Chapter 20

“Shaw, are you sure they aren’t on their way yet?” I huff, balancing precariously on a ladder.

Omegas crave their own place, and Wren hasn’t ever had that. She once had a small bedroom in an attic in her childhood home, but even that is marred with bad memories. I decided she needs that in our home, instead of moving between the couch to the porch swing.

What if she wants to cocoon herself with a book inside? Sometimes, all of these windows just piss me off, and I want my nest. If she’s anything like me, I feel like she needs her own space.

So I have the guys helping me.

“She’s not on her way yet, baby boy,” Shaw calls over to me. He’s putting in pretty recessed lighting in the nest in two shades of purple, and is almost done. I may have interrogated her about all of her favorite things the last few days.

“Good. That’s good,” I mutter. Everest is downstairs working on setting up our lawn furniture, an archway for our future garden, and a fire pit. Ambrose was told to go away for as long as possible, to which he just smirked and said that wasn’t a problem.

God, he’s so damn arrogantly handsome. I can’t even hate him for it because I love him so much.

“This all looks really good, Flynn,” Shaw says, purring for me as he works. “She’s going to lose her shit when she sees this. Fuck, we’re idiots for not realizing this sooner. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Why is this so hard?”

“I told you what I want, and you just gave it to me,” I remind him, frowning at the curtains in front of me. Gauzy, light cream curtains hang from the ceiling, slightly concealing the nest. There are heavier purple drapes that drop when and if she wants them, but for now they’re hidden at the top.

The nest is a giant oversized mattress on the floor, with dark purple sheets on it. They’re lightweight to keep whoever is sleeping on it from getting overheated, and wicks away moisture. This room also has large bay windows, since when we constructed the house, we only made one room specifically for a nest. Instead, Shaw hung blackout star cutout curtains to keep out the light.

God, I really hope she likes this.

“You were more vocal than Wren,” Shaw admits. “God, we don’t even have a proper room for her. See, I really suck as her scent match.”

There’s annoyance and frustration in his tone, making me frown as I step down from my precarious perch.

“Let’s backtrack there, big guy,” I coo, watching him place the finishing touches on the lights before he steps off the ladder. The ceilings aren’t as high on this floor, thankfully, so it feels cozier.

“It’s not every day that you find your scent match when you didn’t think you had one. We’re figuring this out as we go, and this room is just about perfect. Want to help me fix it while I make sure everything works well?”

“Yeah,” he grunts. “What do you need?”

So grumpy.

“Sweatshirts or shirts the guys have worn, please?” I ask sweetly. His answering grin almost knocks me off my feet as he lumbers over to kiss me hard before leaving the room.

Shaking my head, I step back to walk to the door to survey our work. In addition to the bed with curtains, there’s a hanging hammock chair in front of one of the windows, so she can read.

Ambrose texted Shaw about looking into an aptitude test for Wren to see what she may want to pursue for work. While she doesn’t have to work, I can see her using this as a step to fitting into the world again.

This chair will be her little cocoon from the world as she finds what she’s looking for. Wren isn’t an omega who will be happy allowing us to be her everything. Will she love and adore us as soon as my alphas show her it’s safe to do so? Yes.

But, she’s had such a hard past, Wren needs to figure out who she is outside of us, and I’m okay with that. If she’d had a different past, or if we’d found her somehow before her life became a twisted mess, maybe we would be enough. As it is, I can see why she’d want to make her own money, while I’m content to be a pampered omega. I want to give her whatever she needs.

“Lights, curtains, sheets, it’s all coming together. The scent is wrong though…” I mutter. Shaw walks in with all of the sweatshirts I asked for, and pillow cases and fluffy blankets that we’ve slept on. “Fuck yeah, that’s what this room needs. Thanks, babe.”

My alpha flushes from the praise, making me hide my smile as I fix the bed with the items he gave me.

“God, am I missing anything else?” I fret, taking a step back. Everything looks perfect, smells right, but my lips still curl as I walk into the attached bathroom. It doesn’t look very girly, there’s no massage oils or bath bombs. It’s making me twitchy, even though there are other bathrooms in the house.

Fuck, I’m going to hyper fixate until this is right.

“Baby boy, tell me what’s not right?” Shaw asks. He doesn’t sound annoyed as I huff, on the verge of tears. The color of the walls is all off, and the lights are too bright. I love that he doesn’t necessarily ask me what’s wrong, because the answer would be nothing. Instead, the aesthetic is off.

