A smile, unbidden, tugs at my lips. Something warm unfurls in my chest.
"That would be nice. Um—can you get Ralph and Allen? I think I might need all of you in the nest, if that's okay?"
A sense of smug satisfaction is strangely ticklish. It has to be Seb. His feelings seem… frothier, almost, yet also somehow sharper, than James' steady, protective glow or Zeke's clear, pain-flecked brightness.
Seb scoops me up as James grunts in protest. "Your presence is required, too, James," he calls over his shoulder. "Go get Ralph and Allen. And bring treats," he adds, kissing my hair. "Omegas love treats."
I don't know how many more hours have passed. It must be late afternoon by now, but my brain seems to finally be starting to catch back up. I'm snuggled in the nest on Allen's lap. Ralph is curled up beside us, leaning his head against my hip, his legs splayed over Zeke. James is on our other side, holding a half-empty box of suspiciously fancy looking chocolates and a bottle of water. His smug expression and the contentment that glows steadily in our bond is probably due to the fact that, in my post-heat addled haze, I let slip my weakness for gianduja, and James now, as Seb gleefully put it as he lounged between my legs, has leverage.
It was less than half an hour between a silly throwaway comment and the soft rap at the door.
I have to make sure Charlie gets a really, really big tip. And Lance.
Lance. There was something… just before things kicked off… I'd sent him a message… he needed to go to the airport…
A stray thought darts across my mind, trailing worry behind it. I sit up, sharply.
"Did Loz say if Pack Zed got in okay?"
Seb looks up at me, his eyebrow quirked. "D'you really think we're gonna go and talk with another omega right now?"
I can feel exasperation mingled with amusement from his bond. My lips pinch together. "No—I mean, did she message? Or call? Or—"
Allen shifts gently beneath me. "Are you really thinking about work right now, little star?" His tone sounds more concerned than incredulous. The warmth from his bond is melting through me.
"No. Not like that—I just wanna make sure my friend is okay."
Ralph sighs. I feel his reluctant acceptance from his bond, each flash of feeling a shiny sparkle in my chest. "I'll go get your phone."
He rolls off Zeke and me. I stroke his hair. "Thank you." He disappears out of the nest, closing the door behind him.
Seb whacks Zeke in the chest. "Told ya she could do it. Less than a day. Pony up."
Allen glares at them. His bond is darkening. "Did youseriouslymake a bet on how long it would take Dellie to accept any kind of non-transactional care?"
Seb snorts. "Nah, 'course not."
James' nostrils are flaring. There's a heat to his bond that wasn't there earlier.
Zeke's chest is vibrating with suppressed laughter. "He bet me fifty bucks on how long before Dellie could get Ralph to do something for her without actually asking."
Chapter 37
Holy shit.Now I see why people make such a fuss about bonding.
It's absolutelywild, being able to feel not only Dellie and Ralph, but the whole pack. It's been less than three days—less than one where we could make everything out properly—but it's already made me see my packmates in a different light.
Even though we've had a bond for years, Ralph's has suddenly come into sharper focus. I'd always thought of him as little sparkles of light in my heart. But now, I can see his bond is shiny like a broken mirror. There are these tiny little needles of desperation and fear. They seem to hide behind everything he thinks and says and does. How the fuck he hid them so well before, I'm not sure, but they're coming through now.
None of us have said anything. I damn well won't unless he brings it up. But I'm now rethinking every time he was kicked out of a nest by an omega and didn't say anything, and sure as shit, I'mneverletting anyone treat my beta like that ever again.
I'm struggling to pay attention to the words coming out of their mouths. Their bonds are pulling my focus. I can see that their bodies are getting dressed. Everyone's getting some kind of shirt and shorts or underwear on. Dellie's laughing, but there's a patter of worry in her bond. Amusement, sure, but worry too. Ralph's shoving a clean t-shirt and shorts at me. His bond feels glassy and a little disappointed. There's a hint of rejection there.
Why is he smiling? Fuck. Has he been doing this a lot?
From a distance, it just seems like the low level worry I'd grown accustomed to.How the fuck did I miss this?
Dellie's clocked it, too. Her expression's falling. She's stroking his face. His bond is warming up a bit now.
