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It’s hard to miss the way his jaw ticks.Traitor,his eyes say, but I know he’s just getting all growly because he doesn’t like being the only one who’s so decidedlyagainsther staying. I know he wouldn’t feel right about holding us back from something he thinks we all want. That we might need. Provider that he is.
“No, not against it,” I answer truthfully. “But like I said, I don’t know her. None of us do, not really.”
“But you think we should get to know her?”
I purse my lips, the game momentarily forgotten as I consider a response that will be honest and not upset him any further. “I think we don’t trynotto get to know her, and in the meantime, we keep looking for the perfect pack to take her in if we ultimately decide it’s best for her to go.”
Thane’s brows draw together and I can feel the reluctance through the pack bond that he’s trying to conceal from me.
He sighs dramatically after a moment, as if it pains him to say the next words. “Fine. We get to know her a bit.”
“You too?” Fox presses Thane.
“Yes. Me too,” he grits out.
A ping of joy mixed with nerves and lust travels down the pack bonds, hitting us all at the same time.Miles.
Thane lets out a growl, low in his chest, like a lion sensing prey from yards away. “What the fuck is Miles doing now?”
He’s doing what we all should be doing.
…what I wish I was doing right now.
“Getting to know her,” I mutter, and with that, I move my queen into place, ending the game. “Checkmate, Thane.”
FOURTEEN
—
R I L E Y
The doorto the bedroom is shut, and I am so entranced in my current task that when someone knocks on the wood, I nearly jump out of my skin. I scent the air, and there is that familiar, beautiful smell of old books. Miles is on the other side.
I glance around at my bed, feeling foolish. Gone are the prim and proper bedclothes, the perfectly creased bed sheets. Instead, I’ve been hoarding pillows and blankets from around the house, each one covered in the scent of one or more of the Alphas. Not only that, but I’ve nabbed a few shirts from the laundry room and placed them among the bedding.
I feel like a thief or maybe a stalker and my cheeks heat. I hardly remember collecting all the things surrounding me, but here they are. Proof of my crimes.
My bedroom was my nest back at my apartment. Cozy and warm, but nothing like this. Now, my makeshift nest in the Blue Room is snuggly, messy, and filled with intoxicating textures and scents. Everything on the bed is something I had to have, a compulsion that once fulfilled, made something magical and right spark within me.
“Come in!” I call to the door, and it swings carefully open, revealing Miles. The tops of my ears burn as he glances at the nest. His smile grows, eyes shining bright.
“You’re building a nest,” he says, taking a step toward the bed. “It looks great, Riley.”
If I was being honest, I wasn’t going forlooks.This nest is all feel. And it feels damn good.
“Thanks,” I say, relieved at his praise. “I didn’t mean to step on any toes, I know I’m not staying, I just… I’ve never had a proper nest before and it’s not that pretty what with all the clothes from the laundry and—”
“None of that,” he says firmly, sitting on the edge of the bed. “A nest is personal to an Omega, and not something to be judged. If it feels right to you, then it’s perfect.”
My lips round into anO, and I can’t speak for a moment. In those few seconds, he fingers a t-shirt from behind a pillow—one that smells like him—and he smirks, clearly pleased I have a small piece of him where I plan to lay my head to sleep.
He sets it back in its place and reaches for my hand. The comfort it brings, warm and secure, washes over me in a wave and I sigh, feeling all my wound up muscles melt into puddles against my bones.
I feel like I’ve known Miles for months instead of days. Like hegetsme. Like I could tell him anything.
“My mom died when I was little,” I say, ready to reveal this small but important piece of my history. “So, she wasn’t around when I presented.” I make a sweeping gesture toward the piles of pillows. “I never was shown how to be an Omega. And I never went to the Omega Academy. What I know I learned from reading fiction books. Experiencing it myself is something else entirely. I’m learning as I go, and I’m not going to always get it right, but I’m trying.”
“I know you are,” he says, his eyes sparking with pride. He reaches forward and pokes at a pile of thin cotton fabric, picking out another of his items of clothing. “This is my green sleep shirt, isn’t it?”