“It’s too bright in here, I need lavender recessed light over the shower, and if I was being really picky, heated floors,” I confess.

“Everest can help me with the floors,” he says immediately. I don’t know how, but Everest is really incredible with construction and electrical work. “Do you think the gray paint in here is okay? I have navy paint in the basement if not. If you want to get it, I’ll call Everest.”

I’d tease him about calling him, but we’re on the third floor, and the house is huge.

“Perfect. I think the dark blue would be better. I don’t know why it’s bugging me so badly,” I confess with a sigh.

“You want it to be as perfect as her nest,” Shaw says. “I don’t see anything wrong with this. We have hours yet until they’re home. Ambrose said they’re still at the park and then getting food afterwards.”

“I miss them already,” I mutter. “It gives them time to spend together, though, and it’s the perfect cover for us to surprise her.”

Sighing, I walk out of the room, and down the two flights of stairs, passing Everest as I go. He’s shirtless and sweaty, making me bite my lip as I start to pass him. My alpha growls, nostrils flaring as I perfume for him, but I can’t help it.

He looks so damn yummy. I’m already hard as I drink in every muscle, my cock beginning to slick. Turning me, he shoves me face first against the wall as he wraps his arms around me, all while rocking his hard cock against my ass.

“You smell good, little omega,” he growls, dragging his nose up my throat. “Fuck, I wonder if you’re starting to slick for me.”

As I whine, he shoves his hand down the waistband of my joggers. Since I’m commando again today, Everest groans as his hand wraps around my cock. My slick is leaking from the tip of my dick, giving him a smooth stroke as he fists me.

“You’re so damn perfect. Fuck. It’s not fair that I have to go upstairs,” he complains, squeezing me tightly enough to make me gasp. “Be a good boy and don’t touch yourself. All of this slick is mine to clean up later. Maybe Wren will want to play with us.”

Pulling out his hand, he licks and sucks it clean as he continues on his way upstairs. Shuddering because I know I’ll be hard for awhile, I drop my head on the wall. I know things are going better between Everest and Wren, and I’m happy it is. However, even I know our little omega isn’t done making them crawl through glass for her.

Pushing away from the wall with a sigh, I struggle to remember what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m so easily dickmatized, it’s awful. Shaking myself of the haze, I remember. Paint! Fuck, the paint.

Snickering to myself as I walk down the last three steps, I walk past the front door to the basement. Opening the door, I turn on the lights and hum as I walk downstairs. While the weather is warmer, somehow the basement seems to always be freezing.

“Damn, I hate it down here,” I mutter, searching the different rooms for the paint. I hate that Everest dropped Wren down here and left her when we first bought her. I feel somehow responsible because I didn’t insist that she was safer.

Grumbling to myself as I begin to pass the door to the room she was staying in, I stop and take a tentative step inside. I know Everest didn’t hurt her, but I feel slightly ill as I remember how cold it was that day, and look around the bare room.

There’s a thin blanket on the ground, no mattress or windows. Shaking my head, I walk further into the room until I feel something under my bare foot. I eschewed shoes today, simply because they annoyed me.

My alphas simply smirked at me and let me be.

Glancing down, I see a black leather strap, which makes me frown. What the fuck is that? Leaning down to pick up, the breath leaves my lungs as I realize it’s the collar that was around Wren’s neck on the auction block.

“Fuck. I want this out of the goddamn house,” I snarl, shaking my head. The air smells like curdled milk, a clear sign of my anger. You can always tell when an omega is on the warpath.

Stalking out of the room, I almost miss the damn can of navy blue innocently sitting on the floor outside of the room. Cursing under my breath, I pick it carefully up, because the last thing I need is to spill it, even though it’s sealed.

There’s a black cloud over my head as I trudge up the stairs, getting more and more mad as I think about how we treated her. I should fucking burn the damn thing. Will leather burn? Fuck it, I’ll cut it into a million pieces and throw the damn thing away.

Taking a detour because my chest is heaving with anger, I peek out at the backyard.

Woah.

It looks like a fairytale. Everest hung plants from the pergola, giving it a whimsical look with its Edison string bulbs and fire pit and chairs. There’s a huge swing hanging from one of our trees, and Everest also planted some new flowers to brighten up the backyard.

