Chapter 5
We’re set up in a fairgrounds, and the only stores within walking distance are a gas station and a smoke shop, neither of which is helpful for my needs. I can’t use my card, so a rideshare app to get into town is not a viable option, either.
Maybe I can order something for delivery?
But what if I order blankets and I hate the way they feel, and I’m stuck with an uncomfortable nest? I’d rather be in a barebones nest than one that makes my skin crawl with incompatible fabrics.
And oh God, what if they have a smell to them that won’t come out no matter how much I wash them?
I’ll have to ask if there is a vehicle I can take into town. There’s no way the only transport is our trailers and the big tractors that haul them. Or maybe I can find an old-school cab company that accepts cash payments.
I’m on my way to Jude’s trailer when a slim man stops in front of me.
He smells like weed, and his gray eyes are bloodshot. He’s got a sleepy smile, and his brown, shaggy hair falls into his eyes. “Hey.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Hey?”
“I’m Quinton.” His voice is surprisingly deep, and despite not being able to scent his pheromones, I just know he’s an Alpha.
But after this morning’s texts, I’m a little wary.
“Dr. Alex,” I say through gritted teeth. I try to walk around him, and he sidesteps, cutting me off.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
There’s no aggression in his words. If anything, it sounds like pure curiosity. But I don’t like a man trying to hold me in one spot.
“I’m trying to find Jude to see if there is a truck or something I can borrow to go into town.”
His eyes light up. “Well, isn’t that fortuitous.
Matteo and I were just about to head out.
You can hitch a ride with us.” He ruffles his hair, and I can’t help but greedily devour the sight of his toned stomach as his shirt rises up.
I catch a glimpse of a dark tattoo, but there’s not enough skin showing to figure out what it is.
Luckily, he’s too high to catch me ogling him.
“I need to go to Towne Center Mall. I’m not sure where you two are planning on going, but…” I trail off, not wanting to reveal precisely what it is I need to get there.
I’m not ashamed of being an Omega.
Honestly, I’m not.
It sucks in some ways, but it’s not a part of me I’ve ever felt the need to hide. And there are some benefits.
But that doesn’t mean I want to shout to this Alpha that I need to go nest shopping.
Who knows if his instincts will take over, making him shove himself into the process?
Alphas typically assist Omegas in building a nest, as it helps the Omegas settle and be more comfortable in an area that they feel like their Alpha “provided” for them.
Still, I’ve never had an Alpha help in my nest, and I’m not looking to start now.
“Teo, baby,” he calls out, in a sultry purr, startling me. “We got a hitchhiker.”
“It’s fine, I can find another way,” I mutter, backing away from him. I feel the presence of another man approaching from behind me, and I jerk away before he can place a hand on my shoulder.
When he rounds me, he looks apologetic. “Sorry, forgot your rule.”
“He’s very tactile,” Quinton says in what I’m sure he thinks is a whisper. “Good in some ways, not so much in others.”
“You love it,” the man, I’m assuming he must be Matteo, but no one introduced me, says with a broad grin. “So are you coming with us, then?” He holds up the keys and jingles them. “There’s only the one truck, but rideshare comes out here.”
“She needs to go to Towne Center Mall,” Quinton tells the other man. If my senses are right, he’s a Beta. “Is that near where we’re going?”
“Yeah, actually. We can get what I need at the mall.” He waves me forward and then starts walking through the trailers. “I’m sure they have an art store there.”
“Art store?” I ask, following them without ever realizing I agreed to go with them. “You’re an artist?”
“Matteo is,” Quinton answers, moving to walk directly behind me. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, but his Alpha instincts have him protecting my back. “You should see it. Gorgeous stuff.”
The Beta looks back, his cheeks flushed pink. “It’s just some sketches, some charcoal. Nothing major. Just a way to pass the time on the road.”
I hum quietly, taking in his appearance for the first time.
Matteo has long hair on top and short hair on the sides, reminiscent of a soccer player, and brown, olive-toned skin.
Between his name and appearance, it’s obvious he’s Latino, but he doesn’t speak with an accent.
His smile is sunny and inviting, and despite being thin and on the shorter side, barely taller than me, he looks like he could kick ass if he needs to.
Compared to Matteo’s sun, Quinton is a cloudy day.
