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“Don’t be sorry. Who cares if you don’t have a nest? We can build a fucking pillow fort in the lounge.” The protective growl makes my chest clench painfully. I watch them for another minute while Gold murmurs into Bar’s ear. Sometimes, I worry we, Jet, Taylor, or I might get jealous at the bond they share, but in moments like this, all I feel is relief and gratitude. I know that we’ll all be okay one day. Scarlet blooms into my mind, and my soft smile dims.
Bar snorts. “I just wanted to…” He shakes his head, but I notice his hands are shaking. I stand up, walk over to him, and pull him out of Gold’s arms.
“Come have some food.”
“You’re always trying to feed me.” Bar complains with a small smile.
I smirk as he curls himself into my body. I run my hands along his muscled back, ignoring the ridges of scar tissue.
“Gold, you come eat, too,” I say calmly.
Gold grunts, but I know where Bar goes, Gold won’t be far behind, so I can bully him into eating when we get down to the kitchen.
At the second floor, Bar pauses, turning towards my door. I do, too. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Gold inhale deeply before he stalks past us.
“Come on, we should let her sleep.” I say quietly.
Bar grumbles but follows after me.
thirteen
Scarlet
I wake up alone and listen. I check my phone and realise I’ve slept through all of yesterday and last night. The sound of rain is absent, which means I can go home today. It’s both good and bad.
I roll onto my back and press a hand to the empty feeling in my chest. The pervasive loneliness I can’t get rid of, even with hours of work or truckloads of money.
“What the fuck are you even doing here, Scar?” I murmur to myself. “Poaching omegas? New low, even for you.”
I get up, pull on a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, and pack up the rest of my belongings neatly into a couple of bags. It’s while I’m making the bed that I hear noises from above and stop, peering up.
I shake it off and head for the door. To my right is the stairs down, but to the left is a set that goes up. I consider it for a moment and then climb up them. Can’t hurt to look. Maybe.
There’s a door open at the end of a dark corridor. I creep towards it cautiously and peer in. My eyes skate over every inch, widening in wonder. It’s a nest. I’ve seen them, of course. Our pack had one that I’d designed myself for the future. But I’ve never seen a nest with an omega in it or the general chaotic mayhem that Barren has somehow turned into art.
He’s stomping around, furiously moving things.
There’s the biggest canopy bed in the middle, but it’s missing its legs, sitting on the floor, and from there, black fabric fans out like silk webs. Every inch of the floor is covered in varying textures of black material. Black pillows, quilts, and blankets surround the bed.
I cock my head to the side and watch him.
Then I turn and silently sneak down the stairs. It takes me a while to hunt down Acton, and when I do, he’s awkward. It’s so unexpected that I just stare as he refuses to meet my eyes or say anything other than to grunt at me. Does he regret what we did?
I clear my throat, trying to find the words, and finally push the shame away.
I brush it off, all of it. “Do you have any smaller chandelier type pieces?”
“A few.” He still hasn’t looked at me.
“Can I see them?” My throat is tight, and all I want to do is get out of here.
I follow him deep into the house. He’s wearing a shirt unbuttoned over a black singlet and jeans that hug his ass. I vividly remember the sounds he made, the feel of his hands on me. But that alpha appears to have been a figment of my imagination. It doesn’t hurt, not at all. He leads me to a back room and opens it. I go in, staring at all the broken shards around us and spot one hanging on the wall. It’s more like an oval of pieces tacked together and about the size of a football. I hum in amusement. It’s like a glass disco ball. I smirk, it just feels like he’d like it. I don’t know why.
“That one.”
He frowns. “You want it?”
“Yes? No? I think so.” I rub my temples. I’m not even sure what I’m doing here. “Can I?”
