Chapter 3
After eating an obscene amount of carbonara and feebly arguing against taking the pity job Lauren is offering, I’m a pliant lump of an omega on her couch. She drapes a weighted blanket over me and sets a mug of tension-taming tea down on the coffee table in front of me.
“Babe, there’s also—” Rekha, Lauren’s adorable omega partner, starts, and Lauren’s eyes light up, snapping her fingers.
“Of course! Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?” Lauren asks, giving Rekha a kiss on the cheek as she slides past her toward a hallway that leads further into their condo.
“Only twice today,” Rekha chuckles, watching Lauren adoringly.
My chest tightens and I have to look away. “I’m really okay. You both have already done more than enough for me. Too much, really,” I say with a weak laugh, trying not to tear up at how they’ve given me hope for the first time in ages.
Rekha shakes her head, still smiling from the plush chair across from me. “Lauren missed you. She feels terrible for not being a better friend, and this is her way of making amends. I’ve learned that it’s best to let her coddle as much as she wants, because she’s very stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn!” Lauren scoffs as she re-enters the living room, clutching a large squishy stuffed animal in her arms.
I laugh at the eye roll Rekha gives her partner in response to her protest.
Lauren sighs. “Okay, yes, I’m stubborn, but it’s because I’m almost always right.” She lifts her chin with mock haughtiness, and Rekha scoffs, but it’s clear that she loves how confident Lauren is.
My brow furrows as Lauren plops an enormous pink and white cow plushie into my lap.
“Uhh, thanks?” I look down into the big cartoon eyes with hearts as pupils, bemused.
“Hug it,” Lauren instructs, slipping into the chair next to Rekha and reaching out to squeeze her hand.
“Wow, I must look really bad off if you’re telling me I need stuffed animal hugs.” It’s embarrassing how my omega perks up at the thought of holding this very squishy-looking plush cow.
Rekha shakes her head, eyes going soft with concern. “You don’t look that bad.”
At the same time, Lauren shrugs. “You’re touch-starved. Your omega went from lots of physical comfort to nothing, and you’ve been isolating yourself while your stress levels are through the roof. Omegas need touch, and even more so when we’re in distress.”
A lump forms in my throat as Lauren’s words remind me of the conversation I had with Ambrose about needing touch. He gave me a prescription for hugs, and I still have it tucked in a drawer in my bedroom, despite knowing I can’t ask him to fill it again.
Tears well in my eyes, and I nod. “Okay. Yeah. That makes sense.”
“Go on. Hug it,” Lauren prompts again.
I tentatively bring the cow up against my chest, giving it a hesitant sniff.
It has a light strawberries and cream scent, but nothing else, which is good because I don’t want to get my scent all over a plushie they keep in their nest. Feeling silly, I squeeze the cow, and the moment I do, it rumbles with a low, realistic-sounding purr.
My omega melts, letting out a soft purr of my own before I can push it down.
“Whoa,” I murmur, cheeks heating at my intense reaction to this purring cow.
“Kinda magical, right?” Rekha asks. “They came up with the idea for small kids who were having trouble sleeping, but it’s a pretty common life hack for omegas to ward off touch starvation.
I got that one for my cousin’s omega son, who is going off to college, but he already had one, so it’s been sitting in our random gift pile for ages. ”
“It’s yours now. Think of it as a new hire bonus,” Lauren teases.
“Thanks,” I chuckle, fighting back the urge to argue again about the job Lauren badgered me into taking from her. Not that I put up much of a fight. My ego is already too pummeled from months of rejection to refuse her generous offer, even knowing she’s only doing it because she feels bad for me.
We chat for a bit, Rekha telling us about the aforementioned kid going to college, and the pair of omegas sharing horror stories from their college experiences. Once again, I’m struck by how different almost every facet of life is when you’re an omega. And amazed at their resilience.
Rehka eventually goes off to do some prep for a meeting she has in the morning.
I’m half asleep, the tea, purring plushie, and weighted blanket combo making me more relaxed than I’ve been in ages, when Lauren chooses to address the elephant in the room.
Well, one of them. She can tell that the last thing I want to talk about right now is River and his pack.
“So, as a PR wizard, what are your thoughts on how to handle the article?”
I groan, burying my face in the soft, yielding fluff of the plushie. “Crawl in a hole and never interact with society again.” Lauren snorts, and I lift my head. “Bet you’re regretting your choice of a new hire.”
“Not at all.” Lauren’s expression shifts into an analytical one, like we’re at a brainstorming meeting and I’ve proposed an idea rather than made a dumb quip. “Lying low can often be the best thing to do, but I don’t think you’ll need to become a complete hermit.”
“Okay, then I’ll go hide in a hole for a year or two.”
Lauren chuckles, but sobers after a moment. “Have you read it?”
I shake my head. “Just skimmed. I saw it last night when someone sent it to me and got overwhelmed. I’m scared to read through and find out how fucked I am.
