8. Juno

8

JUNO

Ollie had promised to take her to Haven + Nest the very moment she wasn’t prone to bursting into tears. With her period arriving and trying to process everything Ben had told her, it took a while. Ollie swore he was not keeping track of how many chocolate chip cookies or doughnuts she had gone through. No, he had certainly not noticed how greasy her hair was and yesof course she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Juno sobbed that if he was trying to stop her from getting emotional he was doing a very bad job of it.

Her period ended the day before and the Ben issue had been oh so healthily compartmentalised in her brain, so off to Haven + Nest it was.

“I like my nest. You don’t like my nest?” Juno pouted. So she was still a little volatile — sue me.

Ollie was apparently immune to her stuck out lower lip. “I love your nest. Love cuddling you in it, sleeping in it, fucking you in—”

“Ollie!”

“But you also built it out of our old quilts and sheets for your first heat. We want you to have bedding you really love.” He made a sweeping gesture over the store and god help her, Juno’s eyes immediately caught on several very pretty soft looking things.

“I do love your sheets,” she protested, though her resolve was weakening rapidly. Oh my, was that goose down? “I love them ’cause they smell like you guys.”

The dimple in Ollie’s cheek had popped and it was doing things to her nether regions. “You know, there’s a way we can make this new stuff smell like us too,” Ollie said, as one hand came to rest familiarly on her hip.

“Oh yeah?” She was as breathy as a regency debutante. “How’s that?”

“Like this!” Ollie grabbed hold of the closest throw and wrapped it around his hair and body until only his face was peeking out.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m a blanket burrito.” He looked wounded that she didn’t get it.

“You look like an uncircumcised di—”

“Sir!” A Haven + Nest employee was rushing over. “Please don’t scent up our products, we have testers for that.” She gestured urgently at the laid out throws that Ollie managed to avoid completely when he picked one of the only products in the store that wasn’t plastic wrapped or in a box. Ollie divested himself of his tortilla blanket immediately, apologising profusely as he did an awkward dance of not knowing whether he should hand it to the employee or put it back on the shelf. Finally he put it in their shopping trolley and expelled a grateful breath when the employee walked away.

“Sorry. I hope you like it ’cause we have to buy this one.”

“What if I hate it,” Juno teased.

“Uh…” Ollie looked like he was short circuiting.

“I’m kidding, I love it.”

Love was a strong word for the beige pink fur throw. But after seeing Ollie clutch his chest in relief and lean over to give her a thankful peck on the cheek — she could love it for him.

Ollie lingered slightly at her neck, taking in her scent. “Your next heat is coming soon. Gotta be honest, I’m happy to have Everett and Julian on board this time.”

“Can’t handle one little omega?” she asked impishly.

“Oh god just barely,” Ollie admitted without any embarrassment. “There’s a reason I slept for 24 hours straight after the last one.” His eyes widened. “N-Not to make you feel bad! It was fun. Obviously. Especially right at the end when you had Miles in your mouth and I was behind, just absolutely…” His words died as he seemed to catch on that he was in public. “You know, you really shouldn’t let me talk for so long,” Ollie said reproachfully.

Juno laughed and kissed him. She didn’t want him to change one bit.

She began getting a feel for all the testers lying around. Checking very important things — texture, fluffiness, how well it had been engineered to hold a scent and keep it fresh. Ollie blocked her from looking at prices until she got so annoyed and shooed him. He listened, but not before he made her promise she would pick things she loved regardless of how much it cost.

Her trolley began to fill and even she had to concede this was a good idea.

Ollie was frowning at a thread count chart when she caught up to him. She rested her chin on his shoulder to take a look, her eyes glazing over when she saw grid-like diagrams, measurements and large numbers.

He gave the card a swat with his palm. “Where is the column that tells me whether it would be suitable as a defensive wall on my pillow fort? I knew this store was a sham.”

“Sheets are a poor choice — so vulnerable to sharp objects,” Juno said, playing along.

Ollie waggled a finger at her. “Yes. You’re right.” He pointed to the pillow section in the distance. “What we need is cushions we can fit together like bricks.”

Juno shook her head in silent laughter. It wasn’t hard to imagine him as a boy growing up when he was like this. Taking over the living room for his fort. Directing a patient Isaac on how he wanted everything while Isaac secretly made the structural adjustments needed so it wouldn’t actually fall apart.

There was a haunting familiarity to the memory.

“Ollie,” Juno began haltingly. “What would you have done if Isaac had been less…”

He was prone to silliness but Ollie had never been dumb to her feelings. “Less Isaac-y and more Ben-like?” he cottoned on immediately.

“Yeah.”

“I can’t pretend to understand what you went through with him. But I can say that Isaac’s one of the most important people in my life. Not just because he’s my prime alpha and my eldest brother, but because of how much I love him and can rely on him.” Juno’s heart melted at how easily he could express his affection. Ollie tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Seems like Ben was that for you before everything went to shit.”

“He was.”

Ollie looked very serious now, an expression she was unused to seeing on his beautiful face. “Isaac and Everett will always support you, but they might not understand what you’re feeling here. But I get it. If I lost Isaac the way you lost Ben and I had the chance to get him back, even though I’d been hurt? I’d take it.”

Juno’s voice wavered tremulously. “I do want to take it. Does that make me stupid?”

“Never.” His kiss was slow and tender, fitting her bottom lip between his. “But if he hurts you again, he should be very scared of what I’ll do to him.”

“And what would that be, Ollie?” she asked amusedly. It was impossible to imagine him as a ferocious alpha seeking a pound of flesh from her brother.

“Sic Isaac on him, obviously.”

Beep. Beep. Ollie had his hand covering the final price on screen and his phone out ready to pay.

“I’ve fallen in love with half these things already, I’m not going to fight you on this.”

He just waved his phone at her. “I’ve seen your tricks when we go out to eat, trying to slip away to pay the bill. It drives Isaac crazy, you know. We have our joint account for that sort of thing.”

Ok, so there were some Asian customs she couldn’t shake. To be fair, she and Hazel did it every single time they went out to eat, so covertly racing to pay first was a well-practised skill.

“My son says your omega is close to her heat. How indecent. Why would you let your omega out in public when she’s in such a state?” Ollie and Juno whipped around to see an angry middle-aged beta woman and her mortified teenage alpha son trying to shut her up.

Ollie looked incredulous. “’Cause she’s her own person and can make her own decisions? Also, this is a nest store, lady. I don’t go to the Store for Bad Haircuts and tell you to leave.” He tapped his phone with a little extra force and began pushing their trolley away with one hand. His other hand found the small of Juno’s back as he guided her away from the fuming woman. “Can you believe that old bag?”

People romanticise the idea of The One. Particularly that one magical defining moment when you knew you’d found them. Clouds parting, angels singing, beam of light from the heavens.

Apparently telling off an entitled shrew in a nest store was that moment for Juno and Ollie. And the fact that he was completely oblivious and whistling as he pushed their purchases along? That just made her next words more urgent.

“I want a bond, Ollie.”

The trolley wheel squeaked to a sudden stop. “Like…right now?” He leaned so close like they were sharing secrets. “With me?”

She grinned, breathlessly. “Yeah.”

He’d almost made it to the car park entrance before he realised he needed to double back and get her.