Page 20 of Talk About… Trouble

“To continue our questions… has anybody gotten close to packing up?” Devon asked, his arm still linked through mine.

Grace huffed dramatically, tossing her curly hair over her shoulder. “I tried that PackVlog dating profile for a while, and it was terrible. Then my sister was interviewing a pack that I thought I was compatible with, but when we met up the next time, it was like there was no chemistry. I mean, their scent was nice and it was appealing enough that I think I got my own hopes up, but… I don’t think I’ve ever met a more boring pack in my life. They also seemed to think that I was way too much. They tried to get me to calm down every time we met up and it was annoying as fuck.”

“Then they can go find someone as boring as they are,” Devon said, offended on her behalf. As he should be. Trying to change someone on the first few dates was a huge red flag.

“Don’t change for anyone. I love how bubbly you are.”

Grace smiled, ducking her head a little bit. I had a feeling she needed to hear that.

“What about you, Wren?” she asked, looking up at me and grinning. “Any high school sweethearts or big city packs? I bet the dating pool is huge out there.”

I guess they truly hadn’t looked me up.

“I’ve all but sworn off alphas,” I admitted. “I’m not even interested in a pack. But no, there’s no one in my past. Just normal, casual dating.”

“Same,” Devon said. “The casual dating was the worst. I’m ready to find a pack. Unfortunately for me, it takes a certain kind of alpha to handle all of this.”

He waved a hand down his body and gave us a cocky grin.

“I’m a little bit of a diva when it comes to what I need from my alphas. I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

“Aren’t we all?” Grace teased.

She stopped walking and pulled open the door to a fairly plain-looking storefront. I let out a small gasp as soon as I stepped inside.

It was gorgeous in here. Even with the scent dampeners making it smell a little too clinical, there was an array of cozy pillows, blankets, and furnishings in just about every color you could imagine. They even had it set up by theme and had displays of mock-nests to show them off.

Honestly, whoever was behind the store was a design genius.

“Can I help you?” a small omega asked as she hurried over. She had poofy, gray hair and big glasses that she pushed up her nose as she took us in. “My, my, three Omegas? Isn’t this a treat?”

“You say that now,” Devon said. “I’ve been told once or twice that I’m a pain in the ass.”

Her grin widened. “Good thing I love a good challenge, and it’s been a very boring day. Do you want my help or do you want to browse first?” she asked, looking at me and Grace this time.

“I think I’m just going to look around,” I said.

“Me, too. I only need a few things,” Grace agreed. “Devon is all yours.”

He glanced around, looking a bit overwhelmed like me. “My Nest is pretty much a blank canvas.”

“Oh, we can’t have that,” she said, sweeping him away to the counter where she grabbed a notebook and a tablet so they could get down to business.

Grace hurried toward the bright colored section as I started walking up and down the aisles. I wanted to see everything before making any decisions.

My old nest was nice, but a bit impersonal. I pretty much did everything in shades of blue. It was an ocean theme I picked out from a big box store. It was nice enough, but it didn’t feel right.

No nest really had. I always assumed it was the lack of scents from a pack. Maybe I just hadn’t given myself a chance to find the right things.

Knowing my roommates wouldn’t be happy if I left with nothing, I started piling my own cart with whatever stood out to me. I didn’t go with the theme this time, I just opted for colors that made me happy.

In the end, I ended up with an array of deep, vibrant colors and more pillows than I knew what to do with. I even found the cutest string of little paw print lights and a pillow that matched.

That was one of the worst things that those alphas took from me. The joy of my job had been something that had defined me for so long. I put my heart and soul into working with animals, and when I couldn’t leave the house anymore, I lost that.

“Hey, are you all right?” Grace asked, her voice gentle. I jumped, not realizing she’d joined me or that I’d stopped moving.

I hated that my roommates were constantly having to check in on me. I wanted to be stronger.

---