Talk About… Rivalry (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #2)

27. Sidney

Sidney

W hile I was with Maverick packing up my things, Nash and Cameron had dropped off Maverick’s things. Leo had been busy bringing in the furniture the guys bought on rush order from a few local shops and setting up our home. Bennett had checked out of the inn and brought his own as well, which meant we were all here now.

It was starting to look like an actual pack house but it certainly didn’t feel like home.

Maybe it was because of the stress looming over us, my nesting instincts threatening to kick in, that had me on edge. Though, I didn’t feel any different yet.

Just unsettled.

Usually, when my heat was going to hit, I would get hot flashes and be extra hungry or irritable.

Lately, all I’ve been feeling was an emotional rollercoaster that was partially due to stress.

Maverick took my things upstairs and now I was standing in the master bedroom, looking at my sad collection of boxes and trying to force myself to put them away.

The door of the nest was closed and I hadn’t been brave enough to open it yet.

The truth was I’d never had one of those. The cottage wasn’t big enough, so I just had my bed. Not to mention my heats were never noteworthy.

I was starting to get excited about this one being different, but trying not to get my hopes up.

My focus shifted to the bed. Leo had found some bedding for the huge double king bed, so thankfully, I didn’t have to do that. I threw an old stuffed frog that Avery had gotten me on the bed before unloading my small collection of clothes into the closet.

Seeing all this space and how little I owned did nothing to settle me.

The question was, when would this feel like home?

More and more since I found my pack, I was starting to realize that I barely knew myself. Most of my life I’d been hellbent on trying to be the best version of a daughter for my dad, or a friend for Avery, or finding a hobby that would stick.

But it was always a show, a way of putting on an armor that would keep me relevant to the people around me.

I lost myself somewhere along the way and I didn’t know how to find that girl again.

If I ever had her in the first place.

A soft knock on my door had me turning to see Taylor walking in, his usual bright smile was in place but it faltered at the sight of my frown.

When were they going to tire of my moods?

“What’s going on, sunshine?”

The fact that this pack had to keep asking me what was wrong was driving me crazy. I’d never felt so much like a mess in my life.

“Nothing, I promise,” I tried as I put on a smile. “It was just strange putting all this stuff away. I’ve been at my cottage on the ranch for so long.”

It was only partially true and I was fairly certain that Taylor knew it but he didn’t press me on it.

“Why don’t you come help me order some dinner and pick out something to watch? I think we all could use a normal night.”

“I agree,” I said, clinging to the opportunity to do something other than dwell on this room.

Taylor and I made it to the stairs before he paused, giving my hand a squeeze.

“Be gentle with yourself, Sidney. This has been a ton of change and your doctor said you’re going to have a heat. Maybe that’s what’s causing a lot of this anxiety.”

He had a point and I let out a breath.

“Speaking of heat, when is yours?” Then my eyes widened. “What about a nest? Do we share?”

The thought didn’t bother me but he waved me off and grinned.

“Come here.”

He led me to the end of the hall to his room. I hadn’t seen it yet.

As I stepped in I couldn’t help but smile. It was all Taylor in here. It was clean and cozy, bright sunny colors livening up the place. There was a large painting hanging over his bed of a sunrise.

Maybe I could paint something to add to his collection someday.

The thought took me by surprise but it didn’t shock me. Taylor and I had an easy friendship and it helped ease me into this.

“My heat isn’t for another couple of months,” he explained. “I’d love for you and Bennett to help me out when it’s time. Maverick said his dad set aside some property and he was thinking of making a cabin out there for when we wanted to get away for private dates or my heats.”

My chest warmed. Maverick loved his family and he’d always planned on building out on that property. Knowing that he was going to build something and was keeping our pack in mind, meant a lot to me.

Taylor brought me to a door on the far wall and pushed it open revealing another nest.

“There’s two?” I asked in shock.

“This house was special and apparently fate was looking out for us.”

“It’s pretty,” I told him, smiling as I took in the space. The floor was lined in a soft mattress, the walls painted a pale yellow and the mix of blues and yellows on the pillows and blankets tucked around there were perfect.

“Thanks for showing me,” I said, leaning into my omega.

“I wanted to. We’ll share time in here, too,” he said gently before pulling me back to the hall and downstairs.

The house was oddly quiet, but Taylor didn’t seem to notice as he pulled out a stack of takeout menus from one of the drawers.

“What are we feeling?”

“Mexican,” I said without hesitation.

He laughed, those dimples popping and his blue eyes lighting up.

“Tacos fix everything, right?” he teased.

“Hell, yeah,” I said, helping him go through the menu to pick out enough food that we’d have everyone covered. I wasn’t sure where the others were but I didn’t want anyone left out.

“Okay, well it’s time,” he said.

I glanced around, my eyebrows raising before landing back on him. He pulled open one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out two huge Nerf guns. He strapped a bandelier with extra bullets around my shoulder, crossing it over my torso before securing it.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, a laugh bursting free.

Here I thought we’d have a movie night or something.

Taylor pulled me close, slanting his lips over mine. The kiss was teasing and playful, making my heart slam in my chest and my knees to go weak. I couldn’t get enough of him. Even if he wasn’t as demanding as the alphas, he turned me on the same.

When he pulled away I followed for a second before blinking up at him.

“I know damn well this pack needs to get over this awkwardness and tension. We need to lighten the mood,” he admitted before grabbing a walkie talkie from a drawer and clicking the button.

He looked right at me, excitement dancing in his blue eyes.

“Teams are us, and then everyone else is on their own. Whoever wins gets to pick the movie tonight.”

I guess there was a movie after all.

He clicked the button on the side of the walkie before calling out to the guys.

