8. Nora
8
Nora
Omegamart is designed to cater to anything an Omega needs. It's a beautiful store, with shelves lined with the softest, most delicate items any Omega could need to build a nest, as well as Omega-appropriate clothing and things to keep a beautiful home.
"Where to first, sweetie?" Nolan says, grabbing a shopping cart and pushing it beside me.
"Well, a perfect nest has a combination of pillows, blankets, low lighting, and drapery that helps an Omega feel comfortable and secure," I tell him.
He gives me the oddest look before turning the cart down an aisle. "Let's start with bedding then," he says. The rest of the pack follows us, but Chase hangs back at the end of the aisle. I'm not sure why he doesn't want to participate, but it's starting to worry me that I did something to offend him.
I still haven't scented him, either, and while I am sure he's a match as the rest of the pack is, it would make me feel more secure to have confirmation.
"Here we go. Let's start with some sheets," Nolan says, stopping in front of rows and rows of sheets. "What's your favorite color?"
"Pastels are soothing for Omegas," I tell him.
Levi steps up beside Nolan, putting a hand on Nolan's back as he wedges himself closer to me. "We understand that, Nora. But what is your favorite color?"
"Well, pastels are what's best for an Omega's delicate sensibilities." I reach for a set of pale pink sheets. "These meet all the criteria."
Blaine plucks the sheets from my hands. "I don't know if you're understanding the question, honey. Forget about what is good for an Omega. What is good for you, Nora Summers?"
I suck on my teeth, confused at the differentiation. "An Omega's nest is supposed to be pastel colors. That's the only option." I think I'm frustrating Blaine because he turns his back to me, and I see his shoulders bouncing with deep inhales. Chase is at the end of the aisle, clicking his tongue and looking unimpressed with everything.
"Okay, Omega," Blaine says with the tiniest hint of a bark that has me straightening my spine. "The nest is supposed to have Alpha input, right?" I nod enthusiastically. "I want to know what color you'd like to see me wear?"
"Oh!" I say, tilting my head to the side and squinting my eyes. "Sometimes, when I play violin, it feels like the music comes alive around me. When I picture it, it's vibrant colors like yellow, and green, and shocking pink." I laugh at the thought. "Though I don't think you'd look good in pink, Alpha. Sorry to tell you." He chuckles, placing the sheets back on the shelf. "I quite like a bright lemon yellow. I think it would look lovely with your complexion." It really would. He has lovely olive skin and dark eyes, so the color would just pop.
"Lemon yellow it is. I would like that to be my contribution to your nest." He searches the shelves and manages to find a bright yellow amongst the sea of pastels and places it in the cart. "What's next?"
"Pillows," I say, leading them to the next aisle over. Every color and texture of pillow imaginable is here, all of them fluffy and soft. I run my hands over them, stopping at one that has beads on the front. It's odd because the beads are not soft or fluffy, so I'm surprised to see them here. But they're beautiful nonetheless, a shiny silver woven into a pale, smoky gray.
"Get one of those," Levi whispers in my ear.
I straighten my back quickly. "Oh, I couldn't possibly. It is neither soft nor cozy, so it's not appropriate for a nest."
He puts two of them in the cart, as well as four other pillows that are the same color, gray, but with shagged fur on the front. "I'd like this to be my contribution to the nest," he tells me. Levi's voice is so gentle, so soothing, that it immediately puts me at ease. I wouldn't dare argue with my Alpha, either, so I happily accept his choice of the beaded pillows.
Nolan is very fond of olive green, apparently. Coincidentally, he tells me this right after I look at a blanket of that same color! We grab several in that color, as well as a traditional Omega color of creamy ivory that I very much like seeing next to the green.
"Hey, Chase," Nolan calls down the aisle to Chase, who has been lingering as far as he can from us while still being able to see us. "What would you like your contribution to the nest to be?"
"I'm good," Chase responds, barely even looking up from his cell phone. "I don't need to contribute."
"Oh," I whisper.
Levi gently touches my elbow and leads me to a nest display in the center of the store. "It's okay, Nora. We can help you pick the rest."
As we're standing there, looking at all the components that have gone into building this picture-perfect nest, I hear a loud gasp behind me.
