45. Jordan
Chapter forty-five
My blood and urine tests came back fine, so I was discharged with instructions to get lots of affection, touch, and rest. We piled into Rafe's too-small car to head home, and none of the guys were willing to leave me to get their cars from my office's parking garage.
We're nearly home when the big yellow letters of "Omegamart" catch my eye, and I shake Cyrus' shoulder. I'm wedged between him and Rafe in the backseat while Icarus drives and Simon rides shotgun. It's a tight fit, but we manage.
"Omegamart! Let's go shopping," I exclaim, pointing out the window.
Icarus grunts his displeasure at the idea. "No, sunshine, we need to get you home and in your nest with a warm mug of tea. Your body needs rest."
I pull on Cyrus' shirt with wide eyes, a whine bubbling in my throat. "You said we would, Cyrus. Please? It's been a shitty day to be an Omega. Remind me of why this is a good thing."
Cyrus stares at me blankly for a moment, then his eyes crinkle at the corners, and a soft smile stretches across his face. "Russ, pull over, man. We don't have to stay for long."
"Yeah, Russ, " I say sweetly, "just for a little while."
"Do not call me Russ." His voice has taken on that teasing, fake-frustrated tone he often uses with me as he pulls a U-turn and finds a parking spot in the department store lot.
"But that one makes more sense than Vick, and you hate Vick." I shuffle out of the door behind Rafe, who chuckles as he takes my hand.
"I love it when you call me Vick," Icarus says, kissing my forehead.
"You threatened to kill me once for it."
"You what?" Rafe snarls, dropping my hand and stalking towards the chuckling doctor.
I grab his arm to still his pursuit. When Rafe drops his dark eyes to mine, I nuzzle my face into him. "It was a joke, obviously. I asked him if he was a murderer, and he said Icarus wasn't, but Vick could be. He didn't like his nickname so much then."
"All of this could be solved if you just called us all Alpha," Simon chides as he skips into the store.
"I vote for that," Cyrus says with a heated gaze that weakens my knees. "I think that should be a pack rule."
"All in favor?" Rafe asks, crossing his arms.
A chorus of 'aye' fills the air, and I cross my arms in an exaggerated pout.
"The motion passes!" Simon shouts with glee, picking me up and spinning me around.
"Just for that, I'm never calling any of you Alpha again!" I stick my tongue out, walking backward into the store to glare at my pack.
"Don't toy with us, Omega," Cyrus says in a low purr. "You're severely outnumbered."
Icarus grabs a shopping cart as we cross the threshold into the store, and any response I have for Cyrus gets stuck in my throat as I turn around and look at the towering shelves and aisles of the Omega-centric store.
When I first purchased everything for my nest, I ordered online. I was so embarrassed that the people in the store would realize I wasn't an Omega yet that I couldn't bear to show my face. But I have longed to come here and touch all the fabrics and see the options available to me in person.
It felt like something I missed out on, and here I am, finally getting to feel like a real Omega.
Tears spill out of my eyes and drip down my cheeks as I stare at the stacks of nesting materials.
"Woah, hey, Jordy." Rafe rushes to gather me in his arms. "You're okay. You're okay. What's going on?"
My mouth gapes like a fish as I try to get the words out several times. They never come, though, getting stuck somewhere between gratitude for being here and grief that this is my first time.
It doesn't take long before the other three of my Alphas push around us, caging me in pheromones and scents that have my body going pliant.
"I'm sorry, I thought this was a good idea. I didn't realize it would upset you so much," Cyrus whispers. I don't know if the others can hear him, but the way his lips press against my ear has shivers running down my spine.
"No, it is a good idea." My chest hitches as I inhale deeply and attempt to untangle myself from the Alpha jumble around me. "Just feeling a bit sorry for myself that it took so long for me to get here, is all."
"We can go," Simon adds. He's got a naturally sweet voice that is so at odds with his pierced, tattooed exterior that sometimes it's a shock when I spin around to see that he doesn't look like the boy from my childhood. But his eyes, the way they gleam as he looks at me, have never changed.
"I want to be here." My voice is firm, and I spin and stalk down the closest aisle, letting the Alphas scramble to grab the cart and catch up to me.
I had no intention of redoing my entire nest. I have always loved it.
When I started to touch the fabrics, feel the pillows, and see the different lighting, I became overwhelmed with the desire to start from scratch.
None of the guys said anything about it. They just watched as I filled the cart, offering suggestions and tossing in things they liked when I asked for their input.
Eventually, the cart was jam packed with everything I could ever want and then some, and I was left staring wide-eyed at the clothing section, hands on my hips.
"Omega-specific clothing is silly," I say to Cyrus for the third time. "I have plenty of clothes."
"It's not silly," Icarus pipes up. "Remember that lounge set I got you? That was from an Omega boutique."
"The blue one she wears all the time?" Rafe asks genuinely.
"Yes," I mumble, knowing what is coming next.
"Then it seems like you need more Omega clothing, considering I see you in that more often than not." My broody Alpha grabs me by the hand and begins pulling me through the racks of clothing. I let my hand trail along it like a child, closing my eyes to see if anything jumps out at me.
