Knot Your Damn Omega: Chapter 13

Eva’s plan worked. The paps followed her and her driver, and Henry doubled around the block and dropped off any who decided to follow Avery’s car before pulling into the alley behind my house.

The guys were ready anyway, getting me out of the house and into the car in a matter of seconds like we were on a spy mission.

“Thank you, Henry,” I told him before he got out of the car. “Are you okay getting back? We could drive you.”

He smiled. “I think that would defeat the purpose. I’ll be fine, Miss Williams.”

Avery switched places with him, and I snuggled down in the middle seat. It was a big car, and it was still cozy with six of us in here. Not to mention it was a fucking parade of scents with all of us in such a close space.

Tucked in between Ben and Rylan, I sighed and closed my eyes. Just being near them made me feel better and more settled. I tried to tell myself it was only the scents and what they did to me, but that wasn’t entirely true, and I knew it.

“So what happened, exactly?” I asked. “It wasn’t long between when Eva found out I was going into heat and you all showed up.”

Avery glanced at me in the rearview mirror and smirked. “She called Ben and told us you were going into heat, and that you needed us even if you didn’t think you did. I think we were packed up within ten minutes.”

“Weren’t you guys… working?”

“I was the only one with an appointment,” Ben said. “Everyone else’s were later, and it wasn’t hard to tell the client there was an emergency.”

I bit my lip. “You probably could have finished. It won’t completely start until late tonight. Tomorrow if I get lucky.” Pausing, I let myself smile. “Or at least I would consider it lucky if I had to be alone.”

Ben kissed my hair, and suddenly the car was filled with purring.

We were pulling up to their house before long, and I was just as blown away as before. There were a few other cars in the large circular drive. Some had been here yesterday, but there was at least one I didn’t recognize.

Luke turned around from the front passenger seat. “Were you expecting Addison and Claire?”

He shook his head before looking at me. “Addison is my sister. She’s a Beta, and Claire is her Alpha partner.”

“Oh.”

“No, I wasn’t expecting her, but I bet I can guess why she’s here.”

I hid my face in his shoulder. “Is it because of me?”

“I might have told my family we were courting someone, but I didn’t tell them who. My sister,” he laughed. “I think you’ll like her. She isn’t one to wait for the answer. I told them I wasn’t ready to say who it was. Because I didn’t want you to be more exposed than you’re prepared for.”

“Thank you.”

“I can go in first and get rid of them.”

I gripped his arm. “No, don’t do that. I know I’ve been really… jumpy about all this. I promise I’m not like this all the time. There’s just been things that make me cautious. I want to meet your sister.”

He pulled me as close as he could considering we were already squished together in the seat and breathed me in. “All right. But they’re not staying. As much as I love my sister, she’s not welcome for the heat.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “Oh, that reminds me. Rylan, Eva has instructed me, or rather you, to call her every night at seven to make sure I’m still alive, since I didn’t want Wes lurking outside the nest and listening to,” I swallowed, “everything.”

Ben guided me out of the car, and Rylan followed. “You got it. We all know I’ll be the only one with a clear head.”

I looked at him, taking in every part of his tall frame. Warm brown eyes which reminded me of brownies and could match Ben’s cupcake. Blond hair I wanted to run my fingers through, and a smile that made my belly swim with butterflies. “If you think you’ll be less involved because you’re a Beta, or that I want you less, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

There was a glint in his eyes which told me he hadn’t thought that, but at the same time he was grateful for the confirmation. “Good.” He leaned closer so I was the only one who could hear him. “Because I plan on making you come so hard on my tongue you’ll see stars in the middle of the day.”

Every inch of my body turned pink, and the perfume of arousal flooded the space around us. Kade brought a hand down on Rylan’s shoulder. “Stop teasing her, pup.”

Rylan only smirked before heading toward the house.

I winced a little as I climbed the steps. The meds were in full effect, but aches still pulsed low in my stomach. It would come in waves until my body gave in to the full heat.

Kade was right behind me with the suitcase, a hand on my lower back. The tiny gesture put into perspective just how much larger than me he was, towering over me, and yet he wasn’t crowding. Just making sure I knew he had me, and I liked it.

“Addison?” Ben called.

“In the kitchen!”

“Remember how we talked about calling first before using the door code? Which is for emergencies?”

