That was probably the most distressing part of this whole thing. Since I lived alone, I’d pretty much turned my entire apartment into a bunch of mini nests. Now? They were all gone. I felt… kind of untethered, like I didn’t have a home to go back to.
Which, I supposed, was probably the point.
I was a little disappointed that Indigo kissed me goodnight to head into their room instead of joining us in the nest, but I understood too. The tension between them and Joon, as much as they were making efforts to ignore it, was in every look that passed between them.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter much. I knew that if I wanted one of my alphas I could leave at any time and join them in bed, and the blankets and pillows were soaked in their scent anyway, offering me the biological soothing that I craved even as they gave Joon and me a little space to be alone together.
I wanted to ask Joon how they felt about everything, but I was so drained, that I couldn’t force the words past my lips. The pair of us falling into a tangle of limbs in a wordless cuddle that said more than my exhausted brain would’ve come up with anyway.
This was Joon’s safe space, and he’d offered it to me so willingly… the same way that I offered myself to him.
I was his omega.
As much as he was mine.
And that was enough.
With Joon’s hand rubbing soothing circles along my back, it didn’t take long until I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again I was disoriented that it was still dark, until I realized that the warm body I’d been sleeping against had disappeared.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling around the cushions until I found my phone, the screen clicking on nearly blinding me.
2:00 AM.
My messages to Tara, way too early when I’d originally sent them to expect a response, had swapped from delivered to read. A string of worried messages from my best friend taking up most of my notifications.
TARA: omg are you OKAY?
TARA: i went over right away but it was only marcus there with the cops
TARA: youre safe right?
TARA: i’m hoping that you’re not responding because that rich fuck pack of yours is spoiling you to make u feel better
TARA: streamverse is so STUPID omg #FREEEVA
TARA: okay maybe i was wigging a little but charlie called cameo and he promised you were at their place and safe.
TARA: i’ll call you tmrw in case you’re sleeping it off or dont want to talk or whatever, but i’m here for u. I love you.
I smiled at the frantic barrage of messages, sending one of my own back.
EVA: at the pack house, safe. Just tired. Call tomorrow?
Tara’s reply was nearly instant.
TARA: what a relief. deal. rest up.
I nestled deeper into the blankets, hoping that I’d be able to get back to sleep easily. The scents in the little A-frame room were comforting. Joon's was the heaviest, of course. His sugary, apple scent the dominating comforter and my pillow. But every once in a while I'd get hit with whisper of Cameo’s lovely smoky smore, or the sweet maple of Indi. Even Marcus' salty notes came through every once in a while, though, they mostly seemed to be attached to a T-shirt that Joon had balled up into one of the pillowcovers.
A door slammed on the street outside and I jumped, my heartrate rabbiting along like I was being hunted for sport. I knew I wasn’t alone in the house, but suddenly found myself really,really, craving for an alpha to be close.
The hyperawareness of everything around me didn’t help. Every small sound felt like a clap of thunder, every pass of headlights outside a threat.
Oh. I would’ve laughed, if I had it in myself to find the situation funny. I was just like the main girl in a horror movie—overly paranoid and jumpy, but ultimately likely to go check out a noise that was absolutely the killer lying in wait.
What’s the first rule of a horror movie? Never split up.
Fuelled by my own certainty that the only way to survive the night was to pack up, I slid from the slightly raised platform of the nest, pulling one of the decadently fluffy blankets along with me like a shield to head next door.
