"Liar." I can see the flush creeping up his neck. "You like her."
"I don't—" He stops when Papa calls us for dessert. "This conversation is over."
"Sure it is." But I'm grinning as I follow him to the table.
Through the bonds, I feel my alphas' amusement. They've been listening to the whole thing, and they're absolutely going to tease Ben about this later.
Pack. This is what pack feels like.
We get home late,stuffed with Mom's chocolate cake and Papa's stories about the "good old days" that may or may not be true.
The nest is exactly how we left it this morning—soft blankets still tangled from our activities, fairy lights casting warm shadows on the walls.
"Home," River sighs, immediately stripping off his shirt and flopping into the blankets.
"You're going to mess up the whole nest," Seth protests, but he's smiling as he carefully arranges the pillows River just disturbed.
"It's a nest, not a museum." River grins up at him. "Besides, Bea likes it messy."
"I do not?—"
"You absolutely do," Grayson says, his hand finding mine as we climb in. "You complained last week when Seth made it 'too perfect.'"
"That's different," I mutter, but I'm smiling.
I settle between them—River immediately pulling me against his chest, Seth's hand finding my hip, Grayson's arm coming around all of us. Pack. Safe. Home.
"You okay?" Grayson asks quietly.
"Yeah." I lean into him, breathing in ink and leather and home. "Just thinking."
"About?"
"How scared I was. When I kissed Seth at the festival. When you asked me to dinner. When River offered me the job. When all of you decided you wanted to be a pack." I turn to look at him. "I was so scared of wanting this."
"And now?"
"Now I can't imagine not having it." I touch his chest, right over his heart. "Not having you. All of you."
Through the bonds, I feel Seth and River's attention. Their love washing over me in waves.
"Come here," Grayson says, pulling me into the nest. Into them.
I settle between River and Seth, Grayson's arm coming around all of us, and let myself feel it. The bonds. The love. The absolute certainty that this is where I belong.
"Did you really tell Ben he should date Tessa?" Seth asks, and I feel his amusement through the bond.
"Someone has to. He's been avoiding her for months."
"He's terrified of her," River adds cheerfully. "It's adorable."
"We should help," I say, an idea forming. "The Snow Din is coming up. Maybe we could?—"
"No," all three of them say firmly.
"You're not meddling in your brother's love life," Grayson says, his hand splaying possessively over my stomach. "You have enough to worry about with your business."
Right. My business. My incredibly successful, rapidly growing business that I built from nothing.
