Page 42 of One Flew Over the Omega's Nest: Part One
When Sam curses and sits on the bed, holding his arms out to me, I crawl into his lap, holding on tight as a rusty alpha purr makes its way out of his chest. "Will you lock the door, Helaena?" She says nothing, but I hear the click of a lock.
This can't be allowed. He'll get in trouble, I'll get in trouble, Helaena will get in trouble…but I can't find it in myself to pull away. His strong, warm hands clasp around me in a movement that's pure comfort, and I find myself letting go for the first time in…ever.
I've never cried like this, and certainly never in the arms of analpha.
This isn't just tears for my current lack of designation. It's all the pent up emotion and heartbreak I've felt for the last five years. Mourning for my sister, who would never hurt a fly. Tears for my lost childhood.
His purr vibrates through me, and even though my omega is locked in a cage, it still relaxes me in a way I'm sure is similar to how it would affect a beta lover.
No. Not lover.
A beta…hysterically sobbing into his dark blue scrubs.
"Shhh…it's okay, omega," Sam soothes, his hand running up and down my back. "You'll be okay." I don't correct him. I don't tell him that my omega has been locked away and I have about as much instincts as a newborn sheep.
I sob as Helaena comes over and removes the tape and IV from my hand, as well as the heart-rate monitors.
Finally, after what feels like forever, I get my breathing under control. I remove myself gingerly from his lap, wiping the last of my tears from my eyes. "I apologize, Sam, for usin’ you like a tissue." I try to make my voice lighthearted, but it comes out rough.
"You don't have to be the strong one with me, Jo." Sam's voice is so quiet I almost think I might have misheard him, but he actually looks like he can't believe he said that out loud. Then Helaena is in front of me, offering me a wet paper towel to wipe off my face.
"Here, sweetie. Sam will step outside while you get dressed, and then he'll walk you back to your room to get some rest."
Smiling tightly, I nod, and once the door closes behind Sam, she locks the door again.
"Was that okay?" She whispers, grabbing my hands. "Him holding you? I feel like you would have said something if it wasn't, and Brooks can never know, but—"
I cut her off with a shake of my head. "It was fine. I needed it. Ilike Sam. He…he makes me feel safe."
"If anyone deserves to feel safe, Jo Harding, it's you." She gives me a smile that reminds me of Mama again, and grabs one of my jumpsuits from the table so I can get dressed.
eighteen
Jo
"Alright, Sammy-boy," I grin, coming out of the hospice room to meet the alpha in the hallway, "I'm ready to be escorted to my room."
I'm sure my eyes are still a little red from crying, but I'm determined to pretend that I didn't just fall apart quicker than a shotgun marriage in his lap less than ten minutes ago.
"Let's get going then, Trouble," Sam says easily, but it's not hard to miss the distance he's now putting between us. It's probably for the best. He's an orderly, I'm a patient…it's like a really bad Romeo and Juliet remake. It doesn't matter if he calls to my omega instincts, because asof right now, I have none.
Though, that's not all it is, is it? Because if it were, there's no way I would have let him hold me.
We walk in silence for a moment before he clears his throat. "You…you might want to go see Hayden right away. He's been hounding everyone he can, throwing his dad's name around to get answers. Just don't be surprised when—"
"JO!" Hayden is now barreling towards me, West trailing after him like he had been trying to stop the alpha. In the next instance, I'm being swept into his arms, laughing as he spins me in a circle. I climb him without thinking, pressing my lips to his as my legs wrap around his waist, "Fuck, Jo," he gasps, pulling away and pressing his forehead to mine. "Never do that again, please."
"Do what?" I frown, my brows furrowed.
"I came to get you for dinner, and you were in your nest—your bed," he quickly corrects himself, glancing over at West and Sam, "but you were unconscious, and you wouldn't wake up. I carried your limp, barely breathing body to Sam as fast as I could."
Oh, my poor, sweet Fire Demon. He was worried about me. When was the last time I had someone besides Declan worried about me?
"I'm okay now, Darlin'," I press a quick kiss to his lips, "my instincts are well and truly inhibited, so nothin’ like…thatshould happen again."
I turn my attention to West and Sam, who are quietly talking with their heads close together. "Any reason you decided to join Hayden to find me?"
“It’s my fault,” Hayden says quickly, his cheeks turning pink. “West was talking me off a ledge, and took pity on me to say that Sam was on his way to get you. He couldn’t have stopped me from coming here if he tried.”