Besides, it included my picture, which means that half the conversation will be about my appearance, and I definitely don’t need to read any of that. ”
“Oh god, no, that’s smart. Stay away from the comments.
Here’s my summary so you don’t have to waste your time reading the garbage article—someone tipped off AlphaNet about you not disclosing your designation change, and claimed that it created a toxic work environment where you were given preferential treatment because alphas were subconsciously influenced by their instincts to care for an omega, which they would’ve been able to account for if they knew you were one. ”
“Preferential treatment? You’ve got to be shitting me.” There’s only one person I know of from my old job who would’ve spewed those lies to an alpha rights news outlet. “Did it name Holden as the source, or was he too much of a coward to claim that?”
Lauren makes a disgusted sound. “Of course it didn’t.
Not that it matters. The kind of people who read these articles are alphaholes looking for an excuse to hate omegas and strip our rights away.
The article was nonsense, using you as the poster child for the dangers of omegas hidden in the workplace and tying it to a bill they’re trying to get passed that mandates segregated workspaces for omegas to 'make the workplace safer for all designations’. ”
Oh god. The implications of a law like that are horrifying. “Sounds like a roundabout way of giving employers the ability to reject omega applicants without getting sued for discrimination. They can just claim they don’t have the resources to provide separate workspaces.”
“Yep,” Lauren says, popping the “p”. “Anyway, it looks like it’s gained some traction on socials.
I’ll keep monitoring it to see if it gets any worse, but for now I think you should go about your life as usual, minus the things we always tell clients.
Set your socials to private, then delete the apps so you won’t be tempted to look at them or engage with the toxic nonsense.
Don’t answer unknown phone numbers. As things are, it’s small enough that I highly doubt anyone will bother you out in public or find your home, but if you want to play it extra safe, don’t let anyone into the building unless you have confirmation they’re who they say they are. ”
She’s telling me nothing I didn’t already know, but hearing it aloud makes my stomach sour. “Shit, I’ve spent so many years working with people in this kind of situation, but never in a million years did I think I’d be on the other end.”
Lauren nods. “Now you understand why they’re willing to pay so much to get it to go away.”
“You don’t think it’ll cause issues with clients?” I ask, brow furrowing. “Because I have enough funds to wait a few months until this is old news. You can hire me once we know I’m in the clear. I don’t want to fuck over your new business before it’s had a chance to get off the ground.”
Lauren waves a dismissive hand at me. “Nah, if anything, our client base will appreciate that you’re an omega who understands firsthand the struggles they encounter.
I promise I’m hiring you because it’s the right choice for my business, not because I feel bad.
You’re amazing at what you do, Camille. And once you’ve gotten a few weeks of snuggles in with your new cow pal and have work so you can’t wallow in your nest all day, you’ll see what I do.
You’re not okay now, but you will be. And when you’re allowed to be yourself in all ways—the brilliant, resilient omega that you are—you’re going to be even more of a star than you were before. ”
The way she says it is so matter-of-fact that I’m almost inclined to believe her. God, I hope she’s right. “We’ll see,” I say, noncommittal.
“We will,” Lauren says brightly. She places her hands on her thighs and stands. “Now, I hate to disturb you when you’re so cozy on the couch, but you mentioned you’re on heat suppressants and I know how finnicky those can be, so we better get you home so you can take them at the right time.”
The thought of going back to my place and being alone again makes a whine rise in my throat, and Lauren’s expression grows pained. Before I know it, she’s sitting down beside me and wrapping her arms around me and the cow plushie that I’m still clinging to.
“Dang, you’re so soft!” she exclaims, breaking the tension of how awkward getting a pity hug is. “Not trying to come on to you, but if you ever want to snuggle platonically, just let me know.”
I release a surprised snort at her offer. “Isn’t that how you and Rehka started out?” I ask, quirking a brow at her as she releases me reluctantly.
She shrugs. “Yeah, but that’s because I was a dumbass and didn’t know I could have anything more than friendly cuddles with another omega. I promise I won’t fall in love with you. Coffee is fine, but it’s not my favorite.”
“Cupcakes are.” I giggle when the mere mention of Rehka’s scent has Lauren’s eyes warming with affection.
“I think I’m good with this little lady for now.
” I gesture to the strawberry cow in my hand, which has stopped rumbling now that it’s not crushed against my chest. “Thanks again, by the way. For everything. I don’t know what I did to deserve your being so nice to me, but I appreciate it more than you know. ”
Lauren smiles. “I think I have a pretty good idea. Lucky for you, my omega’s favorite thing to do is help other omegas in need, and she doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Very lucky.” I smile back at her.
When she drops me off at my apartment with a promise to call me in the morning to check in, I worry that the buoyant sensation from spending time with Lauren and Rekha will pop.
But with my cow plushie in hand and the knowledge that I finally have some security in my life after months of uncertainty, the peace remains, allowing me to drift off into my first night of restful sleep in months.