Chapter 25

Heats aren't so bad with multiple alphas to help the waves, but the difficult part to fathom is that it hasn't actually hit yet. The drive from the hotel to Cassian's family estate in Kentucky takes all damn day.

A whole extra day of driving.

Luckily, it's only nine-and-a-half hours, instead of the twenty it took to get to the hotel.

We arrive, and I'm pleased to see there's a fence around it.

I snuggle into Ward's chest as the headlights illuminate the driveway. All I want is a closed-in environment and not to have to leave as soon as we get settled. I'm not above claiming a walk-in closet at this point, or even a bedroom, as long as it's on the small side.

"You smell stressed," Ward murmurs as the other three talk from the first two rows of seats.

"I'll be okay. I'm just exhausted." I run my fingers over his chest. "But, hopefully, we can settle in for a while. My heat won't hold off too much longer." My head tilts, and I squint to try to see out the front window. It's too dark to see more than a few feet in front of the SUV until the house comes into view. There are large overhead lights surrounding the porch and garage.

"All right, two of us do the sweep, and two stay with the vehicle," Kane says, pulling up on a huge concrete circular driveway. I can see that it's curved as he parks, but I can tell it's paved from how much smoother the ride gets.

"I'll go with Kane," Ward offers, gently moving me to sit up.

My lips push together as I try not to pout. My brain fully comprehends that he's not rejecting me by offering to help, but my impulses don't think anything should drag my bonded alpha away from me this close to my heat.

Cas spins around in the middle row. "I'm available if you'd like to cuddle."

My face breaks out into a smile. "Okay."

Grady laughs from the front seat. "Princess snuggle time while I keep watch. That's cute."

Ward snorts, moving to climb between the seats.

Kane leaves the car running but slams it into park as he turns to face Grady. "If it gets hairy, you know what to do."

I hate that, even now, it's not a sure thing that we're safe. I'm really unsettled, and I don't have the first clue how to fix it.

Cassian is kinda being weird. He does snuggle with me in the back row until Kane and Ward get back and even helps me out of the SUV. Rather than helping me to the ground, he wraps me around his strong front.

"We still need to clear the interior of the house," Kane growls as Grady appears over Cas's right shoulder.

"I think we're good." Grady turns back to look at Kane. "If we're not, then we'll handle it, but man, you've got to relax, or you're going to give yourself high blood pressure."

Kane scoffs, jogging past us all to ensure he's the first one at the door. He spins around, growling, "Key?"

"Just knock," Cas says. "The Fifers should be here to let us in."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Kane mutters, knocking obnoxiously loud.

"Did he think I magically had a key stowed away in my pocket?" Cas whispers, smirking at me.

"I don't know," I reply, a little transfixed by how handsome he is when he smiles.

We meet the Fifers. They're a little old married couple, probably in their late fifties or early sixties. They don't live on the property, but their house is down the road we drove past coming in.

Kane and Grady immediately begin to search the house, but Cas carries me toward a set of stairs. My head swivels as I take in the beautiful old home. It's nothing like the houses in Vegas or where I grew up in Boston. It reminds me a little of the estates in Virginia when my parents and I visited my brother after he moved out.

My parents always knew Ranger wanted no part of taking over their empire. That job was supposed to fall to me, but I didn't want it, either. Especially not after we learned the truth of who the Andrettis really are. It's not hard to imagine all families like that have some ugliness hiding.

I'm grateful my parents were honorable enough not to force me into another union. I made it clear that I wanted a different kind of future, and my mom advocated for me every step of the way.

Cas hits the top of the stairs and continues down a long hallway. The ceilings are high, and it smells a little stale. It's not a bad smell. It just reminds me of the scent you're greeted with after coming home after a few days away.

"You're not even giving us the tour," Ward says, following us down the hall.

"Thirty hours of driving was enough to wear my nerves down to paper-thin. Annika needs to check out the nest and see if it's up to her standards." Cas stops walking, grabs a door handle, and tosses the door open.

