I shake my head. "I can't. I don't. The idea of someone I don't know touching me when I'm that vulnerable."
"Then someone you do know."
The air between us changes. Thickens.
"Someone like who?"
His jaw tightens. I watch the muscle jump beneath his skin.
"That's your choice. Not mine."
"What if I don't know how to choose?"
"Then you figure it out." His voice is rough. Strained. "Before your heat hits and the choice gets made for you."
He turns toward the door. I grab his wrist before I can stop myself.
"Wait."
He freezes. Looks down at my hand on his arm. Looks back at my face.
"The nest," I say. "All these clothes. They're not just random. They're."
"Ours. I know." His eyes bore into mine. "You've been collecting pieces of all four of us. Surrounding yourself with our scents. Building a space that smells like pack."
The word hits me like a punch to the gut.
Pack.
"I didn't mean to."
"Yes you did." He turns to face me fully. "Maybe not consciously. But your omega knows what it wants. What itneeds." He steps closer. I should back up. I don't. "The question is whether your brain is going to let you have it."
"What if I don't know what my brain wants?"
"Liar."
The word is soft. Almost gentle. But it cuts right through me.
"You know exactly what you want," he continues. "You've known since you walked through our door. Since before that, probably. Since that night six years ago when Carlos kissed you and you ran."
"I was scared."
"You're still scared." He's so close now I can feel the heat radiating off his body. "But scared isn't the same as unsure. You can be terrified of something and still want it."
My breath is coming fast. Too fast. My hands are shaking.
"I want." I stop. Start again. "I want things I shouldn't want."
"Says who?"
"Common sense. Decency. The fact that you're my ex's best friends and wanting all four of you is insane and greedy and."
"Stop."
I stop.
"Wanting more than one person isn't greedy. Wanting a pack isn't wrong." His hand comes up again. This time it lands on my hip. His fingers curl into the fabric of Sergio's jersey. "Callum made you think your desires were too much. That you were too much. He was wrong."
