17. Luna #2
“Yeah, I haven’t taken time off work in forever, so my people made sure there wasn’t that much for me to get done. They want to make sure I actually take a break.”
Kane does seem like the type to be a workaholic.
The door to the garage flings open.
“We’re home!” Chase says, a big grin on his face.
Chase’s arms are full of a huge assortment of bags from what look like a ton of different stores.
“Surprise!” he says, raising his arms and shaking the bags a bit. “Holy shit, what’s that smell? It smells fucking amazing.”
“It’s—it’s a chicken casserole,” I say, a bit overwhelmed by Chase’s excitement.
“It smells delicious,” Madden says, giving me a smile of pride as he enters the house behind Chase, his arms also laden with shopping bags.
The cold air from the garage makes goosebumps rise on my arms.
“Will you idiots move and actually get into the house?” Archer growls from behind them. “Can’t you see Luna’s getting cold?”
“Shit, sorry!” Chase says, making his way further into the house and setting the bags down in the living room. “Anyways, surprise!”
My confusion must show because Chase’s expression is almost a little sheepish as he returns to the kitchen. “I, uh, I went out with Charlotte this morning and went shopping for you. As cute as you look wearing our clothes, we thought it’d probably be best if you had things of your own.”
My eyes go wide and I’m pretty sure my jaw drops as I scan over the sheer number of shopping bags the three of them just carried in from the garage. “I—All of this is for me?”
“Yeah! I’m pretty sure we got everything you could need, but if there’s anything we missed, then just let us know,” Chase says, seemingly oblivious to the craziness of everything.
“Oh! I forgot to mention, I got all the things for your nest pre-ordered, but the materials I wanted were out of stock, so it’ll be shipped to us. ”
A nest. All this stuff. His bright smile.
I’m a mess of emotions. I don’t know how to react because no one in my entire life has done anything remotely close to this. Not on my birthdays, not after my first heat, not on any holidays.
“This is—this is so much,” I say, pushing the words past the lump in my throat. “I—I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to make this up to you all.”
“You don’t need to make up for anything, Moonlight. We just want to take care of you, make up for lost time, you know?”
The sting behind my eyes, which I’ve been trying so hard to keep at bay, wins as a few tears stream down my cheeks.
“Holy shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Chase says, taking a panicked step towards me, reaching out as if he wants to comfort me but doesn’t know how.
“No, no these are happy tears,” I sniffle, taking the small step into his open arms, which instantly settle around me. His ocean breeze scent swirls around me. “This is amazing, I—I don’t know how to react, I’ve never had anyone do something like this for me.”
“We’ll take care of you so good this shopping haul seems like nothing,” Chase says under his breath, gliding his fingers through my hair. “Anyways, I would hold off on your judgment until you take a look at what we got for you since you’re totally within your right to say you hate it all. ”
He’s crazy if he thinks it’s possible for me to hate anything he’s put so much thought and effort into getting me.
“I’m just about done with the kitchen,” Kane says. “Do you want to try on some of the clothes in the bathroom by the sitting room?” His green eyes grow dark with desire and a flash of mischief. “Maybe you could give us a bit of a fashion show?”
The heat that pulses throughout my entire body—my face, my chest, and lower—is instant. The thought of trying on all these new, amazing clothes that Chase specifically chose for me while all of them watch makes my perfume explode out of my body.
None of them are immune to my scent or the thought of me giving them a fashion show either, based on the way all their scents grow in intensity in response.
The looks they’re giving me are a mix of surprise and lust.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Madden says, swallowing hard.
“I—I’d really like to, if you guys don’t mind.”
“Nope, totally don’t mind. Not at all.” Madden’s instant response along with the blush that’s also covering his cheeks makes me burst out in laughter.
“Okay then, how about you take a peek into a couple of the bags in the living room and go to the bathroom over there to get dressed,” Chase says.
Madden and Archer set down the bags beside where Chase placed the ones he carried in and I start looking around. The amount of stuff they’ve gotten for me is quite literally insane.
“Before you start really digging around, I’d recommend you don’t pay attention to the prices,” Madden says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
I freeze. I hadn’t thought of how much this much stuff would’ve cost the pack.
Madden curses under his breath. “Shit, I didn’t mean to freak you out. I was just saying that because I know it’s probably going to freak you out if you catch sight of a pair of jeans costing two hundred and fifty dollars. Chase tends to go all out on these sorts of things.”
“Yeah!” Chase calls out from the kitchen. “No cheap stuff for you, Luna!”
“Yeah,” Madden says shrugging. “I just wanted to say, try to ignore the prices. And if you can’t, just know that we do super well for ourselves financially, you’re not burdening us at all.”
Two hundred and fifty dollars for a single pair of jeans? Why in the world would a pair of pants be so expensive? That’s crazy to me.
“Please promise to try not to worry about the money,” Madden says, his tone soft and understanding. “I get it’s totally going to take a while to adjust, but please know all of us want to give you these things.”
“O—Okay. I promise.”
“Awesome,” Madden says, leaning down and kissing my forehead. “Go take a look at everything and see if something catches your eye.”
I start peeking around the huge pile. There are bags full of makeup and hair products that I avoid.
I have no clue what I’m doing with those and I would rather not practice when they’re expecting a fashion show.
I’ve never had access to things like that.
The most I’ve had to take care of my appearance has been a brush and hair ties.
