Chapter 18: Rush

Chapter Eighteen

Rush

L ennox bounces into the kitchen with swollen lips. My entire body aches with the urge to beat Thorne to death with a hockey stick. There are several in the hall closet by the front door.

“Her stomach was growling,” Thorne says, nodding to the omega in question. “And she doesn’t eat eggs. At all. Ever. Under no circumstances will you force an egg into her, unless it’s baked or cooked into something.”

Lennox twists, looking at him over her shoulder with her mouth slightly parted. While she’s distracted, I shove the plate I was going to offer her into the microwave and start loading a new one with waffles, bacon, and hash browns.

Why the hell did he help me cook eggs if she hates them? That motherfucker could have mentioned that before I made her a plate, but he clearly wanted to earn bonus points for remembering something about her.

I’m going to stab him with a fork.

The ketchup, syrup, and orange juice are already on the table.

“There’s a plate for you in the microwave,” I tell Thorne, taking Lennox’s food to the table. Placing it down, I take a few steps and grab her hand. “I would love it if you would sit in my lap while you eat.”

Her eyes widen, and I start to worry it’s a stupid idea.

My dads used to practically fist fight—that’s an exaggeration, but they weren’t above having a shoving match—to be the first one to get to my mom in the mornings.

It’s one of the ways they showed their love.

Every single morning, Mom would sit in one of their laps to be fed by hand.

To me, it’s a way an alpha should provide care for their omega, but that’s because I grew up seeing how intimate it looked.

Dammit.

I made breakfast weird without even trying.

Lennox slides her fingers into mine, giving my hand a squeeze. “I had no idea this was a thing, but you just made my instincts swoon.”

A slow smile breaks out over my face as she blinks up at me from under her lashes.

“I’m not joking. You gave me butterflies and wobbly knees,” she whispers as her cheeks turn pink.

Holy fucking shit.

I love how open and honest she is.

Pulling her over to the table, I place myself down in one of the chairs and bring her to sit in my lap.

“Don’t worry, pretty girl. You give me butterflies too,” I murmur as she wiggles around, trying to get comfortable in my lap. My arms stretch out around her to grab the silverware, and I’m smacked with her scent.

It’s sweeter than it was yesterday, and even the hints of Bear’s scent don’t make it any less noticeable.

Damn, her heat is coming fast.

I snatch up the syrup and pour a healthy serving all over the waffles before slicing them up. “Is there anything else you don’t like?”

Thorne slides into the booth section of the breakfast nook and smirks. He’s going to need a lesson in how to be a decent packmate if he plans to stick around.

“Nope, you’ve actually got all three of my favorites covered.” She squeezes my thigh, and I silently will my cock to pretend to be a gentleman. Getting hard at the breakfast table seems like it’ll send the wrong message.

I collect a bite of waffle and offer it to Lennox. Tilting my head down, I study the way her lips wrap around the tines of the fork.

“Mmm,” she moans.

My dick jolts under her ass, and I clear my throat, quickly moving on to a bite of hash browns to distract her.

Thorne chuckles, and I don’t know what he thinks is so fucking funny.

If he’s not careful, he’ll end breakfast with a fork lodged in his jugular.

Shit.

I think Bear rubbed off on me a little too much since I got back home.

I scratch my beard as Lennox pulls every single blanket out of the cabinets lining the wall in the entryway to the nest.

The plan was to see if she wanted to set up some of the Christmas decorations after we finished eating, but she started feeling feverish, and I blurted out that we could check out the nest.

We can’t decorate the tree without Bear, but we’ve got a killer Christmas village that I could have shown her.

Lennox grunts, pulling a light gray cable-knit blanket to her cheek. She rubs it around and huffs, dropping it to the side.

“I’m guessing that’s the no pile,” I whisper to Thorne, who leans in the other side of the doorway.

“Yup,” he agrees. “This is what I call busy mode. We’ll need to keep an eye on her and see if she settles down.”

My brow furrows. All omegas are particular about their nests.

Lennox makes a strangled sound and chucks another blanket so hard, it bounces against the opposite wall.

“Isn’t nesting supposed to be fun?” I whisper more to myself than to Thorne. “All of those are brand new. They shouldn’t be corrupted with anyone else’s scent.”

Thorne shrugs. “She’s the first omega I’ve been with. There’s a learning curve for all of us.”

I frown even harder. His value comes from knowing Lennox longer than Bear and I have. We need him to come through on the stuff the two of us haven’t had a chance to learn.