Ward meets my eyes, sending something in the bond. It's difficult for me to pick out exact emotions, but whatever it is feels a lot like comfort or maybe reassurance. I'm hoping, one day, I'll get the hang of how it works, but I do my best to push my fondness for him back at him.

"This is the pack bedroom. The house has been here for a hundred years, although they did extensive renovations when my grandparents' pack purchased the place, and I had some things done a few years ago." Cas flips on the light switch, and I twist in his arms to get a look at the place.

My jaw falls.

The walls are a cream color, with thick white crown molding. The four-poster bed is a modern style that doesn't match the rest of the house, but I'm kind of relieved that it seems to be new. No one wants to sleep on a bed where one of their parents might have been conceived.

I wiggle my legs until Cassian places me on my feet. Ward steps into the room behind us as I kick off my shoes next to the wall. I'm pretty sure the plush carpeting is new also, and I don't want to ruin it.

I've seen pack bedrooms before. My parents shared one sleeping space when I was growing up. It's strange to think Cas didn't grow up in a family pack.

My eyes fly to Ward, and he nods.

"I grew up in a pack. I have three dads, and my mom is the omega," he says, like he was reading my thoughts in the bond.

I still have no idea how to block them from being able to sense my thoughts and emotions. Grady and Ward seem pretty good at it, and I'm not sure if it's harder because I'm the omega.

"The nest is down this way if I remember correctly." Cas grabs my hand, tugging me toward a hallway off to the right. "The closets are first on both sides of the hall. The nest is the last door on the left, and the bathroom is the one on the right. The renovations I had done right after I inherited it were the bathrooms and the kitchen." He leads me down the hall as Ward follows. When we reach the last door on the left, he pushes it open. "It was originally the attached nursery, so it's not as fancy as the nest in my home in Vegas."

My eyes widen as I get a look at it.

The style is similar to the four-poster bed we passed on the way in, except the mattress is on the floor. Not that most nest mattresses aren't, but I'm used to them being elevated with stairs and a curtain. This one has layered gauzy drapes hanging from the posters, encasing the top and all four sides.

Cas runs his thumb over my inner wrist. "The bathroom is across the hall. It's stocked with everything I could ask the Fifers to procure on short notice. So are the cabinets in here. Though, most of the sex toys and necessities I ordered are likely still in the boxes downstairs."

I snort. "Yeah, that might have been asking too much of the caretakers."

"The High Roller required birth control, is that correct?" he asks, stepping in front of me. His free hand tilts my face up to meet his. "I've never participated in a heat before. I've also never been with an omega, but my research indicated that it's the time an omega is most fertile, and barrier methods are extremely ineffective with knotting."

"I have an IUD," I say. "The doctor said they're reliable. Something like one out of a hundred women get pregnant, which was about the same for the implant. Grady and I also get checked after every heat for STIs. They've always been negative?—"

"Yeah, there was an entire slot on the heat application to upload a copy of our most recent test results." Ward chuckles. "He might be an absolute psychopath, but it's clear he cares about you and your well-being."

"He made you fill that out?" I ask.

"He sent it to us that night in the club," Cas clarifies. "We filled it out immediately upon arriving home, but then you popped in. I'm not sure he even checked the results."

My head shakes. "He had to toss his phone."

"Well, I'll be happy to pull up a copy of mine." Cas dips his head and captures my mouth in a quick but tantalizing kiss. I push up on my tiptoes to try to follow him, but he chuckles. "Will you be inviting me into your nest?"

"Yeah," I agree a little breathlessly.

Ward shimmies up behind me, and his hands land on my waist. "Luckily, I already know I'm invited." His happiness pulses in the bond, and my entire body fills with giddy excitement.

"Can I set it up how I want it?" I ask.

"Of course," Cas agrees, nuzzling his nose to mine.

"Okay, great. I need the two of you to get out."