Chapter 26

Iwould consider us as safe as we're going to get at this point, but Kane looks like he's on the verge of losing his mind.

"There's no safe room?" he growls, stomping across the living room. Good God, I'm pretty sure his eye is twitching.

That can't be healthy.

"It's an old house," Cas says, shrugging. "I wasn't aware that was a requirement of where we landed."

"It's not." Grady chuckles, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewing obnoxiously. "Seriously, man." He looks at Kane. "I've kept her safe this long on my own. There's three of us now."

Cas growls.

"Fine," Grady says. "Three and a half. Well, three and a princess to keep our princess company while we handle business."

"I am genuinely surprised no one has killed you yet," Kane mutters, scratching his beard.

"Considering I'm bonded to the woman you're lusting after, I'd say I'm pretty safe from attempts by you, at least." Grady quirks an eyebrow. "But I'm always more than willing to give it a go if you want to try your luck."

My head tilts to turn my ear toward the stairs. There's some shuffling coming our way.

Kane tenses, reaching to the back of his jeans for his gun.

Annika pops around the corner leading into the living room, but I do a double take when I spot her loaded down with pillows that have blankets hanging out of them.

"Is everything all right?" Cas asks, looking exceptionally confused.

"Yes." She walks to Kane while trying to keep hold of the giant pile. She uses her chin to shove the top pillow at him. "Here you go."

I snort, shaking my head.

She aims for Cas next and tosses one at Grady. He raises a hand, catching the wide throw. She continues over to me with one last pillow. It has a baby pink cotton blanket hanging out of the pillowcase.

"Here you are." She climbs into my lap.

I immediately wrap my arms around her soft frame.

"Not to sound like an idiot, but what's this for?" Kane asks.

"I've got this, baby." Grady stands, ripping his T-shirt off over his head. "We didn't bring any of our normal pillows and blankets with us." He tosses his shirt at me, but Annika snatches it out of the air, and I realize it was always intended for her. "Saturate them both in your scent."

"And I would appreciate it if I could have any of your worn clothes. Even stuff that seems questionable, like you probably wouldn't wear it again. I don't mind," Annika says against my throat.

Goddamn.

That makes me feel like a fucking king.

It has to go back to the whole dynamic between alphas and omegas, but knowing she wants to be surrounded by my smell does shit to my head.

"Seriously?" Cas looks at Grady incredulously.

Grady has the pillow Annika brought him in his hand, and he rubs it around his chest before moving to do each armpit. "She likes it best when it's so ripe, you can barely stand it."

"Yep, I really do. There's no such thing as too much man-funk right now. Do your worst," she mumbles against my skin. "Nesting can get lonely at times. Once I'm done setting it up, someone can come keep me company."

"Snuggling with you in the nest sounds like a perfect night to me." I nuzzle my cheek to the top of her head, and my heart races when she kisses my neck just under my ear.

It's a quick peck, but the way she holds on tighter to my chest is an affectionate move that I crave more of.

Annika collects her pheromone-covered blankets and pillows, and Cas offers to help, since they're no longer bundled together. The little vixen stripped me right out of my T-shirt.

"This is serious." Kane tosses himself down on the couch cushion Cas vacated. "It feels a little like being sitting ducks out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Are you a city boy, Kane?" Grady snatches his bowl of popcorn once more.

"Fuck you," Kane growls. "You know I grew up in DC."

"Exactly." Grady nods. "As a Southerner born and bred, let me tell you, our situation isn't as dire as you're making it out to be. Do me a favor. Check out the state gun laws on your phone real quick. We've also got the benefit of being outside of a city but within reasonable driving distance."

Kane grunts, grabbing his phone from his pocket. "We brought guns and ammo."

"Yeah, but we're in the perfect place to stock up. We've also got the perk of being on a secluded road." Grady tosses more popcorn in his mouth and speaks around it as he chews. "That means the neighbors are going to notice any convoys of suspicious vehicles heading our way. They might even give us a heads-up if we ask them to." He digs around in the bowl, grabbing more popcorn. "I'm sure the local hardware store and even the gun shop will be set up for hunters. That means they'll have high-quality trail cams to line the property with. There's also a fence. We need to head to town tomorrow, anyway. I'm guessing no one thought to purchase all the stuff Anni will need for the post-heat cramps." He glances between me and Kane.

"I didn't," I reply. "I honestly forgot about that completely."

"What do you mean post-heat cramps?" Kane asks, frowning.

"It's the way the universe signals we didn't manage to stick a bun in her oven." Grady laughs. "It's basically menstruation for omegas. Some types of omega birth control block them, but the one Anni uses doesn't. Once they start, she'll be crabby, crave chocolate and all the sweets she passed on the last few days, and want to hunker down."

"So, it's not just the heat we have to prepare for." Kane curses under his breath.

"Nope, but at least we'll be mentally clear once the heat ends," Grady says.

"One of us should stay out of the nest at all times," Kane says, still studying his phone. "That way, someone will always be on guard duty."

Annika's arousal slaps into me in the bond. I glance around, noticing Cas never made it back from helping her carry the stuff back.

My eyes meet Grady's as I shove myself out of the chair.

Holy fucking hell.

Her pleasure pulses through the link, along with heavy hits of her scent.

My cock instantly hardens.

How the fuck do packs manage to function when their omega is having sex while they're at work?

"I'm telling you. It's only going to get more frequent from here," Grady calls after me as I stride toward the steps. "You might want to pace yourself."

I toss a hand up, flipping him off before taking the corner toward the stairs.

He chuckles darkly, and it taunts me as I jog up the stairs.

Tripping over my own boots in an attempt to get my jeans off isn't my finest moment, but her perfume smacks all rational thoughts from my mind as soon as the nest door opens. The curtains are still open, but as her heat progresses, I imagine she'll need them closed.

I bend over and untie the top of my boots before kicking them off. My jeans and boxer briefs end up in a pile by the door as I yank off my socks.

The pillows and blankets are in a huge pile near the top of the mattress.

Cas has Annika pinned to the bed with his arms wrapped under her thighs and his face buried in her pussy. His bare ass faces me as I stride to the bed.

Annika's head immediately whips in my direction.

"Ward," she moans, scratching at Cas's head.

He growls, slapping her clit. "Try again, you naughty little thing."

I have no idea why a smug-as-fuck smile plasters itself to my face, but it does.

"No, silly," she groans. "Ward is joining us."

"I sure am." I crawl onto the mattress, despite Cas growling like a feral alpha.

I've spent a whole lot of years sticking to the shadows to keep Cas safe, and it never bothered me. It's not easy to carry on relationships when you work full time as live-in security. Not to mention the fact nearly every woman I've come across is more interested in him than me.

But not Annika.

I'm her bonded alpha.

If Cas doesn't like it, he can remove his face from her cunt and see himself right out of the nest.

I don't give a fuck if it's his house.

My adorable omega stretches a hand over to grab my painfully hard cock.

"Come closer," she grunts, tugging on my length. I knee-walk closer as my dick jumps at the pressure. "Oh, okay, right there!"

It takes me a moment to realize she's speaking to Cas, but she doesn't loosen her fist. Stretching a hand down, I pull her hair back from her face and lower my mouth to hers. She runs her thumb over my crown and freezes, sobbing into my mouth.

I flick my tongue over my bondmark and relocate my hand to pinch her nipple. Her scent floods the air, and everything gets hazy.