Lincoln steps over just as quickly, setting a cup of coffee down in front of me, with the perfect amount of cream in it.
Thank you.
Next comes Milton, setting down plates with eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns on the table. He doesn’t stop; he quickly moves away and returns with a stack of empty plates and silverware before sitting down across from me with his own cup of coffee. Korbin sits down beside him, and Lincoln takes the vacant chair on my right.
Milton smiles, handing out the plates and silverware. Lincoln starts placing food on my plate as they talk about an upcoming game. My eyes dart between them, catching everything I can.
The ease between the four of us is new, natural, and somehow it feels unmistakably like a pack. I can feel it settle over me like a warm blanket. It’s everything I never knew I wanted.
Lincoln bumps my shoulder, and I turn to face him.
Eat.
I nod my head, smiling, and pick up a piece of crispy bacon and take a bite. Delicious.
He bumps my shoulder again. This time speaking.
“We’re all learning sign language. Some of us know a little more than the others, but we are hoping that you will help us as well.”
“Of course,” I tell him, clearing my throat. Since meeting them, it’s the most I’ve used my voice in I don’t even know how long. At times, it hurts. But I won’t tell them that. I love that they enjoy hearing me talk.
“We also want to do it like your family does. I think it’ll help us all learn faster. When you talk, sign. When we talk, we’ll do our best to sign what we know.” He swallows. “If we dosomething wrong, then we have our own teacher to correct us and tell us what we need to fix to make it right.”
My hand goes to my mouth, my eyes well with tears. No one I’ve ever dated in the past has wanted to do this. Instead of me adapting to them, they’re the ones doing it. I look over at Milton and Korbin, who are both nodding in agreement with Lincoln.
Lincoln wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest, rubbing his hand along my back, as I sob. Not tears of sadness, but of happiness.
When he finally pulls away, he signs.
I love you, Bayleigh.
I love you too, Lincoln. It’s quick, but I can’t deny it.
He kisses me on my forehead and then pulls away, his brows furrowed.
“Are you okay? Do you feel okay?” he asks, sending Korbin and Milton on alert, and rushing around to me.
Korbin checks my forehead with the back of his hand, no possessiveness, just three alphas orbiting their omega like she’s the center of gravity. It overwhelms me in the best way.
“My heat. I think it’s coming sooner than later,” I admit. “When I woke up this morning, I could feel some of the telltale signs. I felt ‘off’, warmer than I should, even with the two of you in bed with me.”
Milton’s scent goes protective-sweet, Lincoln pulls me close, and I look up at Korbin, who stands still, gazing back at me.
“If your heat is coming, you won’t go through it alone. We can make you a nest here since Milton and Lincoln are going to help you,” Korbin tells me. I smile seeing how hard he’s trying to sign. Admittedly, he doesn’t know many words, but what he doesn’t, he tries to spell with the alphabet.
“Then you need to eat. You’re going to need your strength. Not only that, but we need to order supplies. Food. Blankets. All the essentials our omega needs for her heat,” Milton says with atwinkle in his eyes. He heads back over to his seat, picking up his fork and tapping it on my plate.
Yes, Sir.I sign to him, then eat another piece of bacon before picking up my fork.
When we’re done with breakfast, we all take part in helping to clean up, working together as a unit, clearing the table, loading the dishwasher, and wiping down the counters.
Each of the guys takes turns brushing against me on purpose—scent-marking my wrists, shoulders, and neck with a casual intimacy that sends shivers skittering down my spine. My body reacts embarrassingly fast, slick building in a way they all smell, and the tension in the room thickens—not sexual, just instinctual, the early hum of a forming pack bond vibrating quietly under my skin.
Eventually, once the work is done, we settle onto the couch to watch some highlights from last night’s games. I curl up between Milton and Lincoln, a blanket covering me as I snuggle into their warmth, while each of them wraps their arms around me. Korbin is back on the beanbag and has pulled my legs into his lap, his fingers rubbing lazy circles against my skin.
That, along with a full belly and the steady touch of three alphas, has me drifting off to sleep again. Just before I fully drift away, I feel a faint tug in my chest—something deep and instinctive, an omega-call rising unbidden. My breath catches. My heat is close. And the way the alphas stiffen around me tells me they felt it too.
The next time I wake, it’s to movement around me; Lincoln brushing my hair out of my face, Milton checking my temperature with the back of his hand, and Korbin leaning against the doorframe pretending he’s not watching my every breath.
