Page 78 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

I stepped closer. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing is wrong with it. It’s just overpriced." She showed me the tag.

“Looks reasonable to me. You should put it in the cart.” I said with a shrug.

"Ronan!” She admonished me. Puff leaned out of my arm and sniffed the pillow before licking one corner.

I looked down at him. "What do you think, Puff?" The small animal licked my hand. "He approves," I said. “And I happen to know that Puff has discerning taste. He approves of me, after all.” I said. That made her laugh, and the sound settled the matter for me. I picked up the pillow and put it in the cart.

"Ronan!" She protested.

"It's for Puff," I said. She stared at me for several seconds, then shook her head and walked away, muttering under her breath. But she looked more relaxed after that. She began seriously exploring, grabbing various items, looking them over, and occasionally adding them to the cart. The turning point came when Elias showed her the weighted blankets. Her expression brightened.

"Wow! These feel comfy." She said, holding the blanket over her shoulders.

Elias's smile grew bigger, and I knew it made him feel like an absolute winner that she was enjoying herself.

"Exactly. Go ahead and add it." He said with encouragement. She looked at the blanket once more, then put it into the cart herself. After that, Ivy went on a mini-spree.

She found a bunch of smaller pillows she could arrange around the perimeter of a nest and spent quite some time testing their firmness levels. Elias suggested she take one of every type, in case her preferences changed throughout her heat - particularly since this would be her first natural cycle after years of suppressants. Ivy started asking him questions, and soon they were discussing hormone fluctuations and temperature, looking like two mad scientists, just like old times.

I loved watching them together. There had been a time, so long ago, when Ivy barely spoke around Elias without seeming like she was constantly waiting to be reprimanded. She'd apologize too much, and sometimes would stop talking altogether if someone disagreed. Now, she challenged him, and me, openly. I felt almost emotional as I watched them.

Pack bonds were strange things. I didn't feel jealous seeing Elias make her laugh or watching Ivy lean close to him when they talked. On the contrary, it was the opposite. Seeing them rebuild what had been broken between them made me feel settled. Elias cared about her, and Ivy had started to trust him again. I also couldn’t ignore the way she looked at him when he wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes would drag down his body when he wasn’t looking, and she’d bite her lip. I knew that look - it was desire. And that made feelings stir inside me that I thought I’d never feel again.

We eventually reached the lighting section, and I saw Ivy’s mouth drop open. "They mimic the sunset!" she said excitedly, standing beneath a display. "Look at this!” She used a control to adjust the lighting, which rotated through a variety of natural-looking colors and hues to match the user’s mood.

Elias read the instructions. "The light is soft during daylight hours, then it gradually removes blue wavelengths toward evening," He said.

"That could help regulate sleep during pre-heat." Ivy said excitedly. I watched her face as she investigated the products. She was already imagining how she would arrange everything. I could see it happening in real time, her scientific curiosity mixing with the nesting instincts beginning to emerge. It was adorable, though I wisely kept that observation to myself.

There were so many versions of Ivy I'd come to love. I loved when she was quiet and introspective when she curled up with Puff at the end of a long day. I loved her brilliant side, watching her disappear into a formula for hours and emerge with something nobody else had ever created. And I loved seeing the angry Ivy, who had finally learned how to stand up and fight. Watching her brilliance from the witness stand had nearly brought me to my knees. But my favorite version of Ivy was this one - happy Ivy. I hadn’t seen her true happiness until recently, I realized.

Ivy finally filled her cart to the brim, happily alongside Elias as he pushed it toward the register. Halfway down a hall, I noticed two unfamiliar alphas enter the aisle behind us.

Neither man did anything wrong, but I remembered Ivy's scent had been fluctuating more strongly over the last several days as her cycle approached. Both alphas looked at her, and one glanced toward her twice. My body moved before I even consciously made the decision. I stepped behind Ivy, putting myself between her and the open aisle while she continued comparing two sets of sheets.

The alpha was now staring at me, and I stared back. He suddenly glanced away, looking very interested in a display of rain sound machines.

"Ronan." I heard Ivy’s admonishing tone and looked back at her.

"What?"

"You just scared that man half to death," she said.

"He was staring," I said with a shrug. She pursed her lips and shook her head. "I don't need you intimidating every alpha nearby.”

I lowered my voice. "I know you don't need me to protect you, Ivy. I know you can take care of yourself." Her expression softened. "But if I'm standing beside you and something makes me uneasy, I'm going to put myself between you and it. It’s instinctual. But you can tell me to move, and I will."

She looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Well, if your instincts tell you something, then I trust you to do what you need to." My eyes widened at her comment. Was she actually accepting my need to protect her in public?

I nodded. "Then I'm just going to stay behind you two, just in case,” I said.

"I figured." She said, then turned to keep walking as Elias gave me a wink and a smirk. By the time we reached the register, we had somehow acquired an additional cart full of supplies. Ivy stopped at the register.

"Oh man, I was only supposed to get a few things!" She said, and I could tell from her voice she was slightly distressed. Elias stood next to her, a hand on her shoulder.

“This is perfect. Whatever you feel you need, just go with it. We’re trusting our instincts today, remember?” His soft encouragement had her visibly relaxing.