"Oh my gosh! It's the Perfect Omega!" a young girl's voice says. I spin around to look at her, a wide smile on my face. She can't be more than eight. Her mother, an Omega who looks to be in her early forties, beams at me.
"Wow, it is incredible to meet you. My pack and I saved up for ages so we could work with the Design Clinic to help us birth an Omega. She still hasn't presented yet, obviously, but currently, all signs are good." The mom beams at me. "They have a Perfect Package, did you know that? They've recorded your traits so we could get as close to it as possible! There were several we didn't have available to us in our genome, but we got as many as we could!"
I squat down, balancing precariously on my high heels, to be at eye level with the little girl. I'm vaguely aware of my new pack fanning out in a crescent around me. "Hi there, little one," I say softly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Nora."
The girl smiles and ducks behind her mother's legs. "I'm Nova."
"We didn't want to give her the exact same name as you, but we wanted to be close. You're just such an inspiration to Omegas everywhere," her mother gushes. My neck grows warm with the attention, and it's an effort to keep my eyes trained on the little girl instead of the ground.
"Nova, you listen to your mother and follow all her rules. That's what I've always done!"
"If I do that, will I be perfect like you?"
I straighten back up to my full height and clasp my hands in front of me. "You seem pretty perfect to me already, " I say.
She hugs my legs and her mother waves, and they continue their shopping. I turn back to the nest, snaking my hand up the back of my neck and slowly pulling out three strands of hair, no more than that.
"Does that happen a lot?" Levi asks.
"More than you'd think," I respond, moving into the nest display. "I like these lights, I think. They would be very soothing." He nods and grabs a few strings, putting them in the cart that Nolan is leaning on.
All of the men are giving me strange looks. It's enough that it begins to make me uncomfortable. I try to make eye contact with each of them, but Chase avoids my gaze. "I… I'm sorry, Alphas. Did I do something wrong?"
"Not you, sweetie," Nolan says gruffly. "It's not you. We're working through something on our own right now."
"Please, allow me to assist. That's what I'm here for!"
Nolan shakes his head and continues through the store. I thought we were just here for the nest, but Levi and Blaine each pick out clothing for me. Blaine chooses a pair of black jeans and a few plain T-shirts in black, lemon yellow, and a beautiful royal blue. Levi added some denim shorts and then a pair of soft cotton shorts with a matching shirt – both printed with smiley faces. "It's lounge clothing," Levi says. "One of my favorite things to do is to get comfortable and cuddle up in front of the fire and watch a movie."
"That sounds like fun," I say, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for thinking of me." I turn to Blaine and try to kiss his cheek as well, but he turns his face at the last moment, and my lips connect with his.
My knees grow weak as his hand grabs the back of my neck. When he moves his lips, and his tongue traces the line of mine, I'm embarrassed to admit another whine escapes me. This Alpha is dangerous! I cannot believe the faux pas I continue committing around him. As quickly as the kiss began, he moves away, smiling. His gingerbread scent lingers on me, and my face is certainly flush.
"I'm so-"
"Stop," he barks, cutting off my apology. "It upsets me when you apologize for whining, Omega."
I duck my head, chewing my lip. It's the first day, and I have already upset my Alpha. I thought I would be good at this. I thought I would be everything that a pack would want. That's what they've told me my whole life. I am The Perfect Omega. Expertly designed to be exactly what every Alpha needs.
And I'm already failing.
I try so hard not to show it, but unfortunately, a few tears escape. I sniffle, trying to subtly wipe them away. "Wait, Nora, I'm sorry, I…" Blaine stutters, obviously distraught.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Alpha. I'm sorry I disappointed you."
"You didn't disappoint me, I thought…" He turns his back to me, pulling his hands aggressively through his hair. I keep my eyes downcast, waiting to be released from his bark. Even though it's not physically holding me, I want to respect his words and wait for him to let me know he feels I have been appropriately chastised.
Unfortunately, I watch his boots as he walks away, and more tears escape from my eyes. Levi wraps his arm around my shoulder and whispers, "It's okay, Nora. I think we've got plenty for the nest. We can come back if it doesn't seem like enough. Would you come with me to the car?"
"I… Alpha Blaine hasn't told me I'm allowed to leave," I whisper.
"Blaine won't mind if you come with me, Nora," Levi assures me. With a sniffle, I nod and let him lead me out of the store.