Chapter 11

KAI

It has been forty-eight hours of her heat, and it’s only just starting to lift in time for Christmas. She’s curled into Elias’ chest in her nest, Hunter at her back, his hand wrapped around her neck as they sleep. While we all started off a little careful, we learned more about what she liked as we went. She not once wanted us to stop, seeking out the one she wanted when she needed them.

I go out to the main part of the house, leaving them to rest while I clean up. Elias fucked with the tree and the sofas when he chased her the other night, so there’s shit everywhere. Picking the tree up, I rehang all the baubles strewn across the room, positioning the lights where they’re supposed to go before plugging the cord back in. At least when she wakes up, it will be a little festive before we head over for the celebrations.

Pulling my phone out, I type out a quick message to Felix, letting him know we will make it out later today if her signs are anything to go by. She needs some rest, but her fever is pretty much gone.

We will be out there by dinner. I know you will be pissed, but let’s keep the animosity to a minimum today, okay? She will be a little sensitive for a while, and making her feel bad for something that’s out of our control ain’t it. Don’t be a fuck.

I finish tidying the place, moving the sofa back to where it’s supposed to be and folding one of the soft blankets that she didn't pull into her nest. It’s wishful thinking, but my brain is already taking note of everything she liked and used, filing it away for a later date. I want to make her the ideal space for her heats, with everything she could want and more. Having spent days in there, there were a few things that would have made things easier for her. This thing isn’t a guarantee with us, but I want to be as prepared as I can be if we manage to win her over.

Switching on the coffee maker, I grind some fresh beans and make up some coffee now that I can hear her stirring in the other room. The obnoxious snores of my brothers are still strong, but she’s awake.

Davina is a sight, walking out of her room on light footsteps, wrapped in a red knitted throw blanket. Her bright eyes take in the space, a smile on her lips when she sees the tree is fixed. I want to keep that there forever, the full, bright smile that brings out the dimples in her flushed cheeks.

“Morning, beautiful. Coffee?” I ask, already making her one anyway. She likes it sweet with syrups, the gingerbread one standing out more than the others. Small footsteps pad toward me, her hand slipping into mine at my side. The smile there moments ago has faltered, an unsure frown in its place. My hands move to her waist, popping her bare ass onto the kitchen counter and putting myself between her spread thighs. Given the amount of sex we have had, you would think I wouldn’t get rock hard at the scent of her, but here we are.

“Tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” I ask, running my hands up her thighs. She averts her eyes, looking behind me when she eventually speaks.

“This moved so fast, I had no time for my mind to catch up, but now that my heat has eased, I...”

“Do you have regrets?” I ask her directly, praying with everything in me that she doesn't say yes. Everything moved fast, yes. We didn’t have the time to prove ourselves to her, but the time for that is now. Sure, it isn’t the ideal way to do it. She should have been courted well before this at the first moment we suspected we were meant to be hers. “I know it all happened quickly, and we still have a lot to talk about.”

“I have no regrets, Kai. None. But I can’t go back to how things were before this. I…I have never felt this around other people. What if you were all just drawn to me because of my heat, and now that it’s gone, you’re not interested?”

Reaching up, I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, forcing her to look at me. I want nothing more than to pull her into my chest and keep her safe, to show her there is nothing I won’t do to prove myself worthy of her. I want to spend my time getting to know everything about her—what she wants in life, what she hates so I can ensure she never has to experience it again. It’s been a whirlwind, sure, but it doesn’t change my feelings in the slightest.

“We are going nowhere, Davina. That I can promise you. This may be new to you, but to us, it’s far from that. We had a feeling years ago that you were it for us, but we wanted to wait for you to see it too. I don’t know about the others, but I will go wherever you go.”

As if on cue, the other two walk out, having thrown on clean clothes someone dropped at the door at some stage over the last few days. I’m fucking thankful, though, not wanting her to be uncomfortable with our scents. She didn’t seem to like that much.

Hunter approaches her straight away, his hand falling to her thigh next to my own while Elias moves to stand on the other side, keeping his hands to himself. He has been quiet with us, giving her the side of him she needed through her heat with minimal other interaction. It surprised me, I won’t lie. I half-expected to have to kick him out of the cabin and lock the door the moment he opened his smart mouth.

“He’s not wrong. Give us a few weeks, and if you want to go back home and leave us behind, never to see us again, you can. We won’t stop you,” Hunter says, Elias grunting but not objecting. He knows as well as I do that there’s no leaving her alone, so we need to sort our shit and make this work. We need to make her see we can be the pack she wants, however that may look.

“What if it can’t work? I love living at the beach, working at the hospital. I...” She sucks in a deep breath. I grasp her jaw on both sides, pulling her into my chest tightly. Her hands slide against my scarred skin, holding me as close as possible. Both my brothers inch closer on either side of me, their hands on her in an instant, easing her worry.

“The choice is yours, sweet Omega.”