Page 27 of Broken Alpha (Unwanted #1)

Aidyn

T he last time I stayed over in Luke’s apartment, he had woken me up, taking what he wanted from me.

Now, lying awake beside him as he still slept, I took what I wanted.

He lay sprawled out on his stomach, his right leg hitched up between my thighs, facing me, and I drank in his profile.

Being here beside him still felt like a dream.

It has only been a few weeks, and my world has changed so much because he was in it.

I couldn’t express this emotion properly, yet he was still here. Still wanted me.

His body changed, no longer relaxed with sleep, alerting me to the fact that he was awake before he pulled me closer to him, rolling onto his side and cuddling me.

Our legs switched places, my knee going between his thighs as I wrapped my arms around his waist, snuggling against his chest. He gave a contented sigh, pulling me as close as he could without squeezing me.

My Omega began to purr, his song filling the space.

“I will never grow tired of that sound,” Luke said, his voice thick with sleep.

I didn’t want to move. Even though our nest was small, being here in his arms was all my Omega needed.

Luke had other plans. I protested as he pulled out of my grasp, the warmth of him leaving my body.

He chuckled, kissing me before encouraging me to get out of bed.

Luke was a nude sleeper, which meant that I got a gorgeous view of his firm ass as he dug through his dresser looking for clothing.

He smirked at me before pulling on a pair of boxer briefs, and I let out another sound of disappointment.

The autumn rainy season had begun, and I was grateful that I had chosen to pack my favorite mauve chunky sweater, decorated with a set of tan buttons that went up the left side.

It hung just a little past my ass and was made from a soft, fluffy yarn that felt nice against my skin, making me feel warm and cozy when I wore it.

I typically paired it with black skinny jeans or leggings and a pair of boots, but I chose to leave the boots at home.

The rain pounded heavily against Luke’s car, the windshield wipers working on overdrive as our first stop of the day was at a local coffee house near Luke’s apartment before he pulled into the parking lot of the nesting department store.

“We could’ve stayed home, you know,” I said, unbuckling my seat belt and grabbing my coffee. I put my thumb over the mouth hole so rain wouldn't get into the cup before I moved to open the door.

“Not gonna happen,” he said, grinning at me. “No need to cancel plans for a little water. Now, stay in the car until I get the umbrella open.”

“But it’s just a little water,” I mused, looking at him with a grin.

“Brat,”

He opened his car door and opened the large umbrella he had grabbed from the back seat before leaving the car.

I grabbed his coffee from the center console, and together, we huddled under the umbrella until we reached the building's overhang.

Closing the umbrella, he shook off as much of the rainwater as possible before pulling a trash bag from his hoodie pocket and placing the wet umbrella into the bag.

“Clever.”

“I thought so,” he said, grinning as if he were the only one who had ever come up with the idea.

I rolled my eyes and handed him back his coffee before he led us into the store.

I was instantly overwhelmed by what I saw.

I had never been in a store specifically designed for Omegas nesting; after all, I had never built a nest, so I hadn't really needed to.

It was essentially a one-stop trip for anything I could need.

Blankets and throws of different styles and materials lined the closest shelves to our right.

Beyond that were pillows and other bedding, including special sheets for heats labeled as ‘slick resistant’.

Stuffed animals of all sizes came beside candles, lighting, and clothing; every item had a tag with a number associated with the product.

It was all too much, and anxiety began to take hold.

“This is a bad idea. Let’s go home. I’m happy with what I have.”

“Hey,” Luke responded softly, pulling me away from the door so we weren’t in the way of incoming customers.

He slid the umbrella into the crook of his elbow before cupping my chin with his free palm, forcing me to look at him as the restlessness and unease made my body shake.

A low purr rumbled from his chest and made my heart quicken, my belly flip-flopping as the anxiety began to cool.

The shaking stopped almost as quickly as it had appeared, and I sagged against him, using his body to hold myself up.

“We’ll take each aisle one at a time. If you don’t find anything you like, that’s okay, but at least you looked, and I’ll make sure to reward you for putting up with your silly Alpha later.”

He kissed the back of my hand, his eyes full of the desire and promise he was making.

Hesitantly, I sighed but nodded, and the large smile on his face reassured me that this was okay.

I watched as he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen that sat on a small display by the door before explaining to me how the store worked.

Each item had a number that coincided with one in the back of the store.

While the store had pheromone neutralizers, items were kept in the back in protective packaging to prevent any damage or scents from being attached to the products.

No Omega or Alpha wanted to go home with an item that smelled like someone else.

The products on display were so I could touch and feel them and decide which would be perfect for me and my nest. The only exceptions to this rule were the plushies in display bags and candles.

