It was scary for a moment, when he seemed to fall apart as we held him in the shower. We quickly realised that he wasn’t in a bad place, but a good place in his head. So we cut the shower as short as possible, moving to the nest instead.
I close the door to the nest almost all the way, leaving a small gap, so it stays as cosy and dark inside as possible, but not fully closed off.
Then I pull on a fluffy bathrobe —Mathew’s specifically, because I want to wrap myself in his wisteria scent right now, prolonging this happy feeling inside— before I make my way down the stairs.
My last two Alphas are exactly where I expect them to be, in Mathew’s office. We should really call it something else, since most of us work in there a lot, but it’s still very much the place where Mathew takes care of his organisation stuff, like meeting with clients and such.
Caleb is sitting on the couch and Riley is sitting in front of the couch, both working on their laptops, their focus fully on what they’re doing. Not paying attention to anything else.
I think it’s kind of interesting that Riley always sits in front of the couch, rarely on it, unless it’s for a couple of moments, but not for long stretches of time. She seems to be more comfortable on the floor, maybe something about being able to sit in whatever position she likes, or it might be a sensory thing.
Maybe the floor just feels safer, just like she likes to hide away in the closet in her room.
Neither Alpha seems to notice me until I’m only a few steps away from the couch and their heads whip in my direction, almost in unison, clearly startled. Yeah, they really should get some sleep...
I can’t help my laugh as I crawl onto the couch, sitting behind Riley, against Caleb’s side. “What are you two doing? What’s keeping you up so late?”
Riley turns so she can look at me, a soft smile on her lips. “Reviewing the reports from the teams and keeping an eye on what’s being reported online and such.” She reaches up, running her warm hand over my leg. “I thought you were asleep?”
“Woke up when Jorge crawled in. The other two are still sleeping, though.” Then I look to Caleb. “What are you working on?”
He lets out a deep breath and kisses the top of my head. “Reports. Communication with Erika’s people. Making sure the kids are okay.” He gives another kiss. “And they are. The kids all arrived in their temporary homes. They’ll be able to stay there until we find someone from their family to take them in, or, if we can’t find anyone, a more permanent foster family.”
“That means you’re both not doing anything urgent and can both come to bed.” I flash them my best smile. “Everything is fine and settled. There won’t be much news until the morning. And, if something does happen, Mathew’s people can take care of things until you’re awake again.”
“Or, you can cuddle with us here.” Caleb slides his hand under the robe, pulling me closer to him. When he smells whose robe I put on, he lets out a deep laugh. “Especially when you smell so tasty.”
I nudge him, shooting him a glare. “Nope. We’re going upstairs, to bed. You’re going to be really unhappy if you fall asleep here.”
“The cutie has a point. The bed is way more comfortable.” Riley stands up, stretching, giving me a good look at her delicious body, my pheromones flaring.
The Alphas laugh and Caleb also gets up, lifting me with him as he does, keeping me against his side, just the way I love.
“You’re right. The bed is way more comfortable than the couch.” His voice is a sexy rumble and I shoot him another glare.
“Sleep! We’re going to sleep!” No matter how good my mates look, or smell, I’m too exhausted for sex right now. I might have slept a little, but by far not enough to do anything after having been awake for nearly two days straight.
“Yes, yes.” Riley kisses my cheek, then she turns the lights in the office off behind us, and follows us up the stairs.
My mates are incorrigible. While I’ve got quite the libido, not everything is about sex. And, right now, I need comfort and cuddling, things that give me energy, not things that exhaust me.
I shouldn’t have worried.
As soon as we got to the bedroom, Caleb put me on the bed, tucking the blankets around me, as the two alphas changed into their pyjamas and joined me, leaving the other three mates fast asleep in the nest. We didn’t want to disturb them.
With Mathew’s hip and everyone’s bruises and other smaller injuries, giving everyone as much space as possible, so we don’t constantly bump against each other while we move in our sleep, is probably a good idea.
At some point during the night, the other three joined us in the bed.
So, when I wake up the next morning, Mathew is wrapped around me tightly, while I’ve apparently been squashing my face into Riley’s boobs.
Well, that’s definitely a fun position to wake up in. And while I’d love to stay like this until the end of time, my bladder objects.
As I carefully crawl from between my mates, trying not to wake either of them up, Mathew won’t let me go, letting out what sounds like a low whine as I move.
I look behind me and he’s giving me a slow and sleepy smile. “I would like to get out. I need the loo.”
“Can I get a kiss first?” His smile grows and I lean into him so I can kiss him. He’s so clingy. Not that I don’t enjoy it, but sometimes it still feels strange because it clashes so much with the rest of his looks and personality.
