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Crew took a big breath, his chest expanding so hard I worried he’d crack a rib. He seemed to be struggling with controlling his emotions. His pheromones were wild, swirling around the room like a tempest as he looked for whatever had upset me.
“Tell us what happened, sugar,” Kellan murmured, nuzzling the side of my arm.
“Jude?” Rhett asked, his hand on my hip as he shot Jude a questioning look.
I lifted my head to look Crew in the eye. “Don’t be upset. It was me. I sorta had a panic attack, I guess.”
Crew looked like I’d kicked him in the nuts.
“I knew we shouldn’t have left,” Kellan muttered, shaking his head.
“Probably not,” Grant agreed from across the room, “but this is the first time you’ve experienced your own omega in heat. You’ll all learn.”
I turned to see Elizabeth standing in front of Grant, his arms wrapped around her chest as he held her against him. Calla was standing off to the side, looking close to tears.
“We’ll see ourselves out,” Grant said, inclining his head to me.
“Unless you need us to stay,” Calla spoke up.
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
Calla’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay. We’re just a phone call away. And, Haze?”
I looked at her expectantly.
“It’s okay to trust in the good things that happen,” she added softly. “It’s okay to let yourself be happy.”
God, I wanted to believe that with every single fiber of my being. I’d definitely been dealt a shitty hand the last four years. It was about time the universe came through for me.
I watched my friend and her family leave. None of us moved until the front door closed again.
“What do you need, little one?” Crew asked, looking like he’d climb into the heavens and pluck out a star if it was what I wanted.
“Can we just… cuddle?” I whispered the last word. All I wanted at that moment was to be surrounded and held. Maybe it was an omega thing, maybe it was a trauma thing, but right now I just needed to feel safe.
“Of course we can,” Crew assured me, already moving us to the sofa. “Feel up to watching a movie?”
I nodded as Kellan dropped onto the space beside us. Crew and Kellan arranged my body so I was splayed over both of their laps. Someone grabbed the blanket and tucked it around me. A throw pillow was shoved under my head so I wasn’t resting on Crew’s rock hard thigh.
“We’re going to grab some snacks. Any preferences, love?” Rhett asked.
“Chocolate?” I requested, tipping my head back to see him.
Jude grinned down at me. “On it.”
Kellan grabbed the remote. “Any idea what you want to watch?”
I had no idea what movies had even come out recently. “Nothing sad.”
“Rom-com?” Kellan asked, pulling up a streaming service on the theater-sized TV mounted to the wall.
I shook my head, not ready to watch actors find their happily ever afters when mine felt so far away. “Something with a lot of explosions?”
Crew chuckled and named a movie I hadn’t heard of. He glanced down at me, smoothing the hair back from my face. His fingertips lingered on my cheek. “It’s a disaster movie that came out last year. Those were always your favorite, right?”
I nodded. “You remember?”
His gaze softened. “I remember a lot of things, Hazel.”
