Chapter 10
Claire
Holding back a sob, I angrily take off my dress, leaving it on the floor as I put on an oversized shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms.
I feel ridiculous crying over something as trivial as this. I thought I’d clicked the do not disturb button on my door, but it seems I forgot. They’re just doing their job, keeping the room clean, but it feels destroyed now.
I’m not sure if it’s a mental hang up or truly some fucked-up physiological thing that he mitigates my nausea, either way, it has me feeling queasy and well, now that I’m in my room, I feel lonely.
I sniffle as I wash off my makeup, the silence in the room staggering, and I wonder when I became such a needy Omega? I put on more of the nausea patches, take a pill, and put the hideous motion sick bands back on. With a groan I lie on the bed—that smells nothing like Forrest—and grab my phone.
For a quick moment I think about messaging him, telling him I need him to come up here and roll around on my bed before he goes to sleep. That would be absolutely unhinged, right?
Instead, I look at my call log and call the one person I know who can help me make sense of this. I just hope she doesn’t absolutely freak out on me.
The phone rings twice.
“Claire, sweetie, are you okay?” my mom says over the line and I just cry. “Oh, honey. Are you safe?”
“Yeah, mom, I’m safe. It’s just...”
“Give me a second,” she says and I hear her shuffling, probably getting out of bed and hiding away from one or more of my dads. “You’re sure you’re safe? That’s what matters to me more than anything.”
“I’m safe. There are a lot of precautions on the boat. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
She snorts on the other side of the phone. “You think I didn’t know?”
“You knew?”
“Of course I knew. You’re an adult, Claire. If this is where you think you’ll find your pack, I support you. I wish you would have told us instead of me snooping around. I know all about the safety precautions in place. If I didn’t think it was safe, you wouldn’t be on that boat.”
I sigh. It’s not a surprise she knows. I swear the woman could have been a secret agent if she wanted to.
“You didn’t tell them?” I ask, referring to my over-protective fathers.
“No. They don’t understand what it means to be an Omega. You’re still their little girl, you always will be. Now, what’s wrong, honey?”
“It’s so silly,” I say with a sigh, and I tell her everything. How Forrest carried me to the doctor’s office and stayed in my bed. How well the date went, how deranged some Alphas are on board. “They changed the sheets, and it doesn’t smell like him anymore and I feel sick.”
“Oh honey, if they’re a pack worth having, they would be more than happy to take care of your needs.”
“I only just met him and I’m craving his scent like this. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you. You’re my daughter.
We fall fast. You know I knew the moment I met River I loved him, and then Grayson.
” She makes some dreamy sound on the other side of the phone.
“No one in my life ever made me feel as safe as him. I yearned for him. You know I had him sleep under a weiner dog blanket on the floor with me the first night I stayed at their apartment?”
“That sounds like him,” I say. My dad, Grayson, is very protective and attentive to my mom. Some of those traits ring true in Forrest too.
“You said the one was a Beta with two Omega moms?”
“Yes, Wells Torrin, mom, the Olympic skier,” I bring up.
She must be typing on her phone. “Very cute,” she says, and I laugh. “What’s the other one’s name?” I tell her, and I assume she Googles him too. “Having good taste must be hereditary.”
“Mom,” I chide her. “What do I do?”
“You message the Beta, and you tell him you’re feeling sick and to bring you something of Forrest's."
“Shouldn’t I just message Forrest directly?”
My mom laughs. “Oh, sweet Claire. The best part of having a Beta in your pack? They’re the best at keeping secrets.”
“Thanks, Mom, I love you.”
“Love you too, and please call me every day. I’m proud of you for being so brave and going on that ship, but you’re still my baby.”
I smile against the phone. “I will.”
“Livy, who are you talking to?” I hear over the line, grimace, promptly hanging up so I don’t need to deal with my dads scolding right now.
With shaky hands, I consider her advice.
Just talking to her has calmed me down a bit.
Sometimes you wonder if your Omega nature is natural or something concerning and it’s nice to be validated.
It’s another reason I want to go to the mixer tomorrow.
