Page 27 of Golden Omega

She snorted. “That and biology.”

Orin conceded with a laugh. “That too. Besides, Sovann is very good at taking care of us all. In fact, sometimes I don’t think we thank him enough for the way he takes care of our pack house and the omega suite. He doesn’t know that we see him keeping it clean and ready for the day that we found you. Sometimes he works into the night so that his days and meals can be with us, building our pack bond. But we do. Hema, we want you to be exactly who you are. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

His words touched me. I didn’t think they saw all that I did. Didn’t change the fact that I was happy to do it but appreciation meant a lot.

“The omega suite?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s the whole second floor. We built our home with our future omega in mind. It’s for you but we’re not pressuring you to move in. We want you to, of course, but everything is your decision, baby.”

“A nest of my own?” Tears welled in her eyes. There was a time she was shunned for being an omega and now, it was revered. What a one-eighty for our girl.

“A whole floor of your own. A big nest. Your own bathroom. A sitting area with bookshelves. The closets are packed with nesting blankets and pillows. Whenever I saw things online I thought an omega might like, I picked them up.” I shrugged one shoulder. I sounded like a foolhardy man, admitting all that. “Although you have quite a few of those things yourself.”

“I never knew it could be like this.” Not the first time she’d said that. “I didn’t think of those things as nesting stuff. Just a collection of comfort. But then, I never thought I’d have a real nest.”

“Expect it now,” I answered. “You’re our whole world, Hema.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hema

More than just delivering the flowers for Karissa’s wedding, I did it with the best assistants in the world. But first, we had to get dressed in our finest for this special occasion.

I stood in the downstairs hallway in their home. I hadn’t officially moved in yet, but it was only a matter of time. Giving up my apartment was difficult after all I went through to make that my home, my first home really. I couldn’t call the old lands anything like that when my whole existence there depended on my designation. And I failed that test. In their eyes.

Not in my mates’.

“Fit check!” I yelled, holding up my phone. We’d gone shopping together a few days before mostly because Orin and Sovann didn’t have suits at all, and I didn’t have anything appropriate for a dark-romance wedding.

I’d been in on the secret as to whose wedding this was since shortly after my heat, and as a result had made a few changes in the flowers to suit her taste. Still dark romance, still gorgeous but tweaked slightly for my friend. And maybe added to at no extra cost as well.

Thrilled for her, I’d had to avoid her for a whole week because as it turned out, I probably would have spilled the beans. Florists often keep secrets, and up until now, I’d done fine with that. But her pack was doing so much sneaking around, she was getting nosy. Fortunately, the excuse my pack wouldn’t let me out of bed seemed to work. And it wasn’t much of a lie. We all worked, ate, did chores around the house, and went to bed together. Sometimes the chores didn’t get done, but Sovann made sure we always ate.

Since we knew Karissa’s dress was black, we’d gone for maroon. My dress was trimmed with cream lace, and the guys wore white shirts. Black shoes for all of us. The trio appeared at the top of the stairs as I’d requested and strolled down together. So incredible. And mine! All mine. I set the timer on the camera on its tripod and ran up to join them. “Ready?”

They chuckled, but they were good sports and so together, we strolled down the stairs looking as suave as we could manage. Our first wedding together. I hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

Orin and his staff had pulled out all the stops. The decorations were mostly my flowers, large urns filled with lilies lining the aisle the bride would be walking down. There was a buffet along one wall and a tall cake with 3D printed figurines of the bride and her pack on top. The seating had all been rearranged, and the guests filled the room before Altan answered his phone and yelled, “Lights!” And “Shhh!”

“I don’t know why I we all had to get so dressed up just to come for a drink,” Karissa was protesting as her mates escorted her in. “You guys have been acting so weird. Why is it dark in here?”

The special lighting clicked on, all candlelight effects and lanterns.

It may have been the only time a bridal party and all the guests jumped up and yelled, “Surprise!” at a wedding. But even if it wasn’t, it was certainly one of the most effective. Orin stood at the front of the room waiting as Karissa walked toward him, clearly still unsure of what was going on.

“It’s not my birthday. What is…is that a wedding cake?”

She flipped instantly from demanding to weeping. “What did you do? Is this a wedding? Poe, Vaughn…Holt? What did you?” She threw herself at her mates, sobbing. “You really did hear me. I only mentioned it once, and I never expected to really have a wedding. Look at this place.”

“And look at you.” I stepped forward and turned her to face me. “There will be pictures, and I don’t think you want to look like a raccoon.”

“Help me.”

Tawny and I escorted her to the restroom and did necessary repairs to her face and hair, straightened her dress, and showered her with kisses. Our omega sister’s relationship was being celebrated by her pack. It was something out of a fairy tale.

“We are the luckiest omegas in the whole world, aren’t we?” she sniffled. “I mean, I know it’s my wedding, but…”

“Understood.” Tawny, gorgeous in bronze satin, gave her a hug. “We are the luckiest. Our mates are always finding ways to show their appreciation. Now, ready to marry your mates?”