Chapter 39
I try my best to stay present with my pack as we pile into Ambrose’s car, but crash as soon as I’m pressed between Jackson and Ambrose and my alphas purr for me. When Ambrose whispers my name, I have no clue how much time has passed as I blink my eyes open groggily.
I smile as his handsome face comes into focus, ignoring the slight ache of the bruise on my jaw. “We’re home?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We can stay in the car longer if you’re comfortable, but we’re home now. River went inside to finish prepping your nest, but he’ll be back any moment.” He smiles back at me indulgently, lovingly, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the way I’ve come to adore.
I reach up and stroke a hand through his slightly disheveled silver-streaked hair, purring as he leans into my touch, his eyes closing. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
His eyes pop back open, and a startled chuckle falls from his lips. “Not in those exact words.”
“Damn, dude, she loves you,” Jackson stage whispers from behind me, and I realize I’m still propped against his chest from where I fell asleep.
Ambrose rolls his eyes at our beta, and Jackson’s laugh soaks into me where we’re connected.
“I do.” After everything that we’ve been through, it seems absurd that I was scared to tell him. “I love you, Ambrose. I’m sorry it took me so long to say.”
My scent match leans forward, brushing his lips against mine, careful to avoid touching where I’m bruised. “I love you with everything I have. You don’t need to apologize, sweetheart. I could feel it, and I would’ve waited as long as you needed to feel safe enough to tell me.”
The tender moment is interrupted a few seconds later, when the car door opens and River pops his head in, brow knitted with concern. “Why are you all still in the car? Did you change your mind?”
I expect Jackson to make a teasing remark about my love confession, but he doesn’t. Maybe he can tell that it would hurt for River to know I’ve told the rest of his pack I love them, but not him.
I push past Ambrose, crawling over his lap a little in an awkward attempt to reach River and grab his cheek. His sharp inhale of surprise as I press my lips to his tastes sweet, and the little groan as he kisses me back even sweeter.
“What was that for?” River blinks at me, glasses slightly askew as we part.
“I love you, River.” It’s not a grand declaration, not while I’m crammed in the back of a car, leaning over his mate. It’s better than that. It’s a certainty. An absolution. Me trusting my omega to know that even though this alpha hurt us in the past, he’s meant to be ours.
“W-what?” His jaw drops, shock and disbelief written on every inch of his face.
“Can’t you feel it?” I ask, bringing his hand up to cup the scar of his bite mark.
“I…” He swallows hard and nods, a small tear rolling down his cheek. “I can.”
We gaze at each other for a long moment, words not needed as he keeps feeling my love through the bond.
“Aren’t you going to say something else?” Jackson hisses to River, and Ambrose smacks the beta in the shoulder.
The smile that spreads across River’s lips is brilliant. “I love you, too.”
I grin back, not caring about the ache in my jaw. “Well, good, because otherwise this would be really awkward.” I glance at Ambrose, who I’m still partially sprawled over, and giggle. “Or more awkward.”
A moment later I process something River said before. “Wait, what did you mean about changing our minds? Were you talking about the pack?”
It’s strange. In the past, my stomach would’ve knotted at the potential of this pack changing their minds about anything. Not being worried is a bizarre new reality I’ve entered, and I swear my omega lets out an internal sigh of relief that I’ve finally stopped fighting her about this.
Ever since we got out of that horrible hotel room—no, since they burst in to save me—my sense of calm has built.
Something worse than I could’ve imagined almost happened to me.
I should be terrified in the aftermath, and I’m sure it’ll take me a long time to recover from the trauma and horror of the attempted assault, but right now, more than anything else, I feel certain.
Certain that I’m stronger and braver than I ever thought I was, even as a beta.
Certain that I’m not going to live in fear, I’m going to do everything in my power to show toxic alphas that they’re not in control.
Certain that I’ve found my pack and I trust them to be there for me when I need them most.
“Oh, uh, well, there’s something we need to show you,” Ambrose says, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s terrible timing, but it can’t really be helped with your heat coming. If you hate it, we’ll figure something else out.”
My omega perks up at what sounds like a gift from my pack. “What kind of something?”
“If you all get out of the car, we can show you,” River says sternly, but there’s a teasing slant to his mouth.
“I don’t know, I like having Cami’s ass in my face,” Jackson teases, giving said ass a light pinch that has me squealing and attempting to pull away even though there’s nowhere for me to go. Ambrose lets out a low “oof” as I elbow him in the side.
“Yeah, let’s get out before I accidentally knee someone in the balls,” I say, giving him an apologetic pat.
Jackson gives me room to get off of Ambrose, and River extends a hand to his mate to help him out. He holds a tattooed hand out for me next, and I take it, a spike of desire hitting me at his strong grip. Ambrose was right; my heat must be coming soon if that small touch has me needy.
Stepping out of the car, I realize we’re not at the townhouse.
We’re parked in a driveway next to a house I’ve never seen before.
I blink at the cute two-story white house, lit up by the warm glow of porch lights.
The front yard is well-manicured, with what looks like freshly planted pink rose bushes and a smoothly paved, illuminated path up to a ramp taking up one side of the steps leading up to the porch.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking between the three men gathered next to me. Jackson shifts in place with a nervous expression, and River watches my face with intense focus while he wrings his hands together.
Ambrose gives me a hesitant, hopeful smile. “Home.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “What?”
“We bought a house,” River says evenly. Like it’s a totally normal thing to announce casually. Like it isn’t going to make my brain melt.
“W-what?” It’s all I can seem to say as tears well in my eyes and butterflies fill my stomach. I must be misunderstanding. Surely they don’t mean they bought a house for us.
“I know it’s a bit over the top, as far as romantic gestures go, but to be fair, we didn’t know you’d randomly confess your love in the backseat of a car.” Jackson winks.
