When we finally came up for air, we found the house was empty of all inhabitants except us. Once Nhu figured out everyone was gone, he turned bright red and shoved his face into my neck. Then he got distracted. Which in turn made me distracted. When he began snuffling and licking my scent gland...let's just say there was more sex.
Somehow the two of us ended up on the kitchen floor wrapped up in a large fuzzy blanket and spooning. I was rubbing circles on Nhu's pregnant belly. We were discussing names for Strawberry. So far every suggestion had been vetoed.
"What about Star?", I say.
I am thinking about the nights I spent looking at the stars thinking of Kitten. I know from Nhu's emails that he did too. What can I say, I am happy and when I am happy, I am a romantic sap. Or is that Kitten's influence? I can't tell, and I don't care. Happy is happy.
Nhu draws in a breath, and I hear him sniffle a little. I feel warm and wiggly. Is that a tear?
"Strawberry, do you like that name? Star. Kick if you like it.", Nhu says.
I stop rubbing and we both hold our breath and wait. We both feel a little pop, pop, pop drumming on Nhu's abdomen. Nhu sits up and looks at me. The blanket slides down a slender shoulder and I forget all about Strawberry.
That gets me a faen slap.
"Focus!", Nhu says.
His little brows are pushed together, and he has the cutest little pout. My heart fills up and before I know it, I mouth his cheek pretending to bite.
"Aow. Hia."
Nhu begins to whine, and I interrupt his whine with a peck on the mouth, then the cheek, nose, eye, mouth, cheek, forehead. Until my kitten is laughing hysterically.
"Pop. Pop. Pop."
Strawberry wants to play too.
Am I allowed to be this happy? I wrap my arms around Nhu bury my nose in the back of his sweaty head and inhale. I feel so relaxed. I should probably find a way to bottle Nhu's scent. We would make millions. I can see the headlines.
'Cure for depression found.'
'Panic attacks are a thing of the past.'
'World peace in a tiny bottle.'
The only problem is I would have to kill anyone who smelled my kitten. I snuggle into Nhu again and inhale. This is all for me. Mine.
ΩΩΩ
Hunger is what finally breaks the cycle of sex, cuddle, sex, cuddle, sleep, sex, sex, cuddle. We had already, eaten a leftover casserole, and anything else that could be cooked in under 5 minutes. All that is left are eggs and vegetables. We feasted on cooked carrots and scrambled eggs.
Nhu knows how to cook, but he has been thoroughly spoiled while I have been gone. I have been teasing him endlessly about it. But the truth is there is no way I would let him go near a flame right now. I would feed him every mouthful if he would let me. I can't help it. I am an alpha with a pregnant omega.
I have an omega.
I have a pregnant omega.
WOW!
"What are you so happy about Hia?", Nhu asks.
"Everything."
That is when I found the note. It is addressed to both of us.
Dear Zee and NuNew
No parent should have to listen to the sounds of their child mating, so we have left for home. Kidding; not kidding. We are so happy you are reunited.
Film has gone home. Please make sure to do something incredible to thank him. Max says he will keep the Airbnb for as long as you want. We think the two of you should relocate to Hia's house. We would invite you to stay here, but please refer to the first paragraph.
And New, we will never get tired of this joke.
NuNew has his weekly appointment with Dr. U in two days. 2/16/24 at 3:00 P.M. I will meet you there.
There is a casserole in the freezer, you can heat it up for a quick nutritious meal.
We have left two empty suitcases to pack up NuNew. When you leave, there is a lockbox. Drop the key there after you lock up.
Boys, please be careful. We don't think that the problems we have been having with the Panichs (sorry Zee) are going to go away now that Zee is back. All the more reason to relocate.
Zee,
New is stubborn. His health has been very poor. I am sure he is already on the mend now that you are here, but he has a way to go to get to full health. He needs to eat, hydrate, exercise, and rest. You can get a full set of care instructions from Dr. U. on the 16th. In the meantime, I have sent a login and temporary password to access his medical records, to your new email address.
We are here to help. If it is alright, we will be in your hair, helping you take care of our baby, our grandbaby, and the newest addition to the family, our new alpha baby.