His bloodshot eyes are gray, and his skin is pale, like he never goes outside.
He’s got on a t-shirt that says, “My other ride is your Omega”, which, gross, and baggy black pants.
He purses his lips in a little air kiss when he catches me looking him over.
Matteo opens the door to the truck, which is just a single row, and gestures for me to get in.
“You’ll need to ride bitch, being the smallest.” I resist the urge to tell him that we’re roughly the same size and climb in.
“You realize we’re going to have to touch you, right? It won’t be able to be avoided.”
I grit my teeth as they slide into the truck on opposite sides of me.
“I’m aware.”
The ride is brutal, and every brush of their arms against mine surprises me, making my stomach roil.
It’d be one thing if they rested a hand on me, and I could get used to it. But I’m not that lucky, and I can’t exactly tell a stranger to keep a hand on me for a drive. A turn to the left has me sliding into Matteo, a right turn into Quinton.
Eventually, I bury my hands under my thighs and try to dig my fingers into the seat to anchor myself.
It works okay.
By the time we pull into the parking lot at the mall, I’m sweating, my head fuzzy, nearly sick from the light brushes of their arms. I’m going to demand I sit next to the door on the way back so I don’t get rubbed on both sides.
“Okay, where are we going first?” Quinton asks, oblivious to my discomfort.
He slings his arm over Matteo’s shoulders as we walk into the massive shopping mall.
They clearly have a romantic relationship.
Their casual touches are sweet and intimate, and when they look at each other, it’s with a reverence that I once thought I’d be on the receiving end of from my pack.
I’m surprised I don’t feel like I’m intruding on anything. It’s more like they’ve invited me in.
When we enter the mall, I stop short. People are everywhere, and I already know they’re going to bump into me, which has me swallowing down bile.
Today is hell. I just need to get into the nesting store and get out. That’s the priority today. After the ride here and the sensory overload that is the mall, I don’t know if I can handle a grocery trip. I’ll have to figure out how to get those delivered.
“You guys do what you need. I’ll meet you here in an hour,” I say, turning left and preparing to dart off.
“Hold up!” Matteo shouts, causing several people to turn and look. I duck my head, face flaming. “You can’t just run off, Alex.”
“Dr. Alex,” I say through gritted teeth. “And I don’t need your permission to go shopping. ”
“Doc, you’re an unbonded, female Omega. I don’t care if I can’t smell ya, I still know what you are, which means all these assholes will too.
I’m not going to have it on my head if you get snatched.
” Quinton’s tone is firm for the first time.
I didn’t think someone who seems perpetually stoned could be so serious.
“I’ve existed just fine on my own for years.” I haven’t. “I appreciate the concern.” I don’t. “I’ll be just fine.” I go to leave, and his hand darts out, snagging my wrist.
I flinch, an embarrassingly pathetic whine escaping me.
Several growls answer, Alphas stopping all around us.
“Get your bitch under control or I will,” one says, glaring at Quinton. “She could cause a fucking brawl with noises like that.”
“It’s not my responsibility to manage your instincts,” I snap, staring down the offending Alpha as I yank my arm from Quinton’s grip.
“A whine is completely natural, a part of my biology. If hearing a little sound like that has you going so feral you want to attack someone, you’re a poor excuse for an Alpha.
Omegas have no responsibility to help you control your baser urges. ”
“Yeah, what she said,” Quinton snarls. “If a single Omega whine affects you like that, the problem is you, not the whine.”
The Alpha rolls his eyes and walks away, and the interest we did garner peters out. Quinton reaches out to touch my shoulder, and I flinch away from his touch.
“I’m sorry, Doc,” he says quietly. “I wasn’t thinking when I grabbed you.”
“But you do need us with you,” Matteo pipes in.
I noticed he hung back while Quinton dealt with the other Alphas.
It’s not like a Beta can’t hold his own against one if he needed to, and I had assumed he was the more dominant between the two.
“Please. We won’t be a bother. I don’t trust the Alphas in this backwater town. ”
My resolve is crumbling. I am exhausted, my senses overloaded, and I just want to go back to my nest.
Which doesn’t exist.
Which is why I’m here.
“Fine,” I whisper. “Just, please don’t say anything to anyone about where we’re going?”