25. Chase
25
Chase
Levi
About to leave my parents. Dad did a lot of damage control. Found out all of her Omega training was done by an Alpha doctor from the clinic. She's very fragile, be aware.
Nolan
Why did Chase call you out of school to handle the spike anyway?
Levi
He either couldn't or wouldn't take care of her needs.
Chase can speak for himself. She was sobbing and screaming for help I couldn't offer her.
Blaine
Fucking cold, dude. I'm pretty fed up with your attitude. Nora deserves better.
I throw my phone into the wall, not giving a shit if the screen shatters.
Strawberry fucking shortcake.
She smells just like my mother's strawberry shortcake. Down to the subtle hint of mint.
There's no world in which she'd smell like that if she wasn't supposed to be mine.
My mother would be fucking ashamed of me. Of how I've treated my Omega.
Because that's what she is. She's mine. I knew the moment I finally scented her. I almost fucking snapped, realizing what she truly is to me while she was so fucking needy, the memory of her tight little body from the night before still in my mind.
And the way she looked when she came, her eyes locked on mine.
Fuck.
She said she'd try my proclivities. She didn't outright dismiss me. In fact, her eyes glittered a little with something that may have been excitement.
So when I realized what was happening, that she was spiking and her body was excessively needy, I had to get the fuck out of there. My control was about to snap, and I was in no state to take care of an Omega like her.
And I couldn't let that be the first time I took her. She still thinks I dislike her, that I'm displeased because she wasn't what I expected to have in an Omega. If I fucked her, the moment she was out of her heat haze, she'd be devastated, angry, and all of the guys would've had my ass.
No, I made the right decision by calling Levi. He was the only one I believed would have enough self-control to help her through it without fucking her.
But hell, listening to her moan and scream through the walls had me pulling my hair out.
After they left, I immediately ended up in the kitchen to cook away my frustration. I've been here since, and I've made so much fucking strawberry shortcake. It's all that's in my mind. Memories of the way she smelled leave me wondering how she'd taste. How sweet she'd be.
Eventually, I abandon making the shortcake and start making dinner for the pack. I try to think of something that Nora would like, but I really don't know much about her, so I settle for a classic comfort food of chicken and dumplings.
When the guys start to trickle in, I am treated to three different shades of side-eye. "You rejected her, man?" Joey says as he leans against the counter beside me. "You probably broke her heart."
"She'll be fine," I grit out.
My pride won't let me tell them the truth.
That I finally scent matched to her.
That I finally understand what they mean by her smelling like home.
Why they've fought so hard for her.
Instead, I shrug off their probing with a cold indifference I can't seem to shake.
Why can't I just admit that I was wrong? That I fucked up?
I think some part of me has known this was going to happen, and that's why I pushed back so much. Every time she spoke candidly, the mint in the strawberry crepes, the wide, trusting eyes… All of it was beginning to pile up, and I knew I was going to go all in with her eventually.
But now that it's here, I'm terrified. It's not fear that she won't forgive me or that she won't want me as part of her pack. No, it's a fear that she will forgive me immediately and make excuses for my behavior. I'm not sure if there is ever a world where I will deserve her, but I want to try.
I'm just not sure how.
Levi comes through the front door holding Nora's hand, and I'm blown away by how different she looks. Her normally perfectly coiffed hair is thrown up in a messy bun on the top of her head, and she's wearing one of Levi's hoodies with a pair of skin-tight yoga pants. Her eyes are tired but clearer than they were in her nest. "Hey guys, we're home," Levi calls out. The others jump up from their seats in the living room and rush the poor Omega right in the doorway.
But instead of being scared and demure, she smiles, accepting their affection, their love.
Would she accept that from me?
The thought is fleeting because, of course, she wouldn't. Or she shouldn't. Not after all of the shit I've done to her. I plate food up for everyone and take it to the dining room before grabbing a bottle of wine and pouring glasses for those who I know will drink it. I don't know what Nora will drink, and I can't bring myself to ask her, so I just set a beer and a bottle of wine in front of her seat so she can choose on her own.
I made sure she got a portion equal to the rest of us. The others may not notice how little she eats, but I sure as fuck do. It's unacceptable how small her portions are, especially with how much time she spends running on the treadmill.
She thinks no one knows, but I do. I hear her, long after everyone thinks she's gone to sleep, slipping out to the gym in the garage.
Everyone sits down to eat, and the tension has pulled up its own chair, immovable and visceral in the room.
Nora is the first to speak. "I had a lovely day with Levi's family," she says softly. "I learned some things about myself that were tough to hear."
I gotta be honest, I'm surprised she's bringing this up. I wonder if all that programming told her she can't keep secrets from her Alphas? Secrets are not inherently bad. Everyone needs something just for them. But Nora shares everything, never holding her cards to her chest.
Unless it's poker, then the Omega is a fucking shark.
"You don't have to talk about it, little bird," Joey says softly. "We understand."
She reaches past Nolan to pat the big Beta on the hand. "I know you do." She slowly meets each of our gazes. "Do you guys want to know a secret?"
"Of course, honey," Blaine says, putting his fork down. "I'd love to hear it."
"I hated my nest at my house." She covers her mouth as her face flushes red.
"How is it possible to hate a nest?" I ask, unable to help myself.