Having Omega friends on board can only be a benefit.
We’ll have each other to lean on and that’s exactly what I need.
I slip further back into the pillows, feeling a little dizzy.
Fuck it.
Fortunately, the app works with my phone’s speech to text feature.
Are you still up?
I send it directly to Wells, not the group message from earlier.
Wells
Yup, is everything okay?
Can you keep a secret?
Wells
It’s why my hair is so big. It’s full of secrets.
I snort and what’s the worst that could happen? He tells me no and thinks I’m too needy or strange?
Could you bring me something of Forrest’s that has his scent? They changed my sheets and I’m feeling nauseous.
Wells
I could bring you the whole Alpha if you want.
Tempting, but Forrest seemed overwhelmed by the date. He did great, but I could tell it was a lot for him. I don’t want to put him in that situation again.
Just a piece of clothing would be great.
Wells
Can you meet me by the deck eight elevators since I can’t get on your floor?
I glance down at my clothes and groan. I’m absolutely not changing.
Five minutes?
Wells
You got it.
I take a deep breath, grab my sandals, and head toward the elevator. The security guard looks at me wildly, but I ignore him. I’m an Omega who needs a midnight fix and I don’t care what he thinks about it as I scan my wristband and get in the elevator.
It quickly takes me down the four floors, and I wait right by the elevator.
A few Alphas are walking down the hallway, and I gulp. Two of them walk past, but one lingers. He smells heavily of tequila as he approaches me.
“Little Omega, what are you doing in this hallway by yourself? Do you need some help getting back to your room?” His words are slightly slurred. He doesn’t seem especially threatening, just intoxicated.
“No, thank you, I’m waiting for someone,” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.
Dammit, why didn’t I put a bra back on before I came down here? My stomach hurts. The scent of this Alpha is so heavy I think I’m going to hurl.
“You don’t look so good. You need an Alpha, don’t you?” he says, leaning closer to me.
I’m about to throw up on him as an arm bands around my biceps.
“There you are. I’ve got you,” Wells says.
“Hey. I was…I was gonna be her Alpha,” the drunken man says and Wells sighs, not answering the man. Instead, he ushers me down the hallway and wraps me around in the giant dinner coat Forrest was wearing tonight. “Was he inappropriate?” he asks.
“Just drunk,” I groan.
“Do you think that jacket will be enough? You can come stay in our room for a bit,” Wells says easily, rubbing my back soothingly.
“I don’t want to push him for anything that he isn’t ready for,” I say, and Wells laughs.
“Claire, if you came into our room looking for comfort, he would be in his element.”
“Really?”
“When he has someone to take care of is when he lets his guard down the most. He gets too lost in his head sometimes. But with his Alpha instincts, it seems like that’s when he’s able to be himself,” he says.
I lean forward, resting my head against Wells’ chest as he grounds me.
“You don’t think this is me asking too much too soon?” I ask, and I think that’s the real insecurity.
I’ve been in love with someone for years, afraid to ask for what I want. I know with no doubt if I was ever in harm’s way or needed Elliot regarding my safety, he would be there. But if I needed his scent, his touch? He wouldn’t be able to provide it, not that I’ve ever asked.
Wells and Forrest are nearly strangers, but they’re ready to give me what I need after only one date.
“As far as Alphas and Omegas are concerned, nothing is too soon,” he says and I pull back and look at him.
“But what about Betas?” I ask. I need him to know that I’m wholly interested in him too, that he might not have an addictive scent, but that he’s polarizing in his own right.
“I don’t know about most Betas, but Forrest and I are a package, so I’d say time for both of us is irrelevant. Plus, I enjoy seeing you like this,” he says, giving me a smirk.
I look down at myself and giggle, which I regret with a roll of my stomach.
I’ve never let a love interest see me this way.
Naked, sure, but it was never a stay the night type of thing.
Definitely not me wearing an oversized animal shirt and pajama pants with shiba inu’s on them, a delightful Christmas gift from my mother this year.
