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Kellan’s dark eyes narrowed, and he gripped my hips, dragging me flush against him with a low rumble. “I know we’re all still figuring this out, Hazel, but the one thing you need to know is we don’t lie to each other. Ever.”
I gulped, tipping my head back to peer up at him through wide eyes. “I didn’t… I…”
His head tipped to the side. “Take your time, sugar.”
“It’s just that I hate the idea of you guys getting hurt,” I admitted, feeling like I was slicing open my skin to reveal vulnerable emotions simmering under the surface. “I hate that Jude was hurt because of me.”
“Jude was hurt because a psycho with a gun thought he had the right to kidnap and possess our omega,” Kellan snarled. “I promise you, none of us hold that against you.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen after my heat is done,” I confessed, ducking my head. “I don’t have the right to get upset or worried about the job you all do.”
A palm cradled the side of my face, lifting my head. “You absolutely have every right to feel how you feel,” Kellan said fiercely. “Sugar, not a damn one of us is looking at you being here as a temporary thing just so we can get knotted.”
Flames suffused across my cheeks. “I know you said that?—”
“We don’t lie to each other, Hazel,” he reminded me, an edge to his tone that warned me against questioning the authenticity of his words. “I know this is happening fast, but that doesn’t make it any less real. It doesn’t make what we feel any less than all-consuming. You’re not just another omega for us to help—you’re our omega. And we intend to spend the rest of your life proving all the reasons why you’re meant to be ours.”
“Oh.” It was all I could say as I let his words sink in.
The idea that a pack wanted to claim me should have been terrifying. I’d just come from a situation where another alpha was doing the same thing. But this was different. The obsessive, almost manic way Donovan had tried to own me didn’t hold a candle to the protective, adoring way this pack was treating me.
Wrapping my arms around Kellan’s waist, I snuggled against his chest. And when he started purring, the rough sound vibrating between us, my muscles went liquid.
Home.
This was home.
31
Hazel
The upstairs was no less impressive than the downstairs. There were six bedrooms, each with their own attached en suite. Most of them also boasted a fireplace and balcony that looked out onto part of the property.
“It’s five acres,” Kellan admitted when I asked how much land they had. The thick trees surrounding the property hid the road we’d driven in on, making it feel like we were all alone.
It was perfect. My omega side loved the quiet, and I’d always been more of a homebody.
Kellan led me across an exposed section of the hallway overlooking the family room, with its vaulted beams and skylights, on either side. As we drew closer, I noticed several stacks of boxes piled up, and when I heard footsteps, I turned to see the others coming up behind us.
Kellan stopped, waiting for them to catch up.
Sensing something was about to happen, I lifted my brows and met Crew’s gaze.
“Whoa,” Jude murmured, looking a little pale, probably from walking up the stairs. Rhett hovered closely at his side, watching with eagle eyes as Jude let out a chuckle. “Calla and your mom went a little nuts.”
“They usually do,” Crew replied with a knowing grin. “We sent them out to get things you might need.”
“Your mom and sister went shopping? Why?” I asked.
“For your nest,” Kellan replied, like the answer was obvious.
I spun. “My nest?”
“Check it out, sugar,” he entreated, gesturing to a closed door.
My heart thundered in my chest as I walked toward the door as if in a trance, opening it to reveal a staircase that wound around the wall. I ascended slowly, aware that each of the men were following me.
My breath caught on a gasp as I took in the room at the top of the stairs, and I was thankful I’d ditched my shoes as I dug my toes into the plush, thick carpet that felt like baby alpaca wool. There was a single window that looked out over the rear of the property, and the shape revealed we were inside one of the turrets.
