Page 58 of Wild Card

“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.”

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