He’s the first to see me this way, and he likes it. Wells doesn’t expect me to be perfect all the time, or act a certain way. He didn’t judge me for asking for Forrest’s shirt, and he’s offering me even more right now.
“Alright,” I say and Wells’ face lights up.
“Then let’s get you to bed,” he says, linking his fingers with mine until we get to their door.
As I guessed, their suite is nearly a mirror image of my own.
“Did you grab some of those little cupcakes?” Forrests asks, as he walks through the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around his waist, his dark hair wet as he looks at Wells and then back to me.
“No, I found something even better. Claire isn’t feeling well. She asked for a piece of your clothing, but I figured straight from the source would be even better,” Wells says happily.
I expect Forrest to be lost for words, or thought, but he immediately holds out his arms for me. “Come here,” he says.
Maybe it’s the low timbre of his voice, the command in itself, or my body’s need for self-preservation, but I do just that.
He’s still a little damp, and I place my head against his wet, hairy chest, but I like it.
“We’ll take care of you,” he says, and I take a deep inhale of his scent.
Both of us ignore my perfume, along with his hard cock that’s pressed between our bodies. At least there’s no doubt that he’s attracted to me. Eventually we part, Forrest’s hands on my shoulders, his thumbs massaging the muscle, and I swear he smirks at how ridiculous I look in his massive jacket.
“Go get in bed and get comfortable. Let me go get dressed,” he says.
I might glance down at the towel. Okay, no, I absolutely do, because without a doubt Forrest is hiding a massive dick under that towel and only a saint wouldn’t sneak a peek.
When I look back at Forrest, it’s the first time I really see his confidence shine through.
“Get comfy,” he says, giving me his broad back and walking toward the bathroom. I slip off the dinner jacket, but clutch it against my chest like some sort of comfort item.
Wells is already in the bed, pulling the covers back for me as I crawl in. It doesn’t smell much like Forrest right now, which is disappointing. Cleaning services must have changed their sheets, too.
I swallow thickly, knowing that I’ve just put myself in a very precarious position.
I mean, I did the same when I had Forrest stay in my bed the first night I met him.
But I’m in their room, there’s no security right down the hall that knows where I am.
Yet, I know that I’m not in danger, that I’m safe with these two men and I’m not sure how I would describe it to someone else.
Only an Omega would understand this feeling of immediate comfort. My mom’s words ring in my head that any pack worth having would take care of my needs, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.
“Is this okay?” Wells checks in as I scoot deeper into the bed. He’s probably falling off the edge as we prepare to make enough room for Forrest.
This isn’t a pack bed, it’s going to be a tight squeeze.
“Yeah. You’re sure this is okay for you?” I ask.
“To have the sweetest smelling, most beautiful Omega sleeping in my bed nestled between me and my Alpha? It’s clearly such a hardship,” he jokes as I face him.
“I’ve never spent the night with anyone before,” I whisper the words that feel slightly embarrassing.
Wells tosses an arm over my waist, a gentlemanly distance from my ass as he pulls me closer.
“Then we’re just going to make it the best sleepover ever.”
The bathroom door clicks and Forrest strolls out in nothing but his underwear, black boxer briefs that leave little to the imagination and cling to his meaty thighs.
He wordlessly climbs into the bed, dragging himself under the covers. I’m sandwiched between the two men and I wonder if this is going to go beyond an innocent sleepover. It’s not that I’m opposed, but I don’t feel my best right now, and am I really going to give it up on the first date?
I want them to be different. I want this to mean more than using someone’s knot to get off, or rubbing against some Alpha for his delicious scent. The insecurity of only being liked for my body is another fear too. I want them to like me as a person first.
“Go to sleep, princess, you have an early morning,” Forrest rumbles. He lies on his back, the width of his shoulders taking up a good portion of the bed.
Forrest turns his lamp off behind me and when I look at Wells he’s smiling at me.
“Feeling better?” he asks.
I take a deep inhale, and hold Forrest’s coat between us.
“Much. Thank you, Wells.”
He doesn’t respond with words, just a simple press of his lips to my hairline.