It’s going to be so nice to barbecue out here and hang out.

Taking a cleansing breath at the idyllic scenery, I remind myself that our alphas are sorry. They’re doing all of this to make amends.

“Flynn?” Shaw yells out, making me curse under my breath.

“Are you okay? Why are you so mad?” Everest yells.

Rolling my eyes, I shove the collar in my pocket. I guess I’ll have to explain myself. Great, at least I feel calmer.

“I’m fine,” I call up to them, jogging across the house and up the stairs to talk to them. The walk up to the third floor goes faster than I’m ready for it to end. My alphas don’t deserve for me to lose my shit at them for their past mistakes.

“Hey, I was feeling some pretty intense emotions,” Everest says, watching me carefully from where he’s waiting for me outside of Wren’s nest. I love that they’re across from each other.

I don’t want to assume anything when it comes to her. Going forward, we’ll even sync our heats together. It’s absurd how excited I am about that, but so much depends on if she ever feels comfortable enough for that. “Woah, Flynn. What’s going on?”

I don’t want to invade her nest with my negative emotions, so I take a deep breath.

“Can you give the paint to Shaw, please?” I ask instead, thrusting it at him. Everest gives me a concerned look, but takes it from me and goes into the room to give it to him. They both walk back out together, but I figured they would.

“Talk,” Shaw growls, his eyes pinched. There’s no alpha bark, though, so I close my eyes and force myself to take another breath. Fuck me, here goes the spiral.

Blinking hard, I sigh as a tear escapes from my eye. They both look terrified, because it’s so out of the blue.

“I found this in the basement,” I say, shoving my hand in my pocket and pulling out the offending leather to show them. Everest hisses as he sees it, and Shaw curses.

“Damn. I feel like an asshole for not wondering where that went sooner,” Everest mutters. “I’m really sorry you found that. I hate that I was so uncaring the day we brought her home from the auction. Wren felt like a liability, a burden we didn’t know what to do with.”

“I didn’t ask,” I tell him, my voice cracking. “I was so distracted by Shaw’s dick, I didn’t think to ask where Wren was. This was all of our faults, and I think it just hit me. We don’t deserve her.”

“Flynn,” Shaw grunts, shaking his head as he swallows hard. “I don’t think it’s about deserving her. It’s more about how we’re destined for each other. Deserving her comes with working to be better men, better alphas for her.”

“Wren’s like no one else,” Everest says softly, his face full of vulnerability I rarely see. I know it’s there, he just hides it really well behind his good natured smiles. There’s a killer behind it just as easily as the man who craves to be loved.

“I never know where I stand with her. When I think she’s going to tell me to take a flying leap off a cliff, she’s pulling me closer to her,” he admits. “The day she asked for my bite was a complete surprise to me. I was one of the worst offenders when it came to pushing her away, yet she let me in.”

“Ambrose is the last one, but I think that’s his choice,” Shaw says with a sigh. “What did he say exactly about it, Everest?”

Everest’s lips twitch, but not because it’s funny. More so, Amb is just really damn smart and slightly manipulative. They all love control.

“He said he wanted to bond her during her heat or not at all, because it’ll mean that she finally accepts her place with us,” Everest explains. “Wren didn’t know what to say. I know she doesn’t want to have a heat after her awful experience, but I’m hoping she changes her mind. Amb is willing to wait for it to happen.”

“That’s really sweet of him, even if it’s manipulative,” I mutter. “Everything just feels upside down right now, and I’m having a hard time. I think it really hit me how fucked up her introduction to our home was. It makes sense now why she was so damn scared of you guys.”

“Her experience with alphas has left a lot to be desired,” Shaw grunts. “Her brother is looking for where Trey lives and working on the leads, but the alpha is a ghost. No digital footprint, nothing.”

“What if… someone takes her from us one day?” I rasp. The idea is so horrifying to me, I can’t fucking breathe. Bending over, I gasp, clawing at my throat. God, I hate having panic attacks.

Dammit.

“Flynn, breathe,” Shaw barks, with power behind his words.

I can feel my airways opening by his force of will alone, and I feel cool, blessed air coming in. Gasping greedily, I still feel the panic clawing at me and my heart rate racing. I don’t mind his alpha bark, it doesn’t bother me at all, because I need him to help me when my emotions and anxiety are riding me.

