Chapter 37
Percy
The game had gone well, and now Mable was moving into the penthouse.
Life was good.
The omega I was quickly falling in love with was humming to herself as she slowly unboxed her things.
She had decided to take the moving process slowly, only moving over a box or two at a time, but it was our first Saturday we had free, so we were moving the bulk of her belongings today, including her nest.
“You guys have so many great windowsills where I can place these plants. They're going to get so much more sunlight and they're going to do so well!” she trilled happily.
I paused. “Actually, about that,” I said, placing a box down and smiling at her. “I’ve got something to show you.” I held out my hand, gesturing for her to take it.
She bit her lip, looking back towards the elevator where the others were gradually bringing her nesting supplies up from the car. “I should be helping the others unpack.”
“You can do that in ten minutes, but I've got to show you this first,” I insisted.
“Fine, but if they whine at me, I'm totally throwing you under the bus.”
“That’s fine with me,” I replied, tugging her towards the terrace.
We hadn’t done much to the terrace since moving in. There was some outdoor furniture, a table, chairs and a barbeque, but that was it. About a week earlier, when we were discussing trying to convince Mable to move in, an idea occurred to me and I ordered a little something.
“Are we going outside?” Mable asked, her face furrowed in confusion.
I turned back, eyes widening in realization. “Oh shit, you’ve never been on the terrace, have you?”
She nodded. “I know it’s there, but yeah, never stepped foot on it.”
“Well, your newest courting gift is out there,” I told her.
“Courting gift? Aren’t we a little past that stage?” She laughed, gesturing to her swollen belly.
I turned, grabbing her hip lightly and kissing the tip of her nose.
“Nope. You deserve all the courting, Mable. We are all falling in love with you, and we intend to spoil you like you deserve. The baby, while an amazing addition that I’m so freaking excited for, changes nothing about my plans to sweep you off your feet. ”
“Percy…” She looked up at me with glassy eyes. I could stare into them for ages.
“Well, it does change plans a little. Jasper was considering sweeping you away on a foreign vacation, but that is a bit hard while pregnant, so those plans are going on the backburner, but still, we are going to woo you, Mable Presley.”
I was rambling and probably sounded like a complete idiot, but I needed her to understand exactly how I felt.
“You are such a dope, but…” Mable hesitated, taking a step closer and gripping my hand. “I can’t say I mind all that much.”
My chest squeezed in that familiar way Mable could always make happen, and I loved it. We’d all made it our mission to ensure she knew we wanted her for who she was, and I had no intention of stopping that.
Ever.
“Come on.” I jerked my head in the direction of the French doors. She bit her lip, nodded, and took my hand, walking with me.
We stepped out onto the large deck, and from behind me, I heard Mable gasp.
“Oh my god, is that a greenhouse?” She squealed excitedly as the large glass and iron structure came into sight.
We had spared no expense. I had consulted with Devin before purchasing it.
There were several wooden shelves so she could add plenty of plants.
It was large enough for her to walk in and even have a little chair for while she worked on her plants.
The ten-by-sixteen-foot space would give her plenty of space to potter around and make it her own.
“Well, it’s not a bluehouse,” I joked lamely as she rushed forward and opened the door, stepping inside.
“Oh, this is huge! I can put so many plants in here!
There's so much space. I could even do some tree saplings!
Then again, if I did tree saplings, I don't know where they would go when they aren’t saplings anymore, because we don't have any soil.
That's okay, I could maybe grow some fruits and vegetables—strawberries! Everybody loves strawberries!”
She turned to me, smiling as she bounced up and down on the spot in excitement. Her happiness was infectious, and seeing that much joy on my omega's face made my alpha preen with happiness.
We make omega happy. Omega like plants. We give plant house. We provide.
“Is it large enough? We considered getting a larger one, but the terrace is only so big.” The apartment probably wasn't the best place to start a family, but it's what we had.
It was a beautiful property, and it worked brilliantly while we were this small pack on our own, but once we had children running around, we might have to start looking at houses.
We hadn't floated that idea to Mable yet because we didn't want to stress her out. Knowing our omega, she would get gloriously happy over viewing all the different yards and gardens, but then she would get very stressed when she saw the price tag.
So, we would talk to her about buying a house after the baby was born and she was on the path to healing.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked in an astonished voice as she gaped at me. “This is amazing. Percy, thank you!”
An oomph left my chest as she launched herself at me, hugging me as tight as she could around her belly. “I'm glad you like it.” I stroked the hair out of her face as I smiled down at her. “This is your home, too, and we all want you to feel as happy and comfortable as possible. I want that.”
Mable’s eyes glassed over again, and I could float on a cloud right now. “I do feel at home. You’ve all been incredible.” She looked up at me as if I’d hung the moon for her. “You’re incredible, Percy. Thank you.”
Leaning down, I planted a gentle kiss on her lips, a little overwhelmed by the swell of emotions bouncing around my chest.
“So, now you have to trick it out with green stuff.” I angled her against my side, both of us looking at the new structure taking up the terrace.
“I don't have enough plants to fill it, which means we're gonna have to go to the plant nursery and buy even more.”
“Considering tomorrow is Sunday, I thought that if you're all moved in, we could always have brunch and then go plant shopping. Have a little pack fun day while filling your newest gift.”
Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open, once again drawing attention to those pouty lips that were begging to be kissed again.
“That sounds like a fantastic day,” she whispered.
“We can even go get ice cream, shop for baby clothes, and come back and pot all your new plants together. You’ll have to tell us what to do, though.”
“That’s like… so much fun in one day. I don’t know how I’ll cope. I don’t care, I need it.” She beamed at me for a split second before returning to hugging me with renewed vigor.
“Well, let’s go get your nest set up and get you all settled in so we can have our fun day tomorrow.
***
“I didn’t think I owned this many nesting supplies…
” Mable muttered as she took in the stacks and stacks of soft furnishings piled in various places around what used to be the guest bedroom.
She was a vision in a tiny pair of shorts and one of our T-shirts.
Her hair was pulled back with two clips, keeping it out of her face.
We had added some blinds to the windows. That way, Mable could pick whatever curtains she wanted, and she could choose to either black out the room or let a little light in. The stark white walls had been painted a pastel blue, with the wall behind the head of the nest painted lavender.
Nest rooms usually had alcoves or space designated for really, stupidly large mattresses that could accommodate a whole pack. We had improvised slightly, but Mable didn’t seem to mind.
Most of the room was taken up by the bed, which was acting as her nest. It was easily as wide as three king beds, enough to fit us all. The frame was white, with large posters that allowed us to hang extra fabric curtains.
The idea behind it was that if the room ever felt too large, she could close the curtains over the bed to create a cozier, more enclosed space to nest in. Or if she wanted light and airy, she could open everything up and enjoy the large windows.
The decorating had been simple enough. We had done it together one night after Mable had fallen asleep. Now it was time for Mable to add all her belongings to the space and make it truly hers.
“I’m sure I don’t own this much stuff!” Mable declared as she wandered through the piles, keenly observing them.
“We may have been slowly collecting a few items we thought you might like…” Jasper said from his spot sitting cross-legged in the corner, clutching a plush, pink velvet pillow.
“A few?” Mable laughed, glancing around. “This is easily four times what I had in my tiny dorm!”
“We may have gotten a little excited, but I’m sure anything you don’t use here will find a home somewhere else in the apartment.”
Mable snorted, picking up some sheets and assessing them critically, chewing her bottom lip as she did so. “I’m sure it will—this place is gigantic.”
“We could still do with upgrading at some point,” Devin said as he leaned against the doorframe. We were all standing back and allowing the omega to assess her nesting materials.
“Devin… this is a penthouse. I’m not sure what you would consider an upgrade to that.”
A smirk slowly spread across Devin’s face. “A mansion would be a good upgrade.”
Her eyes almost bugged out of her head, making us all chuckle.
“He’s not wrong, you know,” Saint said. “We could use a place with a yard in a few years so the kiddo can run around. Maybe a pool so we can teach them to swim.”
That sounded fucking perfect. Hopefully, by then, we would be expanding our family even more—if Mable was open to having more children.
We hadn’t discussed it yet, because it felt somewhat insensitive to ask about future babies while she was still in the process of growing the first one.
“This place is more than enough,” Mable insisted, picking up a blanket and padding over to the nest, draping it over the corner before stepping back to observe her handiwork.
Devin nodded. “Okay,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t really mean the words—he was merely giving in temporarily.
Mable could see right through him as well, but she opted to ignore it, instead returning to nesting and ordering us around like a pro.
It pleased me more than I could express that she was comfortable enough to do that.
Her reserved personality often meant she often failed to ask for what she wanted, and with us, that was the last thing we desired.
Mable commanding us to arrange nesting materials and build furniture with that cute little frown that meant she was deep in thought? It thrilled me to my bones.
***
“I think the canopy is right?” Jasper said, cocking his head to the side.
“It’s crooked!” Saint insisted.
We had spent the better part of thirty minutes building the damn thing, and since it was for Mable, we were determined to get it right.
“I’m going to ask her opinion, because we all know that if she doesn’t think it’s crooked and we make it crooked, we’ll end up taking the whole thing down and rebuilding it when we could be spending time with her.”
Jasper had been nodding along until the last part when his eyes went wide. “I want more time with our girl! Go ask her while I finish bolting the supports!”
The omega in question had wandered off about twenty minutes earlier, muttering about throw blankets and color coordinating.
I assumed she was going through the pile of nesting supplies in the living area…
or the kitchen. Then again, there were also a few piles in our bedrooms. We had really gone overboard with the nest buying, and our accountant would probably have a heart attack when he saw the numbers, but I didn’t have it in me to care.
What was the point of making money if we couldn’t spoil our omega the mother of our child?
“Mable? We need a tie breaker, and your opinion is the only one that matters,” I declared as I strode into the open-plan living and kitchen space. “We ne—” I trailed off as I saw the lump on the sofa.
Moving closer, a smile spread across my face as I saw Mable curled up, clutching one of the throw pillows, surrounded by nesting materials, fast asleep.
Her face was so peaceful, half smashed into the pillow.
Kneeling next to the sofa, I gently brushed a strand of hair from her face.
Fuck, she was beautiful, and she had no idea just how obsessed I was with her.
Nest building could wait. For now, my pack and I would tidy up the apartment—not the nest, since that was Mable’s territory and she could work on it when she had more energy. For a while, I was going to sit with my sleepy omega and bask in her presence.