We’ll still need to be careful in public, but this… this is everything.
I’m a full-blown member of the Winter pack.
I’m theirs.
And I’m free of the compound. I hesitate slightly, and Rogue picks up on it immediately. He cups my cheek with his hand, and I nuzzle into it.
“What is it?” he asks gently.
“Ava,” I ask quietly. “My friend. She’s still at the OC.”
“We’ll find out,” he promises me instantly, and my unease settles slightly. Maybe we’ll be able to help her.
Three months later
Harper
“Princess!” Devlin calls, a teasing growl tearing up his throat.
I stifle a laugh. I’m tucked away in his bedroom behind his closet. I wondered how long it would take him to find my note.
I’m ready for my spanking now, sir.
Who needs sweet words when punishment feels this good? As it turns out, ‘hide the knot’ is the best fucking game ever.
Footsteps thump outside the door, and I flush with excitement as Devlin bursts in, sniffing the air. My scent is strong today, and he’s found me easily. Something that I’m not displeased about.
Although…
Something clenches at my core.Want.
A wave of heat rolls into my belly, and I clutch it. A whine slips out of me and Devlin is there in a second. Our game is forgotten as he scoops me up, scanning my face in concern.
“Princess?” he asks worriedly. Another tug. I moan, throwing my head back, and Dev’s eyes widen as he inhales.
“Oh,” he murmurs, his scent rising to match mine. “Princess, I think you might be—"
“Heat,” I gasp.“Devlin.”
“We’ve got you, baby.”
Devlin tears out of the bedroom, calling for the guys as he heads towards my nest.
My nest.
My beautiful, warm, cosy nest.
I wept when the pack showed it to me. They’d been back and forth for days, carrying large boxes and ushering me into different rooms as they carried tools and materials through to the attic, casually asking me what colors were my favorite in the middle of random conversations. It was the worst-kept secret ever, and I loved every moment of it.
My nest is everything I could ever have wanted.
A low-ceilinged room lined with a huge lilac mattress instead of a proper floor, so soft that my feet sink into it when I walk. There are huge soft pillows and blanketseverywhere, large beanbags and even a hammock strung against two walls. Low wooden shelving holds every kind of scented lotion I might want in easy reach, candles, someveryfun toys and a small cabinet with cold drinks and snacks. I even have a chest with different pieces of clothing, all worn by my alphas and swapped out regularly, so the scents stay strong.
The best part is the lights. The ceiling and one wall are completely covered with tiny warm fairy lights, twinkling at me. It’s like something from a fairy tale. I genuinely feel like a princess whenever I’m in this room, which is pretty damn often. We sleep here most nights, piled together in a huddle. None of our beds are big enough for the games we like to play.
“Is it okay?” Gabe had asked me anxiously when they took my blindfold off, his hands twisting in his shirt.
I’d carefully padded into the room, trailing my hand over the different pieces, overwhelmed by how much care and attention they had all put in.
