Page 23 of Hidden Nature

Elias crossed his arms and gave Mason a withering look. “My status as a beta doesn’t change the fact that I will protect my mate from any and all dangers that I can. Titles don’t change your abilities. It only changes how people perceive you in their own minds. I’d rather they underestimate me. It makes it that much easier to rip out their throat when they’re not watching.”

Lane’s jaw fell open at this announcement. Colt, on the other hand, nodded his approval of Elias’s plan. Zander just muttered under his breath and headed off to the bathroom. The sound of the shower soon followed.

“Once you eat and get cleaned up, we can let you rest,” Noah assured me as he walked over to the side I was sitting on, kissing my cheek. “I’ll also make sure to change the sheets unless you want space in your nest?”

“No, space from you guys is the last thing I want,” I answered, scraping the last spoonful out of the bowl. “But I think it’s better to wait for Zander to get out of the shower before going back in there.”

Noah smiled, his eyes crinkling with suppressed laughter. “Smart plan, babe.”

With Zander having no hair to wash, it made his shower rather quick, allowing me to slip in right after him with Elias to block the door, ensuring I could actually wash up. Clean and in soft, snuggly clothes, I crawled back into the massive bed that smelled like fresh sunshine. I wiggled my fingers at the others, welcoming them into the bed with me. Noah was the first to wrap himself around my back, and Elias took the front, leaving the others to find their own space.

“Does anyone need to be anywhere today, or can we nap without an alarm set?” Noah questioned.

Everyone muttered various responses of no, and we all settled in, allowing the comfort of being together to settle my wolf and remind me that my home was with them. They were what mattered most to me, and I would do anything to protect and defend them. If the Dark Ring or the Senate wanted to test my resolve on that, they were welcome to try, but they wouldn’t survive the encounter.

It turned out our nap lasted until the sun started to pour in the following morning. Trapped at the bottom of the snuggle pile of bodies, I tried to squirm my way out, but that was turning out to be more difficult than I’d expected.

Mason was wrapped around my legs like an anaconda, his head right on my bladder. Noah was still at my back, one hand holding my boob, while Elias had his face shoved between them with his arms wrapped around my ribs. This time it was the alphas who were draped over, only getting to touch me with a hand, unlike the many other occasions where that was the betas.

As I looked over the scene around me, I felt like something was missing, and when I reached out for it, I got a response. Rath was awake and downstairs, getting acquainted with the house while we were still sleeping. He also let me know that he was now on his way up to rescue me if I needed it. I couldn’t help but smile at this interaction, now understanding why he’d been so thrown off that I kept him locked out of my thoughts. It wasn’t like we could talk to each other in words per se, but more with intention and emotion. It was clear that after we had sex, our bond strengthened even more, and I could feel him more clearly. Almost like he had his one direct line into my consciousness that was separate from my empathic abilities. We’d bonded physically, but it seemed we needed the emotional part of it to get everything to flow more smoothly.

When Rath appeared at the foot of the bed, he looked down at us with a smile and a huff of laughter. “I can see why you feel like you’re stuck,nin mel. They have found every possible way to make sure you weren’t going anywhere.”

“Yes, and while I find it heartwarming and adorable, I really have to pee,” I commented, reaching out a hand to him.

Rath ignored my hand, instead moving his hands as if weaving together something out of nothing but air. Moments later, I felt wind surrounding me, lifting me from their hands and bodies before picking me up and carrying me over to Rath. The wind gave out, and I landed safely in his arms, where I proceeded to nuzzle into his neck, marking him with my scent. My wolf really didn’t like that he had almost no scent to him so he would bear ours.

“Thank you, and good morning,” I murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

Rath deepened the kiss a moment before setting me on my feet. “Good morning, nin mel, did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I feel back to normal and ready to take on anything.”

“Good, but first, I think you need to wake up the others from the healing sleep you put them in unintentionally,” Rath suggested.

Spinning on my heels, I took in my mates, observing they hadn’t moved a muscle. Elias would have been awake the moment I stirred and definitely wouldn’t have let a gust of wind take me away from him. The others also seemed to be in a deep sleep. Only the rise and fall of their chests confirmed they were alive.

“I didn’t hurt them, did I?” I asked, panic clawing at my chest. “How did I even do that without knowing it?”

“You’re powers are so strong and untrained that you were taking care of them in your sleep. If you had any lingering thoughts about how tired they looked or anything to do with their health, it could have triggered this. No harm has been done to them, quite the opposite, actually. When they wake, they will be rested, healed of any ailments, and restored body and mind,” Rath explained, resting his hands on my shoulders to ground me as I tried to understand what he was saying.

“Is this what you did to me?” I questioned, looking up at him.

“On a smaller scale, yes, but you are far more powerful than I am to do this to so many at a time. Now, to bring them out of it, you just need to focus and put intention behind your magic. It wants to help you. Your magic wants to be used. All it needs is direction,” he instructed, running his hands up and down my arms. “Close your eyes and picture them how they would be waking up normally. Hold that in your mind and push out with your magic.”

Breathing in through my nose slowly, like I did with my meditation, I did as Rath instructed. Once I had the picture in my mind, I slowly let my magic flow out of me and swirl around them, caressing them as if I were trying to wake them. Soon their stirring bodies had me opening my eyes to find them all waking up.

Mason yawned loudly, stretching his arms out, smacking Zander in the face.

“The fuck, man,” Zander snarled. “Watch what you’re fucking doing.”

“Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Mason grumbled, stumbling off the bed. “Not sure how that’s even possible when that was the best sleep of my life. Snuggles, you are one addictive person to sleep with, that’s for sure. I didn’t even wake up once with all these idiots jockeying for space.”

The others got up as well, seeming a little disoriented but otherwise no immediate signs of what I had done to them. “That would be because I drugged you to sleep in a sense…”

They all paused in their actions to look at me. “Explain that,” Colt ordered but grunted when Lane elbowed him. “Please, little one, could you tell us what you mean by that?”

“You really have to stop ordering her around. She doesn’t like it and can’t say no to us,” Lane pointed out as he got up and walked over to me, giving me a peck on the lips. “Good morning, sweetheart. I have a feeling there is a lot we are going to learn today if this is how things are starting out.”