We started with the closest aisle to us, and I reached out to touch the fabric of a nearby blanket, instantly withdrawing my hand with a wrinkled nose.

Why do people even think that scratchy and crinkly blankets are ideal?

How does that even remotely feel nice against your body?

I heard Luke chuckle behind me, and I threw him a look before continuing.

Reluctantly, I wrote down the number of items I approved of on the piece of paper, adding a dark navy weighted blanket to the list, along with a checkered green and white soft throw.

It was rather awkward as fuck as I touched everything that seemed remotely interesting.

I squeezed and felt up fuzzy pillows to ensure I liked the feel before deciding one or two could go on the list with the blankets.

However, buried among the pillows, something caught my eye.

An otter plush animal lay nestled in the back of gray and purple pillows.

He lay on his back, front paws clasped on his tan belly, with a wonky whisker that stuck out at a different angle than the others.

I picked him up, discovering that he had a bit of weight, much like the blankets on the list. I looked down at him, lightly booping him on the nose before smiling softly.

The otter was unwrapped and smelled of something stale and forgotten, but I couldn’t help but hold the plushy close to my body.

Otters were my favorite animal. Growing up, I often asked to go to the aquarium for my birthday and would sit and watch the otters for hours as they danced through the water, chasing each other.

I loved to hear the chirps they’d make in excitement when it was feeding time and when they would sometimes sleep against the glass in a little alcove so I could watch them.

I don’t know why I stopped attending the aquarium as I got older.

I didn’t need an excuse like my birthday to go, especially since we stopped celebrating outside of a dinner at a restaurant of my choosing, but I had stopped around fifteen or so.

I glanced at Luke, who was watching me with interest, but there was no judgment on his face as I held the otter.

“Would you ever be willing to go to the aquarium with me at some point?” I asked, turning the otter around so that his back was pressed against my front, and I wrapped my arms around his stomach under his little clasped paws.

“Pick a day, and we’ll go,” he said, smiling.

I couldn’t help but smile back, taking the otter with me as we continued shopping.

I found a set of slick-resistant bed sheets in a deep forest green and a pastel lavender, adding them to the list with my upcoming heat in mind.

By the time we headed for checkout, I had added another set of bed sheets, four hoodies in various colors that I could rotate Luke’s scent out with, more string lights, and a matching set of nightstands in a dark cedar.

When we got to the register, I realized I had to hand over the otter, and I didn’t like the idea at all.

He had been abandoned before, and it was as if it was the only thing grounding me through the anxiety of buying nesting material.

To give him up felt like a dam would break with me.

Inwardly, I chastised myself. I’m an adult and needed to act like one, yet I couldn’t bring myself to put him on the counter.

As if seeing my inner turmoil, the associate leaned across her counter with a handheld device and scanned the tag attached to his ear.

She put the device back into its holder and took the list of items from Luke and began to tally them up on her register.

My eyes widened as I heard her ring up the total.

$1580?! In what world was that price reasonable for something deemed supposedly necessary for Omegas?

Jesus fuck. There is no way I’ll be able to pay any of that back, not for a while at least. Maybe this was all too much.

He’ll realize how expensive it is to have an Omega, how expensive I am, and he’ll get rid of me the first chance he gets.

Maybe we should put all this back and get a refund. I shouldn’t have said yes to this.

“No.” Luke’s firm voice withdrew me from my thoughts.

Luke handed the woman his card as she looked at him questionably, but his eyes were on me, addressing me.

He was watching me spiral, clutching the otter so tightly against me that he’d be choking if he were real.

Luke reached out to me, pulling me tightly against his body.

I inhaled his scent, clutching the fluffy fabric of his hoodie, burying my nose into the material.

He purred softly, taking his card from the woman and slipping it back into his wallet.

The associate gave me a sympathetic look before turning to Luke and informing him that he could take his car around to the loading dock, and the employees would load our items in the back of his car for us.

“We’re returning nothing, and you’re not paying me back. I want to do this, Aidyn. It’s okay. You’ve made me the happiest Alpha in the world today, letting me take care of my Omega.”

I looked up at him as we stepped into the cold autumn air.

It had stopped raining, but the world still smelled fresh and damp, a light breeze occasionally blowing by.

The clouds overhead hinted at more rain, and I hoped we were home when it did.

I wanted to lie on the couch with Luke, wrapped in a throw with him and this otter, listening to the rain while we watched a movie or read our books.

I just wanted to be cozy with him. It was so strange how he consumed my life and infiltrated my very being in such a short time.

“Did I really make you happy?”

“In ways you’ll never know.” He kissed the top of my head as we headed toward the car.