We know you two will sort everything out. We are so happy to have you home.
Mom and Dad
P.S. Charawin, I better not hear that you are giving Zee a hard time.
P.S.S. Don't forget your prenatal vitamins, iron pills, and stool softeners.
My laughing caught Kittens' attention.
"What's so funny?"
Silently, I hand the note to Nhu and sit back to watch, and feel, the kaleidoscope of emotions play out on his face.
"Hia, what is the date today?", Nhu asks.
I sit up and run to the bedroom to find my phone.
"SHIT!"
ΩΩΩ
Somehow, we managed to eat, pack, clean up the house, and get to Dr. U.'s office on time for our appointment. Mrs. P. was waiting for us.
"You made it on time. I was a little worried.", Mrs. Perdperiyawong says.
"Mom, we are not kids. Of course, we did. No problem, right Hia."
I couldn't answer because I was too busy choking on my own saliva from when I inhaled sharply after hearing the shocking lie Nhu just told his mom. She knew it was a lie because I had to call her, frantic, one hour ago because of a nest emergency.
Mrs. P. has moved NuNew's nest three times already. By this point, she is a pro at dealing with NuNew's antics. I on the other hand know nothing about a pregnant nesting omega. That is chapter 32 of the pregnancy book I am reading.
I will be sending the author a strongly worded letter suggesting 'Nesting' should be chapter 1.
It would be a kindness to say I was ill-prepared for what happened.
My first clue something was wrong was when I came into the bedroom and all the clothes I had carefully packed were unpacked. Two empty cases lay on the floor. NuNew was in the middle of his nest singing Eeny meeny miny moe, catch a tiger by his toe. While pointing at various fuzzy objects. There was some kind of complex decision-making happening that I could not fathom.
"Kitten, Honey, why did you unpack the suitcases?"
"Shhhh!"
Kitten no longer; in his place was Wet Cat. The glare I got from Nhu made my blood run cold. Nhu went back to his decision tree and like a fool, I went and asked another question. In my defense, we had 30 minutes to leave the house if we were going to make the appointment on time.
"Baby, we need to leave the house in 30 minutes. Is there something I can help you with?"
What happened next is an alpha's worst nightmare. It started with a hollow silence. The singing had stopped, but so had Nhu. He was frozen in place. It probably only lasted a few seconds but felt like an eternity. I am mated to Nhu, so I could feel the building emotions. Except, I couldn't understand what I was feeling because the reaction I felt brewing did not match what my eyes were seeing.
"Waaaaahh. You don't love us anymore. You hate us. Waaaaahh."
The discarded kitty plushy was clutched once again in Nhu's arms, getting bathed in tears. I am horrified. Everything was going great. What happened? Are these pregnancy hormones? I heard pregnant omegas can be moody. I did the unthinkable. I stepped into the nest without permission. I was panicked, okay. All I wanted to do was hold Nhu and reassure him that I loved him and Strawberry. Rookie mistake.
The second my body crossed the line, my kitten growled. He growled at me. Like the sound you would imagine from a big cat in the wild. He was now a lioness protecting his den.
I froze in place. Something deeply instinctual warned me that I was in big trouble. I guess I did not move fast enough because Nhu lunged at me. All I could do was throw up my hands to protect my face. I have defensive wounds all over my arms. Let's just say I have never backed up so fast in my life.
When I made it out of the room I reached in blindly, found the doorknob, and pulled the door shut as fast as I could. Then I stood in the hall in disbelief as I heard NuNew hissing and growling from behind the door. With shaking hands, I pulled out my cell phone and called Mrs. P. She picked up right away. Wasting no time, I told her what happened.
"Oh dear. Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Kind of, I know I messed up when I stepped into his nest without permission. But the rest of it?"
I don't have to read chapter 32 anymore because in less than 5 minutes Mrs. P. taught me everything I needed to know. She even had a plan to calm NuNew down and get us out of there in time to make the appointment.
Essentially it involved a peace offering of something soft, and a distraction of food. I will need to replace the new fuzzy house slippers I found when I broke into the cabinet that said do not open. Sorry Airbnb person, it was an emergency.