“Okay, but hear me out,” I insist, tears starting to flow as I brace my hands on my thighs. “There’s no way to find Wren if someone like Mark took her. We’d never find her, and I don’t think I would be able to survive that. I couldn’t…”

Everest bursts into action, pulling me into a tight hug. “I get what you’re saying,” he says, kissing my temple. “What do you want to do about it?”

“Is it too awful to suggest finding a way to trace her movements somehow? I’d suggest a tag in her shoe, but fuck, what if someone takes them from her?” I cry out.

Whining, I bury myself in his comforting nutmeg and heather scent. Everest purrs for me, attempting to help, but I’m really wound up.

“Don”t you have something that can help us track her in case something happens? Don’t look at me like that,” I snap as they exchange a look. “Just look at what happened at the grocery store. We can’t keep her here forever. She shouldn’t have to feel cooped up in this house, or we’ll lose her just as easily to depression. Guys, Wren is just coming out of her shell. What do we do?”

I’m panting again as I feel my lungs threatening to close. Clinging tightly to Everest, I tell myself that they’ll make it right. They have to.

Shaw grunts as he rubs his chest, and I know they’re feeling the full brunt of my chaotic emotions. Unfortunately, I’m so out of control, I can’t turn it off right now. They’d also know I was masking while I’m freaking the fuck out in front of them.

“Baby boy, are you asking us to install a tracker in our omega?” he asks, coughing lightly. The air is thick with my emotions, and the scent of curdled milk makes my nose tingle with the need to sneeze.

“I don’t know. Maybe? Fuck,” I mutter, rubbing my cheek against Everest’s chest as he soothingly strokes my back. “Yes. Yes, can we do that?”

“I can, but are you sure about this?” Shaw asks. “I’ll fully take the heat for it if she ever finds out?—”

“You won’t tell her?” I gasp, eyes wide.

Everest snorts, shaking his head. “There’s no way she’ll accept it if we tell her, baby. I’ll get an injectable tracker this week, and we’ll do it when she’s sleeping. She’ll never notice it if it’s between her shoulder blades,” he explains with a shrug.

“Ugh, is it wrong that I’m happy that none of this makes you think I’m insane?” I ask, starting to relax slowly.

“We do worse shit than this on a daily basis,” Shaw reminds me. “I’ve been worrying about Wren since the grocery store, too. It was too close for comfort, I hate that Trey is a goddamn ghost. If it protects her, and you’re okay with it, I’m all for it. It’ll let me sleep better at night.”

“You’ll still worry,” I tease him, sniffling. I feel better knowing that we have a plan now. Maybe I’m as rotten as my guys, but I don’t feel even a twinge of guilt for doing this.

“I will,” he grunts. “I laid tape and protective paper down on the floor for the paint. Want to help me?”

“Yes,” I say eagerly, taking a step away as I wipe my cheeks with the back of my hands. The air is quickly dissipating from my earlier emotions, making Everest breathe easier.

“Amb messaged me while you were downstairs, we have about three hours to finish,” Everest says with a smirk. My eyes widen as I rush into the nest.

“Let’s get to it!” I yell, making the guys laugh as they follow me.

God, I really hope she’ll like her nest. As for the tracking device I just conspired to put into my omega, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?

Fuck me.

“This was fun,” I tell Ambrose with a grin as the gate slowly opens when we get to the house.

I don’t know when this huge place will feel like a home for me, but I haven’t quite hit that moment yet. The guys are where I want to be, I don’t want to leave them, but I don’t think this feels real yet for me.

The bonds? Those are definitely real. Everest sends me the best hug through the bond that I’ve ever felt, making me smile. I love the connection I feel as Flynn tells me he misses me, and Shaw feels excited. I wonder what they’ve done all day.

“I’m glad you had fun, too,” Ambrose says with a happy smile. Our food was delicious, and I allowed myself to indulge in a milkshake with it. Cookies and cream was too good to pass up. “I think Shaw wants to do a group date soon.”

“You’re going to spoil me,” I tease him.

Driving through the gate, he reaches out and links his fingers in mine.

“Honey, you’re ours to spoil, and we plan to do it thoroughly. We’re a bit competitive, so every date may have to be topped. Enjoy the courting process,” he says with a chuckle.

