Lucas disappears and returns with a warm cloth. He cleans me carefully—wiping away the slick and cum that’s leaked out around Nate’s knot, gentle with my sensitive skin. His touch is careful but tender, and when I shiver, he presses a kiss to my hip.
“You’re okay,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you.”
Theo brings water, tilting the bottle to my lips. “Small sips. You’re dehydrated.”
I drink, and the cool water feels like heaven on my raw throat. When I finish, Theo sets the bottle aside and curls up against my side, his arm draped over me. Lucas settles on my other side, and I’m surrounded—their warmth, their touch, their scents layering into my skin until I smell like all of them.
“There’s food when you’re ready,” Nate rumbles against my hair. “Theo made soup earlier. It’s in the slow cooker.”
“Later,” I manage. “Just... stay. Like this.”
“Not going anywhere.” His arms tighten around me. “Never going anywhere.”
They take care of me, all three of them, and I let them.
For the first time in my adult life, I let someone take care of me.
I drift off surrounded by my alphas, their hands on my skin, their scents wrapped around me, their love humming through the bonds.
When I wake again,something is different.
The heat is gone.
I lie there for a moment, taking stock. My body feels heavy, pleasantly sore, but the burning need that’s been driving me for days has finally quieted. The emptiness that gnawed at me constantly is filled—not by cock, but by pack. By love. By the three bonds humming contentedly in my chest.
Sunlight is streaming through the window. Real sunlight, not the dim glow of heat-hazed hours.
“Hey.” Theo’s voice, soft and warm. He’s still beside me, one arm draped over my waist. “How do you feel?”
“Human again.” I stretch, wincing at the ache in muscles I didn’t know I had. My body feels thoroughly used—in the best possible way. “How long?”
“About twelve hours since you fell asleep.” Lucas appears at the edge of the nest, holding a mug of something that smells like coffee. He’s wearing actual clothes now—sweatpants and a t-shirt—which feels strange after days of naked skin. “Yourheat broke around hour eight. Temperature’s normal, scent’s stabilizing.”
I sniff myself experimentally. The thick, sweet heat scent is fading, replaced by something softer. Still honey-sweet, but layered now with cedar and bergamot and pine. Their scents are part of mine now. Pack scent.
“In non-doctor speak,” Nate says from somewhere behind me, “you’re done. Heat’s over.”
Heat’s over.
I feel it through the bonds—their relief, their satisfaction, their love. It’s not the frantic heat-soaked desperation of the past few days. It’s something quieter. Something that feels like it could last forever.
“Hey.” Theo’s hand finds my face, turns me toward him. His eyes are soft, wondering. “How are you feeling? Really?”
“Like I can’t believe this is real.” I reach up, touch the bond marks on my neck—three of them, tender and new. “Like I spent ten years writing about this, dreaming about it, and now...”
“Now you have three alphas who are never letting you out of this nest?” Theo grins. “Sounds like one of your books.”
“My books have better dialogue,” I say, but I’m smiling.
“Excuse me.” Lucas sets down the coffee and climbs into the nest, settling beside me. “I’ll have you know I’ve been practicing. I ran statistical analyses on the most effective romantic dialogue patterns.”
“You didwhat?” Nate sounds horrified.
“Also on our compatibility. The numbers don’t lie—we’re a ninety-seven-percent match across all relevant variables.”
“You ranstatistical analyses?” Nate repeats. “On our relationship?”
“It’s romantic,” Lucas says defensively. “In a data-driven way.”
