Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Derrick and Ariana left the bedroom at the back of the plane shortly before landing. There was no hiding what they were doing in there. We felt it in her bond, and it was impossible to tune out.
Not that I wanted to.
His scent is already changing. I wondered how our bond with Ariana would morph our scents, and I’m pleasantly surprised with the outcome. My pumpkin bread has taken on a zing of citrus, brightening its spice profile. The soft floral notes of Grant’s scent have become more like orange blossoms.
And when Derrick climbs into the ride share next to me, it’s obvious that his pecan pie is now à la mode.
When we get to Ariana’s house, it’s early evening. We place a pizza order, and Derrick heads out to grab it and some of our things from the rental home.
I don’t think we’re going to be staying there.
Ariana looks nervous to have us in her home, but I don’t take it personally. This has always been her safe space, and we’re invading it. No matter how much she cares for us, it’s going to be an adjustment.
Unfortunately for her, she let me in, and I’m not going anywhere. Going to claim squatter’s rights. I’m a puppy who followed her home.
She’s stuck with me.
I mean, if she asked me to leave, I would, but I’d probably end up sleeping under her porch with the opossums.
My girl looks uncomfortable, and I hate it. She awkwardly wrings her hands as she paces around the cozy-looking living room.
“What’s going on?” Grant places a hand on her lower back to calm her movements. “Talk to us.”
“My nest is a mess. I’ve been using it as storage. Now that you’re here, I need a nest.”
He makes a shushing noise and takes her face in his hands. “We don’t care if you have a nest.”
She looks outraged at the statement. “Well, I do! What kind of Omega doesn’t have a nest?”
I move close and wrap an arm around both of them. “What if we clean it out together while we wait for Derrick to get back?” She chews her lip then nods in acquiescence. “Take us there.”
We follow our Omega through the house to a white door at the end of a short hallway. With a fortifying breath, she throws it open.
“Oh my God.”
I peer around her to see what the issue is. “Derrick, you dog.” The nest has been emptied of whatever she stored there, and a brand-new mattress, still in its plastic, rests in the pit in the middle of the room. Along the walls are boxes swollen with the gifts we’ve bought her over the years.
“How did he do this?”
“If I had to guess, I bet he had help from a certain meddling best friend of yours.” I take her hand and pull her into the room with Grant trailing behind us.
“These are things we bought for you over the years. There should be more than enough here to outfit a nest. We can go to the store tomorrow if you don’t like any of it. ”
“I don’t need to go to the store. I love it already.” She hasn’t even seen anything in the boxes yet, but the conviction in her voice tells me she’s not lying. “If you guys picked it out for me, it’ll be perfect.”
Grant snags her other hand and rests his cheek on her head. “How about we wait for Derrick to get back, eat, and then we can come in here and dig around and see what you can find.”
She bounces on the balls of her feet like a kid on Christmas morning. “Yes, yes, please! I’m going to call Marlie and thank her for helping him while we wait.”
By the time we’re all stuffed, the only thing left is half of the white pizza Derrick got our Omega.
“I can’t believe you like chicken and pineapple on pizza,” she teases me. “I’m worried about what it says about you being into me when you have such bad taste.”
I gather up the empty boxes and plates. “It says that you’re the superior choice and anyone who doesn’t think so is wrong.”
Grant hums as he wipes his face with a napkin. “I’m just happy I don’t have to share my pizzas with you monster Alphas.”
“Because no one else wants lactose-free cheese.”
Ariana is antsy with anticipation, her eyes darting between the three of us.
“Are you ready to go set up your nest, Omega?” As soon as the question is out of Derrick’s mouth, she’s on her feet and rushing to the room at the end of the hallway. “I guess that’s a yes.”
I finish cleaning up the dinner mess with my packmates as quickly as possible and follow her. By the time we push through the doorway, she’s sitting in the middle of the room with a large box in front of her.
“This one feels like a good one.” She’s playing with the edge of the tape, a question in her eyes.
“Go ahead and open it, sweetie.”
With a squeal, she rips the tape off, not caring that it takes half of the cardboard flap with it. She turns everything over in her hands, examining it as she pulls them out and lines them up in front of her.
This box is from four years ago. A pair of pajamas in galaxy blue with a matching robe from Grant. A string of lights with butterflies covering the bulbs and soft purple blackout curtains from Derrick. I got her a set of cream throw pillows, one with sequins and the other with faux fur.
