Page 75 of Knot the Alphas' Feral Omega

It had been sweet and thoughtful when Killian had done it for me the first time around, but Oliver had kept his distance that entire month while I was getting things ready.

This time, he wanted to be involved, and he was showing me that rather than just telling me with words.

The hope flickering inside me was fragile, almost being squashed by the anxiety and dizziness that were taking over me and fading in turn. It was like my body couldn’t decide if it was still dealing with the symptoms of Bond Rejection Syndrome,and it wastryingto get past it...but hadn’t quite forgotten what it was like.

Still, it was a massive improvement from how things had been only a week before. I could stand next to Oliver and hold his hand, spend time with him, and breathe in his scent without feeling like I was going to die. I didn’t need either of the others there to temper Oliver’s effects on me, and that was enough of a win for now.

I wanted this to work. This wasgoingto work. We just had to push the fuck through.

Oliver offered me a smile as we made our way to the back of the store, ignoring the employees who all tried to get our attention to “help.” I wasn’t stupid; I could see how the women who worked here—all betas, per Nests’ store policy—were looking at Oliver. They were hungry and needy, behaving like they would climb him like a tree the second he gave them the time of day.

I was sure that Oliver was aware of the way the store girls were thirsting after him, too, but he didn’t have eyes for any of them. He kept me close, his hand firm in mine, and when we got among all the soft things, he released me and gently pushed me forward. “Go. Look around, find things you want.”

His voice was firm and warm, and I glanced over my shoulder at him as I followed his direction. “I already have everything I need for my nest, though.” My voice wobbled a little with the words, and a flicker of guilt and sympathy crossed Oliver’s blue eyes before they warmed again.

“I know you do,” he said. “But I wasn’t involved in building that nest, and I want to be involved now.” He smiled, a secret littlesmile, as he leaned down and brushed his lips over the shell of my ear. “Let me help you build your nest, Omega.”

His voice was low, husky, and sexy as he whispered to me, and I couldn’t help the little shiver that went down my spine. His body was warm against my back as he gently stroked his hands down the sides of my arms and then nudged me forward again. “Go on.”

My pussy clenched, and I knew that I was pumping out “come fuck me” hormones because I heard Oliver’s sharp inhale when I stepped away and ran my fingers through a pile of neatly stacked blankets. I’d already done this with Killian, but knowing that Oliver wanted to help build my nest...

It didn’t take me long before I found a stack of things my inner omega wanted. I rubbed a soft, sage green blanket on my cheek for nearly a full minute before I tossed it at Oliver. I followed it up with a sweet, dark green little pillow, barely big enough for someone to rest their head on, with tassels hanging from all four corners. It was deeply impractical, and I loved every fucking inch of it.

Oliver didn’t complain as I piled more and more things into his arms—he just shifted the weight so he could carry the new thing whenever I brought him something else, and the soft pleasure on his face as he watched me shop made my stomach flip.

He really wanted to be here. He really wanted to do this with me.

He really wantedme.

The realization took my breath away, and by the time we were heading to the front of the store, I’d had to stop myself fromthrowing out the entire shopping trip and leaping onto Oliver so I could kiss him senseless. The irritating Bond Rejection Syndrome symptoms that had plagued me at the beginning of the day faded, improving the longer that Oliver and I spent together. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed that he and I had both unwittingly prolonged my suffering by avoiding each other.

If I’d known that all it would take was a little bit of forced proximity to feel better...

My bladder started protesting as we finished up and started making our way to the front of the store to check out. Oliver was laden with all the things I’d decided I couldn’t do without, and I felt the first flickers of excitement at the thought of taking them back to the house and deciding where in my nest they belonged.

The fact that goingintomy nest for the first time was probably going to result in some heavy PTSD symptoms was a fact that I both acknowledged and discarded, determination filling me as I firmed my resolve.

I wanted to get better, and getting better meant that I needed to be an active participant in my own recovery. Oliver was making an effort, and despite the fact that there was still a tiny part of me that hadn’t forgiven him—hadn’t forgiven any of them, not completely—I was going to do the same and put in effort, too.

I lay a hand on Oliver’s arm as we approached the front, jerking my head towards the bathrooms when he looked down at me. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

He smiled at me and lifted his armful of things. “I’ll check out so we’re ready to go when you’re done.”

I grinned and stood on my tiptoes, planting a kiss against his cheek as I did so. “Be back in a minute.”

When I got into the bathroom, I had a moment to sort through the irritating symptoms still plaguing me. I did my business and then spent a few minutes forcing myself to breathe deeply and resist the urge to hyperventilate. My fingertips were cold, and I rubbed my hands together to warm them, hanging my head between my knees until the dizziness and mild nausea faded.

Despite the irritating symptoms, I was proud of myself—proud that I was managing them on my own and working through them without the help of any of my alphas. Iwasgetting better—I just had to be patient.

The realization settled me, and I took a deep breath as I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror.

Despite my minor little freak-out, I looked good. My eyes were sparkling, and there was color in my cheeks that hadn’t been there for a while. I smiled and turned on my heel to leave the bathroom, ready to find Oliver and head home.

The moment I was out of the bathroom, though, an awareness prickled at the back of my mind, and I narrowed my eyes. Something was off, something...

I saw what was wrong the moment that I looked towards the front. Oliver had checked out and was holding several bags in one hand, looking down at the watch on his free wrist. His entire demeanor radiated boredom and disinterest, but my inner omega didn’t see that.

No, I zeroed in on the sales associate—a pretty girl with curly red hair and sweet freckles that I could see even from across the store—who was leaning over the top of the counter and reaching out to grab Oliver’s wrist, clear interest in her eyes.

---