Omegamart doesn't have the most high-end clothing, but I don't need my clothes to come from a boutique. I may be alone in my feeling, though, because Icarus is on his phone, tapping away with a scowl on his face.
"Don't get any work clothes," Icarus says without looking up. "I've got those covered. And some casual stuff."
I giggle as my fingers catch on a ridiculously soft pink bundle of fabric. I can't even tell what it is on the hanger, I just know I have to have it and yank it off the rack.
"Why am I even shopping here if you're doing it online?" I ask, holding the fabric up in front of me to watch it unfold into a pretty robe. Pale pink and smooth on the outside, it's lined with rose-patterned silk with a matching tie. I throw my arms through it to check for sizing and notice -
"Pockets!" I squeal, shoving my hands in. "It has pockets!"
Icarus chuckles and stores his phone in his pocket. "That's why we're still shopping here. Because none of us want to miss how your face lights up with joy when you find something you love."
Sure enough, when I look at Pack Stargazer, they all have wistful expressions that betray how deeply they feel for me.
Rafe slowly peels the robe off my arms and folds it neatly before placing it in the cart, with a second one in blue following shortly after. We continue like this, me pulling things off the rack that speak to me and the guys buying multiples of whatever I like.
"Try these," Cyrus says gently, pushing an ivory pair of pants into my hands. They're a step between lounge and casual pants, the fabric breezy and thin. They remind me of pants I'd wear to cover a bathing suit on the beach.
"They don't seem very practical," I admit, despite the excellent fabric and how I know they would hug my thighs flatteringly.
"Oh." His shoulders slump as he reaches for the pants. The look of shock on his face when I rip them away from him makes me laugh out loud.
"Impractical doesn't mean I don't want them. You picked them out. I'm getting them."
The shadow that had crossed his expression lifts as he hands me the ugliest shirt I've ever seen. It's bright purple with yellow trim and wraps around the waist to be pinned under the breasts with a massive yellow flower. "This would look nice with them, I think," he says excitedly.
I reach for the blouse, ready to pretend to love it to make the burly Alpha happy, when Simon steps in and saves the day. "That's the ugliest shirt I've ever seen."
"What? No, it's not!" Cyrus glares at his packmate and clutches the hideous blouse to his chest. "She's going to look beautiful in it."
"Jordan would look beautiful in aluminum foil, but that doesn't mean she should wear it to brunch," Rafe drawls, tossing several – wait, that looks like way more than several – pairs of underwear into the cart.
Why is he buying me so much underwear?
"Jordan, baby, back me up here!" Cyrus says with wide eyes. "You like it, don't you?"
"It's fucking hideous," comes a pretty, familiar voice from behind me. I spin and see Athena stalking down the aisle towards us with a loaded basket in her arms.
I wrap my arms around her, sighing happily. I know things were weird for a bit when she basically took the Stargazer's side, but she's family. I didn't realize how much I missed her until my arms were around her.
"What are you doing here? What's in the basket?" I ask, trying to peek into the yellow basket she quickly stuffs behind her back.
"Just shopping. You know. For uh." She awkwardly shifts her weight from foot to foot, then sighs. "For you. Icarus texted about what happened, and I just wanted to get you a few things."
I want to tell her she didn't have to do that because she really didn't, but the part of me that loves gifts squeals and squeezes her tightly. "You got me a present?"
"Of course I did! I knew you could use a little pampering after the day you've had." She taps her temple with a clever grin. "I'm pretty good at this type of thing. I had an Omega once, you know," she says wistfully. I hope she gets an Omega someday because she seems so sad whenever it comes up. "I didn't know these morons would bring you shopping right when you get out of the hospital. You still have the bracelet on!"
"Oh, shit!" I mutter, looking down at my arm. She's right. We completely forgot to cut the admission bracelet off, and here I am, wandering around the store like it's this season's hottest accessory. "Don't blame the guys, though," I say before trying to gnaw the bracelet off my arm. "I prashitally fusshed dem to," I mumble around the plastic. Simon takes pity on me and pulls out a pocket knife, gently slicing the bracelet off.
"Ah, so we've entered full whipped, then," Athena hums.
"Hush," Icarus chastises as he pulls his sister into his arms. "But thanks for thinking of my Omega."
"Of course, Icky." She coos the awful nickname like a ballad, and the Stargazers crack up loudly before smothering the sound with a single glare from Icarus.
Why was that look kind of hot? I'm not sure what it says about me that I liked watching him control them.
Athena must pick up on a boost of my pheromones as my mind wanders down dirty paths because she fake gags a little and takes several steps back. "Love you both, but ew, that's my brother, and he," she juts her chin at Cyrus, "may as well be my boss. I'm going to leave this stuff bagged for you at the front."
"You're running off so quick?" I whine.
She raises an eyebrow at me. "Yeah, I am. You just bought a bunch of nesting stuff, and you have four Alphas who just worried over you in a hospital bed. I do not need to see what comes next. I'm not getting in the middle of that."
With promises to come to family dinner and catch up over brunch, Athena skips away.
The moment she turns the corner, I feel the weight of four stares on me. I feel hot all over, and my core goes liquid at their attention.
"It's time to go, Omega," Rafe says softly, touching my lower back. "Let's let the daddies pay for everything and wait for them in the car."