Page 26 of Ondine, Vol. 2 (Cash City Omegaverse)

Home on the Peninsula

Ondine

A ll the men watch me with intensity as I finish licking all of Shadow off of the both of us. Jake stops me from getting on my knees for Shadow though.

But it’s what I needed. All of it. Shadow’s smell. His cum. Jake’s love. Sebastian and Arnie’s presence. Everything. I had myself a little omega panic attack. And now I feel much better.

I can see Shadow’s confusion (and fear) at what we did to him. He just was smelling real good. And I liked his duster.

And I’ve totally noticed he always has a book on him. Shadow manifests machetes out of thin air and works for a security company. But I discovered he actually got his college degree in English Literature. Specializing in poetry.

There’s a lot to Shadow I need to learn.

And I’ll have time.

We leave the cold dark music hall and meet Sebastian in the car out front. I sit between Jake and Shadow, laying my head to rest on Jake’s shoulder while holding Shadow’s hand. My nest in my lap.

It warms my little omega heart.

When we get home with some pizzas, everything quickly becomes warm and loud. The guys are eating and sharing stories.

I can’t believe they are getting along.

I find myself wrapped around Arnie while we stand around the counter.

“You did so good, honey,” he says and hearing the sound of his voice brings me pure joy. “Are you hungry?”

I tell him I’m starving. Jake has a plate already put together for me. Even though everyone is around the kitchen island, I take my plate to the table. I’m tired and I just want to eat. Jake slides me a whole plate of Caesar salad. And then he brings over a second plate with some pizza.

Good boy.

Sabbies has a large glass of lemon-lime soda and places it in front of me. He doesn’t meet my eyes, and he’s in the middle of finishing up some story to Shadow, and now Arnie, about some Gun Marshall.

“And I had no idea the Marshall thinks I’m the one who shot up the sand dunes. So I’m just chatting away. Cool as a cucumber.”

Arnie laughs. Shadow grins. Sabbies makes all these gestures.

Jake brings his own plate over and sits next to me, putting an arm around the back of my chair. I kiss his cheek and then get back to my food.

His hand briefly goes to where I kissed him. Like it surprised him.

When the bulk of Sabbies’s story ends, Arnie comes to sit on my other side. He tells me again how well I’d done today.

“I messed up though.”

“Why do you keep saying that?” Jake asks, sincerely.

“Because I did. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know. They are looking for my technical expertise. They want me to not let them down if I represent them. Audiences at performances are meticulously listening for perfection. They aren’t looking for passion. They want precision.”

Jake’s chest deflates as he finally realizes what I’m saying. “And you played like a fiend.”

I smile softly. “Yes.”

“Well, I can always kidnap that guy with the bad facial hair and torture him until he accepts you.”

I give him another kiss on the cheek. “I’ll let you know. Hold off for now.”

Sabbies and Shadow continue to chat on the other side of the kitchen. Their arms crossed, both leaning back on the counter, heads tipped toward one another, laughing and talking over one another.

Before recently, I was starting to wonder if they were even friends. But here they are, close and intimate.

“How was your day?” I ask Arnie. While I was warming up and getting ready for the audition, Sabbies and Arnie ran some errands together.

His hand comes down on my knee. “Surprisingly not bad. I think I only hate half the alphas here now, instead of all of them.”

“Don’t say that.”

His head cocks to the side.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I had a good day. Sebastian took me to the hardware store. He’s very manly.”

Yes. Yes he is.

Shadow stands by the counter absolutely devouring piece after piece. My hands dart out around me looking for my nest I suddenly can’t remember bringing into the house. Jake stops me and hands it over, having had had it with him.

I breathe a sigh of relief and hold it close to my chest.

Arnie gestures towards it. “A nest?”

“I wish I knew where your comb was,” I say instead of answering him.

“My comb, huh?” He asks with a knowing tone.

“Oh no. I’m so sorry.”

He laughs. “You stole my comb and put it in your first nest, you naughty omega. That could have gotten you in a lot of trouble.”

“You knew?”

“Oh yeah. And I fucking loved it.”

I would put my hands on my face, but they are covered in pizza mess. So I just scrunch up my face trying to hide my shame. “Oh my god, you’ve known since then how I feel about you?”

“I didn’t really allow myself to believe you’d ever choose me.” There’s something so sad about this confession. “But I knew you stole my comb and put it in your nest during your heat.”

“I choose you. You’re mine. Always. Forever.”

He smiles again at me. “You’re so cute. Forever, huh?”

