A whimper escaped my lips, and my skin was tight and itchy. At the sound of my distress, all three guys flew to my side, petting me and asking what was wrong. Usually, I loved having my alphas close, but for the first time, it felt stifling.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Do you not like this bedding?” Theo asked, looking at the piles of soft blankets in front of me as if he were going to burn them for offending me.
“Are you hungry?” Ben asked. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
“Don’t worry about choosing your favorite blanket,” Cam said. “We’ll just get them all.”
My breaths started coming faster. Their scents, usually so soothing, felt thick and oppressive. I curled up tightly in my chair, wishing I could be alone in the dark closet with one of the blankets from my nest. I didn’t want any of the new blankets. They didn’t smell right. In fact, none of the new things smelled right. The room had been perfect this morning, and now there was a mix of clean, sterile scents that felt all wrong.
“Why are you crying?” Cam’s voice was panicked and loud, sending sharp spikes of his scent into the room. My omega whined, needing to fix the upset alpha, but I had hit my breaking point. I felt myself shutting down, disconnecting from the room and my body.
“For the love of god, it’s like watching a train wreck,” Jewel said dryly, a hint of amusement in her voice. “You three, out,” she barked.
Cam, Ben, and Theo were all in an uproar, arguing with Jewel, which made my tears come faster.
“You see what you three overbearing assholes are doing to her?” Jewel asked.
“Josie, love, what do you need? Just tell us how to help.” Theo crouched next to me, his hand resting lightly on my thigh. His question made me more anxious—how was I supposed to know what I needed?
“For fuck’s sake. If you want her to stop crying, get out of the room now. You can return when you’ve learned to listen to your omega.”
I wanted to say something—to apologize for freaking out, smooth things over,anythinguseful. But I was numb, floating outside my body.
It was a testament to Jewel’s alpha-ness that she got the guys to leave the room. They were shouting and swearing as they argued with her, but I was too far gone to understand what they were saying. The door shut and I was alone with Jewel, scared and awed by her authority.
Jewel eyed me critically and I cringed, wondering what she thought of me. She nodded sharply to herself as if satisfied by something.
“You are going to get in your nest,” she said.
She hadn’t used her bark on me, but I followed her instructions automatically. I sat in the middle of the bed, unsure what to do next.
Jewel sighed. “Put that blanket over you.”
She pointed at my favorite dark blue velvet blanket. It was soft and smelled most like my alphas. The second I pulled the blanket over me, the itchy, restless feeling faded away.
“Very good,” Jewel said. “You stay there. I’m going to move all these things downstairs. I told those idiots it wasn’t a good idea to have me here so close to your heat. Alpha males are more than useless.”
Jewel kept up a steady stream of insults—towards my alphas, males in general, and the government. Her angry mutterings lulled me into a sleepy daze. Every time she opened the door to remove another bundle of items, my alphas’ scents wafted over me. They were staying as close to me as Jewel would allow, and that filled me with tingly warmth.
“Okay, omega, everything’s cleared out. Time for you and I to have a chat.”
I poked my head out from under the blanket as Jewel dragged the armchair to the side of the bed, sitting on it like a throne. I’d never seen someone so self-assured. I moved to a seated position, waiting to hear what she had to say.
“Why would you let me into your room?” she asked.
“What?”
“You’ve just finished your heat. You’re brand new to this pack. Why would you let another alpha into your private space?”
I squirmed under the intensity of her scrutiny. How did she know what I was feeling?
“I didn’t want to be rude,” I said, my voice almost a whisper.
Jewel rolled her eyes. “And why the fuck not?”
I scrunched my nose, confused. “Why didn’t I want to be rude?”
