"Let me call the other two," Hunter murmurs against my neck, his lips finding the sensitive spot behind my ear. "They'll want to be here, want to help."
But I shake my head, my hands fisting in his shirt. "Just you," I whisper. "Right now, just you. They can come later, but right now I need this to be just us."
Something in his expression softens, understanding and gratitude mixing together. "Just us," he agrees.
He undresses me slowly, taking his time with each button and zipper, pausing to kiss newly exposed skin. By the time I'm bare beneath him, I'm trembling with want and need, my body hypersensitive in a way that speaks to how close my heat really is. Everything is more intense, more sensitive, the need almost painful in its insistence.
"You're so beautiful," he murmurs, his hands tracing patterns on my skin. "So perfect, Amelia. I'm going to take care of you. Going to make you feel so good."
He's true to his word, taking me apart with patient hands and skilled touches, learning what makes me gasp and what makes me arch into him. When he finally enters me, slow and careful, I have to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out loud enough to disturb the whole neighborhood.
But Hunter seems to anticipate this, his mouth covering mine in a deep kiss that swallows my cries of pleasure. He moves inside me with controlled intensity, each thrust deliberate and purposeful, angling his hips to hit spots that make stars burst behind my eyes.
"Thank you," I whisper against his chest when we pause for breath, my voice thick with emotion that has nothing to do with physical pleasure. "For making me feel safe enough to let go. For being my protector."
His arms tighten around me, his lips finding my temple. "Always. I'll always keep you safe, Amelia. No matter what."
The promise settles something in my chest. This afternoon I'll have to face painful truths about my past. But right now, I'm exactly where I need to be.
I'm so lost in sensation, in Hunter's controlled intensity and the feeling of being completely surrounded by his scent and presence, that I don't notice at first when the door opens. Don't register the shift in the air as two more presences fill the room.
But then I catch Silas's rain scent mixing with Wyatt's citrus, and my eyes fly open to find them both standing at the edge of the nest. They're fully dressed still, but their eyes are dark with want, pupils blown wide as they watch us.
"We tried to stay away," Wyatt admits, his voice rough and low. "Give you privacy. But we heard you and we just... we needed to be here. Need to know you're okay."
"More than okay," Hunter says, not breaking rhythm, his mouth finding my neck. "She's perfect."
The added presence of my other Alphas, their scents wrapping around me, pushes me over the edge. I come apart in Hunter's arms, crying out into his mouth as pleasure crashes through me in waves. Hunter follows moments later, his knot forming and locking us together as he finds his own release.
He rolls us carefully onto our sides, still locked inside me, both of us breathing hard. Silas moves to settle behind me, his body warm against my back, while Wyatt positions himself behind Silas. We're all pressed together in the nest, a tangle of limbs and bodies, and it's perfect. This is what I needed without knowing I needed it. All of them, surrounding me, making me feel safe and wanted and home.
I'm starting to drift, exhaustion and satisfaction pulling at me, when Silas's voice breaks through the peaceful haze. "Hey, sweetheart, did you take my uniform jacket?"
I freeze, suddenly remembering that yes, I absolutely did take his uniform jacket and it's currently tucked into the far corner of my nest between two pillows. "I... yes?"
"I'm going to need that tomorrow," he continues, but I can hear the smile in his voice. "For work."
"Did you just steal from all of us?" Wyatt asks, laughter in his voice. "Our little thief."
"I didn't even realize I was taking it," I admit, my face heating with embarrassment. "I was just grabbing things and building and then I looked around and there it was. Along with Hunter's socks and Wyatt's t-shirt and probably other things I don't even remember taking. You can have it all back, I just... I need the nest to smell like you. Like all of you."
"Keep it," Hunter interrupts, his hand stroking soothing circles on my hip. "Keep whatever you need. We'll replace what we have to. Your nest is more important."
"I definitely think I can spare a jacket," Silas adds, and then he's purring, the sound rumbling from deep in his chest. "Especially if it makes you feel safe. But let me scent it properly for you first, make sure it smells right."
He shifts behind me, careful not to jostle Hunter who's still knotted inside me, and starts rubbing his wrists against my neck and shoulders. The gesture is intimate, possessive, his scent glands marking me in the most fundamental way possible. Rain and something darker, something uniquely Alpha, sinking into my skin.
"Mine," he murmurs against my neck, the word vibrating through me. "Ours. Anyone who gets close to you will know you're claimed. Protected."
Wyatt leans forward to do the same on my other side, his citrus scent mixing with Silas's rain until I'm covered in them both. The dual scenting makes me shiver, my Omega instincts responding to being marked by my pack. This is what I've needed without knowing I needed it. Physical proof that I belong to them, that they want the world to know it.
"How do you feel?" Wyatt asks, his hand splaying across my stomach, warm and grounding.
"Safe," I whisper. "Complete."
The sweet scenting session gradually becomes more heated, more intense. Hands start wandering, lips find sensitive spots, and I'm making small needy sounds despite the fact that Hunter's knot is still locked inside me. My body shouldn't be ready for more this quickly, but my approaching heat has other ideas. Everything is more intense, more sensitive, the need almost painful in its insistence.
Hunter's knot finally recedes enough for him to pull out carefully, both of us wincing at the sensitivity. But before I can catch my breath, Silas is there, positioning himself between mythighs, his dark eyes locked on mine as he enters me in one smooth thrust.
