4. Colby
CHAPTER FOUR
COLBY
M aybe the worst feeling in the world was not being able to give your omega what she needed, what she wanted and craved. No matter how hard I tried, how long we looked, a pack was completely out of reach.
I’d taken to looking around at our environment and the people there to see if I could find someone we might be interested in. I’d suspected for a while now that we weren’t going to find a ready-made pack. Not for the both of us. We were going to have to build our own.
The idea was daunting at best, but when we came home from the disastrous Pack Dolby interview, we sat down and discussed our options. It became quite clear that Pack Listing was a dead end.
Talya and I looked at the app one of her omega friends had mentioned, making an account with fake information when it became clear that it wasn’t nearly as secure as other omega resources. Really, all we were looking at was a dating app—a way to meet, mingle, flirt, and send dirty pictures online. We’d been logged in for less than ten minutes and had already received an unsolicited knot pic.
I mean, as far as knots went, it wasn’t all that off putting, but the behavior was, and it told us right away that we weren’t going to find others who were serious about building a pack on this site.
“PackTease said she’s heard some happy stories from meetings using this app,” Talya said as she scrolled through profiles. I was pretty sure she was telling herself that more than me since her tone didn’t hold any hope or confidence in those stories. At least, not in a way that might apply to us.
“You know…” Fenton said, sitting down on the couch with us and leaning over Talya to look at her phone. Talya shifted so he could see the screen. “You could meet people like betas do.”
Talya looked up, brows knit together in that beautiful way of hers. The look always made warmth fill my chest. “How’s that?”
Fenton laughed, pushing his shoulder into hers. “They go out, silly. Bars. Clubs. Parks. Concerts. You know, social activities.”
My omega scrunched her nose. “That’s really how you meet people, Fen?”
He laughed. “I don’t, no. It feels hungry and desperate to me.”
Talya scoffed, playfully slapping him. “I’m neither. I have an alpha who is very satisfying, I’ll have you know.”
“Yes, I’ve heard you two for the past several years.” Fenton hooded his eyes.
“Gotta take care of your lady,” I said unapologetically.
“Mm, I’m sure.”
Talya sighed. “I don’t know. There’s a part of me that aches for a pack, but… I’m so tired of looking.”
Guilt settled more heavily onto my shoulders. It was my responsibility to make sure my omega was taken care of. To provide whatever she wanted.
And this was something I had failed to bring her time and time again.
I woke up Friday morning thinking about how I was going to find my omega a pack. It wasn’t hard to come to the conclusion that our pack was going to be built from the ground up. It would start with Talya and me. Unconventional, maybe, but that was where we were. There was no way around it. The real question was where were we going to find others? I’d already been leaning in this direction, but I’d been holding on to unrealistic hope.
This morning, I awoke without that hope and a firm determination that we’d been going about this wrong. No more Pack Listing. No more interviewing packs. It was time to take matters into my own hands and build us a pack. After all we’d been through, it felt a little less daunting a task than finding a pack that wasn’t absolute shit through Pack Listing.
Gently kissing my omega on her temple, I slipped out of the bed. After taking a shower, I stopped at the door to look at my peaceful beauty. So soft and delicate. Happy. Kind. And with a streak of no fucks to give when dealing with alphas who were clearly shit. I loved to see it. It went straight to my core, making my blood run hot.
The truth was, I couldn’t believe that some of the packs we’d visited would ever get an omega. Dolby’s pack wasn’t even the worst one we’d met. They were just the most recent. Did these alphas with a knot up their ass really think they were going to attract an omega with their behavior? With their attitudes toward the designation in general?
It was sick.
Shaking my head, I left our bedroom. I found Fenton in the kitchen staring absently at the toaster, waiting for his bagel. Chuckling, I clapped him on the back as I walked by. He gave me a grunt without further acknowledgment. The man was not a morning person.
I pulled out the mini crockpot and began throwing bits of vegetables and some leftover shredded chicken into it before adding stock, a bit of tomato paste, and seasoning. With the cover on and the setting on low, I pushed it back into the corner. This tiny slow cooker was perfect for a single serving, which meant my omega would have a warm lunch.
