39. Alejandro
Alejandro
W e were in the second nest store, trying to keep Ember’s spirits up.
None of us expected her to act happy just to soothe our egos, but even West was worried. None of us were comfortable letting her out of our sight, so we trailed around her like little puppies. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was washed out and ashen.
I brought her another pillow to touch, the braided texture similar to the blanket she had in her nest. Rian talked about different textures and styles and mentioned again that she could have several nests in the house if she wanted and wouldn’t that be fun to decorate different ones.
I shot him a grateful look. I would have worried about all of the omegas feeling like their needs were met while also compromising for their new partners, but so far that was going great.
I stole a quick kiss from Rian before he wandered down the pillow aisle.
The nest store was massive with soft lighting and hundreds of aisles to browse.
Ben also brought West and Ember blankets based on texture, making jokes about not being sure if it matched her color scheme. Ember was amused, but nothing seemed to grab her interest. She carried around a blanket West picked out but otherwise seemed detached.
She had a trauma, I reminded myself. I was worried and wanted something to do. Shopping for nest supplies felt productive, and Ember asked to go. My alpha instincts wanted to hunt down whoever had destroyed her nest and rip them to shreds.
I stifled a growl and brushed against Ember’s side again. She didn’t seem annoyed that the four of us needed to touch her.
I showed her a blue-and-purple pillow I thought she might like based on color.
“I like it.” She touched the fringe on the sides. “We need to find some firm pillows for West too.”
“It’s fine,” West grumbled. “You’re the one with the pillow obsession.”
Ember flashed the omega a ghost of a smile. “Sorry, I mean I need some really firm velvety pillows.”
“On it,” Rian said. “I saw some the next aisle over.”
I produced another piece of chocolate, and Ember looked amused. “How much more food do you have stashed on you?”
“Some.” I didn’t add in that Ben and Rian had also stashed snacks in their pockets as well. She didn’t eat enough at breakfast. West didn’t either.
We wandered around the nest store and my alpha instincts screamed at me to make this right.
She wasn’t running around, picking things out with glee.
I’d never been nest shopping before, so maybe I was wrong and basing all my assumptions on TV.
But neither of them were acting like they were having fun.
If anything, they acted like they were shopping for a funeral.
I winced. In a way, they were.
Rian presented them with an arrangement of thick, velvety cushions. Two were dismissed as being too velvety, and one as “not durable enough”. The other, a deep green, was added to the blanket.
Great, we had two pieces. Rian passed me, back in search of more things, and I patted him on the shoulder. “Good job.”
He nodded. “It just sucks.”
“It does.” I didn’t have to ask.
A massive lounge chair sat in the middle of the display room that looked like a Victorian fainting couch. West gravitated toward it and pulled Ember down onto the couch with him.
“We’re going to sit a minute,” he said.
I nodded. “I’ll get you some water.”
Ember made a face.
“Sorry, my angel, I mean some sugar-filled syrup water that will do nothing to hydrate you.”
Ember perked up. “Thanks.”
I went in search of a vending machine and found Ben and Rian having a small conference.
“Good, you’re here.” Ben looped his arm around me. “This isn’t working. What do we do?”
I shrugged. “So this isn’t normal nest shopping behavior?”
“God, no,” Rian said. “I know it’s a trauma, so not a happy occasion…”
“But if they don’t want to actually nest shop, we could leave,” Ben said. “No point in rubbing salt in their wounds.”
“We could watch TV or play video games,” Rian said. His curly hair was escaping its ponytail and he looked like a deranged angel. I rubbed my hand on his shoulder and then looked at Ben. Ben was still thinking and didn’t seem threatened in the least that I enjoyed touching Rian.
This had to be what a pack was like. I sighed. “Ember wanted to go out shopping.”
“Out of guilt?”
“Maybe.” I rubbed my chin. “At the risk of presumption, have either of you asked them to move in? Officially?”
Rian blinked and Ben rolled his eyes. “I’m an idiot. No.”
I shrugged. “I know you’re talking about making various rooms theirs, but if it’s not a living situation…”
“It won’t feel like theirs.” Ben shoved my shoulder. “That goes for you too. We could buy a big house if we wanted. It doesn’t have to be our house.”
“Your house is way better than my apartment,” I said. “The kitchen is massive, and there’s a separate island.”
Rian grinned. “I’m glad we managed to entice you with the kitchen.”
