‘You okay?’he signed to me.
I nodded and lifted my hands away from Bat’s back.‘Yes, you can go back to bed,’My hands were still a bit clumsy and my signing was stilted as I tried to remember the movements, but Doc got the gist.
Podcast stepped into the room, looking pale as he stared at the wreckage that Bat had caused. Knowing that Bat and Podcast weren’t romantically involved with each other, I wondered if he ever saw the aftermath of Bat’s night terrors or if the alphas hovering nearby always covered it up.
‘You are not staying in here.’Podcast’s hands sliced through the air to punctuate how strongly he felt about his words.
‘It’s fine,’I said with a shake of my head. “He won’t hurt me,” I whispered just loud enough for them to hear. In the past few minutes his frame had deadened against me, telling me that he had fallen asleep again now that the room wasn’t pitch black anymore.
“At least let us move you both out of here so we can clean up the glass,” Doc finally gave in with a sigh.
I wanted to stay like this longer, I found that Ilikedthe heat and weight of someone next to me. It made me feel safe.
I sat up as Doc and Rex heaved Bat off of me.
“Where to?” Rex asked as he stared at Bat’s slack face.
“My nest,” I cut in as I let Podcast help me off of the bed and around all of the shards of glass.
“Absolutely fucking not,” Storm, who had been hovering in the doorway, said with surprising vehemence. “What happens if he loses his shit again?”
Exhaustion filled my bones as I snagged the glowing light off of the nightstand and headed back toward my nest. “If you’re so worried, you can all sleep in here for all I care. Now, please deposit the sleeping alpha into my nest so that I can go back to sleep myself.” My tone was demanding as I threw myself back into the nest and landed with a littleoomph.
Doc and Rex reluctantly put Bat down amongst the blankets and we watched the alpha roll in his sleep until his nose was pressed into the pillows.
I settled in next to him, secretly pleased about his scent filling my nest and getting all over my blankets and pillows.
Podcast and the rest of the alphas were still hesitating outside of my nest, not able to make a decision about whether to come in or not.
“In or out, but I’m going to bed.” I waved a hand and turned to pull a blanket over my face.
It took another moment but soon I felt the weight of people entering my nest. Podcast settled in next to me, his eucalyptus scent filling my nose as he sighed audibly.
“Storm, are you fucking wet still?” Rex whispered harshly from the other side of Bat.
“I’m only damp now,” Storm whispered back, defending himself. “The storm was too good to pass up.”
I heard Doc groan from the other side of Podcast. “You’re going to get struck by lightning one of these days.”
There was silence for a beat before Storm spoke. “Worth it,” I heard him whisper followed by another chorus of quiet groans.
I fell asleep to the sound of their soft bickering, the same feeling of contentment from earlier filling my body with warmth as I drifted off surrounded by their scents.
Chapter Seventeen
Thesmelloflemonpound cake was the first thing I could smell as I woke up. My bones ached as I shifted amongst the soft, unfamiliar blankets and froze when my hand connected with something soft.
A feminine noise filled my ears. I opened my eyes to find Juneau’s sleeping face right in front of me. I wasn’t sure when it had happened but somehow, after finally passing out after my freak out, I’d ended up inside of Juneau’s nest. To make matters worse, I was surrounded by the soft snores of the rest of my pack.
I’d never slept in the same room as them. Ever.
As I lay amongst the cloying mixture of their scents, I tried to piece together the events from the night before.
The rain had started shortly after we presented Juneau with her very own nest. I was still riding on the high of her pleased expression thanks to my small addition to the space and had floated through storm preparation, ignoring the muttered concerns about a power outage.
When I went to bed that night, all three of my nightlights were plugged in and glowing pleasantly and I didn’t think to check my bedside table for the battery operated night light that we kept in case of emergency. I felt untouchable simply because a pretty omega had pinned me with a delighted blue-eyed smile.
Waking up in the dark was like having ice water poured over my head. The blackness surrounding me was immediately claustrophobic. It only got worse when I rifled through my bedside table drawer to find my nightlight missing.