I moved on to breakfast, getting ready to prepare some omelets.
“I won’t be home tonight and probably not through the weekend,” Fenton said. I glanced up to find him sitting at the counter as he ate his cream-cheese-smothered bagel. “Parents are having a family thing.” He rolled his eyes. “Easier to stay there than to go back and forth.”
“Sounds good. Have fun.”
Fenton snorted. “You’ve met my sister. I’m not sure ‘fun’ is ever going to be associated with any event she’s involved in.”
I grinned as I flipped my egg patty and began filling it with cheese and ham before folding it in half. I packed my lunch as I ate my breakfast and cooked a smaller omelet for Talya.
Fenton had been a decent distraction from my thoughts, but as I walked out the door and climbed into my car, the stress and guilt of not having a pack for my omega settled around me again. There were plenty of people in the world, and the designations didn’t matter to us, but the real question was, where did you go to look for someone who might be right for you and your omega? Where could I find singles with the same values, drive, and morals that we had? Someone who turned us on both intellectually and physically?
Work was another decent distraction, though my thoughts continued to drift to ridiculous ideas of how to go about finding packmates. Take out a listing? Suggest a reality TV show to one of the networks? Or maybe something stupid like going to the grocery store specifically to scope out who was around like I’d been doing? Not just the grocery store by the barber shop or the drug store. Hell, who’s walking down the street?
I was up for a promotion at work, so there was a lot to do that continuously pulled my thoughts back to something productive. At least this part of my life was going the way I’d hoped. I’d managed to acquire a decent entry-level salary and found us a small starter townhouse right after college, while Talya had provided the roommate we needed to make ends meet.
Since then, I’d received a few raises and bonuses, but this would be my first true promotion. It was a low-level manager position, but it was a start. Moving up would be easier once I proved myself further, and I was hoping that within the next couple years, I could buy my omega a house with a true nest.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair, picturing the look on Talya’s face when I could bring her into a nest filled with all her favorite things. Cushions. A huge bed. Blankets of all kinds. Stuffies that she pretended she didn’t need but loved so much. Carpets and warm colors. Low lighting. And a view to make her sigh in contentment.
I stopped at the store on the way home and picked up some flowers with a little stuffed bear wrapped around the stems. While there, I took note of those shopping. Who watched me and with what expressions. While I didn’t have a preference for or against a beta, I wasn’t interested in one who chased an alpha just to satisfy their want of a pack.
If I was bringing anyone home, it needed to be someone who was genuinely into me, and they also needed to be just as interested in my omega. That was difficult to find. The division between betas and omegas could be violent, and it wasn’t fair or either of their faults—not on a wide scale.
But individually, it was uncalled for.
No one struck me as particularly noteworthy, so, with my purchase, I headed home. There was nothing better than walking in to find my perfect omega with a smile for me. She always stopped whatever she was doing to greet me, and after I held her for a few minutes, letting us both settle from being apart throughout the day, we went to the kitchen.
I prepared dinner while Talya sat at the counter, the two of us talking about our days and reflecting on other things. Tonight, we didn’t talk about needing a pack. We were both more interested in letting that topic rest for a while. One dead end after another did that to a person.
Throughout the evening, Talya smelled her flowers and continued to snuggle her little stuffy. All omegas liked to be spoiled, and my omega was no different. But it wasn’t about the big gestures. It had always been the thought behind little presents that mattered most to her. While I haven’t been around a lot of omegas growing up, I knew that mine, at least, loved being spoiled more when there was thoughtfulness involved.
We snuggled on the couch and watched a movie before heading to bed, and when I came out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth and washing up, I found my gorgeous Talya on her hands and knees, presenting me with her glistening wet pussy. A shiver of arousal swept through me, bringing my cock to immediate attention. My nostrils flared as her sweet orange creamsicle scent filled the air, making me growl with need.
She smiled sweetly at me from over her shoulder. “Alpha,” she whispered, “I’ve missed you so much.”
A brief flash of guilt surged through me. If we had a pack, Talya wouldn’t be home alone all day.
