our chorus made Madison smile.
“I’ll call Beau and see where he and Charlotte are. You wanted to meet them at the arena?”
“They don’t have to come into town if they’re busy. Could you phone him and I could talk to her if he’s with her?”
I nodded and pulled up Beau’s contact information. It rang until his voicemail connected. That was unusual. I tried again, and the same thing happened. “He’s not answering. I’ll message.”
Alve:
Is everything all right?
I waited for a few agonizing seconds with Madison’s eyes on me, but the message remained unread.
“Could I show you the apartment in the meantime? Jude is welcome to join us.”
Madison swiveled her head to look at him with pleading eyes that he immediately caved to.
“Sure. Let me tell the staff I’ll be gone the rest of the day and we can head out.”
Madison nodded and waited for him to complete that task, turning to me in the meantime. “Thank you for your help. I know you don’t owe a complete stranger anything, but I appreciate you looking out for me.”
My cheeks warmed. “Anything for an omega in need.”
She was too overwhelmed right now to know she was my omega in need. Her scent might be out, but mine wasn’t, and I had no idea how she would react to the news. I suppose only time would tell, and hopefully by the time she found out, I’d have been able to earn at least a modicum of her trust.
My phone pinged.
Beau:
We’re at the hospital. Charlotte was having contractions and they’re keeping her for observation to see if it’s full or false labor. She says she’s fine, we’re just all panicking.
I started typing a response, including to let Charlotte know Madison wanted to talk to her when she was recovered, but Madison peeked over my shoulder. “Oh my god! She’s in the hospital? No, no, you can’t bother her with me right now. Delete that part.”
I typed out a modified version.
Alve:
Please keep me updated. I hope everything goes well, and either you get to go home soon or welcome your new family members.
I let Madison approve it before sending it.
Jude rejoined us. “Okay, let’s go.”
This was a terrible idea. I was bringing her to my home, going to be showing her the nest I’d prepared for my hypothetical future omega. What if she hated it? What if she hated me? I was not emotionally prepared for this.
“Yeah,” I agreed, already fighting against the nerves twisting in my gut. “Let’s go.”