“Were you all like this with Flynn?” I ask him. I haven’t heard a lot of stories about their relationship from when they were dating, and I’m kind of curious.

“We stalked Flynn once we found out he was Everest’s and my scent match,” he admits. At my shock, he shrugs. “We’re obsessive, possessive alphas, honey. What else would you expect?”

“Stalking like how?” I ask, eyes wide. If I am really honest with myself, I’m slightly aroused as well.

Nostrils flaring, Ambrose smirks, making me know that he can smell my slick. Squirming, I’m glad he’s not making a big deal of it right now. That is, until he pulls the hand that he’s holding and uses me to adjust his cock in his pants.

God save me from my alphas. Why was that so hot?

“Oh, so I once followed him to the gym he’d go to a few times a week,” he says, getting back on track. Ambrose leaves my hand resting on his cock as he continues to hold it, and I can’t bring myself to pull away. “There was a rule there that alphas, betas, and omegas were to behave well at all times, so it was safe for him. He didn’t see me, and I surprised him by following him into the shower. We fucked under the water, nearly getting kicked out.”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, giggling.

“I had to bribe the owner with two full months paid in full for our memberships,” Ambrose tells me with a wide grin. “We didn’t court for long, maybe three months, before we asked him to move in with us. We built this house, denying Flynn nothing when he requested things, because it was his home too.”

“When did you move in here?” I ask. “Building takes a long time, doesn’t it?”

“Eh, maybe eight months later? The house is huge, which is the only reason it took so long to build,” he says. “Flynn said he never wanted to move again, it’s unsettling for him, and it honestly is a lot of fucking work.”

“Packing a house this big to move? I can’t even imagine,” I agree, shuddering. “Flynn is really at home here, and it’s beautiful. I can see why he wouldn’t want to leave.”

Ambrose squeezes my hand as he parks outside of the house. “And you? How are you settling in, Wren?” he asks. His beautiful dark eyes remind me that we’re not bonded, making me take a deep breath as I think.

“There’s been a lot of changes,” I say slowly. The truth is, I don’t have a place of my own, I just kind of flit from one area to the next. Ugh, I can’t tell him that. “I don’t think I’m completely comfortable living here yet.”

Ambrose kisses my hand before letting go of it to put the truck into park. He doesn’t even pull the vehicle in the garage, but I guess he can do that later.

“Honey, take all the time you want,” he says. “Omegas are special, there are things you have to have in order to feel settled. Lean into your instincts, and ask for what you need, Wren. You better believe we’ll bend over backwards to make it happen. The guys missed you, let’s go inside, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, unclipping my seatbelt.

“Wait for me, please,” he growls, opening the door to climb down. My lips twitch as I watch him walk around to open my door.

I never would have thought to ask for anything from the guys. Is that sad? I kind of feel untethered, and I’ve never been a normal omega. I’ve been taught most of my life to suppress my instincts, so it’s odd to try to listen to them. I do just feel off, but I thought that was normal.

Is there a manual for transitioning into living a normal life after being captive for ten years? I’d sure love it if so.

No? Damn.

There’s a rueful smile on my lips as Ambrose helps me down the steps. I’m too short for this truck.

“What are you smiling about?” he asks curiously as he closes and locks the door behind me as we begin to walk toward the house.

“I was thinking about what you said,” I explain. “I don’t think it ever crossed my mind to ask for anything. I’ve never been allowed to ask. As a kid, we always had so many mouths to feed, I felt guilty for asking, so I stopped. Then, I had no reason to ask for anything with Trey.”

“Fuck, we’re assholes,” Ambrose grunts, throwing his arm over my shoulder to pull me to him. The scent of chili and oranges is distinctly familiar because it’s him. “None of us know what it’s like to be you, Wren. I know what Flynn needs and wants, but every omega is different, and that’s okay. I think you seem really well adjusted until you’re not, so we almost forget that you have alternative needs.”

“I’m kind of a pain in the ass,” I say self-deprecatingly. I know I’m not normal, but I don’t know what normalcy is or what it looks like for someone like me.

“Not in the least,” he denies. “You’re perfectly you. We’re the ones who have to catch up, honey. Don’t forget that. Raise the bar, and make us reach for it, Wren. We’ll rise to the challenge.”