Thankfully, it was difficult to concentrate on that with the way she wiggled her bottom. My dick was already dripping as I crossed the room to kneel on the bed behind her. Running my hands over her smooth, round ass, I purred, the vibration filling the air. “So perfect, so good for your alpha.”
“Yes,” Talya agreed as I continued to explore her satin skin. “I’m always good for my alpha.”
I leaned over her and gently bit at the back of her shoulder as I slid my fingers between her folds, rubbing her wetness and letting it coat my digits. Again, my nostrils flared when her scent filled the room and my lungs, making me ache.
I needed to be inside her soon. As much as I loved to push my knot past her muscles until we locked, I also really loved letting myself swell while already buried inside her. While one was like coming home before driving me straight into the desire to rut, the other was a complete sense of calm and belonging, the perfect fit, as I spread to fill every nook, cranny, and crevice of her pussy.
I was also sure that it was a different sensation for her when I ballooned while inside her. The way she bucked and cried out was entirely distinct from when I simply pushed my already engorged knot through her tightness.
And all this thinking about it meant I was beginning to knot. I pulled my fingers from her and licked them off, letting her tangy orange cream cover my tongue. Before I finished lapping myself clean, I began pushing my dick into her.
Talya groaned, dipping her shoulders down further and arching her back down so her ass was the only thing I could see. She wiggled against me before pushing herself back, bringing her ass against my hips.
She was always a tight fit, but her body stretched to accommodate me. With her legs trapped closed between mine, her body wasn’t in the right position to stretch. The grip around my dick was harsh. Strangling.
The way she bucked against me, moaning and yipping, was so erotic.
“So good, sweetheart,” I told her, patting her back as I gently pushed my way inside her. This never got old. Never felt routine. Every single time was like the first, except better and better, like we never stopped learning about each other. Never stopped feeling how exactly right we fit. “You were made for your alpha.”
Talya wiggled her hips again, already asking for my knot without saying so. Still, I took my time, enjoying the way her body crushed me as I used her natural lubricant to work my way inside her.
“Alpha,” she whined—not a true omega whine but the hint of one. I could feel that pull in my chest, the way it demanded I fix whatever it was she needed. No matter how great or small the task, it was my job to always make it right.
And I would. I would go to the ends of the world to give my omega everything she wanted. Anything she needed.
My knot was just beginning to expand by the time I bottomed out. I closed my eyes and reveled in the bliss of her for a few thrusts before I decided that right now, after the disaster with Pack Dolby, all we really needed was gratification. No need to work up to it. Not tonight.
I pushed myself back inside and let her perfume fill all my senses, urging my knot to expand. The moment it stopped being just a secure fit was when the first throes of true heat began coursing through both of us. Talya gasped, burying her face into the bed, her hands gripping the comforter tightly.
As I swelled, my knot getting fatter and harder, her body loosened to accommodate me while still holding me tightly. It wasn’t just a lock. It was a true fitting to my exact size and shape. Not all knots were the same. Some were smaller but wider, while others were simply big all around.
Mine was a bit on the bigger side but was rightly proportional to the length and girth of my cock. It never ceased to amaze me that my omega fit me exactly, like she was made just for me and my knot.
My mind stuttered as I hit fully inflated, and the need to rut became a ruthless desire. I shook as my omega began a long drawn-out, beautiful moan that was almost borderline screaming as her orgasm built.
I held still, trying to give her a minute to climb to the peak before falling.
“That’s it, omega,” I crooned, rubbing her back with praise. “Lock my cock, baby. Take my knot like the perfect omega you are.”
Her pleasure burst inside me through our bond, and that was the end of my restraint. The first sensations of the perfect moment with my flawless omega filled me until I couldn’t catch my breath.
Then it intertwined with an intense pleasure so deep that the only thing I could hear was Talya’s cries as I rutted into her. Driving myself deeper and harsher, I jerked within the tight confines of her body, unable to truly move more than a fraction of an inch.
