Chapter 16
Wren
“ W hat is with these alphas and wanting us to move in with them the moment we scent match with them?” Devon asked, his exasperated tone laced in humor.
Even though he thinks we’re both their matches, I’m still skeptical on that front.
“Let’s leave that talk for the morning,” Braxton offered, looking at me with concern again.
My eyes had drifted closed on their own. I was so exhausted that it felt bone-deep, as if I couldn’t shake it if I wanted to. It had been a really long time since I’d had one of these kinds of panic attacks.
To say they were draining was an understatement.
I had half a mind to text my therapist. She promised that she’d always have an open door for me, or an open phone, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it yet.
I’d barely settled in here, hadn’t given any time for my omega to come out, but it seemed like the moment I came to Rockwood Valley, my life was even more chaotic. Though, in a far different way.
As overwhelming as it was to be surrounded by these men, it also felt like they were supposed to be around me, that I belonged with them.
How long had it been since I felt like I belonged anywhere?
Devon pulled me to his chest, his hand lazily stroking down my back and toying with my hair, lulling me into an even sleepier state.
“I agree, we’ll talk about that tomorrow,” he said. “But for tonight, is there somewhere I can take my omega to sleep? She needs a good night of rest before we can talk about anything.”
Someone pulled me from Devon’s arms, and I leaned in, getting that soft, subtle hint of Nash’s scent. I don’t know how I didn’t notice before, but the fresh berries and sugary citrus reminded me of gummy bears.
“You smell like my favorite gummy bears,” I muttered into his chest, earning a deep chuckle that rumbled through him and into me.
A soft smile played across my lips, but I still couldn’t open my eyes.
I almost felt drugged, and the moment I realized that, my panic started to rise. Before it could, Nash let out a rumbling purr that soothed me right back into that trance I was in before.
Right now I felt almost drunk and sluggish, which was far different than the blackout, foggy state I’d been put in before. In my heart, I knew that these men would never do to me what the other alphas did. If I wanted to give us a real chance, I couldn't hold myself back out of fear.
Plus, Devon would keep me safe. He was my safety net and it was the reason I could let go like this.
I briefly heard my boss’s grumbly voice, and then I was led into a room and placed on the softest bed imaginable. I could smell the fabric softener and fresh air, a slight breeze blowing in from outside as someone cracked the window.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow, little dove,” Shepherd promised before I heard his heavy footfalls walking away, leaving me, Nash, and Devon in the room alone.
“Do you want me to go?” Nash offered. I loved that he was being sensitive to what I needed.
Without having to think, I reached out my hand, locking onto his wrist before he could walk away and tugging him toward the bed.
“I’m not even going to ask. I’m just going to crawl in bed with you,” Devon said. “It’s where I belong, right?” He snuggled in close, brushing a kiss across my forehead as he pulled me into his chest.
I was safe here, amidst my gummy bear alpha and the fresh apple and cedarwood scent of my omega. It was like my favorite place and my favorite snack all wrapped in one.
“You’re killing me,” Nash said, cracking up again. “Do I really smell like gummy bears?”
“You do,” Devon said, laughing with him. “I never put it together, but this adorable, sleepy omega did.”
Another kiss was brushed across my forehead, and that was the last thing I registered until I woke up hours later.
Sweat was clinging to my skin and it felt like I’d fallen asleep right in front of a heater. I tried to move but I was tangled between Nash and Devon, both of who were practically sticking to me, yet somehow asleep.
I tried to untangle but the movement sent a sharp pain stabbing through my abdomen.
“Fuck,” I groaned, curling in on myself as chills ran through me. It wasn’t until I took in a sharp breath that I started to freak out.
Nash’s fresh berries and sweet, sugared citrus was so strong that it consumed me, the heat coursing through me intensifying as another cramp and a fresh wave of slick dampened my thighs.
We were scent matches. There was no doubt as my brain screamed ‘alpha’ at me, pushing me forward.
Then Devon stirred, his arm moving and hitting me with an intense wave of his green apple and cedarwood. It was still calm and safe, but elicited the same response as the alpha.
This was the impact I expected, the omega in me ready to tear anyone apart that got between us.
Mine , my omega screamed, hands reaching out for them both as my pussy clenched, far too empty, and my body craved their touch.
“Devon! Nash!” It was a desperate, keening whine laced in every ounce of fear, desperation, and bliss.
