Chapter 44
44
JASPER
“This is a nesting store? It’s the size of an airport,” Briar mumbles, eyes wide as we stand in the parking lot.
Cozy Hollow is the biggest nesting supply warehouse in the entirety of western Canada, so while the overflowing parking lot makes sense, it was still frustrating when it came to finding somewhere to park.
I didn’t want to make Briar walk too far, so I circled the entire thing for ten minutes before finding a spot close to the front.
I’ve never been here before, but I know Ronan has with his sister.
It would have been helpful having him here with us today, but he got called to come in for an extra practice with the defensemen.
Dash volunteered to take his spot.
“It’s better than an airport. You don’t get sick from breathing in the air here or clipped in the heel with giant carry-on suitcases,” Dash says.
Briar giggles. “Just tripped with metal carts instead.”
“I’ll take it. Let’s go, love. We have quite the list.” I offer my hand, and she takes it easily.
I peek at Dash and see him hesitating to do the same.
Briar doesn’t let him.
She slips her arm through his and looks up at him with a sparkling grin.
“I just don’t want you to get lost,” she tells him.
The laugh that escapes him pierces through my chest. It’s his old laugh.
The one he had back before the pack started to grow strained and uncomfortable.
“We can always get back in the SUV and go to a pet shop first so you can pick out a collar and leash for me.”
A car pulls into the space beside Dash, but he doesn’t notice.
The full weight of his attention is on Briar.
“Would you prefer blue or pink?” she purrs.
“It doesn’t matter as long as it comes with one of those cute little tags with my name on it.”
“I can make that happen. I’ll even add a little chocolate peanut butter cup on it.”
He makes a low noise in his throat and plants a fat kiss on her cheek.
“Perfect.”
A couple of minutes later, we walk through the automatic doors, and Briar runs to grab a cart.
The black skater skirt she’s wearing flares out at her thighs with every rushed step, and I blow out a long breath, still unable to keep from staring at her every moment of every day like it’s the first time.
“She’s incredible, Jas,” Dash murmurs, doing the same thing I am.
“I’ve been telling you that for weeks.”
“If she wasn’t my scent match, do you think I would still be this interested?”
Briar pushes the cart in our direction, grinning the entire way.
Her flip-flops snap loudly against the floor, but she pays it no mind.
“I think she could convince just about anyone to love her, Dash. Scent match or not, she’s important to you. You’re interested in her, so make that your focus. Don’t spend too much time second-guessing yourself.”
“I’m falling for her regardless of what she turns out to be.”
I think I might already be in love with her, and that .
. . that should scare me more than it does.
“Do either of you have any experience with decorating a nest?” she asks, eagerly spinning the cart back around.
Dash and I walk beside her, one of us on either side of the cart, and follow her wherever she leads, content with spending all day like this.
We don’t have practice until tomorrow, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my free time than with her.
“I don’t. Jas is the one who set up the nest the way it is right now. There’s a stack of Nesting Digest magazines hidden in the office that you could find if you searched hard enough,” Dash says.
She offers me a soft look before turning the cart to the right.
“Well, what’s already in the nest is perfect. If I measured, I think the bed would be as big as the bedroom in my apartment. The colours are great, and is the blanket heated, or was I just really hot?”
“It was heated. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it normally, but when Dash carried you into your room, Ronan opened the window, and I didn’t want you to get cold, so I turned the blanket on,” I tell her, nerves wild in my stomach.
“He opened my window? I wasn’t sure who did.”
We turn down an aisle with pillows and blankets, and Dash stares at each one with wide eyes.
“He said you always had your bedroom window cracked open at night in your apartment,” he mutters, touching one of the bright orange fluffy pillows.
Briar releases a sound of disbelief and runs her fingers along the entire shelf of fuzzy throw blankets before stopping to squeeze a pale pink one.
“I’m pretty sure Ronan was parked outside of my place watching for more nights than I originally thought he was.”
“Knowing him, you’re probably right,” Dash says.