I carried us through the intense heat until we collapsed on the bed, still fastened together. Our heavy breathing mingled as I wrapped myself around her, holding her to my chest and curling my body under hers.
She made a quiet humming sound, then a sweet, happy sigh as she nestled into me. I kissed the back of her head, watching her fall asleep in my arms.
This was my omega, and I’d do anything to make her happy. All I needed was to focus on locating the perfect packmates for us. They were out there.
They had to be.
I couldn’t be sure what made me open my eyes, but I was suddenly awake. Talya was still curled into my side, breathing soundly. For a moment, I thought that it must have been a dream, but something just on the horizon of memory startled me awake. I looked around the dark room, waiting for a shadow to move, straining my ears to hear anything at all.
All was quiet. No sounds. No movement. Not even a breeze outside. Must have been a dream after all.
With that comfort, I closed my eyes. They opened immediately when a soft scraping outside met my ears through the cracked bedroom window. I frowned, glancing at the clock. 2:39. The sun was nowhere near coming up. Was it… a raccoon? A stray dog, maybe?
The scratching stopped, and a breath later there was a quiet squeak that sounded as if something that fit too tightly was being forced to move with no oil to lubricate the movement. The kind of sound that grated down your spine. The noise stopped as soon as I heard it.
Narrowing my eyes, I sat up, gently disentangling myself from Talya.
“Colby?” she asked, her voice heavy with sleep as she reached for me with her eyes closed.
“Yeah, baby. I need to?—”
The thump that came next had Talya sitting up, clutching the blankets to her chest as she stared around the room with wide eyes. “What’s that?” she whispered, fear heavy in her voice. Her perfume turned acerbic.
I shook my head and quietly creeped from the bed. “Don’t move,” I whispered as I slipped on some pants and my house shoes. I didn’t have a weapon, but I still had a metal bat from high school. Once, I’d thought I’d play baseball. As it turned out, I wasn’t that interested in it, but I’d kept the bat.
Armed with the only thing I had available, I headed for the door, pausing with my hand on the knob. The minutes stretched on, and I began to relax as silence surrounded us. Maybe it had just been something outside, like someone roaming around the neighborhood in the night, cutting through our yard.
Still, I needed to make sure the house was locked up so tight that no one could break in. I would keep my omega safe at all costs.
Smiling reassuringly at Talya, I slowly opened the bedroom door and peered down the dark hall. When you thought your house had been broken into, was it wisest to turn the lights on or keep them off?
Hell, the smarter thing would be to call the cops first. I should have had Talya doing that while I checked out the house, but I was already in the hall, taking careful, silent steps closer to the stairs. Just as I was beginning to think that whatever had disturbed us had moved on, there was an unmistakable scratch on the floors downstairs. Inside . A noise like a chair scraping across the floor because someone had run into it—someone who didn’t know it was there because they shouldn’t be in the house.
Suddenly, a bat didn’t feel like enough. I began making my way back toward the bedroom. We would call the cops and barricade ourselves inside until they arrived.
What were the odds that Fen had come home early? I paused as I considered this, looking back toward the stairs. No sounds followed, but I wasn’t convinced that it was Fenton. Something in my gut said it wasn’t him, so I remained planted there, staring into the dark, waiting for a sign that I needed to get Talya out.
Fucking knots, I already had a sign. There was someone in my house!
I turned away this time and closed the rest of the distance between where I stood and our bedroom door, taking care to close it as silently as possible. Then I turned the little latch that locked the door, rolling my eyes at how flimsy that was. It wasn’t truly a barrier. It was to keep little ones from walking in on their parents fucking or roommates from barging in when you were taking care of your omega during a spike.
Not to keep an intruder out.
Talya hadn’t moved, so I stopped at the side of the bed, cupping her face and lightly kissing her lips. “Get dressed as quietly as possible.”
She nodded, and I went around the bed to pick up the phone. I kept my eyes on my girl as I turned it on, positioning myself as an obstacle between any intruder and my omega. I dialed 911 and waited for it to answer.
As soon as someone picked up, our bedroom door was smashed open. I dropped the phone in favor of holding my bat properly, and behind me, Talya screamed.