Page 12 of All Packed Up

Wendy paused, pen lifting from the lined notepad he’d provided, and her gaze jolted to his. Her eyes were more blue than gray today, Nic noted.

“Why, is it too much?” she asked, pinching her bottom lip between her teeth.

Shaking his head, Nic was adamant. “No. No, not at all. I’ve just never been around when an omega went into heat. I didn’t know it was so… involved.”

With no siblings, a beta mom, and an alpha dad, Nic didn’t know much about omegas.

“The heat won’t come until it thinks I’m ready,” she explained. “So the quicker I get comfortable, the quicker the heat will come and the quicker it’ll be over.”

What came after that? Nic wondered. Unless her alpha died, the one who put that mark on her neck would be coming for her. Would she run from them forever? They’d find her eventually. It wasn’t hard to miss a fifteen-pound cat and the beautiful omega whose lap he was in.

He had so many questions, but the tiredness in her gaze seemed bone deep, and Nic didn’t think she was ready to give more answers. Her hand fell to her lap, and the rumbling purr of the cat filled the room as she scratched under Knuckles’s chin.

“You’re sure this is okay?” Wendy asked again. She rocked the pen back and forth as she waited for his answer.

“I promise. Finish the list, and I’ll try to find it all today.”

He wasn’t hurting for anything… he just didn’t need all that much. So his apartment might not have reflected it, but he was doing fine. The gym was good for him. And the illegal fights he’d attended for years hadn’t hurt.

Especially when he’d had a fighter like Stellan in his corner.

Shaking the omega from his thoughts, Nic dipped his head in the direction of the list and watched Wendy compile her needs. Her tongue peeked out from the corner of her lips as she concentrated, and Nic tried not to stare.

She was gorgeous, a textbook omega. Short, curvy, pink lips, wide eyes, and long, dark, shiny hair.

But Nic didn’t think textbook omegas carried backpacks of dildos and tased innocent betas.

Moments later, she drafted him a thoroughly detailed and organized collection of items she would need to get her through the heat.

The cat purred louder, as if it knew the list included a few things for him.

Like… “A cat bed, cat treats, and this special brand of dry food?” he asked, arching a brow at the omega.

She shrugged, leaning back in the chair as if to showcase the happy, purring cat.

Knuckles chirped up at him, but it turned into a yawn showcasing his white fangs.

“What he said. We’re a package deal. Take it or leave it,” she drawled, the threat of a smile starting to curl her lips.

Nic rolled his eyes. “Are you two going to be okay here while I’m gone?”

Wendy stared up at him, finally letting her smile free. “You were the one that got tased, what do you think?”

Grumbling, Nic swiped the list from under her hand and patted Knuckles on the head.

“Hey!” Wendy mumbled.

“Oh, sorry, one for you too,” he said, patting Wendy on the head as well. “I’ll be back shortly. Don’t open the door for anyone, or the windows, for that matter.”

Wendy smacked his hand away with a laugh. “Get outta here. And don’t worry, I’m not stupid. I know I’m starting to smell.” Wendy said it like it was a bad thing. Nic would correct her because her scent was… divine. But the more her heat intensified her scent, the more likely one of his neighbors would smell her, and that was the last thing they needed.

This wasn’t an omega-safe community building. Alphas and betas lived in the apartments all over the place, and he didn’t want trouble knocking on his door.

He watched Wendy’s petite hand drift down Knuckles’s back as he paused by the door, and almost laughed.

It seemed trouble would find him no matter what.

* * *