I instantly gravitate towards a bag full of comfy-looking clothes. There are a few matching sweatsuits with one of the softest fabrics I’ve ever felt.
“Are those the clothes you want to try on first?” Archer asks from his position on one of the couches in the sitting room, looking up from his phone. His expression is a bit softer than I’ve seen it before.
“Yeah! If that’s okay with you?” I clutch the plastic nervously in my hands .
“Of course. This is all for you. If there’s anything you don’t like, just let us know and Chase can easily return it and we can find something that suits you better.”
Ideally, I’d like everything to be returned and to get things exponentially cheaper, but I’m still grateful for the sentiment. They really seem to want me to like what they’ve gotten me.
“O—Okay, thank you.”
I take the shopping bag into the bathroom and take out a baby pink sweatsuit. There are a few of them in the bag, all different matching colors. I hold it up to my face, rubbing my cheek on the inner lining.
It’s literally like a bed of clouds.
I keep on Chase’s boxers, but slide off Madden’s old T-shirt. The sweatpants are loose and a bit baggy, so I’m able to slide them over my bandages pretty easily. My ribs protest a bit when I raise my arms to try and get the sweatshirt over my head, but it’s a totally manageable amount of pain.
I take a peek at myself in the mirror, finger-combing through my hair. The clothes look super cute. It looks like something Charlotte would wear. That makes me feel warm inside.
I feel like an omega. A real one.
Surrounded by the warm softness of this fabric, a spark of hope ignites in my chest. Maybe I can be warm and soft too. Like an omega should be.
That sounds so much better than being jaded and scared.
I open the door to see all four of them in the sitting room waiting for me.
Chase turns around instantly at the sound of the bathroom door opening. “Holy shit, that looks cute as hell! Come on out here so we can see better!”
I walk out, my steps a bit of a nervous shuffle.
“How do you like it?” Madden asks. “I bet it’s more comfortable than my old t-shirt.”
“I—I really like this fabric,” I say. A blush covers my cheeks as I remember the planes of tattoo-covered muscle I got to see when Madden last gave me his shirt to wear. “I do really enjoy wearing your shirt too, though.”
“I’m glad,” Madden says. “It’s good to have variety though, so it’s awesome you’ve found something you like.”
“Do you want to try on the other sweatsuits right now? If this size works for you, all the rest in that bag should fit you!” Chase jumps up and starts rummaging through some of the bags.
“I—I think I’m okay, if it’s okay with you I’d like to just keep them all, I like having the different colors.”
“Awesome!” he says, jumping up with another bag. “You’re more than welcome to tell me to shut up, but if you’re taking requests, I’d love to see you in this.”
The bag he hands me has what looks to be a white dress with lavender flowers.
“Sure,” I say, taking the bag from him.
“Great! I know it’s still cold as shit outside, so this would probably be something you could only wear inside for a while, but I have a feeling it’ll look great on you.”
The feel of the soft fabric between my fingertips—the fabric of a dress that’s obviously meant to be worn months from now—makes something squeeze inside my chest. They’ve provided me with things they think I’ll need months from now.
As if they’re planning to keep me around.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “I—I really appreciate everything you all are doing for me.”
I quickly turn, the plastic of the shopping bag crinkling underneath my white-knuckled grip.
I want this future with them. So badly. More badly than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life.
Chase with his unbridled enthusiasm. Madden with his innate understanding. Kane with his steady awareness. Archer with his passionate care .
The bathroom door shuts behind me and I slump against the sink a little bit.
They’ve all shown me parts of themselves that tell me what life would be like with them. And I love what they’ve shown me so far. It’s so much better than anything I ever dreamed for myself.
I’ve had everything taken from me in the past.
My dignity. My body. My soul.
The thought of losing this newfound future is terrifying.
With shaking hands, I take the dress out of the bag. I don’t want to keep them waiting and trying this dress on will help give me something to distract myself from this feeling of dread.
I take off the sweatsuit, my inner omega crying a bit at the loss of the soft fabric before slipping on the dress.
My jaw drops when I take a look in the mirror. The dress is gorgeous, with a square neckline and a flowy skirt. I spin, feeling the fabric swirl around my legs. I’ve never owned a dress before. Or at least not a dress like this.
My dad thought they were pointless when I was a kid and the only thing close to a dress that I got from my parents after I presented as an omega were lingerie-style night dresses I’d be given for my heats.
I lift up my skirt, doing a pretend mini-curtsy in the mirror, laughing at myself. My curtsy technique could use more work. I’m not going to win pretend princess of the year anytime soon.
I know I thought I felt like an omega in the sweatsuit, but I think in this, I’m starting to actually look like an omega. Or at least an omega that I think would be worthy of standing beside the Ward pack.
I step out of the bathroom and walk down the hall to the sitting room.
“Fuuuuuck,” Chase says, melting into the armchair he’s sitting in. “I knew that dress would be fucking perfect on you!”
The try-on haul seems to last forever. While there’re a few clothes that I ask to return because they don’t feel comfortable or I’m not brave enough to ever wear them, the vast majority of things are perfect.
It’s actually kind of scary how well Chase seems to know my size.
Apparently, he just knows his way around that sort of thing.
And with each of their reactions to all the clothes I try on—the compliments, the smiles, the laughter—the broken pieces of my soul seem to click back into place.