Lennox hits her knees and starts running her hands over other blankets that she hasn’t checked out yet.

Thorne sighs, getting close to my ear. “Lennox has ADHD. Her symptoms range from mild to moderate. She was diagnosed, but her family didn’t have health insurance, so she coped. That’s probably something she should have told you herself, but I’m telling you because I don’t know how much of this is from her ADHD, versus an omega nesting in a new environment.”

Huh.

That’s something the two of us can bond over.

I never sat still as a kid.

Where Bear was broody and quiet, I didn’t know how to keep my mouth closed—not even in class. I saw a doctor, but my parents wanted to hold off on medication until I was old enough to make the call on my own.

By the time I was in middle school, I found hockey. The exercise and change in diet that my mom implemented helped enough that most of my symptoms were tolerable. My coach also warned me that some medications used to treat ADHD might be considered performance enhancing, so I dealt without them.

Lennox finally finds a blanket she seems to like. The contented little sigh she releases makes my instincts ache to stomp across the room and pull her into my arms.

She moves to stand, grabbing a second blanket and holding it to her chest. Slowly meandering our way, she finally comes to a stop where Thorne and I stand in the doorway.

She shoves a blanket at each of us and blinks owlishly. “These don’t smell right. I need you to fix that.”

Thorne’s head tilts. “You want us to saturate these with our scents?”

“That’s what I said,” she huffs.

He shrugs, tugging his shirt off with a hand at the back of his head.

I follow suit, yanking off my shirt and bringing the blanket to my neck. “Do you want the full sweaty armpit experience?”

“Y-Yeah.” Lennox nods, licking her lips. “I think I do.” She steps toward Thorne and grabs his T-shirt before coming to collect mine. “I’m going to see if these will help with the smell problem.”

“You should grab the clothes you wore for that jog this morning,” I tell Thorne, trying not to feel ridiculous about rubbing a clean blanket over my armpit. “Omegas steal dirty clothes and bedding from their alphas to stash in their nest right before a heat.”

“Yes,” Lennox says, sliding between us to head out the door. “I want all of it.”

I’m not sure when she got so close, but now I’m wondering where the hell she’s going.

Being the nuanced individual that I am, I blurt out the question trailing behind her.

She doesn’t stop marching as she calls over her shoulder. “I’m going to dig through Bear’s laundry basket. Maybe steal the sheets and pillows off his bed.”

“So, uh, do you want me to grab mine?” I offer, clearing my throat.

Damn.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this desperate for someone to like me, let alone tried to pawn off my smelly gym clothes on a woman I really like.

Lennox freezes, and her head tilts. “No, I think I’d like to find the stuff that appeals most to my nose, but if you want to come along and help carry it all…” She glances over her shoulder, giving me a shy smile. “I wouldn’t say no.”

My hair falls over my forehead as my head tilts. A slow smile crosses my face. “You got it, sweetheart.”

Lennox collects dirty laundry from all three of us and even snatches the pillows and blankets from the beds Bear and I normally sleep in. Although, she does leave the bedding in the pack bedroom alone.

I help her get everything she collected settled in a pile in the nest, wondering if I should turn the heat up.

I’m still shirtless, and it’s kinda cold.

“Great, thanks,” Lennox says, sniff testing the laundry. “I just need to set this up. You can go. I’ll come find you when it’s done.”

I open my mouth to offer to stay.

I shut it just as fast when I realize she just said I will be welcome when it’s completely set up. Omegas are notoriously picky about setting up their nest to their specifications. And even more selective about who they let inside their nest around a heat.

A slow smile crosses my face, and I assure her, “I’ll be around.”

Thorne pushes off his spot in the doorway and heads down the hall as I follow him out.

“Where are you going?” I call after him.

“Check your phone. There’s a storm on the way.” He turns and walks backward toward the pack bedroom. “I’m going to do inventory of the pantry and see if I should take another jog to the grocery store.”

I frown. That sounds like a pain in the ass. “My keys are on the hook by the door to the garage. You can take my truck.”

“Thanks.” He nods, stopping just inside the bedroom. “My SUV is still in my grandma’s garage. I had to store it when I went undercover the last time. I’m guessing this is a frequent enough thing that you have a generator?”

“Yeah.” I pull my phone from my pocket to text Bear. “It’s a fancy one that can run on propane or gas. I’ll ask Bear to grab another couple of tanks on his way back.”

Thorne grins. “Perfect. I’ll handle food, he handles the propane, and you can be on omega duty.”

I don’t know how I got that lucky, but I’ll take the win.