None of us speaks, afraid to interrupt her Omega instincts that are taking over. She moves around the nest, staging everything around her nest. When everything has found a home, she pushes a massive box into the middle of the nest.
This one is seven years old. The first birthday I knew her for. And it’s not the only box from that year. She’s got one from each of us. The one she found is mine, and the guys grab theirs for her.
Derrick’s box focuses on decor. It’s filled with small paintings, a lamp, more string lights, and gauzy curtains that are meant to hang from the ceiling like a canopy.
When she tears into Grant’s, she finds everything she needs to outfit her bathroom. No spa products, since those expire, but it’s got fluffy towels and a warmer, washcloths, and apothecary jars to hold her things. At the bottom of the box is a rainfall shower head.
She’s thrilled, sorting out Derrick’s gifts and dragging Grant’s to the bathroom. She bustles around in there, placing everything where it’s supposed to go.
She peeks her head through the doorway and waves the showerhead around. “Someone needs to install this tomorrow!”
“On it, baby.” The smile on Grant’s face is gigantic, his eyes soft with affection. When she darts back into the bathroom, he turns to Derrick and me and whispers, “She’s so happy.”
“Omegas do better in a nest that their pack helps build. I can feel how giddy she is now that she’s let her instincts take over.” Derrick pulls Grant into his arms and gives him a sweet kiss. “I didn’t get to tell you how much I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Alpha.” Grant melts into Derrick as the Alpha palms the back of his head.
Ariana watches them from the doorway of the bathroom, her face soft. When they notice her and smile sheepishly, she crosses the nest and puts a hand on each of them.
“I love that you love each other. I love seeing you together here, in my nest.” She kisses them each on the cheek before turning her attention to my box.
When we first started buying her presents, we decided on a color theme for her nest. We didn’t want everything to feel disjointed. She doesn’t have to use what we bought, but I hope she does. We put a lot of thought into choosing things we thought she’d love.
I focused on the linens that year. One by one, she empties the box, lining the items up in front of her.
A navy blue throw.
Two sets of sheets for a nest-sized mattress, one in navy blue and one in cream.
A collection of pillows I had to vacuum-seal to fit the box, in a variety of sizes and fabrics, in navy, charcoal, and lavender.
At the bottom is a small stuffed cat. It’s solid black with bright yellow eyes. I don’t know why I bought it, but the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew that she needed it.
My heart is in my throat as she looks everything over.
What if she doesn’t like it? What if it’s all wrong, and the blanket isn’t comfortable, or she hates the color scheme?
She doesn’t give me a chance to spiral too much, launching her body into my arms. We tumble to the nest, and she kisses me all over my face and neck.
“I love it, I love it, I love it!” She reaches up for Grant’s hand, hauling him and Derrick down with us. “You all did so good. It’s everything I could’ve ever wanted.”
Pure Alpha satisfaction courses through me. She approves of our gifts. She wants to use them in her nest.
I provided for my Omega and made her happy.
The stuffed cat stays tucked in her lap as she continues going through the boxes, revealing more blankets and pillows, cozy loungewear, and even an entire box of high-fashion pieces from the designer Grant works with.
It’s not just nesting material in the boxes. There are gaming controllers, books, trinkets, and silly things we saw over the years that made us think of her.
By the time she’s gone through every box, she’s practically vibrating with excitement. It’s nearly eleven when she pushes us out of the nest, claiming she needs to get it set up before we go to bed.
Twenty minutes later, she throws open the door and beckons us in.
The nest has been transformed, the mattress now covered in cream sheets, piles of blankets and pillows around the edges, and a lamp on a small end table that Grant gifted her one year.
She even managed to hang the string lights and curtains on the low ceiling.
“Do you like it?” The vulnerability in her voice is a fist around my heart. How could she think we wouldn’t?
Derrick speaks first. “It’s the perfect nest. I love it. You did a great job, Omega.”
She turns to Grant next with a beaming smile, craving his assurance. He reaches for her hand and pulls her body against his. “It’s the most amazing nest for the most amazing Omega.”
Before she can ask me, I press against her back, sandwiching her between Grant and me.
“You’re such a good Omega. So clever. It’s just missing one thing.”
She looks over her shoulder at me, wrinkling her nose. “What’s that?”
“Our scents.”