“No, Sage. Don’t hide from us. That was beautiful,you’rebeautiful. Everything we want, and you did so good. Came for us perfectly.”
“But,” I whisper into his chest, fingers trailing through the soft hair. “What about all of you?”
“We didn’t come in here for that,” he says.
Riley lays down behind me and tugs a blanket over us,then Vee’s arm stretches across him to stroke my side, holding us all together.
“What he said,” Riley says. “That was the best moment of my life, and now I just want to lay in this incredible nest and snuggle.”
“If that’s okay with you,” Vee tacks on.
My eyes dart between the three of them. Riley already has their eyes closed, but Vee and Brooks look dead serious. Happy, content, but serious.
“Yeah, okay,” I whisper, letting their purrs relax me into the mattress.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Neveah
It’s been a few days since we christened Sage’s new nest, and I suspect her heat will be arriving soon. The call to the omega safety hotline went well, and I’m proud of how she spoke up for herself. Unfortunately, as soon as I hung up the phone, she started shaking uncontrollably and then burst into tears. I did my best to soothe and reassure her, but ultimately it was a surprise snack from Brooks that snapped her out of it.
Her mood has been more erratic lately, swinging from sweet and cuddly to irritated to distressed at the drop of a hat.
We haven’t talked about expectations as a pack yet, and although we need to, I think she’d do better with a one-on-one conversation first. I snag the gift I didn’t get a chance to give her yet before seeking her out, finding her curled up on the couch with Riley’s tablet. I set it next to the couch before rounding to stand in front of her.
“Can I sit with you?” I ask, placing a cup of iced lemonade on the coffee table for her.
“Sure!” She leans forward, creating a spot behind her, and I wedge myself in, barely sitting my ass down before she leansback and snuggles into me. I wrap my arms around her with a smile.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, Riley said he still wants me to help with his room. So I’m looking at interior design stuff for inspiration.”
“I love that. You did such an incredible job with the nest, we might need to put you to work on other parts of the house at some point.”
“Really?” She twists to face me. “You’d trust me with that?”
“Of course. Also,” I pause, pulling out the massive gift box. “I have something for you.”
“A present?” Her eyes light up and she straightens, scooting forward.
I place it on the floor in front of her, and she leans over to carefully unwrap it. I smile at how cute she is, and then she lifts the lid off the box to peer inside.
Her lips form a perfect O as she reaches down, sinking her hands into the plush blanket. I spotted a gift section when we were at the nesting store, and I snuck away to special order this for her. It finally arrived yesterday.
“Ooooh,” she breathes. “So soft!”
She tugs the sparkling, emerald green blanket up to her lap, then gasps when she sees the details. Her fingers trace over the letters embroidered in silk thread.
“Pack Lavender,” she whispers. Then she flings it over her head, wrapping herself tight as she balls her hands, tugging fistfuls of the fabric up to her nose.
“Oh my god,” she moans. “It smells like all of us! How did you do this?”
I grin and tug my bundled omega into my lap, sitting her sideways and resting my temple on the crown of her head.
“There was a gift section at the nest store. I ordered it, then ambushed the other two for their scents last night.”
Sage continues to stare at the blanket, then turns big brown doe eyes up to me in wonder.
