“You need a nest,” he continues gently. “But you also need to feel secure. Even if the perfect house came on the market tomorrow, moving while you’re this close to your first heat isn’t a good idea. This way, you’ll have space. Safety. Comfort. The crew starts tomorrow, if you approve.”
My throat closes. I set the papers down and launch myself at him. He makes a softumphwhen I collide with his chest, and his arms immediately wrap around me, solid and grounding.
“It’s too much,” I whisper against his shirt.
He hums, the sound vibrating against my cheek—low, steady, protective. “Nothing’s too much for our mate, Starlight.”
And that’s it. The dam breaks. I bury my face in his chest, tears spilling again, while the others crowd close—hands on my shoulders, my back, my hair. Every touch a promise. Every breath thick with love.
It is too much, and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
Kai
A sharp whine has my alpha lunging forward as my eyes snap open. For a moment, I can't remember where I am or where anyone is. Then I glance around and it clicks. We're in Rosie’s bedroom. The pack bed is rumpled but mostly empty. Harlan, Logan, and Evander left early to prep things at the restaurant.
Last night, we’d eaten a late dinner Wyatt cooked and talked through what Rosie might want in her auxiliary nest. She picked options from a prefab catalog. It's not ideal, but it’s what we can do in time for this heat. Hopefully by her next one, we’ll build something permanent. Something worthy.
The whine comes again, sharper now. Wyatt is already sitting up on the other side of the bed, hair a mess, green eyes sleepy but alert. Between us, Rosie writhes. Her curls are a storm around her flushed face. She’s panting, wringing the comforter in her white knuckled hands.
“Can you hear me, Sugarplum?” Wyatt asks, his drawl running his fingers into her hair.
Another keen slips from her throat—high and needy.
“Rosie?” I shift closer, and that’s when I feel the heat pouring off her skin. Her pupils are blown, swallowing every trace of color.
“Is she—?” Wyatt begins.
“In a heat spike,” I say. I don’t know how I know, but Iknow. Her omega is clawing at my alpha, demanding. Desperate. Wyatt looks just as wrecked as I feel.
Thankfully, she filled out that heat spike questionnaire the doctor gave her. She gave us consent if this happened. We can help her—fully.
Rosie bolts upright, claws at her clothes like they’re suffocating her. Wyatt gently catches her wrists in his big, callused hands. Her lips tremble. She looks like she’s seconds from unraveling.
“It’s okay, Rosie. We’ve got you,” I say, trying to soothe her. She whimpers. It nearly breaks me.
“Kai’s going to help you get these off,” Wyatt says, even though I can see it kills him not to be the one. He meets my gaze. “She knows you. And this is her first spike,” he murmurs—and god, itis. She’s never let her omega surface. Not really. Suppressants, blockers. Her body’s never been allowed toneed.
That ends now.
I lift her camisole. Her skin is hot silk beneath my hands. When her shirt clears her head, her perfect tits bounce back into view. The nipples tight and begging. Wyatt makes a low, obscene sound and takes one into his mouth, sucking it in with a wet pop that has my cock throbbing to full hardness.
While she’s distracted, I tug down her lace shorts. They’re soaked through with slick.
The scentlessness throws me for half a second until I remember:She’s ours. I’ve always known.
Wyatt eases her back, cupping her head in a pillow, mouth never leaving her chest. The tenderness of it wrecks me. I run my fingers through his hair, tug just enough to earn a growl against her skin. When I glance at Rosie, she’s watching us. Aroused. Wide-eyed.Hungry.
Then it hits.
Peppermint. Sweet. Creamy. Saturated with want.
She perfumed.
Wyatt and I freeze and then look at each other. Her scent just returned, and it happened because she saw her alphas together.
“You really are perfect, huh, Sugarplum?” Wyatt murmurs.
“She really is,” I echo, leaning in to kiss her. She meets me halfway anddevoursme. Her tongue sweeps into my mouth and I taste the peppermint and heat and sugar.