“Maybe we don’t nest shop,” I said finally. “Maybe we just spend the day going shopping in general. Ember likes a lot of plants, and I wouldn’t mind picking up some more cooking supplies.”
“You’re brilliant.” Rian nodded. “We could go to a music store too. There’s a great place around the corner. It won’t be ‘hey, let’s shop for your new nest since your old one was destroyed.’ It’ll be ‘hey, let’s just shop.’”
With that decided, we went back to where Ember and West were cuddling on the couch. A saleslady was talking to them, and Ember looked amused.
“Are you sure?” She looked at Ember and West and then back at the three of us. She gave me such a dirty look, I stopped.
“Positive,” Ember said, patting her hand. “They’re helping us feel better. We just suffered…a loss.”
The saleslady gave me and Ben a dubious look. Rian shifted over to Ember and West. “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” West muttered. “She was checking in with us, since we seemed so dejected.”
I growled. “Was someone rude to you while we were gone?”
“No, she wanted to make sure our alphas were treating us okay.” Ember still looked amused.
The thought was a slap in the face. I was failing them. I was trying, but I was an idiot for thinking I could make them feel better after losing their nest.
“No, oh my god.” Ember grabbed my hand as the same time West grabbed Ben’s. “Sit.”
It was a squeeze, but the four of us managed to cram onto the chaise longue. Ember put her chin on my shoulder. “You’re not failing, Alejandro.”
“I don’t know what you need,” I managed. “All I know how to do is cook.”
“I need you.” Ember touched Ben’s shoulder, who had the same guilty look on his face as I was sure I had. “Both of you. All three of you.” She looked at Rian. “I’m sorry I’m upset?—”
“Of course you are,” Rian said. “You don’t have to pretend to be happy for us.”
Ember nodded. “So if that’s okay, I need all three of you not to feel like you’re failing us by not making our sad feelings go away immediately. Just being here for us means more than you could know.”
I settled against her, some of my hackles lowering. “If you can think of anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“When I know, I’ll let you know,” Ember said.
“We didn’t ask officially,” Ben said, running his hand down West’s side. “But we’d like for all three of you to move in. If you want to get a house together, that’s fine.”
West looked at Ember, who perked up. “I was going to bring a bunch of stuff over. From the cottage. Before everything…”
“You can still do that,” Rian said. “Bring all your furniture, whatever you want. You too, Alejandro.”
“You’re sure?” West said with a warning.
“Very sure.” Ben kissed his temple. “The thought of one of you three going home somewhere else is unbearable. We’d just show up at your doorstep.”
“Like stray kittens,” Rian said. “Speaking of furniture, let’s take this home with us.”
The omegas agreed, and we left the nest store.
I was driving, so while Ben paid for everything, I googled some local New Age stores.
I pulled into the parking lot of Crystal Place, the building painted deep purple, and knew it was the right call when Ember’s face lit up and she quivered like a hunting dog catching the scent of prey.
“Oh, you’ve done it now,” West said with dry amusement. “We’re never getting out of here without bags of stuff.”
Ember hit his arm. “Shut up. You love it too.”
“Goodbye, beautifully curated aesthetic,” West told Rian. “I hope you like lots of color. Everywhere.”
Ben grinned. “Ember, my love, you can pick out whatever colors you’d like. I’m open to anything.”
We entered the shop and color exploded around us. Rows and rows of tables were covered with more crystals than I knew existed, and aisles of books. A massive section of tarot cards dominated the wall, and the back corner was devoted to throw rugs, blankets, and wall décor.
It looked like a flea market mixed with a garage sale, and everything smelled like incense, but strangely, it was relaxing. Ember dragged us over to the crystal section and immediately rattled off what each one did and how we had to choose two or three.
We bounced from the throw blanket section back into the tarot decks, where West tried to tell Ember she already had twenty decks, she didn’t need another, and Ben quietly slipped the deck she wanted into her pile.
I found a mosaic mirror in sea green, blue, and purples I thought looked pretty, and Rian started gathering a terrifying armload of succulents.
The real paydirt came in the housewares section.
Half of the pillows were thick and stuffed, with soft texture.
West grabbed two, put one back, and then grabbed three more.
I nodded at Rian and he circled back for the two West set aside.
Rian started happily talking about a succulent garden in the backyard and Ember talked to him about basic plant care.