“Game on.”

I heard a whoop from somewhere in the house, Leo’s voice echoing out.

“Don’t let him shoot you, sunshine,” Taylor warned before we were off. I made sure my gun was loaded and ready, holding it in front of me as we padded through the house.

It was still insanely quiet but some of Taylor’s excitement was rubbing off on me. I couldn’t help the grin off my face as we moved as stealthily as possible.

“To your right,” Taylor belted out. I turned just in time to see Maverick barreling past from one room to the next. We both shot out an array of bullets, one hitting Maverick right in the cheek.

“Ouch, fuck!” he yelled before losing his balance, his socked feet sliding across the hallway until he fell against the wall.

The poor wall groaned underneath his weight but thankfully he didn’t put a hole in it.

“You better not be tearing my house down!” Leo screeched from somewhere further down the hall. That was enough for Taylor and I to take off that way, seeking him out.

The first two rooms were empty and I was just about to give up when I saw movement behind some of the boxes in the corner of the room. I stopped Taylor, holding my finger to my lips before creeping closer.

The closer I got, the more I could hear the ragged breathing. Leo was letting the suspense get to him, that much was clear.

Right when I was about to reach the boxes, I kicked my foot out, knocking one out of the way.

“Gotcha!” I screamed before shooting. Leo shielded his face, his laughter filling the air as I bombarded him with bullets.

“That’s it. Nobody said there wasn’t any retaliation in this game,” he said. In one quick move, he snatched the gun from my hands and tossed it aside before tackling me down to the ground. His hands rested behind my head but the impact still took my breath away.

Then his fingers were digging into my sides, tickling me relentlessly so that I was screeching with laughter as I tried to get away.

“I’ll save you, sunshine,” Taylor promised. I heard the click of the gun as he shot bullets at Leo. There were enough raining down on us that he let his focus shift. I used the opportunity to squirm out from under him, snatching my gun back in the process.

“Come on, Taylor, we still have one to go,” I said, grabbing his hand when he was close enough and pulling him down the hall.

We headed downstairs this time, where I knew Bennett had to be hiding. I was full of warmth and excitement, feeling lighter than I think I ever had.

Of course, the ground level was silent and still. We should have known that he was going to be the tricky one.

The house was old and it was windy tonight, so every creak had us turning one way, then the next, trying to identify where he was. We checked room after room, coming up empty every time.

The only place left was the pantry, unless he doubled back to an area we already searched. I wouldn’t put it past him.

My hand was just hovering over the handle when the door yanked open and Bennett let out a yell to scare us.

Both Taylor and I let out ungodly shrieks, falling on our asses as Bennett came out, a smirk twisting his lips.

Even when he was gloating he was handsome as fuck.

“There’s my good omegas on the ground for me, huh. It would only be better if you were on your knees.”

“That was cheesy, alpha,” I accused, shooting him anyway.

“I believe that means I won,” Bennett said.

“No, we found you first and you didn’t shoot us. Those were the rules,” Taylor countered.

“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s got a point. We are the ones on the ground,” I said.

Taylor grumbled before standing and helping me to my feet, shooting daggers at our alpha, who just continued to smirk at us like he had just won a real prize.

“That means I get you guys, one on each side of me, during the movie,” he said before taking the guns from our hands. He dropped them on the counter before collecting the discarded bullets on the ground.

“This was the best purchase you’ve ever made, Taylor,” Leo praised as the others walked downstairs to drop their guns as well.

My sweet omega’s dimples flash again as he grinned, ducking his head a little now that all the attention was on him.

“God, you're adorable,” I said, brushing a kiss across his lips, stunning us all.

“Hey, where’s my kiss? I’m the one who won,” Bennett protested.

Rolling my eyes and barely being able to suppress my laughter, I turned, blowing him a kiss and giving him a wink before sashaying my way over to the sectional.

I plopped myself right in the corner. It was quiet for two seconds before there was a frenzy of socked feet sliding over the hardwood before they were launching themselves over the couch.

Leo overshot, landing on the floor with a groan. Maverick ended up next to me while Taylor spilled over my lap. Bennett snatched Taylor from my lap, depositing him on his other side while Leo took the far corner on Maverick’s other side.

Maverick shifted me, putting my legs over his lap, his fingers massaging my calves while Bennett and Taylor playfully argued over what to watch.

When the doorbell rang ten minutes later Leo got up long enough to grab our food. Taylor followed him, securing a handful of drinks before putting everything on the coffee table.

Maverick was reluctant to let me go and the moment I had a plate filled with tacos, queso, and tortilla chips, he had my legs right back where they were.

Bennett and Taylor had finally agreed on something to watch, though I barely paid attention as I devoured my plate and just soaked in the feeling of being wanted.

My entire pack fought to be next to me . The omega who thought she’d never have anyone.

Now I had a pack that was willing to take blockers to reassure me that I was safe with them, that they had my back and they’d never be abandoning me.

I hated that little trickle of doubt that still stayed present in the back of my mind.

For tonight, I was just going to ignore it.

Maverick tossed his plate aside, his hands back on my legs again. I shifted as I set mine down on his, tucking a throw pillow on Bennett’s lap and settling in.

I was surrounded by their presence, warmth radiating against me, and I just lived in the moment.

I may not have my life figured out, but here and now, none of that mattered.

All that mattered was that I had a pack.

As the night wore on I started to drift. The guys, knowing exactly what I needed, shifted me more on my side and covered me with a blanket. Taylor’s hand settled in my hair, massaging my scalp as he watched the movie.

Leo’s hands rested on my feet, every single one of them touching me in some way or another.

My last thought as I drifted off to sleep was that a girl could get used to this.