His grin is what has my brain whirring back to life again. “You can’t be serious. You bought a house? You bought this house?” My voice shakes as emotion overwhelms me.
“Do you not like it?” River asks, sounding genuinely concerned that they chose incorrectly.
“No, it’s fucking a-adorable,” I blubber, tears pouring down my face. “I just can’t believe…why would you…” My pack crowds around me until I’m in the center of a purring group hug.
“Because we wanted you to know that we’re all in,” River murmurs, pressing a kiss to my hair.
“Because we needed a place with a proper nest and better accessibility for Dolly, and a space to start the rest of our lives together as a pack,” Ambrose adds.
I cry even harder at the mention of them getting a home where Dolly can get around more easily, because she’s the best girl in the world and she deserves it.
“It’s too much…I can’t…” I want this so bad I can taste it, but it feels like I’ve walked into some alternate dimension because they can’t really be this wonderful, can they? And if they are, how on earth did I end up being loved by them?
Jackson’s arms wrap around me from behind, and his lips brush against my ear.
“Because you’re amazing, Cami. Because you make all of us feel like we’re already home when we’re around you,” he murmurs, answering my unspoken questions.
“The house is just a symbol of how serious we are about you. About all of us together as a pack.”
I spent many years of my life when I was younger wishing for love until I shuttered my heart because it seemed impossible to find. Unrealistic. And those wishes weren’t for even a fraction of what they’re offering to me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, letting their love wash over me. Allowing myself to accept it. No, embrace it. I’ve had forty years to go it alone, and fought hard to prove to myself I could. Now it’s time to trust that just because I can survive on my own, doesn’t mean I have to.
“I…I love you all so much,” I say between shaky breaths and stilted purring as we finally pull apart.
“We love you, too, angel,” River murmurs, taking his glasses off to wipe the moisture from his cheeks.
“Remember how much you love us when we get inside, because we moved your nest here and I’m not sure it’s set up right,” Jackson says with an exaggerated grimace.
I shake my head at his concern. “As long as you’re all in there with me, it’ll be perfect.”
It’s more than perfect. Sure, the scent isn’t quite right, and I need to rearrange a few things, but I start blubbering all over again when they open the door to the nest suite.
They’ve taken what I’d picked out from Nesting for my cramped apartment bedroom and combined it with my favorite items I accumulated staying at their townhouse, supplemented with beautiful new curtains and soft string lights to make a space that’s truly breathtaking.
It’s something out of a dream or a fairy tale, and my omega loves it so much I don’t allow myself to give a shit that all the pinks and florals are “too youthful”. They’re perfect.
The mattress and bedframe are enormous, and Jackson makes sure to point out all the sturdy anchor points available throughout the nest, perfect for tying me, or anyone else, up in a myriad of configurations.
The ensuite bathroom is equally absurd in its beauty and size, with a bathtub big enough for at least three people and a shower sized for all of us with multiple showerheads.
The closet almost does me in, because not only did they thoughtfully arrange all my clothes, but they’ve added new cozy loungewear, flowy sheer nightgowns, and lingerie so racy that it has my cheeks heating thinking about wearing it.
Nevermind the drawer of sex toys Jackson proudly shows me, pulling an enormous tentacle dildo out and holding it up like he’s posing for a picture with a fish he caught.
I have to go sit down on the bed because it’s all so beautiful and so much.
“We’re going to have to eat ramen for a year to afford all of this,” I say weakly.
Jackson shakes his head, his smile slightly embarrassed. “I, uh, I asked my parents for a loan to cover what extra we needed. Nothing crazy, just enough so that we’re not house poor while we’re waiting for the townhouse to sell. That’s why I met with them for dinner a few weeks back.”
“Jackson… I know how hard that must’ve been for you.” From everything he’s told me, he adores his parents, but growing up with their expectations made him develop his perfectionist side that hates admitting he can’t do everything on his own.
My chest squeezes as Ambrose rests a hand on Jackson’s back in a display of casual reassurance and affection.
The beta’s cheeks burnish and he chuckles, then clears his throat.
“Yeah. Turns out, they were so relieved for me to ask them for help for once that they insisted on giving the money to us as a bonding gift. They’re already up my ass about when they can meet you, but I told them they needed to chill until after your heat. ”
“We’ll have to do a big family get-together, because my parents are also champing at the bit to meet my scent-matched omega,” Ambrose adds.
River laughs when he senses my spike of anxiety. “I can only imagine how much Jackson’s parents will fuss over you. When Jackson told them we were platonically forming a pack, they wouldn’t stop taking turns hugging us and welcoming us to the family.”
“I think maybe they sensed there was more there than I realized,” Jackson says softly, his smile turning shy.
My stomach dips. Did he just say what I think he did? “Oh my god, did you tell them?” I blurt, then clap my hand over my mouth a second later when I realize maybe I misinterpreted what he said.
The three men laugh, and Jackson pulls my hand away, giving it a kiss. “Yeah. We all had a talk about my new… interests. And the other night, River and I, uh, we kissed.”
“You did?!” I squeak.
“Is that good shock or bad shock?” River asks, quirking a brow at me.
“Good!” Tears well in my eyes, and I’m going to start crying again because the only thing that could make this dream better is us all discovering and embracing this love between us.
Well, that and Dolly being here, but I understand why she’s having a puppy staycation with Astrid.
I already sense my temperature rising by the moment, my thighs slicker than usual and not only from my excitement of being surrounded by my pack in this gorgeous new nest. “So good.”
My purr draws them all to me, and we sink onto the bed together, our limbs twining together in a perfect cozy configuration.
“Thank you. I have no words for how much this means to me. How much you all mean to me. I finally feel…” Shit, there go the tears.
“I finally feel like I’m home when I’m with you. ”