Nash was the first to stir, pulling me in then freezing, a sharp inhale had his eyes blowing wide, pupils dilating as my pheromones hit him.
I buried my nose in his neck, breathing in that alpha musk and his own unique sweet scent.
Somewhere in my heat fogged brain, I was reveling in the fact it wasn’t anywhere near the scent of those alphas, who smelled like day old booze, cigarettes, and chemicals to me.
“Devon,” Nash said, halfway to a bark. The omega sat up, taking it in then gasping. His excited laugh had me looking at him over my shoulder. I wanted to say something, to speak, but my omega was feral now, desperate.
It felt like she had control now, not me. She turned and lunged for him, scenting along his exposed collarbones, nipping with her teeth in warning.
“Whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” he asked, shocked and unsure now.
“Heat spike of some kind. I’d say us finding the pack woke up her omega and she’s in survival mode or straight up possessive mode,” Nash said over my head. Again, I registered the words but couldn’t respond or do anything more than absorb them. “Don’t worry, omega, we’ve got you.”
A soft, strange purr rumbled out of me before I was fighting my way out of the sheets.
My pack. I wanted them all. Where were they?
“Oh god, do we warn them or let them get mauled?” Devon asked, a mix of amusement and true worry.
“Shepherd, Braxton!” Nash bellowed, the sharp sound making my omega wince and cower in on herself until he soothed her. “It’s okay, just bringing your alpha and beta to you.”
Good. Pack. I needed them all.
Another sharp pain hit me, dropping me to my knees right as two other doors flew open.
“What’s wrong with her?” Shepherd demanded as he fell to his knees in front of me, his calloused hand landing on my neck before he cursed. He leaned in closer so I was doused in that blueberry, bourbon, and cheesecake scent of his. A whimper escaped as my hands clawed at him, desperate for him to touch me in the way we needed.
Now I was all instinct, even my thoughts muted and dulled as the heat spike took me even further into its grasp.
“Hey, little dove, I had a feeling you were mine,” Shepherd rumbled. “Glad to see you aren’t hiding away now. Let your pack be strong for you now.”
My heart melted, my omega letting out a pitiful whimper as we clung to him. Gentler hands than Shepherd’s brushed my tears away. I didn’t realize I was crying but his words had not just shaken me, but my omega, too. We needed the alphas to tell us we were safe, to promise to protect us.
“We’re all here now,” Braxton said. “If you want us.”
“Mine,” I growled, voice deeper than I’d ever heard it as I pulled him in, too, forcing him to lean close enough to smell him.
Warm, chocolate chip pancakes and sweet syrup.
“Yours,” he promised, the easy agreement and lack of hesitation filled me with a surge of pride and contentment.
My beta wanted me, my alphas wanted me, and my omega wanted me.
They were mine. A pack. Scent matches.
True mates, no chemicals.
Another wail escaped me as another aching cramp tore through my abdomen, shooting pain down into my empty core.
“Please, someone fuck me. I need you, alphas,” I begged, practically crying for their knots.
“You’re vulnerable right now,” Braxton started to argue, but Devon cut him off.
“She is, but her omega is begging her pack to show her we are worthy. That we’ll take care of her. If you reject her now… there may not be a way to come back from it.”
“Please,” I said again, fighting through the fog to make my voice sure and confident. I looked right at Shepherd. “If you want me. Give me what I need. If not, leave now.”
He studied me, eyes bouncing from my face, down my body, then back up again.
“You want us, all of us?” he clarified. “I need your consent, little dove. We won’t traumatize you further.”
“All of you,” I said, losing my grip on my omega as she surged forward again, tearing at his clothes, shredding them in the process.
“Holy shit, that’s so fucking hot, but also a little scary. Where’s my sweet girl?” Devon teased. I turned, nipping at his bare shoulder in warning. But the moment his own scent hit me, coated in sweet slick, I was moving away from my alpha and toward him.
“You asked for it,” Nash said, but managed to snag me around my waist. “Where’s the biggest bed? We aren’t fucking Wren here in the hall on the hardwood.”
“Pack suite, down the hall at the end,” he said. Nash turned and walked me toward the door, Braxton moving forward to open it.
I didn’t want to fight mating with my pack. Now that I knew they were mine, true scent matches, there was no stopping me.
After everything… I deserved happiness.