I heard choked laughter. “It was an emergency. We were out of…” Lower. “What do I say we were out of? Chips! We were out of chips.”

He groaned and strode into the kitchen. “And I suppose you also conveniently forgot there’s a grocery store two blocks from your apartment?”

“I suppose I did.”

I stepped into the doorway cautiously, and immediately, the woman I assumed was Addison looked at me. She froze with a chip halfway through her mouth. Addison looked a lot like her brother. Long, dark brown hair and a similar face and nose. Closer to my height, and undeniably beautiful.

A lithe redhead sat at the table behind her, lounging like this was her home. The comfortable way she sat made me think she would be comfortable no matter where she was and no matter the reason.

“You’re courting Esme Williams?” Addison asked too loudly to be a whisper and too quietly to be aimed at me.

Ben scrubbed his hands over his face. “Yes. And she’s right there, Addison. Don’t be rude.”

“Are you kidding?” She asked, dropping her chip back in the bowl and coming toward me. “This is badass.”

Halfway across the room she stopped. Her eyes went wide, and she swung back to her brother. “You have an Omega in heat in this house and you don’t have the nest ready?”

“It was unexpected,” I said, fidgeting with my fingers. “I wasn’t going to be here for it.”

Addison’s eyes were fiery, and in that moment, I decided I liked her. “If they bullied you into coming here—”

“No,” I laughed. “That was my sister, actually.”

“I’m Addison,” she held out a hand, and I shook it. She smelled pleasantly like bubblegum. “And this is Claire, my bonded Alpha.”

I smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman returned the smile. “Are you comfortable with another Alpha approaching you?”

Nodding, she stood, and came over to me, graceful as all get out. Her scent was darker. Something like incense that I couldn’t quite put a name to. “It’s nice to meet you, Esme. The boys have needed someone like you for a long time. And the rest of you can stop hiding. We’re not going to bite.”

A snorted laugh came from behind me, but they were all in the entryway, staring in various directions. Addison turned to Ben once more. “Is the nest still blank?”

“Yes.” His eyes were sad. “I’m sorry, Esme.”

“It’s fine. The fact that I’m here at all is amazing.”

Addison scoffed. “It is very much not fine. You’re in pre-heat?”

“I am.”

“Are you in pain?”

I made a face. “Not really. It comes and goes in small waves. But nothing too bad.”

She grinned. “Feel like going shopping? I know where we can get everything you need to nest.”

“I—”

“Don’t overwhelm her, Addison,” Luke said, a gentle warning in his voice.

The way she looked at him made me both laugh and admire her. She told him exactly what she thought, and that it didn’t involve him, all with a single look. “This is what I do, Ben. We’ll be fast,” she said. “Promise. But only if you’re up to it.”

I hesitated. They just got me here. Did they need attention? I’d never done this before, and I didn’t know what the expectations were. Things for the nest would be nice, but every heat I’d ever had, I’d gotten by with what was on hand. I already knew the nest was beautiful. I didn’t need anything else for it.

“Esme,” Avery said. “Come here for a second.”

I followed him across the hall into the living room, where he enveloped me in a hug. “I can see your mind going a million miles a minute, baby girl.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m proud of you for coming with us when you’re already nervous. And I don’t even have to ask them to know every one of our pack wants to make your heat perfect. If that means getting every little thing you want for it, then we’ll do that. If it’s too overwhelming and all you want is to curl up somewhere soft, we’ll do that. Don’t feel any pressure and don’t worry about anyone else right now. Okay?”

It was easier said than done, but I inhaled the heady scent of spices and let my mind settle. “I think I’d like a few things,” I said. “Not that the nest isn’t beautiful. It is—”

“You don’t have to justify it, Esme. I told you yesterday, we made the nest so our Omega could turn it into the place she wanted. And right now, for this heat? You are our Omega. Do whatever you want to it.” He pulled me back far enough to look at my face. “Have you ever had a nest during a heat?”

I shook my head.

“Why not?”

Shrugging, I stepped back. “It seemed like it would be harder. It’s already painful when you’re alone. Why emphasize it by making a nest when you don’t have anyone to share it with?”

“Then I want you to make it everything you’ve ever wanted. Do you have time before your heat settles?”

“I think so.”

“And you want to do it?”

I pressed down my instinct to say it was fine and I didn’t need it. “Yes.”

“Go on then.”

My breath was easier in my lungs as I went back into the hallway. “Okay, let’s go.”