My back gets a little straighter as he opens the front door, opening it wide for me to walk through. He’s right in a way. If I never ask for anything, I’ll just be continually disappointed. I’ve demanded them to do things for Flynn, but find myself unable to ask for myself. I need to sit with that for a bit to process it, I think.

“Wren!” my omega squeals, leaning against the wall in the entryway. God, has he been waiting for me?

We kind of took forever. It’s late in the day by now.

“Did you have fun, Darling?” he asks, pushing away from the wall to steal me from Ambrose.

As he kisses me, I swear Flynn manages to steal the breath from my lungs. My omega can seriously kiss.

“I did,” I whisper with wide eyes. “Did you miss me?”

“Desperately,” he says dramatically. “Can I show you something? Then, I’m thinking about taking a walk before I start dinner.”

“A walk sounds nice,” I agree, knowing I’m already invited to come along. I don’t need to second guess things with Flynn for some reason, it’s just easy with him.

Why can’t it be like this with our alphas?

“Yes, I thought so too. Come on, then,” Flynn says, grabbing my hand to walk toward the stairs. “It’s already six, I can’t believe how fast the day flew by.”

I hear Ambrose’s heavy footsteps as he follows behind us as we climb the stairs.

“What was your favorite part of your date?” Flynn asks, distracting me from whatever surprise he has. I can feel his excitement and nervousness, but let him be for now. I’ll find out soon enough what he wants to show me.

“The waterfalls were incredible,” I gush. “We really had the best day.”

“I enjoyed my sweet lemon and blueberry dessert earlier,” Ambrose says with a small chuckle. Flynn glances knowingly at me as I flush.

I can feel slick beginning to ruin my panties, making me bite my lip as I remember how good it felt.

“The three of them are terrible,” Flynn says with a chuckle. “Public sex seems to be one of their favorite pastimes.”

“It’s just so much fun,” Ambrose gushes, making me giggle as we finish climbing to the third floor.

“What did you want to show me?” I ask with a smile. “Did you change your nest again?”

Flynn blushes, because it’s one of his favorite things to do, and I enjoy helping him.

“Not exactly,” he murmurs. “It’s right in here.”

One of the rooms is slightly ajar, and I can faintly smell a hint of paint in the air. That’s odd. Letting him take the lead, I watch as he opens the door, pulling me inside.

“What… is this place?” I gasp. There’s a beautiful oasis inside here, with shades of purple. Curtains hang from the ceiling that are cream and translucent, with white twinkling lights woven through them.

“It’s yours,” Shaw rumbles to my left. Giving a small squeak as I jump, I turn to face him. “You need a place that belongs to you, where you can just be, Sweetness. Flynn came to us with the idea, and we helped make this happen. There’s a swing over there for reading, doing schoolwork, or working. Whatever you want to do, this is your nest, Wren. If you want to change something, do it.”

“You… what?” I ask, blinking quickly. I feel like I’m short circuiting as I turn to look around. There’s indeed a beautiful swing that would be comfortable and fun to spend time in, blackout curtains over the windows that can be opened, and relaxing lighting.

I know they’re not pushing me to have a heat, that’s up to my body to figure out. But this… holy shit.

“It’s true. We should have thought of it earlier,” Everest says behind me, making me turn around as I hear his voice. “There’s a lot of things we need to do better about, but we’re bumbling our way through it, it seems, Lemon Drop. Do you like it?”

“I… I love it,” I wail, making the alphas’ jaws drop. “It just feels like so much. Thank you.”

“Those are happy tears, boys. She’s fine,” Flynn says with a chuckle as he hugs me from behind to cuddle. “Wren, you’re so loved, Darling. You don’t even know.”

“There may be more,” Ambrose says with a smirk. “I feel mischievous vibes through the bond.”

“Tattletale,” Shaw snarks good-naturedly. “It’s in the bathroom.”

“Really?” I ask, allowing Flynn to gently guide me through the room. My eyes continue to take everything in, convinced that if I blink, it’ll be taken from me. Shit, that can’t be a healthy reaction.

I’m so overwhelmed by everything, but in a good way.

Flynn opens another door, turning on the light as he walks inside with me. Jaw dropping, I take in the beautiful lighting. The floor is warm, making me frown as I glance down.

“They’re heated,” Flynn admits with a smirk. “We started to finish up your nest, and I realized the bathroom wasn’t right for you. So, we redid it in a span of hours.”