I focus on her attention to that specific pillow and wander closer to her.
“Do you like that one?”
“It matches the sheets, right?”
“Yes. Get a couple of them,” I instruct, already reaching for two.
Her cheeks glow with a fresh pink tinge.
“Alright.”
“It’s like you said, Bright Eyes, the bed is huge. You need enough pillows to fill it, and I won’t lie to you—Landon’s a goddamn hog.”
“Have the two of you spent a lot of nights cuddling?” she asks, teasing him again.
He scoffs and scoops another two of the same pillows into the cart.
“Only every second one.”
“I’m jealous.” She readjusts her hold on the cart and starts pushing it out of the aisle.
“But in that case, I guess five is a good choice.”
“We need blankets too. Do you like any of these? Or, you know, we could head to the furniture section first instead. I just assumed you liked the bed frame, but if you’d like a new one, we can put an order in. It doesn’t have to be from here, either. Is the dresser big enough?” I ramble.
My nerves aren’t disappearing.
It doesn’t matter that I’m thoroughly enjoying my time with her and Dash; I can’t shake them.
When I made the initial purchases for the nest, I knew my choices could be changed if our omega chose that she didn’t like something.
It’s not as though I was unprepared to offer to change everything.
I guess I just wanted to know that I actually did a good job with it and that without even knowing her, I could choose things she’d love.
It’s ridiculous.
“Jas,” she says softly, giving my hand a tug.
I stare down at her and lose the ability to breathe.
“Everything you chose for the nest is perfect. The bed is comfortable and big enough for all of us, and the wood finishes are beautiful. We’ll add all the finishing touches today, and it’ll be my absolute favourite place to be.”
“You’re sure?”
“My old nest was a blanket fort in the corner of my bedroom. The one you’ve built for me is beyond my wildest dreams,” she confirms.
Finally, relief.
I follow my instincts and reach for her.
Cradling her cheek in my hand, I lower my mouth and kiss her.
It’s gentle, nothing more than a quiet thank you, but it still punctures me deep in the chest.
“How about we just grab a few different kinds of blankets and you can try them all out? The ones you don’t like, we could always donate to the clinic. Is that something you do there?” Dash asks, pausing his examination of all the blankets beside us.
Briar slips from my hold with a fluttery gaze and turns her attention to the selection in front of Dash.
“We could. I know we try to make the recovery rooms as home-like as possible instead of the sterile-looking rooms at a regular hospital, so cozy blankets could help with that. They’re ridiculously expensive, though, and we like to send them home with our patients so they can keep something with them that they had during labour.”
“Is there anything else you want for the clinic? I imagine it isn’t easy running a business,” I say while Dash begins dumping an array of blankets into the cart.
It’s filled quickly, even after just adding a few pillows and blankets.
They could have been at least double the size.
“You’re not buying things for the clinic. But, yes, it’s hard. When we first started, we didn’t pay ourselves for months because we were already paying out of pocket for everything else. I’ve never advocated for private healthcare a day in my life, so it took a long time to get everything up on the back end, mostly with the government. We’re a non-profit, so government funding and donations are what we need to keep the lights on. These omegas . . . often come to us with nothing other than the want for a safe, controlled birth somewhere safe. Being a private clinic meant charging for that. Clover and I would rather make sure we never alienated anyone because of how much money they have.”
Briar keeps her head high and hums, turning the cart out of the first aisle and down a second without waiting to see how we respond.
Dash and I linger a few paces behind.
The love she has for her work is incredible.
Not only that, but it’s admirable.
She cares so much for the omegas who come to Harbour of Hope, and I’m at a loss for what we’ve done to deserve her.
Dash swallows so loudly I can hear it over the drone of chatting voices and pop music that fills the store.
“Okay, so we’re going to make it our mission to help with the clinic, right?”
“Not just the clinic. I’m going to do everything I can to give her the best life possible.”
“I’m going to get another cart.”
I blow out a laugh.
“Grab two.”
We wore baseball caps on purpose.