She shrugs. "It was the perfect nest for the Perfect Omega. I had a list I had to follow that Dr. Greene gave me. He said it was scientifically proven to meet all Omega needs while not encouraging overindulgence." She takes a bite of the food I made, and I bite back a grin. I provided for her. I fed my Omega.
"I barely spent any time in it. It was like the nest in Omegamart. No warmth. Sterile. But I thought that was how it was supposed to be." She chooses the beer to drink and takes a big sip of it. "I never want to leave my nest here. I love it so much."
There is a brutal sadness at an Omega not loving her nest and thinking that's how it's supposed to be.
Are we the first people to ever show this woman kindness? That thought has a vice grip on my heart.
But I have not shown her kindness.
"What's that voice telling you, doll?" Levi says, leaning closer to Nora.
She chews her lip like she's thinking hard. "I want to finish eating this delicious food and cuddle up with all of you in my nest."
"Then that's what you'll get, sweetie," Nolan says with a smile. Does that thought include me? Am I a part of her narrative?
I head to the kitchen and grab some strawberry shortcake for everyone. It's a staple on the menu at my restaurants, but I hardly ever make it at home anymore. Sometimes, it just makes me feel too raw. When I put Nora's in front of her, she stiffens.
"Lemon bars," she whispers.
My eyes widen, and I look at her. "No, it's strawberry shortcake," I say, trying to pretend I didn't understand the implication of what she said.
"No, you smell like lemon bars. I scented you earlier but I forgot until now."
I think back to what she said when we picked her up from her home on that first day. Her favorite dessert, which she proudly placed on the table in front of us.
I smell like her favorite dessert.
I wonder who all heard. For some reason, I don't want the guys to know we finally scented one another.
She takes a bite of the strawberry shortcake and lets out a happy squeal, followed by a quiet moan. It's exactly the reaction I was hoping she'd have. Why, then, do I not tell her that? Instead, I ignore her, sitting in my spot and pushing my fork around my plate.
Joey clears his throat. "I brought you something, little bird," he says, pulling a small gift bag from under his chair and handing it to her.
"A present?" she says, eyes bright.
"It's nothing major, but I wanted to get you a gift that'll give you something to focus on if you feel a little overwhelmed."
She takes the bag, pulling out an intricate coloring book and a fancy set of colored pencils. The book has the smallest spaces to color that I've ever seen and is clearly geared toward adults instead of children. She smiles that bright white smile of hers that completely stops my heart.
"Oh, Joey, I love it!" she coos, flipping through the pages. "This is a very thoughtful gift. Thank you, Just Joey."
"It's nothing, birdie, I'm just glad you like it."
Nolan clears his throat, pulling a bag from under his chair. "I, uh, got you something too."
He places the bag in front of Nora, and she pulls out a fluffy sweater in a bright Barbie pink that looks so soft it could've been made from fucking unicorn fur. She rubs it on her face.
"It's the same color as the dress you were wearing the night we met," Nolan says, and I'm not at all shocked he remembers a detail like that.
"Oh, Alpha, it is incredible. I love it. I cannot wait to wear it."
Blaine coughs and places a bag on the table as well. "It seems we all had similar ideas," he says with a grin.
"This is too many presents!" Nora exclaims.
"Come now, is that what your Omega is saying, doll?" Levi says with a sneaky grin.
"…No," Nora says, looking sheepish.
"Then indulge her," he reminds her.
Seeing this side of her, where she's finally being who she truly is, who she was meant to be, is so refreshing. She's not pushing down that instinct that lives within us all anymore, and damn if it isn't beautiful.
It's not that she was manipulating us before, but she wasn't herself. It wasn't her fault, but it's nice to know I wasn't entirely off base in my concerns.
Nora opens Blaine's present and laughs as she pulls out a long-sleeved shirt. The chest of the shirt is black, but the sleeves are splattered with neon splotches like paint. "It looks like it was hit with paintballs!" she exclaims, turning the fabric over in her hands.
He ruffles his hair. "I saw it and couldn't pass it up."
Nolan looks at me to see if I got her something too, but of course I fucking didn't. I don't know how to tell him the shortcake was the gift. Sharing my mother's recipe with her while also showing her what she smells like to me and why it's home.
So I say nothing.
We clean up after dinner and head up to the nest. I'm not sure if Nora wants me here. She hasn't explicitly invited me, but she didn't say no to me coming either. After leaving Nora in the room, we all peel off to change into pajamas. I'm moving slowly, worried about my place in this pack.
I know now that she's meant to be mine, but have I fucked it up too much for anything to happen?
Everyone is piled in the nest already by the time I get there, soft guitar music playing from a home speaker Levi must've installed. None of them seem to notice I'm not there, and I stay in the doorway for a long time.
What I'm waiting for, I don't know. Maybe an invitation? Any sign that I'm wanted here?
Which is selfish of me to want, I know, considering the way I've handled Nora up until now. It's cheap to say that everything changed the moment I scented her. It's not that that was the defining moment, more that that was the nail in the metaphorical coffin.
It's been at least ten minutes by the time I realize no one is missing me.
I turn to leave and spot a small black box sitting on Nora's bed, and I recognize it instantly.
Because I put it in front of her door this morning.
She never opened it.
I pick it up, shutting the door quietly behind me.