Addison jumped once. “Hell yeah. This is going to be amazing.”

“And a nightmare,” Ben said sarcastically. “Esme, Addison is a designer. She helped us with the house and we could barely hold her back.”

Suddenly her knowledge made sense.

“She won’t have to hold me back,” Addison said, and hugged Claire. “You have rehearsal?”

The tall Alpha kissed her gently. “I do. Have fun, and don’t wait up.”

Addison looped her arm through mine and pulled me toward the front door. “Oh, by the way,” she called. “All of this is going on your credit cards.”

I didn’t know which of the men she was saying it to, and it didn’t seem to matter. Laughter was the only thing behind me.

This place was incredible. Nesting Inc. was a place I’d never gone, because I was afraid of exactly what was happening in my brain right now. I was looking at everything around me and holy fuck I wanted all of it. Soft blankets and fuzzy pillows. Colored lights. Everything and anything you might need to create a nest. It was a three story warehouse divided by section, and then by color.

“Have I died and gone to heaven?”

Rylan laughed. “I hope not.”

Addison stood beside me, and I looked over at her. “I have no idea where to start.”

“I’ve designed plenty of nests before. Do you want me to go through the order I usually do? Or just walk through the store and point at what you like?”

“Order. Please.” Another time if I needed more things I could come and browse, but I had a feeling it would be an all day thing, and even though my heat wasn’t bearing down on me this second, I didn’t have that kind of time.

She laced her fingers together and stretched her arms over her head, cracking her neck back and forth like she was about to run a marathon. “All right. Cushion covers first.”

Setting off, I glanced at the pack behind me. Every single one of them was trying desperately not to laugh. Rylan was nearly in tears with it. Not at me, but at Addison’s seriousness and determination.

The cushion cover section alone was incredible. The walls of the section kind of looked like the nest at the pack’s house, with the cushions all the way up the walls in different colors and fabrics.

“So these all go over the ones you have at the house. They can be changed in and out easily for cleaning or if you decide you want something different. You can get as many as you like, any combination. The nest at the guy’s house has… I think it was something like seventy cushions? So don’t hold back.”

Seventy? Wow. There were a ton of possibilities. But I couldn’t only think about this like an artist. If I did, I would be here forever designing a pattern of fabric in my head. No, the Omega Instincts I always kept locked away needed to be what helped me here.

There was a screen and a rolling wheel of fabrics, so I walked over to it and started touching.

As soon as I started, it got easier. I knew what was wrong and what was right. Some fabrics were too scratchy, and others were too silky. Some were even too fuzzy. When I felt it, I stopped. Soft enough that I didn’t want to stop stroking the sample piece of fabric, but not so much I’d get tired of it. It wasn’t something to sink your fingers into like you would a blanket. It was a perfect base.

Tapping the button for it, the screen lit up a list of colors, and on the walls around us, tiny lights appeared next to the full-size samples. “This place is amazing,” I said.

“I thought you might think so.”

The guys were hanging back, but Luke stepped forward when I looked back at them. “You all right?”

“What do you guys like?”

He shook his head with a smile. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t want any of you to be uncomfortable while you’re helping me.”

“We won’t be, sweetheart. The main thing which makes an Alpha uncomfortable is when the Omega is. It matters a hell of a lot more than the kind of fabric we’re fucking on.”

Warmth rose under my skin. I wasn’t used to hearing things like that. But I better get the hell used to it, given why we were here. “Okay. But you guys don’t have to stand over there like you’re in exile.”

He grinned. “We didn’t want to influence you.”

“Noted. But I’d rather have you closer.”

“As you wish.” Lifting the back of my hand so he could kiss it, he winked. “I’ll tell them. Now keep picking things.”

“And you’re sure this is okay? I can pay for this.”

Luke’s eyes darkened, and I swore he grew taller. “Don’t even think about it.”

“You heard the man,” Addison laughed.

My heart felt lighter. I was smiling now while I looked at the walls and thought about the shape of the nest. What felt right?

While the windows were visible, everything was open to that beautiful, natural view. What would it be like to sit in there in the dark and watch the stars? The entire image clicked in my head the same way I’d felt the instinct settled when they closed the wall and completed the nest. I knew what I needed.