If it were socially acceptable to wear sunglasses inside, we’d have done that, too, if it meant avoiding being recognized in public.
Pushing three carts overflowing with home goods, we nearly make it from the entrance to the front tills successfully.
I know the moment the couple we pass gasps with their eyes on Dash and me that our peaceful shopping trip is going to be interrupted.
“Is that? . . .” the woman whispers to the guy beside her.
My packmate notices them at the same time I do and is quick to intervene before they have a chance to draw attention to us.
He slows his gait a bit and lets Briar get ahead of us before flashing them a glimmering grin.
“Do you want us to sign something? If we could just keep this a bit quiet, we’d appreciate that.”
The man—an alpha by the size of him—rubs a hand up and down the omega’s arm.
“I don’t have anything for you to sign—wait! What about my arm?”
“Yeah, sure,” Dash says.
I stare at the woman’s purse.
“Do you have a pen?”
“Yes!” She pulls her hair behind her shoulders and drops her purse from her arm before starting to dig through it.
The movement exposes the two healed bite marks on her throat.
I immediately look for Briar.
She’s already looking at me, curious but content as we deal with the couple.
The trust she has in us only makes the yearning I feel worse.
I want my mark on her throat more than I’ve ever wanted anything before.
My hockey career pales in comparison to her.
Her brow lifts in a silent question, and I smile back, unashamed of how lovesick I must look.
“Is that your omega?”
The question comes from the woman no longer rooting through her purse.
She stares warmly between me and Briar with a knowing gaze that I don’t take offense from.
“Yeah, Briar’s our omega. Though, I’d say we should word it more like we’re her alphas. She calls the shots around here,” I say.
Her face lights up. “I like that. She doesn’t mind when this happens?”
“The fan interactions?”
“Yes.”
“This is actually the first time it’s happened.”
A bite of surprise appears.
“Well, I think she’s just fine with it.”
I find Briar again and get that confirmation for myself.
When she looks at Dash.
I follow her eyes and swallow a laugh.
“I’m going to get this tattooed. You’re the best goalie in the league, man. I hope you get your recognition soon,” the guy tells him.
Dash’s chest puffs with pride while he continues drawing on the arm in front of him.
It’s truly terrible, a complete mess of smudged letters and a hockey stick that looks like a tree branch.
“Alright, you’re done. Don’t hesitate to send a photo of it to my socials when you’ve gotten it inked so I can see,” he says before looking up to offer me the pen.
The man stares at Dash’s drawing like it’s a masterpiece while offering me the patch of skin just above it.
My signature is much quicker and a hell of a lot neater than Dash’s.
Once I’ve handed the pen back, we take a quick photo with the guy and then go back to our omega.
She’s leaning against the cart with a devious smirk.
“I had no idea I was shopping with two celebrities. Do we need security next time?”
Dash pokes her in the side, making her laugh, before pressing his lips to the side of her head.
“Nah, Jasper’s a big, strong alpha. We’re well taken care of.”
“Oh, I’m so lucky,” Briar sighs dramatically, tipping her head back and fanning herself.
I roll my eyes and swat at the top curve of her ass.
“Careful, love. You’re stuck living at the pack house now.”
“Are you hinting at something?”
Am I?
In the middle of a department store?
It’s a pointless question.
Pressing into her side, I keep one hand on my cart while dipping my head and whispering, “Have you ever had your ass spanked, Briar?”
“No.”
I wet my lips, suddenly seeing nothing but the image of her bent over my bed with her ass bright red and my palm tingling.
“Think about how you’d feel about trying it out.”
She slips her fingers into the back pocket of my jeans and looks up at me coyly.
“What if I don’t have to think about it?”
This time when I reach to smack her ass, I keep my hand there long enough to give it a squeeze.
She releases a tight breath and pushes back into my hold.
I linger, not able to release her quite yet.
“Then, I’d say we have something to try out.”
“Whenever you want me, Jasper, I’m yours.”
They’re just words, but their impact rattles me.
“Likewise, love. Likewise.”