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They found me ten minutes later, ripping everything off the bed as tears were falling down my face. I was too hot and sweaty, my body ached fiercely, and my nest wasn’t finished.
This was a nightmare.
“Hey, hey, hey, sweets, what’s wrong?” Drew soothed as he put his arms around me and made me stop tearing apart my nest.
“It’s not right,” I said before eyeing them. “Rub yourself on my bed, Drew. Wait, where’s Lake?”
“I’m right here, baby,” he promised. Drew and Lake both stripped out of their shirts on Riven’s command and rubbed themselves on my nest. When they pulled away, I moved to the bed, closed my eyes, and breathed in.
The sob that tore out of me was pathetic, and I knew it, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“It’s not right,” I wailed.
“I know why,” Lake said.
“What?” I asked as I turned around to face him.
He was holding out a stuffed animal. It was adorable, and the eyes reminded me of his, but I didn’t understand why he had it.
“It’s for you, baby. Take it.”
I walked up and took it into my arms. It took about two seconds before it hit me.
Everett’s scent.
When I breathed in a second time, their scents were heavy in the room, intermingling with Everett’s.
It settled some of the heat raging through me and chased away all of the unease. I let out a contented sigh and sank onto the mattress.
“Is that what was missing?” Micah asked gently. His hands were brushing through my hair, and I nodded, holding the bear tight and fighting back the wave of emotion that was threatening to overwhelm me.
Yet, even as I was missing my former alpha, I realized that this heat wouldn’t have been complete without my new mates.
We were all a pack, and even if Everett wasn’t here, he was still a part of it. He’d always be a part of me, and Lake had known that.
“Thank you, Lake. You knew I needed it before I did.” My voice was thick with emotion. I’d never gotten anything quite this meaningful in my life. I knew he was sweet and caring but this took me by surprise.
“He’s a part of you, baby. We couldn’t let you go through this without him. You need that security, that safety, and he was that for you.” Lake leaned down to press his forehead against mine as he spoke. His scent was strong and so was Everett’s, the combination something I wanted to commit to memory.
The guys all watched us, looking relieved that I was happy again. They didn’t seem the least bit put off by Lake’s addition to the nest.
Their acceptance meant everything to me.
“It doesn’t bother you guys? I never want you to feel like you’re not going to measure up to him because it’s not a comparable thing.” I looked at each of them, watching their expressions and making sure we were all on the same page.
“We’re all different. You couldn’t compare one of us to the other,” Drew agreed with me. He was the easiest of my mates to read, his eyes could never lie. Right now they were telling me that I had nothing to worry about. When he moved in closer his scent of Palo Santo wrapped around me like a hug. “We’re all yours, sweets.”
I just nodded. There were no real words I could say to express what I was feeling. He’d given me exactly what I needed, and I loved him for that.
“Come on, let’s get some food in you,” Drew said gently, “before the heat comes back with a vengeance.”
Now that I had Everett’s scent mixed in, my nest was fine. It seemed everything had settled down.
I felt slightly human, but I knew it would be short-lived. This heat was a chaotic mess already.
Everyone was so gentle with me as we sat down at the table. Micah claimed the seat next to me and Lake slid him a plate. Micah stabbed a bite of the pasta with a fork before holding it up for me.
“Open up for me, beautiful.”