“Yes,” I answer seriously.

I turn to Jake. “I need to go to my apartment. I need some things.” I need to get the comb.

Jake’s face loses all its softness.

“Stop asking me to go back to your apartment. It’s done. It’s not a thing anymore. You live here.”

Sabbies and Shadow go silent and give us their attention.

“I know. I know. I just need some things for my nest. Which is here.” I fully think this is going to calm him down but he’s agitated and he pulls away from me.

“Jake, I’m sorry. I’m not leaving. I just need something. Something important.”

“Everything you need is here!” He raises his voice, just in tone, not volume, and I cower.

Shadow stomps over and pulls Jake out of his chair away from me. I’m surprised by this, but I’m obviously more surprised by Jake’s complete 180 on his mood.

I look to Sabbies for confirmation that Jake is acting way out of line. But I don’t get any validation. He actually looks…guilty.

Jake is frantic.

Shadow is worried.

What is happening?

I turn to Arnie who looks just as guilty as Sabbies.

“Someone explain to me what is going on right now.”

That’s when my bond sings, because Freddie comes running through the front door and into the kitchen. I can’t get out of my seat fast enough. He comes over with singular focus. He falls to his knees and I fall into him, halfway off my chair.

“Freddie,” I cry. My whole being is filled with light. Being apart was so fucking hard. I missed him so much. He holds me tight and I don’t even care that I can’t breathe. Or that we are on the floor. He kisses me once, twice, three times.

He grabs my face and looks me in the eyes. He’s all here. All of him. He tilts my head to the side and scents me, rubbing his neck into me. Fuck yes.

Once I’m good and scented we look up to find everyone pretty much where we left them.

“What’s going on?” He whispers to me.

“Something weird. I need to get something from my apartment and everyone is being really strange. Jake is very mad. Do you know what’s going on?”

Oh no. He gets that same guilty look that Sabbies and Arnie have.

“You know something?”

“Ondine,” Sebastian says but doesn’t go on.

“What? Tell me.”

“Jake, tell her,” Shadow says.

Jake runs his hand through his hair and takes a deep breath.

“I burnt your apartment to the ground.”

No.

No.

I look at everyone in this room. All of them. Everyone knew. Even Freddie.

Freddie knew.

“Oh, no, princess.” Freddie tries to comfort me but I rip myself out of his embrace and stand up. The chair I was in goes flying so I can stand up.

“Don’t call me that!”

I back away from them all.

“How long ago?”

Sebastian answers, “The day I picked you up from here to take you to Sky Nest. I’d just got done.”

He’d smelled like smoke and fire.

“You.”

“Yes, I’m the one who did it.”

Maybe I’m crazy. Or misguided. Or in shock. But I keep thinking about Arnie’s comb. I can replace my keyboard. My furniture wasn’t great, but there were some side tables I splurged on. My laptop was there. What else? God…practically nothing.

I left his comb there because I thought I’d be able to go back.

I don’t want to cry, but I can’t seem to get angry enough to not cry. I look at Arnie and my face breaks.

“Your comb was there,” I bleat like a goddamned idiot.

There’s this weird moment where I realize I have the enraptured attention of five gigantic men.

That’s a lot.

My nest is on the table and I make a grab for it. Freddie looks shocked by it.

It’s only two things. It needs my comb. It needs that cap Sabbies plopped on my head this morning. It needs so much more.

Freddie’s hand goes to his necklace. He can feel my heart beat erratically through the bond, I know it.

Sabbies rushes out the side door.

“You burnt down my house?” I have to just look at the floor. I can’t look at anything else. Anyone else.

“It was contained to just your place,” Jake says softly.

“No one else was affected except some smoke. Not too bad. Sebastian set it up as an electrical wire start at the thermostat. So it was an accident. I talked to the police.” He takes a deep breath.

“I didn’t want to let you have that option anymore.

” Jake doesn’t sound one bit remorseful and yet that alone makes me think he may be.

“You didn’t want to see if I’d choose you?”

“What?”

“You didn’t think I’d choose you.”

“I wasn’t going to take that risk.”

“You thought it was a risk? That the chances were low?”

He doesn’t answer me.

Sebastian comes in through the door, looking like he has something to say. I wipe the tears from my face and give him a look that says spit it out .

He takes a quick breath and then comes over to me. He has to walk around the kitchen table, and Freddie has to move out of the way. He presents me with something in his hand.

In his hand is a tortoiseshell comb. My heart skips a beat.

He pushes it toward me, and I reach out and take it from him.