“Everything’s fine, little omega.” I swoon at the sight of Cole’s dimple. “You’re here with us, and we’re going to take care of you.”
“Come on.” Ren slips his fingers through mine. “I’ll show you the nest, and you can make yourself comfortable. Remember, everything is just temporary because we weren’t sure what you’d like. We can take you to Nora’s Nest Nook to buy new things.”
The four of us head upstairs, the guys pausing at the door, waiting for me to enter the nest first. When I step inside, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Set in the middle of the room, a giant circular bed takes up most of the space. I’ve never seen a bed so large; it’ll easily fit all five of us. There are mountains of pillows and blankets in every color and material I can think of, stacked in neat piles around the room’s edges. Two doors lead off the room, one going into a bathroom and the other onto the balcony with the hot tub.
“You can change the color of the lights to create whatever ambiance you like.” Laz points at the control panel on the wall. I flick through the settings before settling on a soft pinkish hue. “There are also hidden speakers if you want to play music.”
“This is unbelievable.” I turn, taking in the remarkable space.
While there are a few little tweaks I’ll make to feel truly at home—like getting rid of the cupcake-shaped cushions with silly cartoon faces that Laz presumably panic-bought—the guys have done an amazing job. However, there is one big thing missing. I noticed as soon as I stepped inside.
“But?” Cole senses I’m holding back. “What is it?”
“It doesn’t smell like you.” I face my alphas who are all still standing in the doorway. “In the pack house, I could smell you guys everywhere.”
“We didn’t want to lay our scent in case it made you uncomfortable,” Ren explains. What will it take to make him believe I want him? “Do you want our scent in your nest?”
“Yes.” The word practically leaps off my tongue. “I really do.”
“Are you giving us permission to enter?” Cole requests my permission like a true gentleman. “The nest is your sacred place.”
“Of course, I am.” I’m desperate to prove this to them but don’t know how. “I want you all to stay here with me.” I internally cringe, not used to being so forward. “I mean, if you don’t mind?”
“Mind? We’d fucking love it!” Laz races into the room and dives onto the bed, spread-eagled for a moment before he starts rolling around. “Is this better?”
I laugh. “Much better.”
Cole rolls his eyes at Laz. “I’ll gather some of our clothes too, if you’d like?”
“Thank you.” I smile. “I’d love that.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I still can’t believe this is really happening, but I don’t have time to dwell as my skin prickles uncomfortably again and my stomach suddenly twists violently. It’s like lust has become a living, breathing entity, gnawing at my insides, begging for a knot.
“It’s starting again, isn’t it?” Ren reaches out to steady me before I fall.
I nod tearfully, struggling to catch my breath from the pain that has come out of nowhere.
“It h-hurts so b-bad.” I turn to Ren. My place of safety. “I need a knot, Ren. Please. I need your knot.”
“You heard her, dude!” Laz rolls off the bed, leaving the room smelling like freshly baked cinnamon cookies. “She needs your knot.”
“I don’t know if now’s a good time to say that I’ve never, um … knotted … an omega before,” Ren confesses. “Maybe you should get one of the other guys to help you first?”
“No!” I stand firm. “I’ve never been knotted before, remember? I want you, Ren.”
“I’ll prepare some snacks and help Cole.” Laz steps toward the door, sensing that this is a moment the two of us need to be alone. He slaps Ren on the back. “You’ve got this, brother.”
“What if I c-can’t…?” Nerves emanate from Ren. “What if I don’t know?—”
“You’ll know what to do,” Laz reassures him. “We’ll all be here to help afterward. I have a feeling our omega is going to need a lot of knots to keep her happy.”
Mm, knots. They sound so fucking good right now.
“I’ll be back for you soon, honeybee.” Laz kisses my cheek then whispers in my ear as he passes, “I’m like a whack-a-mole. I can keep disappearing, but I’ll always pop back up again.”
