"She said ours," he whispered, his voice cracking, his hands clenched into fists at his sides like he was physically restraining himself from touching me. "She's making it ours."
"Of course I am," I said, reaching for a scrap of fabric that smelled like him—storm and copper and barely containedviolence—and weaving it into the nest's foundation. "You're my pack. This is our home. The nest should smell like all of us."
"Can we—" Thane started, then stopped, his voice wobbling dangerously, his golden-brown eyes pleading. "Can we help? Can we be in the nest while you work?" I looked at him—at all of them—standing at the edge of the nest like they were afraid to enter without permission. Like they weren't sure they belonged in something I was creating.
"Get in here," I said, the words coming out half-laugh, half-sob, my arms opening wide to welcome them. "All of you. I need you close. I need your scents. I need?—"
I didn't get to finish. They were in the nest before I could blink, surrounding me, pressing close, their bodies warm and solid and real. Thane immediately curled up beside me, his head on my thigh, his tears soaking through the fabric of the dress I was still wearing, his arms wrapping around my leg like he never wanted to let go. Vale settled at my back, his hands finding my hair, his fingers working through the tangles with gentle, soothing strokes. Riven positioned himself at the entrance of the nest, facing outward, his body a barrier between me and anything that might threaten us, his scarred face set in fierce determination.
Kaelan knelt in front of me, his dark eyes fixed on my face, watching me work with an expression of pure, devastating wonder.
"I've read about this," he said quietly, his voice rough with emotion. "In old texts. Books we salvaged from ships. The way omegas nest. The way they create safe spaces." His hand reached out, trembling slightly, to touch a piece of silk I'd just arranged. "I never thought I'd see it. Never thought anyone would want to nest with us."
"I want everything with you," I said simply, my hands still moving, still working, still creating. "I want to build a home withyou. I want to wake up surrounded by you every morning. I want to fall asleep to the sound of your heartbeats every night." I looked up, meeting his eyes, letting him see the truth in mine. "I want to be yours. Completely. Forever."
"You already are," he said, and his voice broke on the words, his dark eyes glistening with tears he refused to let fall. "You've been ours since the moment you gave me that pearl. We just had to wait for you to realize it."
I reached for him, pulling him closer, pressing my forehead to his. "I realize it now. I'm not running anymore. I'm not hiding. I'm home."
"Home," he echoed, and the word sounded like a prayer falling from his lips.
We stayed like that for hours. Me arranging and rearranging, following instincts I'd never been allowed to indulge before. Them surrounding me, offering their scents, their warmth, their presence. Every time I reached for something, one of them was there to hand it to me. Every time I paused to catch my breath, one of them was there to press a kiss to my temple or squeeze my hand or murmur words of encouragement.
The time I finally stopped, the nest was perfect. Every surface was covered in softness. Every corner held something that smelled like one of them. The entrance was narrow enough to feel protected but wide enough that they could all fit through. And in the center—in the heart of the nest—there was a space just big enough for five bodies tangled together.
"It's done," I said, sitting back on my heels, surveying my work with deep satisfaction humming through my veins—primal and utterly content. "It's ours now."
"It's beautiful," Vale said, his voice hushed with awe, his silver eyes moving over every detail, his hand stroking down my spine in gentle appreciation. "I've never seen anything so beautiful."
"I don't want to leave it," Thane admitted, his arms tightening around my waist, his face pressed against my hip, his voice muffled by my dress. "Ever. Can we just stay here forever?"
"We'll have to leave eventually," Riven said, but his voice was softer than usual, almost gentle, his golden eyes warm as he looked back at us from his position at the entrance. "To hunt. To swim. To?—"
"But we'll always come back," I interrupted, reaching out to touch his scarred face, feeling him lean into my palm with a low rumble of contentment. "This is home now. We'll always come back home."
He made that sound again—the broken whine—and then he was pulling me into his arms, crushing me against his chest, his face buried in my hair, his whole body trembling.
"I never had this," he said, his voice muffled but fierce, his arms like iron bands around me. "Never had a home. Never had a pack that felt like home. Never had anyone who wanted to build something with me." His arms tightened until it almost hurt. "I don't know what to do with this feeling. It's too big. It's going to break me open."
"Let it," I whispered, wrapping my arms around him, holding on just as tight. "Let it break you open. I'll be here to hold the pieces."
"We all will," Kaelan said, and then he was there too, his arms wrapping around both of us, his forehead pressed to Riven's shoulder. Vale and Thane joined moments later, and then we were a tangle of limbs and tears and desperate, clinging love.
"I've never had this either," I admitted, my voice thick with emotion, my face pressed into Riven's chest. "A safe place. A home. People who wanted me for something other than what they could take from me." I pressed my face harder into his chest, feeling his heartbeat against my cheek. "I spent so longrunning. So long being afraid. I forgot what it felt like to just... stop. To just be. To just belong."
"You belong here," Thane said fiercely, his arms tightening around whatever part of me he could reach, his tears hot against my shoulder. "You belong with us. You'll always belong with us."
"Forever," Vale added, his voice carrying that musical quality that made everything he said sound like a vow, his lips brushing against my hair. "We're never letting you go."
"I don't want you to let me go," I said, pulling back just enough to look at all of them—these ancient, beautiful, terrifying creatures who had somehow become my entire world. "I want to stay. I want to be yours. I want—" My voice caught on a sob. "I want tonight to come so I can become one of you and never have to worry about being taken away again."
Kaelan cupped my face in his hands, his dark eyes fierce and tender all at once, his thumbs wiping away my tears.
"Tonight will come," he promised, his voice rough with emotion. "And when it does, we'll transform you. We'll make you one of us. We'll bind you to us so completely that nothing—nothing—will ever be able to separate us again." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, soft and reverent. "But right now, you're human. Right now, you're here, in the nest you built for us, surrounded by the pack that loves you. And that's enough. That's more than enough."
"It's everything," I whispered, looking up at him with tear-blurred eyes. "You're everything."
We settled into the nest together—five bodies arranged in the space I'd created, limbs tangled, hearts beating in sync. I was in the center, of course. They wouldn't have it any other way. Kaelan at my back, his arm heavy across my waist, his breath warm against my hair. Riven at my front, his scarred face peaceful, his hand resting over my heart. Vale curled at my feet, his hand around my ankle, his silver hair spread across the furs.And Thane draped across all of us, somehow touching everyone at once, his warmth seeping into my bones.