“Flynn is a tough task master,” Everest says with a chuckle. “The tub has a tray for snacks, a book, or even a glass of wine. Then there’s bath salts, bombs, and bubble bath up on this shelf here.”

Turning, I see the shelf along the wall by the bathtub. There’s everything I would ever need, including candles.

“Wow, this is amazing,” I whisper. I kind of want to hang out in the bathroom and never leave. I think that’s an odd response, so I refuse to voice it as I look around.

“You want a bath immediately, don’t you,” Flynn teases me, making me laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever taken a bath like this before, but yes, I really do,” I tell him with a grin.

“Hmm, after our walk then?” he asks, not mentioning how odd my words are. I can only imagine what their thoughts must be, but Flynn can sometimes have a better poker face than the alphas.

“Yes, please,” I say with a nod. Almost in a dazed state, I brush away my tears as I walk out of the bathroom and into my nest. It’s a surreal feeling to acknowledge that this is all mine.

“I scheduled your aptitude test for a few days from now,” Shaw says as he sees me. “It’ll be online, so you’ll be able to take it from here.”

“Does that seem fast to anyone else?” I ask. “I feel as if we just spoke about this.”

“We don’t wait around,” he reminds me. “I think I’ll come with you for the walk. Are you sure you love it?”

“So much,” I tell him, unable to hold back anymore and launching myself at him. Shaw catches me as he holds me tightly, kissing me hard. “Thank you for all of this, guys. I think I really needed this. It’s just so odd to be an omega and not know what I want or need.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Shaw rumbles, kissing my lips before setting me on my feet. Everest swoops in to lift me into his arms, and I happily snuggle against him.

So much has changed, even though we are still finding our way.

“You deserve the world, Lemon Drop. Sometimes, we don’t know what that looks like until we get the blueprints for it,” Everest rasps.

My heart stops at his words, because he’s right. It’s hard to figure out how to help someone find happiness when that person doesn’t even know what it looks like.

“I love you,” I whisper, knowing it’s true. “I love all of you so much. This is incredible.”

“We love you, honey,” Ambrose rumbles. “I know it hasn’t been long, but we all felt something the day we found you. We were idiots and ignored our instincts.”

“I can assure you we won’t be doing that again,” Shaw grumbles.

“It’s true, we were meant to find you at the auction,” Flynn says as Everest sets me on my feet. “I just felt it first.”

“The smartest of us all,” Shaw confirms as we start walking out of the room. Our omega flushes with praise, but I agree. I can’t believe Flynn suggested making me a nest.

“I think I’m in shock,” I admit as we trudge down the stairs together. “I’ve never had anyone do something so incredible for me.”

“Get used to us spoiling you,” Ambrose murmurs. “Flynn will happily bask in the glow of sharing the spotlight, because we’re a bit?—”

“Extra,” Flynn confirms. “In all of the best ways, but they enjoy going overboard.”

“I need examples,” I tease them all as we make our way to the main floor.

“Oh you’re about to see one of them,” my mischievous omega says with a smirk.

I knew they were up to something, but how can there possibly be more? Soon, Everest is opening the French doors to the backyard, ushering me outside.

“This is beautiful,” I whisper as I take in the perfect spot for eating, hanging out, or watching the sunset.

I’ve really enjoyed watching the sunsets from the living room window, but I think I’ve found a new viewing spot. There are pretty plants hanging from the covered outdoor area, ensuring that there’s some shade. My steps help me see the string of Edison bulbs that light up the area, reminding me of old Hollywood movies.

“I love this so much,” I tell them, tearing up again. I may just wash away with how much I’ve been crying.

“We got so much done while you were gone, but I built this while I was going for my run in the mornings,” Everest says with a wide grin. “I started planting some flowers, but want your input. Want to help me?”

“Yes,” I say, nodding wildly. “What if I have a black thumb though?”

“Don’t put that energy into the universe, and it’ll never come true,” Flynn admonishes, linking arms with me. “I’m excited to snuggle in the swing with you later. I figured we could eat outside?”

Nodding as I walk with him, I take in the gorgeous swing that could easily hold several people, and the outside table.

“I think that sounds perfect,” I sigh happily.

The alphas purr at my sentiment as I walk, and a part of my broken soul fits into place. It may not be exactly where it was before, but it’s where it’s meant to be now.