Purples, blues, and blacks. Silver. Ombre and stars. Entire galaxies of possibility whirled open in my mind. There were pretty dusk blues in a line on the wall, and I saw the gradient I wanted and looked at Addison. “How many did you say?”

“Seventy.”

That was an absurd number. But given the size of the cushions and how they rose up the walls, it made sense. “Okay. This is what I want.”

I told her about the idea and started tapping colors on the screen from pale gray through blue and purple and all the way down to black. “I don’t know how many to get to make that happen. Or if we even have enough time.”

“I’ll take care of it. The next thing on the list is blankets and extra pillows. That way.” She pointed past the cushion covers to the next section. “I’ll catch up.”

This time the guys didn’t stay back. They were with me. Kade stepped up beside me and took my hand, and my heart started to flutter, fever washing up and over me in a long wave.

God, this was going to be so different.

“Whoa.” We’d turned the corner. I’d never seen so many blankets in my life.

“You say that like you’ve never been here before,” Rylan said with a laugh.

I pressed my lips together and didn’t tell him I hadn’t. I was tired of being the saddest Omega alive today, and now that I was enjoying myself, I didn’t want him to pity me. But I looked back in time to see Avery gently knock him on the back of the head, and that in itself made me smile. It was something brothers would do.

This place was like the biggest blanket fort in the world, with stacks and hanging pieces creating tunnels, and I couldn’t stop running my fingers over everything, finding the softness.

“There’s too many.”

“You can never have too many blankets,” Ben said. “Believe me.”

Every color imaginable, and every type of fabric, just like the cushions. Soft silk ones, and ones where the fuzzy fur was so thick your hand disappeared into it.

Addison appeared a few minutes later. “Got it.” Now she had a tablet in her hand. “I grabbed us this too.”

“What is it?”

“I told the staff we’re in a hurry. This will help us. As you want something, we’ll mark it off and they’re getting it ready so everything is packed and ready when we’re leaving.”

I gaped at her. “Do they do that for everyone?”

“No, they don’t. But I know people. I’m here all the time shopping for clients.”

“Wow.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I realized Avery was missing. “Where did Avery go?”

“He’ll be back,” Rylan said. “Don’t worry about it.”

I tried not to, but a subtle thread of anxiety wove under my skin, and the thoughts which flooded my mind were because of the heat. They had to be.

He was mine, and I needed him close. I needed them all close. But he would be back. I swallowed and shoved the instinct down, focusing on the blankets.

“You’re still holding yourself back, aren’t you.” That was Kade’s voice, and it was a statement not a question.

“I’m not trying to,” I said honestly. “There’s just a lot here.”

He reached out and covered my hand with his where it stroked a blanket of dark brown artificial fur. Sleek and smooth, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like on naked skin.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“Addison, mark it down.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. “Okay, I get it.”

“I hope so,” he smirked. “Now go.”

The words weren’t a bark, but they were close. I found myself moving and telling Addison which things I wanted without questioning myself. It was too much—it was way too fucking much—but I gave myself over to my Omega instincts and the vision which lingered in my mind.

Pillows were next, and I did the same. Silver and turquoise, sparkling things which seemed like stars. In my chest, there was a bright bubble of happiness that kept growing.

I noticed Avery came back and Luke left. When he came back, Kade slipped away. They all rotated, but I didn’t ask. If they wanted to tell me, they would.

There were lightbulbs to choose from, or rather, lightbulbs which could be programmed to match the colors of the nest. And sparkling fairy lights to line the top of the nest and create a galaxy. There might have been some silky sheets and towels somewhere. By the time we reached the end of the store, I was completely overwhelmed and my pain was starting to come back.

It would only be a few hours now, and I was starting to feel both delirious and like a ticking time bomb.

“Esme?” Avery appeared in front of me and pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “We need to get her back.”

Addison waved a hand. “Go. I’ve got everything. We’ll be right behind you. Just make sure the nest is accessible so we can get everything set.”

“You got it,” Ben called.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Really.”

Avery lifted me. “You’re burning up, baby girl. Don’t worry though, we’re going to make you feel better.”

Warmth was flowing under my skin now, pain rippling through my gut. This was usually the time when I buried myself in blankets and felt miserable. But Avery’s arms were anything but uncomfortable. “Really?”

“Really.”

He carried me out of the store, and they were all with me. I didn’t care if there were photos, and I didn’t care if anyone saw. All I wanted to do was stay here, wrapped in their arms.